For almost three years, UNMAS Colombia has trained the personnel and strengthened the operational capacities of HUMANICEMOS DH, the first civil mine action organization in the world that emerged after a peace accord, formed and led by ex-combatants in the process of reintegration. © UNMAS Colombia
The Humanicemos Project is supported by the European Union, through the European Trust Fund for Peace, which finances the second phase of this project that began in February 2020. 75 former FARC-EP combatants are part of this organization. © UNMAS Colombia
The national Mine Action Centre in Colombia (the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace - OACP) assigned the municipality of La Montañita, Caquetá, as the first area for HUMANICEMOS DH to deploy its demining operations. The regional training and operations base is located in this area. © UNMAS Colombia
HUMANICEMOS DH is committed to gender equality. It is the only mine action organization in the world led by a female ex-combatant. In addition, 26% of the staff are women in the process of reincorporation. © UNMAS Colombia
UNMAS was designated in March 2020 by the Government of Colombia as the external monitoring and evaluation component in charge of monitoring and quality assuring demining operations of HUMANICEMOS DH. © UNMAS Colombia
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the training plans for HUMANICEMOS DH personnel had to be modified in March 2020. In June, the first Non-Technical Survey training course began, after adopting all the biosecurity measures required by the health authorities. © UNMAS Colombia
Among the measures that were taken due to the Covid-19 pandemic was the restructuring of the training schedule, imparting courses to smaller groups in open rooms, in addition to complying with the WHO recommendations for the mandatory use of masks, frequent hand washing and social distancing in training, among other protocols. © UNMAS Colombia
The UNMAS Quality Management team monitors training and operations every week to ensure that personnel are complying with Colombia's National Mine Action Standards (UNMAS). © UNMAS Colombia
The training for personnel in the process of reintegration includes Advanced Medical Support courses. This provides them the knowledge to attend to potential victims of explosive ordnance accidents in operations. © UNMAS Colombia
The UNMAS Quality Management team is responsible for evaluating the HUMANICEMOS DH staff once the training is completed. The ex-combatants who pass the evaluations are certified by the national authority: OACP- Descontamina Colombia. © UNMAS Colombia
In October 2020, HUMANICEMOS DH achieved a new milestone as an organization by deploying operations for the first time in the communities of La Montañita, Caquetá, with the dispatch of its first Non-Technical Survey (NTS) teams. © UNMAS Colombia
In December 2020, HUMANICEMOS DH certified the first 17 ex-combatants who will carry out manual clearance tasks. © UNMAS Colombia
Thanks to UNMAS training, HUMANICEMOS DH was able to certify a total of 47 ex-combatants during 2020 in Non-Technical Survey, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Level 1 and Manual Clearance. 26% were women. © UNMAS Colombia
During 2021 UNMAS will continue with the training of HUMANICEMOS DH personnel. The expectations are that in the first months of the year manual clearance will begin, which in the future will allow these lands to be used again for productive work. © UNMAS Colombia
As a sign of confidence in the capacities that HUMANICEMOS DH has built, in December 2020 the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace (OACP) announced that it had assigned a second municipality to the organization to carry out mine action tasks: Solita, Caquetá. © UNMAS Colombia
Through this project, UNMAS is supporting the peace process in Colombia, facilitating the socio-economic reintegration of ex-combatants through mine action, as well as creating spaces for reconciliation, a model that could be replicated in other peace processes in the world. © UNMAS Colombia
