The Americas

Between 20 May 2015 and 19 November 2016, as part of their peace process, Colombia and then Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP) agreed to demine El Orejón and Santa Helena, two of Colombia’s most heavily mined areas. In a coordinated effort supported by international actors, FARC-EP members identified the location of the mines while the Colombian government provided equipment and expertise to clear them.
On 1 March 1995, at the conclusion of the 1995 Cenepa War, Ecuador and Peru agreed to an exchange of prisoners of war (POWs) in furtherance of the Itamaraty and Montevideo agreements. This mutual return of POWs was followed by a second exchange on 30 June 1995, contributing to a larger peace process taking place at the conclusion of the conflict. Several international actors facilitated and supported the exchanges.
Following its ratification of the Landmine Ban Convention in 1998, Peru has undertaken the destruction and clearance of anti-personnel landmines.
35 years after the end of the armed conflict in Falkland/Malvinas Islands, Argentina and the UK signed the Humanitarian Project Plan (HPP) and entrusted the ICRC to undertake the forensic identification of unknown soldiers.
During and after the armed conflict between Colombia and the FARC, several deals were made between the parties in order to ensure an efficient search, identification and delivery of the remains of persons deemed missing within the context of the armed conflict.
In the past few years and until today, the Colombian government and the FARC have been working, in collaboration with international organizations, on the demobilization of child soldiers and their reintegration into society.
In 1985, El Salvador and the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (‘FMLN’) agreed to a series of “days of tranquility” where the parties ceased hostilities to facilitate medical workers' access to children for the purpose of vaccination campaigns. This act of compliance with IHL was motivated by the joint recognition of the serious health crisis and was made possible thanks to the support of external actors and religious leaders.
After the 1980 – 2000 conflict, the government of Peru established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In the following years, further measures have been taken by the Peruvian government to search and exhume the dead related to the conflict.