MONTREAL, Oct. 24, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ – On the occasion of the historical Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Handicap International calls Canada and the entire international community not to reduce their support for Colombia. There is still much to do to decontaminate the country from its landmines, and other explosive remnants of war, and to assist survivors and their families.

According to the Landmine Monitor Report, Colombia is the 2nd country of the world in terms of victims of mines, just behind Afghanistan. 50 years of civil war have contaminated 31 of the 32 departments of the country and generated thousands of victims of anti-personnel mines and other explosive devices. Between 1990 and 2013, more than 10.000 victims have been counted. Almost half of them were civilians, including 26% of children.

To sustain the commitment of Canadians towards the Colombian population affected and threatened by landmines, and more widely all the countries affected by this scourge, Handicap International (HI) Canada will welcome from October 25 to 28 Mrs Luz Dari Landazury Segura, a Colombian landmine survivor, who benefitted from the support of HI’s support through a 4-year, $2.8 million project funded by Global Affairs Canada. She will be accompanied by Mrs Johana A. Huertas Reyes, Operational Coordinator for Handicap International in Colombia. Amongst their meetings in Ottawa, she will be received by Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, to discuss the condition of survivors, especially women, in Colombia.

This visit in Canada is linked to the upcoming conference in Toronto, “The Ottawa Process 20 years later,” taking place on October 27th and 28th, organized by the Canadian Landmine Foundation, the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History and the Canadian International Council. The conference’s closing plenary address will be given by The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

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