| Summary: | Due to Colombia's internal conflict the use of antipersonnel mines is common
among the non-state actors that operate in the territory. With the Ottawa Treaty
many states complied towards a ban of the use of antipersonnel mines, but the
Treaty was not an instrument for non-state actors to sign. Thus, the importance of
establishing the mechanisms or instruments available to engage these groups with a
ban on landmines, as these weapons have killed and injured millions of innocent
people around the world without choosing or differentiating their victims. As states
complied with an existent norm and were taught by non-governmental organizations
that the problem of landmines had to be solved this is not done as easily with nonstate
actors.
Through literature review, and published data analysis the main conclusion is
that these groups are willing to give up their arms only when it is better for them to
negotiate a peace process than to keep fighting in the conflict. If they have the
military and economic power to maintain themselves at war then they are not willing
to negotiate. A solution might be to arrange local processes that lead to national
ones, working in conjunction with non-governmental organizations, and international
ones in mine risk education programs, and mine awareness. It is essential to involve
the local communities in these types of processes. Since trust and confidentiality
are necessary for the parts to negotiate, social processes are needed and
constructivism is able to explain how these can be achieved. Transmitting ideas,
values and common beliefs to the different parts in the conflict is explained through
constructivism. As one of the principles of this stream is that power and self-interest
are not everything but there has to be some common values and ideas involved in
such processes, where other actors, not only the states are to be taken into
consideration, it is important to take ideas into account as a social construction of a
process that should start when the countries are still suffering from an internal
conflict. === Arts, Faculty of === Political Science, Department of === Graduate
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