Beginning of the Course of Humanitarian Demining
On September 03, 2012, CCOPAB started the 3rd Course of Humanitarian Demining. This course aims at preparing military personnel to act as International Monitors or Supervisors in Humanitarian Demining missions under the aegis of international organizations.
The course is developed in four weeks, during which the apprentices are taught about international rules, the Ottawa Treaty, International Humanitarian Law, CIMIC activities, Gender, Technical Procedures of Humanitarian Demining and First Aid.
The following lecturers contributed with their expertise during the first week of the course: Mr. Gabriel Valladares, Legal Advisor and official in charge of ICRC programs with the Armed Forces and Academia from the Regional Delegation of the ICRC for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay; Mr. Captain (Brazilian Marines) Anderson, former head of the Group of Interamerican Monitors – Colombia; Mr. Captain (Brazilian Marines) Adler Cardoso Ferreira – former international monitor of humanitarian demining and Mr. Lieutenant Raphael Farias, a demining instructor at School of Specialized Instruction of the Brazilian Army.
During the second week, the focus of the course became more technical and the apprentices were presented with topics specifically related to the function of national monitor / supervisor. Commander Toscano, Lieutenant Commander (Medicine) Marsico and First Lieutenant (Medicine) José Walter were respectively in charge of the instructions on neutralizing explosives, stress management and hygiene and first aid, which contributed to enhancing the necessary knowledge for the activity of humanitarian demining.
