Colombia: Political Considerations Used to Deny Assistance to Displaced People

The conflict in Colombia is ongoing and still directly affects many communities. In several areas of the country, the battle for the control of the land and its resources continues between the guerrillas and the paramilitaries. Innocent civilians are caught in the middle of the fighting, forced under heavy duress to pledge allegiance to a group and incur retaliation from the other, or to flee their homes and seek safety in urban centers. Despite a sophisticated institutional and legal system, the government of Colombia is failing in practice to address the protection and humanitarian needs of the displaced. With both national and international law clear as to the status and the rights of the internally displaced, the Colombian government needs to live up to its obligations and ensure that it does not politicize the provision of protection and aid for displaced people.

The situation in the southern province of Nariño is particularly worrisome. Nariño is the largest source of coca in Colombia and the theater of frequent aerial fumigation operations, which the government denies have an impact on civilians, despite the large military operations that usually precede them. From 2004 to 2005, the number of displaced increased by 135%, with the majority of the displaced not registered as such and unassisted by the government. According to the authorities, eight large-scale displacements have occurred in the past five months, caused by fumigations and military operations, as well as violence between armed groups. The total number of displaced in Nariño from 1997 to the present is estimated to be 51,000.

Fighting between the guerrillas and the paramilitaries continues throughout the province. Despite claims by President Uribe’s government that paramilitary groups were disarmed and demobilized, the paramilitaries are still active in the region, operating under the disguise of “private security” companies, and have reconstituted their militias under different names. Refugees International collected testimonies and saw film footage proving that not only do paramilitary groups still operate in the region, they sometimes do so with the support of the Colombian national army.

On May 18th, more than 3,500 persons sought refuge in the city of Pasto, adding to the 24,000 displaced already living there. All displaced were from the Policarpa region and left their homes on May 13th to participate in a peaceful demonstration against the policies of the current Colombian administration. According to testimonies gathered by RI, the demonstrators were attending the protest under duress, as they had been threatened by the guerrillas should they refuse to join the march. Some of these people were originally from the regions of Sanchez and Santa Rosa and had previously fled their homes because of the violence associated with the fumigation operations.

In the course of the demonstration, the public forces intervened violently to disperse the participants. According to the State’s Ombudsman’s office in Nariño, at least one person was killed, while several disappeared and more than 200 were wounded, including at least 50 from gunshot bullets and other serious traumas. RI saw video footage of beatings and looting and destruction of the demonstrators’ personal property, including their identification papers. Despite public communications from the State’s Ombudsman’s office denouncing the brutality of the army’s intervention, at the time of RI’s visit in June the Colombian government had not yet launched an investigation to determine facts and hold its agents accountable for their misconduct.

Despite local-level officials in Pasto declaring their willingness to respond immediately to the displacement crisis, the central government authorities later refused to acknowledge that these communities have been forcefully displaced, calling the cause of displacement a “political stance taken against the government.” In yet another effort to minimize the importance of conflict-induced displacement, the government estimates that these displaced people are “demonstrators against the free trade agreement, the re-election of President Uribe and the fumigations.”

On the contrary, these people are Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) according to Colombian and international law, as they were forcibly displaced by violence or the threat of violence by armed groups acting outside the law. Moreover, under international law, even if people choose to leave their homes, if they are not able to return for reasons beyond their control, they are entitled to the status of forcibly displaced.

According to the testimonies collected by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), many of the displaced were warned by an illegal armed group that they would be killed should they decide to return. Many also feared being directly targeted by the paramilitaries who allegedly declared they would kill anyone who didn’t have proper identification under the assumption that they belong to the guerrillas. As many of the displaced had their personal belongings destroyed during the demonstration, they were in real and immediate danger.

Faced with a lack of recognition and assistance by the State, most of the displaced returned home on May 26th, in a process highly criticized by UNHCR and human rights organizations, which feared the security situation did not enable a safe and dignified return. Reports received since from areas of return are alarming and point to targeted acts of violence perpetrated against civilians by both the guerrillas and the paramilitaries in retaliation for what they perceived as a lack of loyalty. On June 15, at least 15 bodies had been collected in those areas, pending identification and autopsy from the responsible authorities, who have yet to visit the areas and conduct a proper investigation.

Only about 30 persons known to the authorities remained in Pasto and presented themselves to the State authorities, hoping to be recognized as displaced. Refugees International learned on June 28th that the Colombian government’s responsible agency, the Presidential Agency for Social Action and International Cooperation [known as Acción Social], had denied them the status of displaced and the protection and assistance they would have been entitled to under Law 387, the legal text addressing internal displacement in Colombia. There are allegedly hundreds more remaining in the city with friends or relatives who have not been accounted for and are not receiving any State assistance.

Refugees International recommends:

The Government of Colombia:

• Recognize that many Colombians are forcibly displaced by the combination of military operations and fumigations, grant them the status of Internally Displaced Persons, and award them the protection and assistance they are entitled to under Colombian law;
• Establish and implement programs designed to give farmers and workers alternative means of livelihoods in areas targeted for fumigation;
• Launch a formal investigation into the recent events that took place in Nariño, and hold accountable those who committed crimes against civilians. Alleged links between the Colombian army and the paramilitary groups should also be investigated;
• Guarantee that assistance and protection are provided to displaced communities on the basis of humanitarian need and not made conditional to political or partisan considerations;
• Ensure that all returns take place in safe and dignified conditions, with the informed consent of all persons involved.

• Insist that a serious study be conducted as to the consequences of aerial fumigations on human and animal health and the environment;
• Finance income generation and alternative livelihood programs for farmers who cultivate coca, as well as for workers in coca plantations;
• Monitor closely the demobilization process of paramilitary groups and raise concerns with the Colombian government at the formation of new armed groups;
• Hold the government of Colombia accountable for its violations of human rights during the events that took place in Nariño and demand that investigations be launched and those found responsible prosecuted;
• Demand the government of Colombia to respect scrupulously both Colombian Law 387 and the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, regardless of political considerations.