OCHA Situation Report
Colombia 
March 2003
29 April 2003


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

I. CONTEXT

Displacement and the humanitarian crisis worsened in 2002 as compared to
2001. Armed actors have declared rural and now, increasingly, urban
civilians to be legitimate military targets.  This has had an adverse
impact on displacement trends.  In addition, both quality of life and
inequality indicators, as measured by UNDP, deteriorated during 2002. This
moved Colombia from place 62 in 2000 to 68 in 2002 in the Human
Development Index covering 173 countries.

Data for 2002 shows an increase both in the number of displaced persons
and in the areas impacted by displacement as reflected in the table below.



Sources: SEFC (Sistema de Estimación por Fuentes Contrastadas/Social
Solidarity Network) and CODHES (Consultoría para los Derechos Humanos y el
Desplazamiento)


According to accumulated data, CODHES indicates that 2,903,920 persons
have been displaced in Colombia since 1985 (6.8% of the population), while
SUR (Sistema Unico de Registro) records 912,463 officially displaced
persons over the past 7 years. For the last three years alone, SEFC
reported 620,501 displaced persons, compared with 1,060,320 reported by
CODHES (please see map on expulsion rates per 100,000 inhabitants as of
February 2003).

In regards to municipalities impacted by displacement, there has been a
113% increase in the number of municipalities impacted between 2000 and
2002, from 417 in 2000 to 887 in 2002.

According to SEFC, during 2002, general threats caused 57% of
displacement, while battles caused 29.5%, followed by specific threats
(6.2%) and massacres (4%).

Three population groups are particularly affected by this conflict:

(a) Women: who constitute 63% of the total IDP population over 18 years.
Besides, the percentage of IDP women who are heads of households (48%) is
twice that of the national average (24%).

(b) Indigenous people: who constitute 8% of the total IDP population while
representing only 2% of the total population; and,

(c) Persons under 18: who constitute 48% of the total IDP population.
(Fuente: Red de Solidaridad Social)


II. DISPLACEMENT EVENTS OF THE MONTH

After three years, 50 of 65 displaced families have returned from
Sincelejo, Ovejas and Carmen del Bolívar in Sucre to their home in La
Sierra, in the municipality of Córdoba, Bolívar. (Bolívar)

Local authorities reported a mass displacement in the rural area of San
Francisco municipality, Antioquia.  Approximately 1,150 persons, including
200 children, were displaced to provisional homes and to the homes of
families. (Antioquia)

A large fire burned down the neighborhood El Pinal, inhabited by displaced
persons in the city of Medellín, Antioquia.  Approximately 1,500 persons
are sheltered in a local school, a total of 3,500 persons lost their
homes. (Antiouquia)

The Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) denounced that 300
families of the Naya region were displaced to temporary shelters.  The
persons are currently living in Caloto, Timaba and Santander de Quilichao,
Cauca. (Cauca)

The arrival of a guerrilla group to recruit indigenous youth in the
corregimiento Atánquez in the municipality of Valledupar, César, led to
the flight of 35 Kankuamo indigenous youths from the area. (César)

The Ombudsman's Office denounced a mass displacement of 50 families from
the community of Puerto Lleras in Bajo Atrato, Chocó. (Chocó)

Battles between armed actors caused the displacement of 2,379 residents
from the rural to the urban area of the municipality of Viotá.  Also, in
the municipality of Silvania battles displaced approximately 300 persons.
(Cundinamarca)

Approximately 250 were displaced to the municipality of La Gabarra
following battles between armed actors.  Also, Tibú lost access to water
following an attack on its water services.  Three electric towers in the
area were also destroyed. (Norte de Santander)

Some 272 displaced persons arrived in Buenaventura's seat from the
municipality's corregimiento Bajo Calima.  Another 45 persons were
displaced from the corregimiento El Reposo. (Valle del Cauca)

The Venezuelan Ombudsman's Office confirmed the arrival of 190 Colombian
refugees in Venezuela near Norte de Santander. (Border areas)


III. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

Ombudsman Eduardo Cifuentes requested to the UN a visit to Colombia by its
Special Rapporteur on the Situation of the Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms of Indigenous People, Rodolfo Stavenhagen, due to the
assassination of 36 indigenous leaders to date in 2003. Also, the
Ombudsman's Office denounced a serious humanitarian crisis in northeastern
Antioquia, caused by a unilateral armed strike declared by a guerrilla
group in the region.  The Ombudsman's Office announced that the situation
had led to the displacement of hundreds of rural residents, and a shortage
of foodstuffs and fuels in five municipalities in the region.

On March 20th, Colombian government representatives, local authorities,
officials from 8 donor governments and national and international NGO's
arrived in Quibdó for the presentation of the Local Humanitarian Action
Plan for Chocó.

The Ombudsman's Office denounced a lack of public services in the
department of Chocó.  Approximately 60% of the population there lacks
public service access.

The European Commission appropriated 8 million Euros for humanitarian aid
efforts for displaced persons in Colombia, within the framework of ECHO's
2003 Global Plan for Colombia.

The WFP, with the support of GTZ, undertook workshops to channel resources
to the most vulnerable displaced population in terms of food security,
responding to the WFP's new policies.  It also undertook fieldwork to
apply 1,500 surveys and meetings in 21 departments and 41 municipalities
within the framework of the Needs Evaluation Study for the Displaced
Population. The WFP also applied a checklist to identify schools that will
join the new Prolonged Operation for Aid and Recover, part of its Aid to
the Displaced Population in Colombia.

UNICEF received a mission headed by the Global Coordinator for the Theme
of Mines and Light Arms, accompanied by a technical assistant from UNMAS.

The Inter-American Development Bank announced the approval of an emergency
loan for US$1.25 billion for Colombia.  Among poverty reduction programs
to be supported with the funds are the Social Solidarity Network, SISBEN
and ICBF.

The government of Japan, the World Bank, the UN Development Program
(UNDP), the Agencia Colombiana de Cooperación Internacional and the Social
Solidarity Network began to support the Regional Strategic Alliance
Program, which has as its goal to reincorporate 5,000 displaced persons
into the workforce and society.

The Administration launched a strategy for Integrated Attention for
Prevalent Childhood Diseases (AIEPI).  The program is supported by the
Pan-American Health Organization (OPS), ICBF and UNICEF.

PAHO/WHO has undertaken an interagency effort at the national level,
together with the WFP, to strengthen local groups attention capacity in
the area of nutrition.

UNICEF's project "Childhood as a Space of Consensus and Peace", developed
through March 31st in the departments of Caquetá, Cauca, Meta, Nariño and
Putumayo will be halted due to a lack of funds.  The components of the
project are: Primary Healthcare, Education, Psychosocial Attention,
Community Organization, Early Education and Childhood Development.


IV. EMERGENCY AID

The WFP delivered food aid to 900 persons in the municipality of San
Francisco.  The Social Solidarity Network distributed 11 tons of food aid
to 3,500 persons affected by the fires of the El Pinal neighborhood in
Medellín.  SSN also sent 600 sets of silverware, 200 cooking kits, 600
individual food packages and 200 family food packages.  PAHO/WHO offered
coordination aid to local and national authorities working to resolve the
crisis following the fire. (Antioquia)

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) undertook a mission to
the corregimiento Potrerito in Pradera municipality, where fourteen
displaced families are living in the veredas La Carbonera and Los Pinos.
The organization indicated that it will be monitoring the area and
delivered 102 food aid packages. (Valle del Cauca)


V. POST-EMERGENCY AID

Needs

A large part of the displaced population located in Urabá lack
identification that allows them to exercise their rights as displaced
persons. (Antioquia)


Response

UNHCR documented more than 1,200 persons in the municipalities of Mutatá,
Carepa, Chigorodó, Apartadó, Dabeiba and Turbo in Urabá.  UNHCR also
undertook a documenation campaign in Juradó, Nuqui and Bahia Solano on the
coast of Chocó for more than 4,000 persons (3,015 citizen i.d.'s and 1,003
birth certificates).  In Riosucio, the organization documented another 142
persons. (Antioquia, Chocó)

PAHO/WHO has monitored implementation actions for a basic healthservice
model in the municipality of Bello.  It also created a Monitoring
Committee for Maternal Mortality and Perinatal care in Medellín, which
will be supported by PAHO/WHO. (Antioquia)

A Working Group for the discussion of norms and healthservices for the
displaced population of Montería was created.  It includes the
Departmental Government, the Health Secretariat, the Social Solidarity
Network and PAHO/WHO. (Córdoba)

PAHO/WHO initiated cooperation efforts with the Department of Cundinamarca
to improbé healthservice in the municipality of Soacha.  (Cundinamarca)
Also, PAHO/WHO offered technical accompaniment to deelop "Development of a
Model of Integral Attention, Based on Primary Care" in Lebrija,
Piedecuesta, Bucaramanga and Barrancabermeja.  The organization also
participated in two conferences, the first forum on public health in
Magdalena Medio: the first on displacement as a complex emergency and its
impact on public health, and the second which was a current outlook on
tuberculosis and leprosy in the world, Americas, Colombia and
Barrancabermeja. (Santander).

In the municipalities of Cumbal and Tumaco, the Ministry of Social
Protection and the Municipal Health Secretariats of those municipalities
undertook vaccination and oral health campaigns (Nariño).

PAHO/WHO and the Departmental Committee for Attention for Displaced
Persons reviewed efforts to relocate persons from the shelter in Tuluá,
and considered the idea of offering integral development with concrete
health and education projects.  The situation of the municipalities of
Pradera and Buenaventura was also revised. (Valle)


VI. AT-RISK COMMUNTIIES

The indigenous communities of Jambaló, Totoró and Toribió in eastern Cauca
declared an alert due to military actions over the past few weeks in their
territories. (Cauca)

The Ombudsman's Office denounced that during the first trimestre of 2003,
the indigenous people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta have been
victims of blockades and threats, as well as vehicle restrictions,
immobilizations and the halting of food and health supplies. (Magdalena)

As a result of battles in the municipality of Bajo Calima, the inhabitants
of the rural area of this municipality indicated that displacement could
increase to Buenaventura (Valle).


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