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Página 1 Colombia Situation – Regional Overview
Colombia Situation: Regional Overview 2011(Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela y Panamá)
During the last decade, the aggravation of the humanitarian situation in Colombia has left more than three million people displaced within the country ‐ according to Government figures ‐ and hundreds of thousands having sought asylum in countries within the region. This complex humanitarian situation, involving displacement across numerous borders, has made it necessary to develop a comprehensive regional approach, which UNHCR refers to as the, “Colombia Situation.” The objective is to promote a collaborative response to internal displacement in Colombia and, at the same time, ensure the international protection of refugees in the region. The “Colombia Situation” covers the main neighbouring countries hosting refugees, namely Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Nonetheless, other countries in the region, such as Brazil, Chile and Peru, are also involved due to the increased number of Colombian refugees on these territories. All countries of the “Colombia Situation” are party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. Colombia and Ecuador have also included in their internal regulations, the regional refugee definition proposed by the 1984 Cartagena Declaration. In line with the Mexico Plan of Action, the main goal is to find common solutions to the problems of asylum and forced internal displacement, through promoting solidarity between people and countries for the construction of a peaceful and stable future. In addition UNHCR is strengthening partnerships to cope with situations of mixed migration and statelessness. The region is receiving an increasing number of asylum‐seekers, often mixed with economic migrants, particularly from the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, which is posing new challenges to a number of already fragile asylum systems. In fulfilling its mandate throughout the region, UNHCR works closely with Government institutions, national NGOs, faith‐based organizations, UN agencies and other international organizations, as well as with the private sector. About 250 UNHCR staff currently work in 25 offices in the region.
1. Background
Regional Programs The Mexico Plan of Action was signed in November 2004 by 20 countries, which committed themselves to strengthening refugee protection and implementing an integrated approach to durable solutions. In the framework of this Plan, UNHCR implements in the countries involved in the Colombia Situation, three programs addressing: a) urban displacement, b) protection in the sensitive border areas, and c) resettlement, in close coordination with local authorities. The “Cities of Solidarity” programme, aimed at the vast majority of refugees, promotes effective integration through self‐reliance including access to employment and housing as well as income‐generating projects, and their free and fair access to the labour market. The “Borders of Solidarity” programme strives to assist both refugees and local host communities in the border areas. Coexistence and integration is promoted by linking refugee assistance to national and regional development plans that benefit both the refugee and the host communities. “Resettlement in Solidarity” is a regional, responsibility‐sharing programme targeting a limited number of refugees who face high protection risks in their current countries of asylum. In 2009, 59 Colombians were resettled from Ecuador and Costa Rica to other countries in Latin America.
Página 2 Colombia Situation – Regional Overview
Colombians of UNHCR´s concern in the countries of the Colombia Situation
Refugees Asylum Seekers
Others in RLS
IDP Total
Colombia n.a n.a n.a 3,672,054 3,672,054 Costa Rica 10,199 377 n.d n.a 10,576 Ecuador 44,380 42,469 71,365 n.a 158,214 Panama 1,299 537 15,000 n.a 16,836
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
2,650* 16,705 200,000 n.a 219,355
Total 58,528 60,088 286,365 3,672,054 4’077’035
Data as at December 2010
Note: according to surveys carried out in the region, the Colombian population in a “refugee‐like situation” amounts to approximately 70,000 in Ecuador and 200,000 in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. *According to the Venezuelan National Comission for Refugees
2. Beneficiary populations Refugees There are now more than 115,000 refugees and asylum‐seekers in neighbouring countries, most of them Colombian nationals. However, this figure represents only a small fraction of the Colombians who have fled their country due to violence and violations of human rights. Surveys reveal that there are between 250,000 and 300,000 Colombians living in a refugee‐like situation in the countries of the “Colombia Situation”. In Ecuador, after the implementation of the Enhanced Registration Project, more than 27,740 Colombian nationals, living in remote areas in the north of the country, were recognized as refugees and received identification documents. This was a project involving mobile teams of Ecuadorean civil servants and UNHCR staff, travelling through difficult terrain to reach and register refugees, and serves as a unique model for the region and further afield. Colombians have also fled to other countries in the region, such as Panama, Costa Rica and, most recently, the remote Amazon region of Brazil and Chile. In Venezuela, a registration process has also started this year to reduce the existing backlog of over 14,000 asylum seekers. Ecuador will continue to receive the largest number of asylum seekers per year (12,000 to 15,000 persons); Venezuela between 2,500 and 3,000 persons; Costa Rica some 800; and Panama some 400 asylum‐seekers. Colombians who are registered as refugees and asylum‐seekers generally benefit from the same access to public health and education services as local populations. However, without official registration and documentation, most of them face serious hurdles in accessing basic services and finding work. Internally displaced persons During the last four years the number of displaced persons has increased by one million in Colombia. Displacement in Colombia can generally be characterized by individual or small movements of people, although during the last years there have been massive displacements from border departments as well. The pattern of displacement has normally been from rural areas to urban centers, although intra urban displacement (IUD) is increasingly reported. Intra urban displacement is a recent consequence in the evolution of Colombian internal conflict. This type of displacement occurs when a person or a family is forced to flee from a neighborhood to other, within the same city, to safeguard integrity and life of their members. IUD is currently increasing in cities such as Medellín, where figures raised in 2010 at least 43.5% compared to 2009. Forced displacement significantly hurts family incomes and leads to high rates of poverty. Some 43 per cent of displaced families have single women as heads of household; the situation is particularly precarious for adolescents, with reports of forced recruitment of children by irregular armed groups in several zones of the country. Ethnic minorities have also been disproportionately affected by the conflict: Colombia’s more than 84 indigenous groups make up only two per cent of the total population, but represent a much larger part of the displaced population. In 2009, 572,000 persons directly benefited from UNHCR’s programmes in Colombia, including mostly women, children, indigenous populations and Afro‐Colombians, who are targeted through special activities.
Resettled Colombian refugees UNHCR uses resettlement strategically as a responsibility‐sharing mechanism to alleviate pressure on host countries. Cases are submitted to both traditional and emerging resettlement countries in the region, as encouraged by the Mexico Plan of Action. The Office supports cases of resettlement of Colombian refugees to third countries from Ecuador and Costa Rica, and less frequently from Venezuela and Panama. In addition to the traditional resettlement countries, five Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay) are part of the Solidarity Resettlement Program, receiving up to 250 refugees from the region per year.
ReturneesUNHCR has been working on the implementation of a comprehensive protection response including the prevention of further displacement and support for local integration in areas hosting IDPs. In 2010 the Colombian Government launched an ambitious return programme called, “Retornar es Vivir” (To return is to live), the goal of which is to facilitate the return of 120,000 displaced persons to 115 towns across the country. So far, unstable security conditions, difficulties in accessing land, and limited opportunities for income generation have impeded more progress in terms of return. UNHCR is examining a sample of returns in order to identify possible risk factors and make recommendations to the Government. Regarding voluntary repatriation from neighbouring countries, UNHCR’s policy is to facilitate the individual repatriation of refugees, whenever the proper conditions are met in terms of access to information, safety and dignity. So far, only minimal numbers have opted for voluntary repatriation.
Página 3 Colombia Situation – Regional Overview
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UNHCR’s overarching goal is to promote a collaborative and comprehensive response to displacement, maximizing the protection space available for refugees in the region, as well as for IDPs, and promoting durable solutions. UNHCR’s objectives throughout the region focus on the following:
‐ Strengthen the asylum regime to effectively protect all those who are in a “refugee‐like situation”.
‐ In close collaboration with national actors, maximize protection space to ensure that refugees are able to exercise their rights: including durable solutions and relocation if necessary.
‐ Provide refugees with proper identity documents,
certifying their legal status and entitling them to fundamental rights; improve reliability of the registration system.
‐ Support local integration hindered by difficult socio‐
economic conditions, particularly in terms of access to housing and income‐generating activities in urban settings.
‐ Reinforce the capacity of the Colombian Government
to address internal displacement in all of its phases (including prevention, response, and a growing emphasis on durable solutions) within the constitutional framework and in line with international law.
‐ Provide special attention for the protection of and
assistance to indigenous and Afro‐Colombian populations living in isolated parts of the country.
‐ Implement bi‐national initiatives pertaining to the
regional border strategy, which are aimed at promoting the local integration of refugees.
‐ Ensure that HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health issues
of persons of concern are considered among priority protection issues and appropriately addressed, including GBV.
3. What we do at the regional level
Colombia Situation Structure Approximately 250 UNHCR staff currently work in 25 offices in the region, according to the following distribution:
The implementation of UNHCR activities in the region fully relies on voluntary contributions including from governments, international cooperation agencies, multi‐donor trust funds, and ‐ on a smaller scale ‐ the private sector. Thanks to the continuing support of donors, UNHCR activities in the region have been adequately funded so far. Nevertheless, given the effects of the international financial crisis and competing humanitarian and other priorities, it is expected that additional efforts will be necessary to cover the continued financial requirements for 2010 and 2012.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Asylum CountriesColombia
UNHCR/Colombia
Workforce Colombia Asylum countries
Colombia Situation
International 17 23 40
National 89 70 159
UNVs 47 11 58
JPOs 4 35 39
Others 0 2 2
Total 157 141 298 Data as at December 2010
UNHCR/Colombia
Página 4 Colombia Situation – Regional Overview
4. The Way Forward Given the complexity of the internal situation in Colombia, including continuing violence and the rise of new illegal armed groups, UNHCR does not foresee dramatic changes in the regional displacement dynamics in the near future. The numbers of new asylum‐seekers, mainly from Colombia, are expected to continue to rise and the pressure on governments and local communities will remain high. The Office, therefore, will continue to support governments in order to provide protection and fair asylum procedures, to empower IDPs and refugee populations, and to promote and develop durable solutions, such as return, local integration and resettlement. Within Colombia, UNHCR expects the number of internally displaced persons to continue to rise over the next two years of particular concern is the situation in the Pacific Coast, the Magdalena Department, central and north‐western Colombia, and the border regions with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Ecuador. At the same time, the number of asylum‐seekers arriving in Colombia is also increasing, coming mainly from the Horn of Africa. UNHCR will continue to work closely with the State and IDP organizations to address displacement in all its phases, and is commited to providing protection to affected populations by increasing its presence throughout the country. Further emphasis will also be placed on the effective implementation of public policy at the local level; the promotion of a targeted approach for women and children, and minority populations; the development of durable solutions; and the improvement of registry procedures.
In Ecuador, the number of new arrivals from Colombia is expected to continue to grow and higher numbers of persons of concern will have an impact on assistance and integration activities, refugee status determination (RSD) procedures, Government policies, and ‐ last but not least ‐ on the perception of society. The main challenge will consist of preventing the achievements of the Enhanced Registration Programme from quickly evaporating, as the identification cards require renewal after one year; the concern is that Colombians in Ecuador will be discouraged from registering if the responses turn out inadequate or insufficient, and that more and more people will become “invisible” and unable to receive the protection they deserve. Meanwhile, voluntary returns to Colombia are not expected to take place in large numbers. Finally, within the broader context of migration flows and given Ecuador’s open‐door policy, UNHCR will continue to monitor the situation of asylum‐seekers from outside the region arriving in the country, among whom there may be victims of trafficking. The annual number of Colombians seeking safety and asylum in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is also expected to continue to increasing in the near future. Moreover, bilateral tensions, along with increasing violence and insecurity in the border communities where refugees and asylum‐seekers are mainly located, will continue to require a strong emphasis on protection.Additionally, the high inflation rate, the tightening of the exchange control, and the economic instability in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will continue affecting the work of UNHCR in the country. In Panama, the promotion of fair and efficient asylum procedures and local integration, with the support of self‐reliance and community‐based projects, will continue to be the cornerstones of UNHCR’s protection strategy. In the context of its economic expansion, Panama is becoming a country of destination for mixed migration, with a steady inflow of asylum‐seekers to the capital city, including mainly from countries outside the continent. Restrictive admissibility practices currently prevent asylum‐ seekers and refugees from having effective full access to their rights. UNCHR will therefore work on improving access to asylum procedures, contribute to making refugee status determination fairer and more efficient, and further develop options for durable solutions. In Costa Rica, the number of new arrivals is expected to be in line with former years. However, the proportion of asylum‐seekers from other Central American countries or from outside the continent is significantly increasing. UNHCR will continue to assist with the analysis of asylum claims, made more complex by the growing incidence of human trafficking and gang‐related violence.
UNHCR/Colombia
UNHCR: The UN Refugee Agency mandated to protect more than 34 million refugees and displaced persons around the World. For further information please contact Francesca Fontanini, [email protected]