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Humanitarian Bulletin Colombia Issue 04 | 01 - 30 April 2012

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Humanitarian Bulletin Colombia Issue 04 | 01 - 30 April 2012 Humanitarian Bulletin Colombia Issue 04 | 01 - 30 April 2012 In this issue Mass displacement rises 49% P.1 HIGHLIGHTS Hostilities hinder health assistance P.2 • UN Secretary-General issues Forced recruitment of children P.3 report on children adn armed conflict. More than 70,000 affected by rains P.5 Floods in San Estanilao, Bolívar COOPI / Daniel Perisco • Mass displacement rises by 49% in April. Clashes along the Pacific Coast exacerbate New UN report emphasizes plight of children in vulnerabilities. armed conflict • Hostilities drop but impact on civilians remains dire. Indigenous and Afro-Colombian children suffer disproportionately • GoC sets conditions to On 6 March, the UN Secretary-General issued his second report on children in armed strengthen risk management conflict in Colombia. The report highlights the persistence of grave violations against chil- and risk reduction. dren from January 2009 to August 2011 – including recruitment of children by non-State armed groups, use by all armed groups, killing and maiming, sexual violence, abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access. These violations FIGURES tend to be under-reported and disproportionately affect indigenous and Afro-Colombian # of IDPs in children. The report goes on to highlight Government efforts to address the situation fol- 2011 (NGO 259.146 lowing previous UN recommendations. Colombia is not formally on the Security Council sources) agenda and has voluntarily agreed to establish reporting and monitoring on children in Children victims armed conflict. A recent report from Watchlist also calls the attention on these violations. of APM/UXO in 34 2012 Both reports highlight the need to provide equal assistance and protection to children ERF 2012 1.6m separated from post-demobilization armed groups -considered as criminal groups by the Goverment-. With the information gathered, the Special Task Force on Security Council resolution 1612 aims to support the GoC in strengthening child protection strategies. Forced displacement Implementation of Victims´ and Land Restitution Law advances but gaps in humanitarian assistance persist Humanitarian partners, human rights organizations and the Public Ministry are concerned about how the victims’ assistance and reparations policy is applied to new IDPs, particu- larly as official displacement figures for 2012 are not yet available1. The National Unit for Victims’ Integral Assistance and Reparations is working to address recent victims’ needs, as well as to advance reparations for hundreds of thousands of people estimated to meet the legal standard for victims2. Gaps and delays in delivering assistance to new IDPs continue to be reported, however, particularly at the local level where capacities are overstretched. These delays can contribute to spontaneous IDP returns, particularly in view of precarious shelter conditions in urban reception centres. In the process of regulat- ing the Victims’ and Land Restitution Law, UNHCR has called the attention on the need to simplify emergecy relief criteria and procedures in order to render it more easily acces- sible for local authorities. 1 As stated in the Victims and Land Restitution Law (1448 of 2011), the GoC has the responsibility to establish a single victim´s registry based on the information of previously existing data bases (displacement, forced disap- pearances, mine victims, inter alia.) 2 Under Law 1448 of 2011, a victim is “any person who has suffered harm as a consequence of violations to International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law in the context of armed conflict”. The law acknowledges violations commited after 1 January 1985. Country Humanitarian Bulletin | 2 Over 3,000 people Hostilities are the main cause of mass displacement were displaced in six Figure 1: People displaced in mass events, April Over 3,000 people were displaced in six departments in April – departments in April – a 49 per cent in- a 49 per cent increase Department # of IDPs # events crease over March (see Figure 1). All mass over March. 1. Cauca 1,667 5 displacement events took place in western 2. Valle del Cauca 528 1 Colombia where hostilities and attacks 3. Chocó 453 1 against civilians persist. Northern Cauca 4. Córdoba 225 1 department was the most affected, with 55 5. Nariño 91 1 per cent of total IDPs displaced in five mass 6. Antioquia 85 1 events. Of these, around 1,600 indigenous Source: Official and local figures, processed by OCHA people and rural inhabitants fled their homes in Caloto, Corinto and Miranda municipalities due to Army-FARC hostilities and risks from landmines and unexploded ordnance. Cauca IDPs arrived in urban areas to seek shelter in school facilities and other safe havens set up by indigenous people authorities. They have since returned home, but protection risks from ongoing hostilities and contamina- tion by explosive devices persist. In Córdoba department, non-State armed groups and post-demobilization armed groups resumed fighting for territorial control. As a result, around 225 people were displaced in a rural area of Tierralta municipality. In Antioquia department, threats and killings – allegedly by non-State armed actors – triggered the displacement of more than 80 people. Clashes displace 1,000 along Pacific Coast, exacerbating vulnerabilities In Chocó, Valle del Cauca and Nariño departments along the Pacific coast, more than 1,000 Afro-Colombian and indigenous people were displaced by clashes between the Armed Forces and non-State armed groups. In Medio San Juan municipality (Chocó department), security constraints have exacerbated an already difficult situation for indig- enous people and Afro-Colombians in remote areas who lack access to adequate health care. According to PAHO and WHO, outbreaks of diarrhoeal and respiratory diseases in indigenous communities killed five children under five in April and affected at least 60 more. Both the need for health assistance and security constraints have triggered dis- placements towards urban centres. In Santa Bárbara de Iscuandé (Nariño department), insufficient staffing, poor infrastructure and the lack of access to safe water are hamper- ing aid delivery to over 90 recently-arrived IDPs. Local humanitarian teams (LHT) have activated response mechanisms to monitor the situation and advocate with and provide technical support to local authorities to properly address the situation. NGO estimates more than 250,000 IDPs in 2011 In a recently released report local NGO CODHES estimates that around 259,146 people were displaced in 2011, 115,000 more than the included in the official registry during the same period (see Humanitarian Bulletin, January issue). The report calls attention to on- going gaps in the IDP registration process, uneven application of the policy on preventing forced displacement, and the growing invisibility of Colombia’s humanitarian crisis. The report includes case studies to analyze the particular consequences of the humanitarian crisis in four different regions: Northern Cauca department, Montes de María sub region (Bolívar and Sucre), Guaviare and southern Meta department and Putumayo department. www.colombiassh.org | www.unocha.org United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) • Coordination Saves Lives Country Humanitarian Bulletin | 3 According to PAHO Protection of civilians Figure 2: Hostilities April 2011-2012 and WHO, outbreaks 150 of diarrhoeal and Children and adolescents victims of 111 respiratory diseases in killings and forced recruitment 100 indigenous communi- Around 190 killings were reported by OCHA ties killed at least five during the reporting period, with 26 victims 50 64 children under five in killed in massacres. Of these killings, at least 12 were allegedly related to the armed April and affected at conflict. Indigenous people, adolescents and 0 J J F A A S A N D O least 60 more in Chocó youth, teachers, trade unionists and commu- M M department. nity leaders were among the victims. 2012 J At least eight cases of forced recruitment and Source: SIDIH / OCHA use of children by non-State and post-demobilization armed groups were recorded by OCHA in April. In Córdoba department, armed structures that emerged after the paramili- tary demobilization are engaging children for intelligence purposes. Children and adoles- cents have deserted from FARC ranks in Cauca, Antioquia and Risaralda departments, proving the group’s continued recruitment of minors. Reported hostilities fall 25 per cent Hostilities in April dropped by 25 per cent over March figures. FARC-Army clashes ac- counted for 80 per cent of total armed actions during the reporting period. In line with the 2011 trend, Cauca is by far the most affected department, followed by Antioquia, Nariño and Caquetá. Despite the overall reduction, the impact of hostilities on civilians in remote and vulnerable areas remains a serious concern. In Cauca, at least 16 civilians were in- jured in the course of hostilities in three northern municipalities, out of a total of 21 civilian injuries across the country. Despite drop in hostilities, impact on civilians remains dire Indigenous people´s authorities and communities in Cauca have expressed their concern with the location of police stations and military bases close to civilian facilities. Reports also surfaced during the month of civilian facilities being occupied by non-State armed groups. In addition, combat caused the suspension of school activities in Timbiquí (Cau- ca). In Córdoba,
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