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UNHCR Colombia Best Practices in a Global Context

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UNHCR Colombia Best Practices in a Global Context UNHCR Colombia Best Practices in a Global Context Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 Background ............................................................................................................................... 1 The Focus.................................................................................................................................. 1 The Strategy.............................................................................................................................. 2 Measuring Impact...................................................................................................................... 2 The IDP Framework: Structure and Best Practices........................................................................ 4 Providing Advisory Support to Existing Institutions.................................................................... 4 Developing New Institutional Spaces......................................................................................... 7 Strengthening State Institutions by Financing Internal Units/Positions to Deal with IDPs.......... 9 Creating or Supporting Direct Protection and Assistance Mechanisms................................... 11 Operational Best Practices........................................................................................................... 13 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 15 Introduction Background 1 For over 40 years Colombia has suffered from a large-scale and complex internal armed conflict involving the State, paramilitary groups, and two main guerrilla groups. As a result of the conflict, approximately 3 million people have displaced internally,1 creating the world’s second-largest population. The conflict has impacted neighbouring countries. Approximately 60,000 Colombians in need of international protection currently live in Ecuador’s northern provinces, for example, and it is estimated that up to 200,000 Colombians may have fled to Ecuador to escape the conflict. In addition 200,000 Colombians are believed to have fled to Venezuela, with 20,000 fleeing to both Panama and Costa Rica, and approximately 17,000 escaping to Brazil. Almost 80,000 Colombian are recognized as refugees worldwide, making it the primary country of origin for refugees from the Americas. 2 UNHCR’s involvement in Colombia began in 1997, when the office advised the Colombian Government (GOC) on the drafting of legislation to protect the country’s IDP population. The resulting law (Law 387 of 1997, or the “Law of IDP Rights”) is considered the most advanced IDP legislation in the world, and incorporates substantial International Refugee Law (by analogy) as well as Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law provisions. 3 In 1999, following implementation of Law 387, UNHCR signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) with the Colombian Government, establishing UNHCR Colombia’s mandate to strengthen national prevention and protection mechanisms.2 Since that time, UNHCR Colombia (UNHCR) has grown steadily from a one-office operation with a staff of 8 and a budget of $200,000 USD, to a 12-office operation headquartered in Bogotá, with 123 staff members (including UNVs) 3 and a budget of over $18,000,000 USD. The Focus 4 UNHCR Colombia’s primary focus is the internal displacement crisis; mandate activities for refugees represent a small percentage of the budget and the workload, largely reflecting Colombia’s status as a country of origin, rather than reception, for refugees. UNHCR’s protection strategy is based in the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, as well as Colombian Constitutional Court decisions on IDP rights, all of which declare unequivocally that the State has the primary responsibility for attending to internal displacement and that where possible, other actors, including UNHCR, should complement State efforts rather than replace them.4 5 Consequently, UNHCR’s operational strategy emphasizes projects that promote an effective State response to displacement. UNHCR Colombia’s 2008 budget represents less than 4% of the Colombian government’s annual budget for addressing displacement issues, and its staff represents a small fraction of the thousands of Colombian government employees charged, in whole or in part, with IDP issues. Practically, UNHCR has been able to provide more 1 According to the Constitutional Court of Colombia, there is a discrepancy between the real number of displaced people and the number given by the national registration system (2.2 million). The Court cites the Director of the Agencia Presidencial para la Acción Social y la Cooperación Internacional who acknowledged that the number of IDPs in Colombia is close to three million (Order of Compliance 218, dated 11 August 2006, related to the landmark Judgment T-025). 2 UNHCR Colombia also covers Core Mandate-related activities, but they represent a small portion of the country operation. 3 As of February, 2008. 4 The Colombian government created a public institution in 2005 called Acción Social, or Social Action, which represents the State’s primary mechanism for organizing and facilitating its response to the displacement crisis. Consequently, Social Action and UNHCR have worked closely together since its creation. UNHCR Colombia - Best Practices in a Global Context 1 assistance to the population overall through macro-level initiatives with the government than it ever could through a direct assistance strategy. With regard to refugee activities, UNHCR works extensively on providing information as a primary country of origin for refugees, and participates in the Mexico Plan of Action (MPA), “a regional strategic and operational framework, developed to address the complex humanitarian situation resulting from forced displacement in Latin America.”5 The Strategy 6 UNHCR has constructed an IDP framework along three strategic lines: • Promoting and updating the legal protection framework, and realizing a more effective State response to displacement and the improved implementation of IDP public policies which reflect age, gender, and diversity mainstreaming strategies. • Empowering civil society through capacity building, direct assistance, and improving the participation of women, youth, ethnic authorities, the elderly, and the disabled in the design and monitoring of public policies; and • Strengthening the State’s capacity to monitor the displacement phenomenon and its response. All activities carried out by UNHCR in relation to displacement reflect one of these strategic goals,6 and are pursued through Programs/Projects; Public Information; and Field Presence. 7 The Mexico Plan of Action (MPA) has also inspired a regional approach to the “Colombia situation” that promotes a comprehensive framework for addressing the impact of the humanitarian crisis both inside and outside Colombia. UNHCR has applied the MPA throughout its operation. 8 Prioritizing the creation of “Cities of Solidarity” has led UNHCR to open field offices in primary IDP receptor zones, in the hope that facilitating local integration of IDPs will also ameliorate the causes of secondary refugee and IDP flows. UNHCR has also developed a strong field presence in border areas in order to create “Borders of Solidarity.” The conflict traditionally impacts the Colombian border, which lacks institutional presence and is heavily populated by vulnerable populations such as indigenous groups and Afro-Colombians communities. By establishing a field presence, UNHCR has been able to promote State civilian presence and activities, monitor country of origin conditions and refoulement, carry out protection projects aimed at reducing the local population’s risk of displacement, and alert neighbouring countries to any likely cross-border displacements. 9 UNHCR has thus responded to the call of the MPA by designing a comprehensive strategy that emphasizes prevention as well as protection, and that balances its attempts to improve State displacement response mechanisms with its responsibility to continue providing Country of Origin Information that details the numerous dangers Colombians still face in the wake of the armed conflict. Measuring Impact 10 Specific UNHCR projects geared towards direct IDP protection have had a measurable impact in qualitative and quantitative terms.7 UNHCR’s agreement with the Colombian Government, however, has required an IDP strategy that focuses heavily on macro-level initiatives which emphasize the development of normative frameworks and institutional structures. The impact of these initiatives is not always easy to measure in quantitative terms, 5 UNHCR, Mexico Plan of Action: The Impact of Regional Solidarity (2007) at 11. 6 For more information on these strategic lines, please contact UNHCR in Bogotá. 7 Specific results are included below in descriptions of individual projects. UNHCR Colombia - Best Practices in a Global Context 2 but can be measured by the capacity of State to respond to displacement, the quality of national IDP laws and policies and the fact that national entities continue to lead the response to internal displacement. However, for 2008, UNHCR has designed a set of 14 key indicators that will allow it to better assess whether operational targets are being met. Key targets for UNHCR in Colombia in 2008 1. Population of concern directly assisted by
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