Colombia: Internal Displacement – Policies and Problems

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Colombia: Internal Displacement – Policies and Problems writenet is a network of researchers and writers on human rights, forced migration, ethnic and political conflict WRITENET writenet is the resource base of practical management (uk) e-mail: [email protected] independent analysis COLOMBIA: INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT – POLICIES AND PROBLEMS A Writenet Report by Natalia Springer commissioned by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Status Determination and Protection Information Section (DIPS) June 2006 Caveat: Writenet papers are prepared mainly on the basis of publicly available information, analysis and comment. All sources are cited. The papers are not, and do not purport to be, either exhaustive with regard to conditions in the country surveyed, or conclusive as to the merits of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. The views expressed in the paper are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Writenet or UNHCR. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acronyms ................................................................................................... i Executive Summary ................................................................................. ii 1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 1 2 Recent Events and Developments in the Armed Conflict ............. 2 2.1 The Armed Conflict and Human Rights Violations................................. 2 2.2 Large-scale Humanitarian Crisis............................................................... 6 2.3 State Response Capacity ............................................................................. 7 2.4 The Plight of IDPs and Refugees.............................................................. 10 3 Displacement Trends....................................................................... 12 3.1 Observations on the Chronology of Displacement ................................. 12 3.2 Regional Variations: Expelling and Receiving Communities ............... 13 3.2.1 Expulsions........................................................................................... 14 3.2.2 Receiving Communities...................................................................... 15 3.3 Groups at Risk ........................................................................................... 17 3.3.1 Indigenous Populations...................................................................... 17 3.3.2 Afro-Colombians ................................................................................ 18 3.3.3 Women and Children.......................................................................... 20 3.4 Causes of Displacement............................................................................. 21 4 Property Rights of IDPs.................................................................. 22 4.1 Land Ownership in Rural Areas.............................................................. 22 4.2 IDP Property Rights and Property Loss ................................................. 24 4.3 Legal Uncertainty, Physical Insecurity.................................................... 26 4.4 Return Impossible ..................................................................................... 31 4.5 Mechanisms for Protecting Property Rights........................................... 32 4.6 The Problem of Collective Property ........................................................ 33 5 Possible Future Scenarios............................................................... 35 5.1 Likely Development of Displacement Patterns....................................... 35 5.2 Possible Impact of the “Justice and Peace” Law.................................... 37 5.3 Review of Opportunities for IDP Return ................................................ 40 5.4 Changing Roles for International Actors................................................ 42 6 Conclusion........................................................................................ 42 7 Bibliography .................................................................................... 45 Acronyms AUC Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – United Self-Defense Units of Colombia CNR Comisión Nacional de Reparación y Reconciliación – National Reconciliation and Reparation Commission CODHES Consultoría para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento – Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement COHRE Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions CONPES Consejo Nacional de Política Económica y Social – National Council for Economic and Social Policy DAS Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad – Adminstrative Security Department ELN Ejército de Liberación Nacional – National Liberation Army EPL Ejército Popular de Liberación – Popular Liberation Army FARC Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia GDP Gross Domestic Product INCODER Instituto Colombiano de Desarrollo Rural – Colombian Institute for Rural Development INCORA Instituto Colombiano de Reforma Agraria – Colombian Institute for Agrarian Reform M-19 Movimiento 19 de Abril – 19th of April Movement OCHA (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ONIC Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia – National Indigenous Organization of Colombia RSS Red de Seguridad Social – Social Security Network RUP Registro Único de Predios – Unified Property Register SNAIPD Sistema Nacional de Atención Integral a la Población Desplazada – National System of Comprehensive Assistance to the Displaced Population SUR Sistema Única de Registro – Unified Registration System UAO Unidad de Atención y Orientación – Attention and Orientation Unit i Executive Summary The year 2006 is a decisive one for Colombia. The presidential and congressional elections provided opportunities for the people to assess the performance of the Uribe government and a large majority of voters have not only renewed the mandate of the President but also of the political forces supporting him in Congress. This double victory has given Uribe a broader manoeuvring space to address the manifold problems which persist in Colombia, in spite of some measurable improvements achieved during his first term. Paramount among these challenges is achieving a sustainable pacification by redefining the negotiations with the paramilitaries, reforming the current process of demobilization and reintegration of former combatants and starting a peace process with the guerrilla. In apparent recognition of this opportunity, the government has substantially modified its stance in recent months, showing itself more open to effective negotiations, including over a humanitarian exchange, with the insurgents. This will not be easy, as the narcotics industry and trade as well as other illicit businesses continue to provide major incentives to armed actors motivating them to struggle for control over territory and strategic routes. While the FARC guerrilla’s tactics appear to have changed insofar as they refrained from actively sabotaging the elections this year, they remain adamant that they will not negotiate with a government they consider illegitimate. The FARC are also intensifying their campaign against the smaller ELN, which has already entered into talks with the Uribe administration. The Armed Forces on their part are continuing their counter- insurgency operations which cost billions of dollars every year and have produced only limited results so far. The large-scale demobilization of paramilitary groups has had a positive impact on the development of political violence, including a decrease in internal displacement figures. However, there is a real danger that this effect might not be permanent, due to a lack of coherent government policies, as well as growing anarchization of the violence in several parts of the country. Demobilized paramilitaries can easily be reactivated to form criminal gangs, death squads, hit men or guerrillas, especially if they have no viable alternatives. In such a scenario, the conflict could rapidly return to its former brutality, including particularly violent means such as massacres targeting the long-suffering civilian population. More displacement and large humanitarian emergencies would be the inevitable consequence. The situation with regard to the properties of IDPs remains very worrying. It is estimated that about four million hectares of land have been abandoned by forcibly displaced people, amounting to three times the quantity of territory redistributed in all public agrarian reforms since 1961. More than 90% of IDP households have simply abandoned their homes, while the rest have sold under pressure or coercion from armed actors who invaded their properties and threatened them openly. The state has gradually made some mechanisms available for the temporary protection of abandoned IDP properties, but they are ineffective and overwhelmed by the magnitude of the crisis. A Unified Property Registry, indispensable for protecting displaced owners, was only set up in 2005. The government agency charged with attending to rural property issues, INCODER, is understaffed and clearly lacks funds; its whole budget for rural investment in 2004 covered only one percent of estimated IDP needs. The results with regard to the distribution of land have been minimal in coverage and impact and remain concentrated on small pilot projects. Too often, victims of forced displacement are left to themselves to see how they can salvage anything from their lost properties, which ii quite frequently become part of large agro-industrial development schemes backed by paramilitary
Recommended publications
  • The Drug Trade in Colombia: a Threat Assessment
    DEA Resources, For Law Enforcement Officers, Intelligence Reports, The Drug Trade in Colombia | HOME | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US | SITE DIRECTORY | [print friendly page] The Drug Trade in Colombia: A Threat Assessment DEA Intelligence Division This report was prepared by the South America/Caribbean Strategic Intelligence Unit (NIBC) of the Office of International Intelligence. This report reflects information through December 2001. Comments and requests for copies are welcome and may be directed to the Intelligence Production Unit, Intelligence Division, DEA Headquarters, at (202) 307-8726. March 2002 DEA-02006 CONTENTS MESSAGE BY THE ASSISTANT THE HEROIN TRADE IN DRUG PRICES AND DRUG THE COLOMBIAN COLOMBIA’S ADMINISTRATOR FOR COLOMBIA ABUSE IN COLOMBIA GOVERNMENT COUNTERDRUG INTELLIGENCE STRATEGY IN A LEGAL ● Introduction: The ● Drug Prices ● The Formation of the CONTEXT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Development of ● Drug Abuse Modern State of the Heroin Trade Colombia ● Counterdrug ● Cocaine in Colombia DRUG RELATED MONEY ● Colombian Impact of ● Colombia’s 1991 ● Heroin Opium-Poppy LAUNDERING AND Government Institutions Involved in Constitution ● Marijuana Cultivation CHEMICAL DIVERSION ● Opium-Poppy the Counterdrug ● Extradition ● Synthetic Drugs Eradication Arena ● Sentencing Codes ● Money Laundering ● Drug-Related Money ● Opiate Production ● The Office of the ● Money Laundering ● Chemical Diversion Laundering ● Opiate Laboratory President Laws ● Insurgents and Illegal “Self- ● Chemical Diversion Operations in ● The Ministry of ● Asset Seizure
    [Show full text]
  • Assessing the US Role in the Colombian Peace Process
    An Uncertain Peace: Assessing the U.S. Role in the Colombian Peace Process Global Policy Practicum — Colombia | Fall 2018 Authors Alexandra Curnin Mark Daniels Ashley DuPuis Michael Everett Alexa Green William Johnson Io Jones Maxwell Kanefield Bill Kosmidis Erica Ng Christina Reagan Emily Schneider Gaby Sommer Professor Charles Junius Wheelan Teaching Assistant Lucy Tantum 2 Table of Contents Important Abbreviations 3 Introduction 5 History of Colombia 7 Colombia’s Geography 11 2016 Peace Agreement 14 Colombia’s Political Landscape 21 U.S. Interests in Colombia and Structure of Recommendations 30 Recommendations | Summary Table 34 Principal Areas for Peacebuilding Rural Development | Land Reform 38 Rural Development | Infrastructure Development 45 Rural Development | Security 53 Rural Development | Political and Civic Participation 57 Rural Development | PDETs 64 Combating the Drug Trade 69 Disarmament and Socioeconomic Reintegration of the FARC 89 Political Reintegration of the FARC 95 Justice and Human Rights 102 Conclusion 115 Works Cited 116 3 Important Abbreviations ADAM: Areas de DeBartolo Alternative Municipal AFP: Alliance For Progress ARN: Agencies para la Reincorporación y la Normalización AUC: Las Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia CSDI: Colombia Strategic Development Initiative DEA: Drug Enforcement Administration ELN: Ejército de Liberación Nacional EPA: Environmental Protection Agency ETCR: Espacio Territoriales de Capacitación y Reincorporación FARC-EP: Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo GDP: Gross
    [Show full text]
  • The Internal Dynamics of a Non-State Conflict Actor
    The Internal Dynamics of a Non-State Conflict Actor: The Organisational Resources and Internal Legitimacy of the FARC-EP in Colombia by Guri Waalen Borch Master’s Program in Peace and Conflict Transformation The Internal Dynamics of a Non-State Conflict Actor: The Organisational Resources and Internal Legitimacy of the FARC-EP in Colombia by Guri Waalen Borch Master’s Program in Peace and Conflict Transformation 2 ABSTRACT Being the largest guerrilla group in Colombia and entitled the richest guerrilla group of the world, the FARC-EP constitutes the most important non-state conflict actor of the Colombian internal conflict. In recent years it has been recognised in conflict research that non-state actors must be taken seriously if we want to understand today’s internal conflicts. This is the starting point for my analysis of the FARC-EP. Whereas much contemporary research focuses on the economic agendas of conflict actors, the attention in this thesis is on how different organisational resources together reflect a social order of violence beyond the state that embraces both political, economic and symbolic elements. It asks the question of how organisational resources relate to and define internal legitimacy. Drawing upon Christopher Clapham and his notion of organisational effectiveness, indicators such as a clearly defined political project, effective structures and educated leaders will be employed as guiding lines in the empirical study of the FARC-EP. The grounds of the internal legitimacy of the FARC-EP will be established by combining these indicators with insight on the role of self-legitimation of rebels and Max Weber’s typology of domination.
    [Show full text]
  • The Untold Story of the Workers' Revolutionary Party in Colombia
    The Untold Story of the Workers’ Revolutionary Party in Colombia The PRT’s Transformation from a Clandestine Party into a Legal Political Actor David Rampf IPS Paper 4 Abstract In armed conflicts that follow heterogeneous regional patterns, negotiated solutions must respond to the characteristics of the sub-national level and take regional power relations into account. The fate of the little known Workers' Revolutionary Party (PRT) – one of four Colombian insurgent groups that demobilised in the early 1990s, participated in the National Constituent Assembly in 1991 and subsequently sought their way into legal politics, illustrates the risks that may emerge if peace negotiations do not follow this principle. This paper seeks to draw lessons from one of the untold stories about the Colombian armed conflict by analysing both the roots, the ideological foundations and the characteristics of the PRT, as well as its process of negotiation and transformation into a legal political actor. These lessons may be of high value in light of the ongoing peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP. © Berghof Foundation Operations GmbH – CINEP/PPP 2015. All rights reserved. About the Publication This paper is one of four case study reports on Colombia produced in the course of the collaborative research project ‘Avoiding Conflict Relapse through Inclusive Political Settlements and State-building after Intra-State War’, running from February 2013 to February 2015. This project aims to examine the conditions for inclusive political settlements following protracted armed conflicts, with a specific focus on former armed power contenders turned state actors. It also aims to inform national and international practitioners and policy-makers on effective practices for enhancing participation, representation, and responsiveness in post-war state-building and governance.
    [Show full text]
  • FARC, Shining Path, and Guerillas in Latin America
    FARC, Shining Path, and Guerillas in Latin America Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History FARC, Shining Path, and Guerillas in Latin America Marc Becker Subject: History of Latin America and the Oceanic World, Revolutions and Rebellions Online Publication Date: May 2019 DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.013.218 Summary and Keywords Armed insurrections are one of three methods that the left in Latin America has tradition­ ally used to gain power (the other two are competing in elections, or mass uprisings often organized by labor movements as general strikes). After the triumph of the Cuban Revolu­ tion in 1959, guerrilla warfare became the preferred path to power given that electoral processes were highly corrupt and the general strikes too often led to massacres rather than a fundamental transformation of society. Based on the Cuban model, revolutionaries in other Latin American countries attempted to establish similar small guerrilla forces with mobile fighters who lived off the land with the support of a local population. The 1960s insurgencies came in two waves. Influenced by Che Guevara’s foco model, initial insurgencies were based in the countryside. After the defeat of Guevara’s guerrilla army in Bolivia in 1967, the focus shifted to urban guerrilla warfare. In the 1970s and 1980s, a new phase of guerrilla movements emerged in Peru and in Central America. While guer­ rilla-style warfare can provide a powerful response to a much larger and established mili­ tary force, armed insurrections are rarely successful. Multiple factors including a failure to appreciate a longer history of grassroots organizing and the weakness of the incum­ bent government help explain those defeats and highlight just how exceptional an event successful guerrilla uprisings are.
    [Show full text]
  • The Colombia-US Experience
    14 Partnership: The Colombia-U.S. Experience Michael Miklaucic and Juan Carlos Pinzón1 trong security partnerships are not born overnight. They must be built on a foundation of shared goals, mutual respect, and understanding. The Colombia-U.S. Ssecurity partnership is built upon just such a relationship, one that evolved over generations and spans multiple sectors. Although, in common with all Latin American countries, Colombia’s historical and cultural roots can be traced to the Iberian colonization of the Western Hemisphere, trade, diplomatic, and military relations with the United States date back to the early 19th century. The United States was among the first countries to recognize Colombia when it declared independence from Spain, receiving a diplomatic representative in Washington in 1822 and establishing its first diplomatic mission in Cartagena and Santa Marta in 1823. The first commercial treaty between the two young countries was signed in 1824, followed by a treaty of friendship and commerce in 1848.2 The Colombia-U.S. relationship has not been without its ups and downs historically, but it has led to familiarity, and in recent years a common understanding of shared security challenges in the Western Hemisphere. This chapter describes the context, as well as the richness, of a partnership based on shared goals, demonstrable commitment to those goals, mutual respect, trust, and consultation. While Plan Colombia, a Colombia-U.S. initiative targeting security issues and drug-trafficking, was a historic and epic phase of the Colombia-U.S. partnership, much has been written on it, and therefore it is not the focus of this chapter.
    [Show full text]
  • Restricted Spaces Case Studies and Ways Forward
    Restricted Spaces Case studies and ways forward Ru Freeman, editor Andrei Gómez-Suárez A research document of the Atziri Ávila Nigel Nyamutumbu Pinar Akpinar Niyibigira Alexis September 2019 About AFSC The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker organization that promotes lasting peace with justice, as a practical expression of faith in action. Drawing on continuing spiritual insights and working with people of many backgrounds, we nurture the seeds of change and respect for human life that transform social relations and systems. AFSC’s work for shared security AFSC works with communities, decision-makers, and ally organizations to advance global shared security. In simple terms, traditional security is when you target a particular group, and build a wall around them under the pretext that it will keep you safe; shared security is when you build ties with that group such that your relationship keeps you both safe. Shared security harkens to a far more thoughtful way of approaching our common fate. We do this by supporting evidence-based good practices, documenting success stories, and linking our work to policy recommendations. We promote nonviolent approaches to reduce violence and militarism, engage all actors in seeking peaceful solutions to conflicts, and support local people as positive change agents in their societies. AFSC focuses its global shared security work on several key issues. They include: Prevention of electoral violence Migration and human mobility Restricted spaces for peacebuilding Business and peace Political and organized violence Our work to promote shared security looks different in different places as we respond to community needs in specific contexts, but it is bound together by a search for truly shared solutions to our shared problems.
    [Show full text]
  • Proquest Dissertations
    Remember, Remember the 6 and 7 of November: Colombia 1985 Siege of the Palace of Justice Angelica Higuera Silva A Thesis In The Department Of Sociology and Anthropology Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Sociology and Anthropology at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada August 2010 ©Angelica H. Silva, 2010 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-70990-0 Our Tile Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-70990-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation.
    [Show full text]
  • Colombia Elites and Organized Crime
    Colombia Elites and Organized Crime www.InSightCrime.org Colombia Elites and Organized Crime Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................... 3 Land and Trade - Colombia's Elites ..................................................................... 4 Liberals and Conservatives ................................................................................. 5 La Violencia ........................................................................................................ 7 Organized Crime and Elites in Colombia ............................................................ 9 Crime, Cocaine and Guerrillas ................................................................................................. 9 Emerging or periphery elite (aka 'Narco-elite') ...................................................................... 12 A New Politics .......................................................................................................................... 13 The AUC and the Rise of the Periphery and Bureaucratic Elites .......................................... 16 Parapolitics ............................................................................................................................. 18 BACRIM and the Guerrillas ................................................................................................... 19 ‘Don Berna’ ............................................................................................... 26 Phase I: 'Don Berna'
    [Show full text]
  • The Colombian Conflict Developed and Arose from Political Power Struggles and a Burgeoning Identity Crisis
    THE COLOMBIAN CONFLICT Conference for a Conservative Colombia TORONTO, CANADA / NAMUN2018 Welcome Letter Delegates, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Conference for a Conservative Colombia, otherwise known as the paramilitary committee. The history of the Colombian crisis is a deep struggle for national identity that roots itself in the violence of political clashes, ideological differences and social instability. In this multi-front war between the guerrilla movements, government, and right-wing paramilitary groups, you will be faced with the arduous tasks of preventing splintering amongst your organizations, maintaining land control, and creating a united front towards insurgency. In the chronicle of events that take place during 1964 to 1991, within this background guide, you will discover the complexities of how the Colombian conflict developed and arose from political power struggles and a burgeoning identity crisis. What I have provided you here is a mere outline of the events and key concepts throughout this time period and strongly encourage you to gain a deeper understanding of the conflict in your own time at least a month before the conference. Furthermore, I have been asked to introduce myself and will do so with extreme brevity. My name is Alex Holgate, I am a physics specialist at the University of Toronto and have chaired at NAMUN in previous years with excellent results. To close before meeting you all at the conference, I’d like to leave you with a final note: whether you are an accomplished speaker or novice delegate, the awards tend to go to the delegates who have not only read the background guide but done work in their own time.
    [Show full text]
  • Selected VNSA Incidents, Group Factors, and Attack Modalities
    Selected VNSA Incidents, Group Factors, and Attack Modalities A. M19 VNSA Command and Control Group Profile Movimiento 19 de Abril (M19: April 19 Movement) The Palace of Justice Siege, 19851 Group Type: Populist/Nationalistic/Socialist Revolutionary Command and Control Type: Pre-Determined Overview The Palace of Justice incident occurred on November 6th at 11:00hrs, and continued until 14:30hrs on November 7th. Approximately thirty-five to forty members of the Movimiento 19 de Abril (M19: April 19 Movement) [hereafter M19] assaulted the Palace of Justice building, intending to hold the judicial branch of government hostage until the president or a representative arrived to stand trial for crimes he committed in the breach of the peace accords between M19 and the Colombian government. M19 was a nationalistic socialist group that desired to mobilize the population of Colombia to overthrow or change the Colombian government and institute a more free and democratic society. With intent to negotiate, using the Supreme Court as a bargaining chip, they secured their hostages just before the military counter-attack at approximately 12:30hrs. The counter-attack recaptured the basement garage and main levels of the four story building, splitting the M19 force in half and capturing more than half of M19’s ammunition stores. The military immediately focused on the larger of the two M19 guerrilla groups. In the seven hours following the counter-attack, the military would battle their way up the four stories of the building while M19 made repeated calls for a cease-fire and negotiations. At 17:30hrs military began bombarding the building using heavy weapons, including tank fire and anti-tank rockets.
    [Show full text]
  • Where Were You When They Killed Lara Bonilla? Politics of Drugs and Peace in Colombia (1982-1984)
    Where Were You When They Killed Lara Bonilla? Politics of Drugs and Peace in Colombia (1982-1984) By Jamie L. Shenk Advised by Professor Robert Karl A senior thesis submitted to the History Department of Princeton University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts Princeton, New Jersey April 5, 2016 This paper represents my own work in accordance with University regulations. /s/ Jamie Shenk ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to first thank my advisor, Professor Robert Karl, for his support throughout the course of this project. I began my study of Belisario Betancur’s presidency in the fall of my junior year in Professor Karl’s junior seminar. Since then, he has served as my essential guide, helping me navigate the nuances of my argument, the archives of Bogotá, and anything and everything Colombia-related. The opportunity to spend a summer in Colombia conducting research for this project proved crucial for the development of this thesis. My understanding of my topic’s broader context in Colombian society is largely built on what I learned outside of the archives. For that I must thank my friends in Bogotá and Medellín. So many were willing to share their personal stories of how this period in history touched them and their families. Their candidness provided both invaluable information and inspiration. Moreover, I would like to thank the archivists and professors who often went out of their way to track down and explain documents for me. In particular, I am thankful for Professor Óscar Calvo Isaza at the University of Antioquia, who gave me the most detailed explanation of Medellín’s archives that anyone could ever ask for.
    [Show full text]