- HUMANITARIAN BULLETIN 25 April – 8 May 2011

KEY DEVELOPMENTS:

Complex Emergency

• Forced displacement: In , displacement and confinement of rural communities in the Pacific and highlands continue to be of concern. • Protection of civilians: Non-state armed groups continue targeting civilians in the southeast (Arauca and Meta departments). In , the situation remains critical due to confrontations between armed groups.

Natural Disasters

• Rainy season: Only in April, some 400,000 were affected by floods and landslides. Meteorological authorities have issued a red alert for the Andean region.

COMPLEX EMERGENCY 60 families more face mobility restrictions as a consequence of the clashes. IDPs displaced to nearby villages, the urban area and the Forced displacement: An city of Pasto (capital of the department). According to the Ombudsman’s Office, tte increasing trend continues to be same communities were victims of a mass registered in Nariño department. displacement in March 2010, Conflicts over land and exploitation of natural resources So far, nearly 30 families returned to their pose risks for several communities places of origin. PAHO conducted a field mission to the area and confirmed that 45 in the northeast and southwest of families remain displaced in the village of the Country. In areas affected by Santa Cruz of which 45% are women and displacement, restrictions in the 35% are children under 14 years of age. freedom of movement are also an Among the most urgent needs are psychosocial assistance for all the displaced issue of concern. families, WatSan and issuance of relevant ID documents, particularly among children. Mass displacement and restrictions on free PAHO also reports a situation of food movement in Nariño Department: On 9 insecurity among children and cases of May, PAHO reported the displacement of SGBV. nearly 91 families (more than 300 persons) in the rural area of Policarpa municipality So far, the municipality, Acción Social, (highlands of the department). The ICRC, MSF Spain, UNHCR and PAHO are displacement was triggered by hostilities providing humanitarian assistance. between the FARC and an illegal armed However, heavy rains have caused group emerged after the paramilitary landslides that are delaying the response. demobilization. According to PAHO, at least

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Southeast region: UNHCR reported the Protection of civilians: Non-state displacement of 10 families (approximately armed groups continue targeting 50 persons) in rural Mapiripán, as a consequence of aerial spraying of coca crops. civilians in east (Arauca and Meta IDPs are currently in the urban area. Since departments). In Cauca the displacement has not been recognized by department, the situation remains the authorities, UNCHR is advocating on critical due to confrontations the need for assistance. between armed groups. Follow-up: Displacements in El Charco, Worsening of the humanitarian situation in Nariño: Following the mass displacement in . In April, 15 teachers El Charco municipality (see Humanitarian denounced threats by the FARC. Allegedly, Bulletin Nos. 11 – 12), 18 families remained in teachers have been stigmatized by the FARC the urban area and some more in two nearby as informants. Seven of the threatened villages. According to PAHO, the teachers were forced to resign their posts in displacement has not been recognized as the rural area and returned to their places of such by the authorities and some villages origin. According to the local humanitarian remain at high risk of mass displacement. team in Arauca, the FARC and the ELN are The municipality, in coordination with NRC, installing checkpoints along the roads that conducted an education needs assessment connect the municipalities of Tame, Arauca, from 2 – 6 May to initiate emergency Fortul and Saravena, almost on a daily basis. education interventions. WFP reported that Checkpoints impose restrictions for the there is a need for food assistance. mobility of civilians and cause shortages in Regarding the status of the displacement in food and medicines. In Cravo Norte El Charco Municipality, the local municipality, a 14-year-old girl was killed. humanitarian team was informed of the According to the Ombudsman’s Office five persistence of a critical security situation minors have deserted from the FARC ranks along the Tapaje River which is hampering in Arauca during the period under review. the provision of humanitarian assistance In rural Tame, families are displacing due to (combat and access constraints). the occupation of their homes allegedly by members of armed groups. On 28 April, the Early Warning System of the Ombudsman’s Office issued a risk report Hostilities continue in Cauca department. for El Charco and Iscuandé municipalities On 7 May, the ELN attacked the urban area due to acts of violence by the FARC and an of Sucre municipality. Various public illegal armed group emerged after the facilities, the hospital and several houses paramilitary demobilization. These acts were damaged. One civilian casualty was include illegal checkpoints along the rivers, reported. In Toribío, the Army and the extortions, kidnappings, forced recruitment, FARC sustained clashes in the urban area displacements and killings. from 8 – 9 May, leaving several houses damaged. The presence of ERW was reported by the community. In Miranda municipality, the Army and the FARC sustained clashes in the surrounding area of

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the school during classes. It has been two use of children and adolescents, years since the beginning of the displacements and hostilities in areas confrontations in the area, which have left inhabited by civilians.” Various several civilian causalities and damages. displacements have been registered in this region during 2011. Bombardment affects indigenous and Afro- Colombian communities in Chocó NATURAL DISASTERS department. On 17 April, a local ethnic authority denounced that the Army attacked the FARC within the territory of indigenous Rainy season: Only in April, some and Afro-Colombian communities in 400,000 were affected by floods Riosucio municipality. Three civilians were and landslides. Meteorological killed and four injured (3 minors among them). Several families were displaced and authorities have launched a red the remaining communities are at risk of alert to the Andean region. mass displacement. Some 400,000 people were affected by floods Civilians at-risk in the southeast: In southern and landslides during April. Since April , post-demobilization 2010 the accumulated number of affected groups are increasing pressures against the persons rose to 3,315,653. According to civilian population. In Vistahermosa IDEAM heavy rains will continue over the municipality, an undetermined number of following months. The levels of Magdalena, minors were kidnapped by members of an Cauca and are rapidly increasing. illegal armed group and released two days According to the needs and gaps analysis later. Also, rural communities in conducted in six areas of the Country, the Vistahermosa and Puerto Rico most critical sectors are WatSan, shelter, municipalities have been stigmatized as food and nutrition, emergency education collaborators of the guerrillas, even by the and protection. According to the education local media, increasing their vulnerability. cluster nearly 40,000 children have not been According to a local human rights enrolled in school. OXFAM launched a organization, these groups launched a report on lessons learned from the response violent campaign against these to the past emergency by floods, evidencing communities. important gaps in response and an overall lack of coordination between the national Ombudsman’s Office issues risk alert for and regional levels and between the GoC Córdoba department: A worsening of the and the international community. situation in Puerto Libertador and According to the report the response during Montelíbano municipalities was pointed out 2010 was not satisfactory, evidenced by the by the Early Warning System on 2 May. quantity of persons who did not receive any Reportedly, groups that emerged after the aid (up to 38.5% in Córdoba) and by the paramilitary demobilization are seeking absence of differentiated measures towards social control through acts of violence such women and other more vulnerable groups. as “homicides, use of explosive artifacts, Reportedly this emergency “reflects a extortion, threats, forced recruitment and

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chronic and structural vulnerability, causing suffering for millions of Colombians”.

Among OXFAM’s recommendations are: i) to the State, “strengthen the political and operacional capacities of the Sistema Nacional para Prevención y Atención de Desastres (SNPAD)” and “consolidate a comprehensive, durable and effective national policy of risk management.” As for the humanitarian community, it must “adjust its response model to middle-income Countries such as Colombia”. Civil society

and media play a central role in informing

and monitoring the appropriate use of

resources to respond to the emergency, as

suggested by OXFAM.

According to the National Oceanic and

atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the La Niña phenomenon is weakening and it is expected that the climatic conditions will normalize by the end of June 2011. However, heavy rains continue and the Colombian meteorological authorities have launched a red alert to the Andean region due to risk of landslides, as well as to the riverbanks of the rivers Magdalena, Cauca, Bogotá, Meta and Arauca.

The GoC has mobilized approximately US $196M for responding to the emergencies. The Humanitarian Country Team has mobilized US $26.2M, benefiting 500,000 persons.

For more information on humanitarian needs and response to the rainy season please see situation reports at: www.colombiassh.org

Contact:

OCHA Colombia OCHA New York María José Torres | Head of Office Martin Buettner | Desk Officer [email protected] [email protected] +1-212-96(3-0999) María de la Luz Vásquez | Reporting Officer 4 [email protected] P: 57 + 1 6221100 COLOMBIA - HUMANITARIAN BULLETIN 25 April – 8 May 2011

25 April - 1 May 2 – 8 May

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