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In 1998 alone, more than 300,000 Colombians were forcibly displaced
eight families every hour- and the numbers mount daily. Most of those who
seek asylum in neighboring countries are sent back.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
Wednesday, 6 October 1999
Commentary
Don't overlook Colombia's humanitarian crisis
By Francis M. Deng
The more than 1 million people internally displaced in Colombia ought
to be hard to ignore. They are desperately in need of food, medicine, shelter,
and basic safety. Yet most international efforts and resources center on
combating narco-trafficking and largely overlook providing help to the
fourth-largest internally displaced population in the world. In 1998 alone,
more than 300,000 Colombians were forcibly displaced - eight families every
hour - and the numbers mount daily. Most of those who seek asylum in neighboring
countries are sent back.
For three weeks in August, some 80 internally displaced people in sheer
desperation occupied UN offices in Bogot, seeking a more effective response
from their government.
In Colombia, civilians are deliberately displaced as a strategy of war
by paramilitary forces, guerrilla groups, and at times government troops.
They are targeted because of their suspected sympathies or collaboration
with one or another side, and they are attacked with such severity they
have no choice but to flee. Displacement is also a tool for acquiring land
for the benefit of large-scale landowners (3 percent of whom reportedly
control more than 70 percent of the arable land in the country), drug traffickers,
and in some cases, multinational corporations. Most cases of forced displacement
are reported to be the work of paramilitary groups.
Threats to the physical security of the desplazados - displaced - often
follow them into the communities where they seek refuge. The very fact
of having fled heightens suspicions of their allegiances and intensifies
their risk of being targeted. As a result, many try to blend anonymously
into communities of urban poor. But without proper documents and means
of supporting themselves, they face discrimination in their attempts to
access public services. And those trying to help them - human rights and
humanitarian workers, lawyers, journalists, and political leaders - receive
threats themselves and are sometimes abducted and murdered.
Since 1994, when I first visited Colombia, the government has enacted
legislation and created institutional frameworks intended to help the displaced.
But the laws are not implemented, the displaced receive little or no protection,
and only an estimated 20 percent in 1997 received a combination of food
aid, housing, and health care. Only 15 percent of displaced children are
reported in school, in part because the parents cannot pay for books and
uniforms and lack documentation.
During my visit to Colombia last May, it was clear to me that one important
way the government could remedy this would be to do away with the unreasonable
rules governing the "certification" process. Under this system, the displaced
who have lost their documents must return to their areas of origin for
the approval needed to claim benefits. But this involves risking their
lives, a clear violation of international law, and many displaced as a
result remain without documents and benefits.
Donor governments, for their part, should urge the Colombian government
to take effective measures to ensure the physical security and material
well-being of its displaced populations. And they should press for government
agreement to greater access for international organizations to displaced
populations.
Complementing such efforts, international organizations must increase
their presence in the country, especially in areas outside the capital.
To be sure, this strategy is not without risk, but the presence of international
personnel, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and Peace
Brigades International, has served to provide protection to civilians at
risk in outlying areas.
It would be valuable if the offices of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees and the High Commissioner for Human Rights could increase their
field staff, and both international and nongovernmental organizations could
expand their presence and programs. Colombia is in the midst of a humanitarian
emergency. International support is imperative.
Francis M. Deng is a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution in Washington
and representative of the UN secretary-general on internally displaced
persons.
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