Colombia

Year-end Overview

Plan Overview

Working environment

 
The peace agreement between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is being implemented, with the former guerrilla having officially laid down their arms, and programmes for the reintegration of ex-combatants into communities being supported by the international community. Nonetheless, due to ongoing clashes with other armed groups and a reconfiguration of armed actors to vie for territorial control, forced displacement is expected to continue in some areas of the country, notably along the Pacific Coast and affecting mainly Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities. The impact of the mid-2018 Presidential elections on the implementation of the peace agreement remains to be seen. UNHCR is mentioned in the Peace Agreement as part of the international taskforce to support the implementation of the chapter on protecting the rights of the victims of armed conflict.
 
A continuing deteriorating of the situation in Venezuela may lead to increased arrivals of returning Colombian refugees as well as people in need of international protection in 2018.
 
UNHCR will be implementing a multi-year multi-partner protection and solutions strategy in Colombia in 2018-2020, focusing on 1) strengthening Colombia’s asylum system and response capacity to the arrival of people in need of international protection, 2) protection of IDPs and prevention of new displacement, 3) durable solutions and 4) peace-building. In addition, UNHCR leads the Protection Cluster and co-leads the Interagency Border Group with IOM. UNHCR will work closely with the UN Verification Mission to ensure its awareness of protection and solutions issues, and continue to strengthen its partnerships with development actors to facilitate durable solutions for IDPs. In addition, UNHCR will increase its capacity-building efforts on asylum issues and supporting Colombia with its growing role as a receiving country for people in need of international protection.
 

Key priorities

 
In 2018, UNHCR will focus on:

• Strengthening the capacities of the Government and civil society partners for the protection of and humanitarian assistance to people of concern. Protection and assistance will include advocacy for an improved asylum framework, increased border monitoring and cash-based assistance to vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers;
• Contributing to peacebuilding, through support to the Special Peace Jurisdiction and the Truth Commission to ensure victims of forced displacement have access to these mechanisms;
• Increasing IDP’s access to durable solutions, by supporting the Government with the legalization of informal settlements, providing technical assistance in strengthening public policies for solutions, and assisting selected communities with return, relocation, local integration and collective reparations processes;
• Working with the State institutions, civil society actors and affected communities themselves to prevent new displacement, increase collective protection capacities and address some of the structural risk factors that hinder the prevention of displacement.

 
If funding is not made available for the entirety of the identified needs, UNHCR will have no capacity to monitor humanitarian needs and new displacements in some areas of Colombia; to ensure accommodation capacity for vulnerable arrivals in two key border crossings; to support durable solutions for refugees such as through business grants, language lessons, local integration studies and providing guidance for applicants taking the naturalization test; and, except for the 180 most vulnerable cases, asylum-seekers will not receive cash-based assistance to meet their basic needs.