Colombia: Armed violence leads to mass displacement in Chocó
| Publisher | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC) |
| Publication Date | 23 August 2012 |
| Cite as | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC), Colombia: Armed violence leads to mass displacement in Chocó, 23 August 2012, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/50387b92fabf.html [accessed 19 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Armed violence has caused the mass displacement of people in a remote area of Chocó in Colombia's Pacific Coast. An area with a long history of violence, the indigenous Embera people have been particularly targeted in this latest event withindigenous leaders claiming that as many as 2,000 people have been displaced. Further reports suggest that the movements of 800 families are restricted because of the violence.
The UN humanitarian team reported that some of the IDPs were sheltered in host communities while many found refuge in a school, where they suffered from a lack of access to basic services. Four cases of cholera were reported because of lack of water and overcrowding.
While the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other organizations provided aid, food insecurity remained high because crops have been lost because IDPs can not access their land.
Meanwhile, humanitarian funding for Colombia has declined in recent years, from 75 million dollars in 2010 to 64 million in 2011.
