Colombia: Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), including relocation options available to IDPs; whether IDPs are issued documents that indicate their status, including requirements and procedures to obtain copies of these documents (2012-June 2013)

1. Internally Displaced Persons

1.1 Statistics

According to the US Central Intelligence Agency, Colombia had an estimated population of 45,745,783 as of 2013 (US 15 May 2013). The President's Office for Social Action and International Cooperation (Agencia Presidencial para la Acción Social y Cooperación Internacional, Acción Social) [renamed in 2011 as the Department for Social Prosperity (Departamento para la Prosperidad Social, DPS) (Colombia n.d.a)] indicates that, according to their Registry of Displaced Persons, 3,461,223 people from 1,117 municipalities were displaced between 1997 and June 2010 (Colombia June 2010, 1). The Consultancy on Human Rights and Displacement (Consultoría para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento, CODHES), an international NGO that researches internal displacement in Colombia (CODHES n.d.), indicates that, in the last three decades, around 5,445,406 people have been displaced in Colombia (ibid. Nov. 2012, 12). The UNHCR indicates that, in December 2011, Colombia's IDPs numbered 3,888,309 people, with Sudan at 2,422,520, and the Democratic Republic of Congo with 1,709,278 (UN 2012, 38-41). The total number of IDPs worldwide was 26.4 millions by the end of 2011 (ibid., 21).

Sources indicate that the rate of forced displacement in Colombia has increased over the years (Colombia [2010], Sec. 1; CODHES Nov. 2012, 12). Acción Social indicates that, in the first quarter of 2010, 27,242 persons were registered as "displaced" (Colombia June 2010, 5). CODHES indicates that, between 1 January and 31 December 2011, 259,146 persons were displaced in Colombia, while the government reports 155,692 persons (CODHES Nov. 2012, 15). The report also indicates that 73 mass displacements occurred in 2011, including 29,521 people affected by the armed conflict (ibid., 23). Mass displacement is defined by Colombian Decree 2569, Article 12, as one event affecting either 10 or more families, or more than 50 people (ibid.). According to CODHES, 76.7 percent of 2011 mass displacements occurred in areas designated by the government as [translation] "CCAI zones" (ibid., 25-28). CCAI zones, or Centre for Coordination and Integrated Action (Centro de Coordinación de Acción Integral), are particular zones where the government seeks to [translation] "strengthen the legitimacy, governability and presence of the State in specific zones ... where once it was weak" (Colombia n.d.b, 3).

1.2 Affected Regions of Displacement

Acción Social indicates that the departments with the highest numbers of expelled persons from 1997 to 2010 are Antioquia (596,370), Bolívar (291,603), Magdalena (237,825), Chocó (195,307), Cesar (176,534), Caquetá (167,400) and Tolima (163,196) (Colombia June 2010, 1). According to the source, 53 percent of the IDP population in the country comes from these departments (ibid.). The cities of origin from where the highest numbers of people were displaced in the first quarter of 2010 are Tumaco (931) [Nariño], Roberto Payán (738) [Nariño], Buenaventura (645) [Valle del Cauca], Tame (627) [Arauca], Medellín (574) [Antioquia] and Olaya Herrera (546) [Antioquia] (ibid., 5). CODHES indicates that the six departments that received most of the IDPs during 2011 were Antioquia (64,043), Bogotá [Capital District] (41,246), Nariño (28,694), Cauca (19,549), Valle del Cauca (17,489), and Córdoba (10,561) (CODHES Nov. 2012, 16). The study also indicates that the top five municipalities that received the largest number of IDPs during 2011 were Bogotá (41,246), Medellín (29,560), Tumaco (15,296), Turbo (8,935) [Antioquia], and Cali (7,750) [Valle del Cauca] (ibid., 17).

The UNHCR office in Colombia also indicates that "[m]ost of the displacement is concentrated in areas bordering Ecuador and Venezuela, as well as parts of the Pacific Coast," and that displacements occur particularly in Antioquia, Cauca, Chocó, Córdoba, Nariño, Norte de Santander, and Putumayo (UN [2013]).

1.3 Situation of IDPs

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a professor at the Faculty of Juridical Sciences at the Javeriana University in Bogotá who researches internal displacement and migration issues in Colombia with the UNHCR indicated that the situation of IDPs in Colombia is [translation] "very serious" (21 June 2013). In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the Executive Director of Corporación Región, an NGO that does research on human rights and displacement in Colombia, indicated that the situation of IDPs is [translation] "very precarious" (Corporación Región 26 June 2013). According to the Executive Director, IDPs face many difficulties in accessing humanitarian aid, the government does not have adequate return plans for IDPs, and there are no adequate programs to assist IDPs with health services, housing, and psychological assistance (ibid.). The Constitutional Court of Colombia ruled in 2004 that the government's deficient response to internal displacement amounted to an [translation] "unconstitutional state of affairs" (Colombia 21 May 2013, 1). On 21 May 2013, the Constitutional Court stated that in the humanitarian assistance to displaced persons, [translation] "administrative, financial, and institutional problems continue to persist" (ibid., 108).

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), an agency established by the Norwegian Refugee Council on the request of the UN to create a database on internal displacement, "IDPs [in Colombia] continue to have only limited access to the basic necessities of life" (IDMC 29 Dec. 2011, 1, 11). The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), a Catholic organization that works in more than 50 countries to assist refugees and displaced persons (JRS n.d.), indicates that IDPs face "poverty, loss of employment, and family disintegration" (JRS [2012]). A report produced by Refugees International (RI), an "independent" organization that "promotes solutions to displacement crises" (RI n.d.), indicates that IDPs "are three-times as likely as the average Colombian to be poor and five-times as likely to live in extreme poverty" (ibid. 12 Sept. 2012). The IDMC indicates that 94 percent of IDPs live below the poverty line and 77 percent in extreme poverty (Apr. 2013). A report produced by Patricia Weiss Fagen from Georgetown University and published by UNHCR indicates that some IDPs work as wage labourers in plantations such as those for palm oil in rural areas, which can entail temporary or "exploitative" conditions (Aug. 2011, 28).

Sources report that some IDPs are subject to further displacements (CODHES Nov. 2012, 13; Professor 21 June 2013). According to the Professor, armed groups follow the IDPs into the major cities forcing them to leave again, which is reflected in the growth of intra-urban displacement (ibid.). CODHES indicates that in the last 14 years, 90 percent of IDP families have been displaced once, 7 percent twice, and 1 percent three times or more (Nov. 2012, 13).

IDMC indicates that 700 leaders claiming their land rights received death threats (Apr. 2013). CODHES reports that 12 leaders of IDP groups who were participating in processes for land restitution in six departments were killed during 2011 (CODHES Nov. 2012, 23). Sources indicate that in one case, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC) restricted the movement of IDPs in the Atrato river [department of Chocó] and confined people by planting landmines (ibid., 26; UN 9-29 May 2011, 1). Similarly, the Executive Director of Corporación Región says that armed groups, especially the FARC and the National Liberation Army (Ejército Popular de Liberación, ELN), plant landmines to impede the return of IDPs to their places of origin or as a strategy to limit military operations of the armed forces (26 June 2013).

Sources indicate that IDPs continue to face sexual violence against women, forced recruitment of youths (RI 12 Sept. 2012; UN [2013]), threats, disappearances and murders (ibid.).

2. Relocation Options Available

Sources indicate that there are no IDP camps in Colombia (Professor 21 June 2013; Corporación Región 26 June 2013). The Professor indicated that

[translation]

[t]he policies to assist displaced persons were elaborated in 1994 and it has been considered ever since that, given that internally displaced persons are citizens who are being forced to move within their own country, they enjoy nevertheless the right of freedom of movement, which should not be restricted whatsoever by confining them in any type of facilities. In addition, with the presence of armed actors in most of Colombian municipalities, concentrations of IDPs would be an easy target for persecution. (21 June 2013)

Sources indicate that IDPs tend to concentrate in cities (UN [2013]; Weiss Fagen Aug. 2011, 26; RI 12 Sept. 2012). The UNHCR office in Colombia indicates that "more than half the number of registered IDPs reside in cities and are not willing or able to return to their communities of origin" (UN [2013]). Weiss Fagen indicates that the "vast majority of the IDPs" go to the cities and live in "poor neighbourhoods where crime rates are high and delinquency [is] commonplace" (Aug. 2011, 26, 29). Refugees International indicates that the majority of IDPs can be found "in just 12 cities" (RI 12 Sept. 2012). It indicates that urban settlements where IDPs live "are often illegal subdivisions comprised of overcrowded homes of poor structural integrity, [and] precariously situated in high-risk areas vulnerable to floods and landslides" (ibid.). The Saldarriaga Concha Foundation (Fundación Saldarriaga Concha), an organization that seeks to improve the situation and social inclusion of persons with disabilities and senior citizens, indicates that, according to a lawyer who represents two NGOs, senior citizens [translation] "must live in invasion zones with serious overcrowding, are vulnerable to sicknesses, and must sell candies, fruits and bags at street corners or at stoplights which do not allow them to survive" (1 Oct. 2012). The Executive Director of Corporación Región explained that even though there are some shelters in municipalities close to places of displacement, assistance is "very limited" (Corporación Región 26 June 2013). He added that in Medellín, for example, there are shelters in some houses and buildings but they can only house people for up to three months (ibid.).

There is a growth of intra-urban displacement (ibid.; IDMC Apr. 2013; Colombia June 2010, 7). Acción Social reports that intra-urban displacement has been "more serious" in Medellín, Puerto Rico [Caquetá], Quibdó [Chocó], Buenaventura, Tame, Valledupar [Cesar], Bello [Antioquia], Villavicencio [Meta], Mitú [Vaupés], Betulia [Antioquia], Dagua [Valle del Cauca], Bogotá, and Popayán [Cauca] (ibid.). The IDMC indicates that there has been a "significant rise in intra-urban displacements," particularly in Buenaventura, Medellín, Soacha [Bogotá] and Tumaco (Apr. 2013).

3. State Response

3.1 Registry of IDPs

According to the Professor,

[translation]

[s]ince the Constitutional jurisprudence established that displacement is a fact and that the registry is declarative and not constitutive, the system does not issue a certification of displacement and only maintains a centralized information system where State entities can find out whether a person is registered and recognized as an IDP ... IDPs can demand a registration report from the Registry but there is no such thing as an IDP identity document. (Professor 21 June 2013)

The Department for Social Prosperity (DPS) indicates that the Registry of Displaced Persons (Registro Único de Población Desplazada, RUPD) is a [translation] "technical tool that allows the National Government to administer information related to IDPs, identifying, person by person, their socio-demographic, cultural, and geographic characteristics" (Colombia June 2010, 8).

The DPS indicates that displaced persons may file a declaration within one year of being displaced at any of the following offices of the Public Ministry (Ministerio Público): municipal offices of the ombudsperson (Personerías), the National Office of the Ombudsperson (Defensoría del Pueblo), or the Office of the Inspector General (Procuraduría General de la Nación) (ibid. n.d.c). The Public Ministry must send the person within 15 working days to any of the Assistance and Orientation Units (Unidades de Atención y Orientación, UAO) to obtain the result of the evaluation of his or her application (ibid.). The format of the declaration is a narrative that asks for the following information: facts and circumstances of displacement, place of displacement, occupation, assets and resources that the person possessed before being displaced, reasons why he or she chose the new place of settlement, and "other variables" (ibid.).

Upon receiving an application to be included in the RUPD, Acción Social [or DPS] classifies the person in one of the following levels:

Included: when the situation of the person is according to the ones established in Article 1 of Law 387 of 1997 and there is no doubt about the veracity of his or her situation;

Not included: when his or her situation is not outlined in Article 1 of Law 387, or when the facts expressed by the applicant are contrary to the truth;

Excluded: when the facts narrated by the applicant are not true and he or she could be subject to penal procedures;

Ceased: when the status as displaced person changes due to return to the place of origin, exclusion from the registry after being established that the facts declared were not true, or when the person asks for cessation of status (ibid. June 2010, 8-9).

According to CODHES, there are [translation] "high levels of 'non-inclusion'" in the registry, since decisions are rendered by public employees in Bogotá based "on their knowledge of the armed conflict" (CODHES Nov. 2012, 97). As an example, CODHES indicates that the Office of the Inspector General overturns more than 50 percent of these decisions after they are appealed (ibid). CODHES further indicates that this percentage would be higher if more victims knew their right to appeal (ibid.). CODHES also adds that they have heard of public servants accusing IDPs of being [translation] "fraudsters" and that the Registry presents "inefficient and deficient quality conditions regarding assisting [IDPs], which constitutes another form of revictimization" (ibid., 14).

Refugees International indicates that the declaration should be processed within 60 days (RI 12 Sept. 2012). However, between January and June 2012, close to 100,000 declarations were not processed (ibid.). IDMC similarly reports that more than 116,000 claims went unprocessed in 2012 (Apr. 2013). In another report, the IDMC indicates that "23 percent of IDPs have not been registered, either because they did not ask to (in 45 percent of cases because they did not know how, and in 30 percent of cases because they were afraid of being identified), or because their request was denied" (27 Dec. 2011). The Saldarriaga Concha Foundation indicates that, according to the lawyer, the form of the Registry is [translation] "very strict, and it may take up to two hours [for senior citizens] to fill it out, which implies that in one day only four or five people are attended" (1 Oct. 2012, 3). According to the Professor, "many IDPs prefer not to register for security reasons and because it is not clear that the assistance provided by the State is timely and enough, and therefore, it might be more troublesome and risky to register than not to" (21 June 2013). The Executive Director of Corporación Región similarly explains that many IDPs do not register for fear of being found by the armed group that displaced them in the first place (Corporación Región 26 June 2013). He further indicates that there have been cases in which some IDPs file complaints with the Office of the General Attorney (Fiscalía General de la Nación), and they were later found by the armed group that displaced them (ibid.).

3.2 Other Government Services

According to the UNHCR, since 2000, there have been campaigns to issue national identity documents to people living in isolated places, because IDPs residing in these places "with limited presence of civil institutions might have never had identification documents or considered getting them. Furthermore, those IDPs who do have identification documents often lose them during displacement" (UN Aug. 2012).

Sources indicate that the Colombian government enacted the Victims and Land Restitution Law in June 2011 in order to help those who have been displaced (UN [2013]; Comisión Colombiana de Juristas Apr. 2012, 5). A report by the National System for Victims' Assistance and Comprehensive Reparation (Sistema Nacional de Atención y Reparación Integral a las Víctimas), a [translation] "interinstitutional system that mobilizes national and regional entities" to implement the Victims and Land Restitution Law, lists some of the programs that were carried out in 2012 and that benefitted IDPs, including:

Prolonged Operation for Aid and Recuperation (Operación Prolongada de Socorro y Recuperación): provided assistance to 138,430 IDPs in 14 departments.

Employment Training Incentive Program (Programa Incentivo a la Capacitación para el Empleo): provided 6,423 opportunities for employment.

Income and Business Route (Ruta de Ingresos y Empresarismo): provided assistance to 9,769 IDPs.

More Families in Action Program (Programa Más Familias en Acción): provided assistance to 362,796 displaced families.

Approval of 41 projects for housing 2,311 families victims of displacement in 13 departments.

Formalization of estate property for families victims of forced displacement: 385 families, out of 1,079 that were being considered, received land titles over 7,287 hectares in total.

Assistance to 1,650 IDPs in 67 municipalities of 11 departments to do craftwork (Colombia Mar. 2013, 9-12, 15-17).

The report indicates that the government had a budget of 2,92 trillion Colombian pesos [approximately C$1.587 billion (XE 26 June 2013)] to finance the Law of Victims for 2012 (Colombia Mar. 2013, 14). The government of Colombia had a total budget of 165.3 trillion Colombian pesos [or approximately C$90.422 billion (XE 10 July 2013)] for 2012 (Colombia 29 July 2011).

According to the IDMC,

[c]ivil society organisations have identified a number of problems with the victims' law, including in the property restitution section, and a number of constitutional challenges have been filed against certain articles. Furthermore, Afro-Colombian communities have reported that they have not been effectively consulted in the processes to adopt and implement the law, a right which the Constitutional Court has confirmed. (29 Dec. 2011, 1)

According to Weiss Fagen, problems to access social services in localities different from IDPs places of origin have been largely solved for those who were registered (Weiss Fagen Aug. 2011, 30). However, she also notes that departmental and municipal resources that the IDPs rely on are "dismally inadequate" (ibid., 29). Refugees International indicates that upon registration, IDPs receive three months of government assistance (RI 12 Sept. 2012). However, it also notes that lack of communication between the national and municipal governments and the limited capacities of local authorities limit access for many IDPs (ibid.). A report on Colombia by the UK Foreign Office indicates that the Colombian Congressional Committee, which oversees the implementation of the Victims and Land Restitution Law, identified "a lack of institutional capacity in certain key entities involved in the process [of executing the law] and a lack of commitment from some departments" (UK 15 Apr. 2013).

The IDMC indicates that the Victims and Land Restitution Law "had a significant impact on the registration of IDPs ... [since] it allows for possible reparations and restitution" (IDMC Apr. 2013). However, sources indicate that since the government does not consider criminal bands (or BACRIM) as actors of the armed conflict, victims of these groups cannot access benefits under the Victims and Land Restitution Law (ibid.; Comisión Colombiana de Juristas Apr. 2012, 5). Sources report that the Constitutional Court ordered the government to include in the Registry the victims of the BACRIM [translation] "without any type of restriction" (El Espectador 3 July 2013; RCN 3 July 2013). Information on the implementation of the Constitutional Court's sentence could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The Saldarriaga Concha Foundation indicates that displaced senior citizens [translation] "do not know how to access the benefits of the Law" (1 Oct. 2012, 2). The Jesuit Refugee Service indicates that the system in place to assist IDPs is [translation] "inefficient," and that the government "does not have the necessary tools to face the humanitarian crisis of the armed conflict nor does it has an adequate plan of resettlement" (JRS Colombia [2012]).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Colombia. 21 May 2013. Corte Constitucional de Colombia. Auto 099/13. [Accessed 27 June 2013]

_____. March 2013. Sistema Nacional de Atención y Reparación a las Víctimas. Informe del Sistema Nacional de Atención y Reparación a las Víctimas a las Comisiones Primeras de Senado y Cámara. [Accessed 31 may 2013]

_____. 29 July 2011. Ministerio de Hacienda y Crédito Público. Comunicado de prensa 031. [Accessed 10 July 2013]

_____. June 2010. Agencia Presidencial para la Acción Social y la Cooperación Internacional. Dinámica del desplazamiento forzado (junio 2010). [Accessed 25 June 2013]

_____. [2010]. Agencia Presidencial para la Acción Social y la Cooperación Internacional. Desplazamiento forzado en Colombia. [Accessed 25 June 2013]

_____. N.d.a. Departamento para la Prosperidad Social. "La entidad." [Accessed 25 June 2013]

_____. N.d.b. Centro de Coordinación de Acción Integral (CCAI). Reporte ejecutivo Plan Nacional de Consolidación. [Accessed 25 June 2013]

_____. N.d.c. Departamento para la Prosperidad Social. "Registro." [Accessed 31 May 2013]

Comisión Colombiana de Juristas. April 2012. Viviana Tacha. Refugiados y Ley de Víctimas: Impactos de la Ley de Víctimas en la situación de las personas que se encuentran en necesidad de protección internacional. [Accessed 31 May 2013]

Consultoría para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento (CODHES). November 2012. Desplazamiento creciente y crisis humanitaria invisible. [Accessed 21 June 2013]

_____. N.d. "Nosotros." [Accessed 25 June 2013]

Corporación Región. 26 June 2013. Telephone interview with the Executive Director.

El Espectador [Bogotá]. 3 July 2013. "Corte ordenó inclusión de desplazados de bandas criminales en registro de víctimas." [Accessed 10 July 2013]

Fundación Saldarriaga Concha. 1 October 2012. Más de 200 mil personas mayores de 60 años se encuentran en situación de desplazamiento en Colombia. [Accessed 25 June 2013]

International Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). April 2013. "Colombia." Global Overview 2012: People Internally Displaced by Conflict and Violence. [Accessed 31 May 2013]

_____. 29 December 2011. Colombia: Improved Government Response Yet to Have Impact for IDPs. [Accessed 31 May 2013]

_____. 27 December 2011. Rules on IDP Registration and Their Impact on Official IDP Figures. [Accessed 31 May 2013]

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). N.d. "Quiénes somos." [Accessed 25 June 2013]

Jesuit Refugee Service Colombia. [2012]. "SJR Colombia - Video institucional." [Accessed 20 June 2013]

Professor, Departamento de Filosofía e Historia del Derecho, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. 21 June 2013. Correspondence sent to the Research Directorate.

RCN [Bogotá]. 3 July 2013. "Ordenan al Gobierno incluir a víctimas de las Bacrim en registro de desplazados." [Accessed 10 July 2013]

Refugees International (RI). 12 September 2012. Colombia: Transformational Changes Must Include Urban IDPs. [Accessed 31 May 2013]

_____. N.d. "Who We Are." [Accessed 25 June 2013]

United Kingdom (UK). 15 April 2013. Foreign and Commonwealth Office. "Colombia." Human Rights and Democracy: The 2012 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report. [Accessed 31 May 2013]

United Nations (UN). August 2012. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Mobile Registration and Documentation Unit. [Accessed 31 May 2013]

_____. [2013]. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 2013 UNHCR Country Operations Profile - Colombia. [Accessed 31 May 2013]

_____. 2012. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). ACNUR: Tendencias globales - un año de crisis. [Accessed 31 May 2013]

_____. 9-29 May 2011. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Colombia: Boletín humanitario. [Accessed 26 June 2013]

United States (US). 15 May 2013. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). "Colombia." The World Factbook. [Accessed 25 June 2013]

Weiss Fagen, Patricia. August 2011. Uprooted and Unrestored: A Comparative Review of Durable Solutions for People Displaced by Conflict in Colombia and Liberia. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (PDES/2011/09) [Accessed 25 June 2013]

XE. 10 July 2013. "Currency Converter Widget." [Accessed 10 July 2013]

_____. 26 June 2013. "Currency Converter Widget." [Accessed 26 June 2013]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact representatives of the following organizations were unsuccessful: Bogotá - Personería Distrital; Centro de Estudios de Derecho, Justicia y Sociedad; Colombia - Defensoría del Pueblo; Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

Representatives of the following organizations were unable to provide information: Alcaldía Mayor de Bogotá, Centro de Investigaciones y Documentación Socioeconómica of the Universidad del Valle, Department of Economics at Universidad de los Andes, Planeta Paz.

Internet sites, including: Alba TV; British Broadcasting Corporation; Brookings Institution; Caracol; Child Soldiers International; Colombia - Consejo de Estado, Corte Constitucional, Fiscalía General de la Nación, Ministerio de Defensa Nacional, Ministerio del Interior, Policía Nacional de Colombia, Procuraduría General de la Nación; El Colombiano; ecoi.net; InSight Crime; Institute for War and Peace Reporting; International Crisis Group; International Federation for Human Rights; Jane's Terrorism and Security Monitor; El Mundo; Organization of American States; El País; La Patria; UN - UN Development Programme, UNICEF; United States - Department of State, United States Agency for International Development; El Universal; Washington Office on Latin America.