• Text size Normal size text | Increase text size by 10% | Increase text size by 20% | Increase text size by 30%
  • Also available in French

Colombia: New UNHCR field offices open as 2007 declared "Year of the Rights of Displaced People"

Briefing Notes, 19 January 2007

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 19 January 2007, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

UNHCR is opening two more field offices in Colombia to help cope with the humanitarian crisis facing some 3 million people displaced by violence within the country. This brings to 12 the number of UNHCR locations in Colombia and coincides with the launch of a nationwide campaign to make 2007 the "Year of the Rights of Displaced People." Colombia has one of the largest internally displaced populations in the world.

The two new offices are located in the city of Medellín, Colombia's second largest city, and in Villavicencio, to the south of Bogota. Both cities are home to large numbers of displaced people.

Medellín is the capital of the department of Antioquia, which has traditionally been one of the regions most affected by the conflict. In the past decade alone, more than 300,000 people have been forced to flee violence there. Like elsewhere in Colombia, many have left their homes in rural areas, where the conflict is at its worst, to take refuge in the city.

In Meta, where Villavicencio is located, more than 64,000 people are registered as displaced. However, the authorities acknowledge that the real numbers could be much higher since many people have had no access to registration. The office there will serve as a base for UNHCR to cover the south-eastern parts of the country, where until now it has had little presence due to the remoteness of the area.

Colombia's ongoing armed conflict, which started in the 1960s, last year forced some 110,000 people to flee their homes, according to provisional government figures. This included around 13,000 in Antioquia and 9,000 in Meta. NGOs have a much higher national estimate of around 200,000 new cases of forced displacement in 2006.

UNHCR has been working in Colombia since 1997 to back up the authorities' response to the displacement crisis. In 2007, we will use the platform of the "Year of the Rights of Displaced People" to raise public awareness and lobby for displaced people's rights. The Colombian Parliament is currently considering passing a law in support of the campaign's objectives.

UNHCR's budget for Colombia in 2007 is $14 million, up from $11.7 million in 2006.

• DONATE NOW • • GET INVOLVED • • STAY INFORMED •

 

Related stories by:

UNHCR country pages

Internally Displaced People

The internally displaced seek safety in other parts of their country, where they need help.

Related Internet Links

UNHCR is not responsible for the content and availability of external internet sites

Colombia: Life in the Barrios

After more than forty years of internal armed conflict, Colombia has one of the largest populations of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the world. Well over two million people have been forced to flee their homes; many of them have left remote rural areas to take refuge in the relative safety of the cities.

Displaced families often end up living in slum areas on the outskirts of the big cities, where they lack even the most basic services. Just outside Bogota, tens of thousands of displaced people live in the shantytowns of Altos de Cazuca and Altos de Florida, with little access to health, education or decent housing. Security is a problem too, with irregular armed groups and gangs controlling the shantytowns, often targeting young people.

UNHCR is working with the authorities in ten locations across Colombia to ensure that the rights of internally displaced people are fully respected – including the rights to basic services, health and education, as well as security.

Colombia: Life in the Barrios

Indigenous people in Colombia

There are about a million indigenous people in Colombia. They belong to 80 different groups and make up one of the world's most diverse indigenous heritages. But the internal armed conflict is taking its toll on them.

Like many Colombians, indigenous people often have no choice but to flee their lands to escape violence. Forced displacement is especially tragic for them because they have extremely strong links to their ancestral lands. Often their economic, social and cultural survival depends on keeping these links alive.

According to Colombia's national indigenous association ONIC, 18 of the smaller groups are at risk of disappearing. UNHCR is working with them to support their struggle to stay on their territories or to rebuild their lives when they are forced to flee.

UNHCR also assists indigenous refugees in neighbouring countries like Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela and Brazil. UNHCR is developing a regional strategy to better address the specific needs of indigenous people during exile.

Indigenous people in Colombia

Panama's Hidden Refugees

Colombia's armed conflict has forced millions of people to flee their homes, including hundreds of thousands who have sought refuge in other countries in the region.

Along the border with Colombia, Panama's Darien region is a thick and inhospitable jungle accessible only by boat. Yet many Colombians have taken refuge here after fleeing the irregular armed groups who control large parts of jungle territory on the other side of the border.

Many of the families sheltering in the Darien are from Colombia's ethnic minorities – indigenous or Afro-Colombians – who have been particularly badly hit by the conflict and forcibly displaced in large numbers. In recent years, there has also been an increase in the numbers of Colombians arriving in the capital, Panama City.

There are an estimated 12,500 Colombians of concern to UNHCR in Panama, but many prefer not to make themselves known to authorities and remain in hiding. This "hidden population" is one of the biggest challenges facing UNHCR not only in Panama but also in Ecuador and Venezuela.

Panama's Hidden Refugees

Colombia: Indigenous People Under ThreatPlay video

Colombia: Indigenous People Under Threat

Violence in parts of Colombia is threatening the existence of the country's indigenous people. This is the tale of one such group, the Tule.
Colombia: Giving women strengthPlay video

Colombia: Giving women strength

In the volatile southern Colombian region of Putumayo, forced displacement remains a real and daily threat. Indigenous women are especially vulnerable. A project by UNHCR focuses on helping women to adapt and learn about their rights while they are displaced.
Surviving in the City: Bogota, ColombiaPlay video

Surviving in the City: Bogota, Colombia

Conflict has forced more than 3 million Colombians to flee their homes and seek shelter elsewhere in the country. The majority have migrated to cities seeking anonymity, safety and a way to make a living. But many find urban life traumatizing.