UN-BACKED PROJECT REGISTERS OVER HALF A MILLION VULNERABLE COLOMBIANS

UN-BACKED PROJECT REGISTERS OVER HALF A MILLION VULNERABLE COLOMBIANS
New York, May 28 2009 1:00PM
Over half a million Colombians in some of the nation's remotest conflict zones have been able to obtain identification papers over the past five years thanks to mobile registration units supported by the United Nations refugee agency.

Seven mobile National Registry Office units, assisted by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/4a1e8d334.html">UNHCR), have distributed over 700,000 birth certificates, identity cards and passports to vulnerable Colombian populations since 2004 over the South American country's toughest terrain.

"Our presence provides a symbol of international neutrality which helps State organisms to reach all citizens, including those who live in the most fought-over areas," said UNHCR representative in Colombia Jean-Noel Wetterwald.

Equipped with computers, fingerprint materials, cameras and a satellite antenna to connect with the national database in Bogotá, the mobile registration units reach out to displaced people and those at risk of displacement, as well as indigenous communities.

The project is part of a large-scale national effort to guarantee the constitutional right of each citizen to a legal identity, which brings with it legal rights and access to basic services, and can be a question of life or death in conflict areas, according to UNHCR.

There are roughly 3 million people registered as internally displaced in Colombia, with an average of 300,000 new cases registered in each of the past two years, according to UNHCR. The agency has a dozen offices in the country and works closely with the uprooted, supporting Government efforts to protect and assist them, as well as find long-term solutions.
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COLOMBIA: UN VOICES CONCERN OVER WAVE OF DEATH THREATS AGAINST PARTNER AGENCIES

COLOMBIA: UN VOICES CONCERN OVER WAVE OF DEATH THREATS AGAINST PARTNER AGENCIES
New York, May 22 2009 11:00AM
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Colombia today expressed its deep concern over a spate of death threats made against human rights workers, including uprooted people defending their communities' rights.

In the most recent wave of intimidation, one of the South American nation's new illegal armed groups distributed pamphlets last week, targeting several state bodies and civil and human rights organizations.

The national Ombudsman Office, one of UNCHR's closest partners in Columbia, was singled out by the group for issuing early warnings to people of critical human rights situations in several areas.

The Office is in charge of overseeing the protection of civil and human rights in the country's legal system and its Early Warning System is a unique method of preventing rights abuses and forced displacement, UNHCR said.

"UNHCR reiterates its support to the Ombudsman and its staff at this difficult time," agency spokesperson Andrew Purvis told reporters in Geneva today.

He added that there is a rising climate of intimidation in Colombia in recent months, with indigenous communities, social leaders and representatives of displaced groups all having been targeted.

In some cases, those threatened have been forced to leave their communities for their safety, while some have even lost their lives, Mr. Purvis said, noting that often, survivors, their families and colleagues refrain from speaking out against the intimidators for fear of reprisal attacks.

"UNHCR strongly condemns these acts and is extremely concerned that new illegal groups that have begun operating in Colombia in the past few years are increasingly turning into another factor behind forced displacement in a country that already counts a very large IDP [internally displaced persons] population," the agency's spokesperson said.

In the country, roughly 3 million people are registered as internally displaced, with an average of 300,000 new cases registered annually in the past two years. UNHCR has one dozen offices in Colombia and works closely with the uprooted, supporting Government efforts to protect and assist them, as well as find long-term solutions.
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LATEST ARMED CLASHES IN COLOMBIA FORCE HUNDREDS FROM THEIR HOMES, REPORTS UN

Heavy fighting in south-western Colombia between Government troops and the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) uprooted some 600 people at the weekend, the United Nations humanitarian arm reported today.

Members of five Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities have escaped armed clashes in the rural town of El Charco, the area most affected by the mass displacement of 2007 when 15,000 people were forced from their homes.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is monitoring the situation and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has sent an assessment team to determine the basic needs of those who have fled their homes.

UNHCR reported about two weeks ago that some 2,000 indigenous Embera people were displaced last month from their collective territories in different areas along the Baudó River in the Colombian department of Chocó as a result of threats and conflict between two illegal armed groups.

In addition, more than 1,000 Embera were displaced in March in the Upper Baudó region in southern Chocó, along Colombia's Pacific coast.

According to UNHCR, at least 27 different indigenous groups are considered to be at risk of extinction in Colombia, largely as a result of armed conflict and forced displacement. Their survival depends greatly on being able to remain on their traditional lands.
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NEEDS OF DISPLACED PERSONS IN COLOMBIA MUST BE MET, TOP UN OFFICIAL SAYS

NEEDS OF DISPLACED PERSONS IN COLOMBIA MUST BE MET, TOP UN OFFICIAL SAYS
New York, Feb 24 2009 12:00PM

The United Nations' top humanitarian official, on the first day of his mission to Colombia to assess relief operations for victims of natural disaster and civil strife, saluted actions taken but said much more must be done to protect civilians and aid displaced persons.

"It is clear that there is a serious humanitarian situation in Colombia, particularly the problems of millions of internally displaced persons, and that there is a requirement collectively to do more to respond to these needs," John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said yesterday in the capital city of Bogotá.

During a day of meetings, Mr. Holmes saw ministers and senior officials in the Government of Colombia, as well as humanitarian actors from the UN, Colombian civil society, and non-governmental aid organizations.

Government figures visited included the country's ministers of justice and foreign affairs, its director of the Department for Prevention and Response to Disasters (DPAD) and its presidential advisor for social action.

"Mr. Holmes praised the Government's action and progress achieved, but urged increased dialogue on the humanitarian situation and the necessary response, particularly on protecting civilians," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a press release.

There was also agreement on the need to increase prevention and preparedness for natural disasters, OCHA added.

The country has recently suffered the harshest, most destructive rainy season on record, which wreaked havoc on the Sucre, Bolivar and Chocó provinces, affecting one million people and destroying 44,000 hectares of crops.

In addition, continued violence has caused large-scale internal displacement in many areas.

In a meeting with a large group of representatives from Colombian civil society, including
indigenous people and Afro-Colombian, human rights, women's and youth groups, Mr. Holmes heard a wide range of concerns about the consequences of such displacement and the continuing violence.

Mr. Holmes expressed particular concern about the situation of indigenous and Afro-Colombian
communities, following the recent killing of members of the Awá group in a remote area in the country's south-west which the UN refugee agency says suffers from some of the worst forced displacement.

"There is a need to pay particular attention to the future of indigenous people and other vulnerable groups that have a special dependency on and attachment to their lands," Mr. Holmes said.

Today, Mr. Holmes is travelling to the Chocó region, where he is expected to meet with Afro-Colombians, indigenous communities, and groups of displaced persons.
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