Refugees International is returning to Colombia in mid-June to conduct an assessment of the humanitarian conditions facing internally displaced Colombians, as well as an assessment of humanitarian assistance programs. More than 300,000 Colombians were displaced in 2007 because of armed conflict. This displacement disproportionately affects indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, the majority from rural areas. Armed groups persist in forcing communities off their lands, while in other instances, national army operations coupled with continued fumigation of illegal crops force people to flee, causing nearby towns and villages to become overcrowded.

Amid reports of increasing insecurity and renewed massive displacements in several portions of the country, RI’s mission will focus on identifying needs of newly displaced communities, as well as investigating the humanitarian assistance programs already in place. RI is concerned that with the continuation of the US-supported Colombian counter-narcotic and counter-insurgency strategy, there are still serious gaps in preventing displacement, contingency planning for response in the aftermath of displacement, registering the displaced and monitoring the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

The RI team, comprised of Senior Advocate Andrea Lari and Congressional Advocate Jacob Kurtzer, will conduct interviews with Colombian Government and UN officials in Bogota, and will travel to areas of recent violence and displacement to conduct interviews with displaced Colombians and UN and NGO staff.

RI will travel to Colombian Departments bordering Ecuador and Venezuela, where recent violence between illegal armed groups has made it difficult for international aid agencies to identify the needs of displaced communities and provide essential humanitarian aid. RI will also visit the Departments in the northwest of the country to investigate the conditions of the displaced people living in urban centers as well as to monitor and evaluate the most relevant US-funded projects aimed at supporting the socio-economic reestablishment of displaced people. While in the field, RI will also seek to identify the most effective local service providers in order to ensure better coordination with international donor groups.