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In anticipation of a March visit to Colombia by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, Refugees International will be conducting its latest mission to assess conditions for displaced people throughout that country. The goal of this mission is to provide recommendations on the current state of internal displacement and assistance to the displaced to assist UNHCR and other policy makers during upcoming discussions on Colombia’s laws regarding the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

As part of Refugees International’s fourth mission to Colombia since 2005, the team will meet with governmental and United States officials in the capital Bogotá; interview displaced people in the Departments of Sucre, Nariño, and Chocó; and attend the national conference on cooperation and human rights in Cartagena where a national campaign for the rights of the displaced will be launched. In addition, RI will examine the following trends:

• Document how human rights violations and abuses committed by illegal armed groups and National army forces against civilians, including indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, are forcing people to flee and seek safe sanctuary.
• Evaluate the humanitarian response of relevant national authorities and humanitarian agencies to the needs of recently displaced groups.
• Assess the living conditions of displaced communities residing in urban areas and evaluate the services available for their social and economic integration in those areas.

• Cómo los abusos y las violaciones de derechos humanos en contra de la población, con un foco especial sobre comunidades indígenas y afro-colombianas, cometidos por grupos armados ilegales y por el Ejército Nacional, causan el desplazamiento.
• La respuesta humanitaria de las autoridades nacionales tanto como de las agencias humanitarias internacionales y domesticas a las necesidades de comunidades desplazadas.
• Las condiciones de comunidades desplazadas residentes en areas urbanas y los servicios disponibles para su integración social y economico a esas ciudades.