Andrea Lari and Jake Kurtzer

Located on Colombia’s border with Venezuela, the Arauca department has recently experienced a significant increase in the number of internally displaced communities. Since the beginning of 2008, more than 4,000 people have been displaced, taking the total number to 28,000, ten percent of the overall population of the department. An additional 80,000 is at high risk of displacement. Arauca is a region rich in natural resources, particularly oil, and illegal armed groups have been escalating conflict in order to control areas of future exploration. While the government of Colombia, with military support and training from the United States, has made concerted efforts to protect oil companies and exploration sites, the same security guarantees have not been extended to the communities affected by the increase in violence. The response of the local government is very limited, while international support for the IDP communities is just beginning.

Violence and Oil Exploration

The continued exploration for oil, particularly by multinational companies including U.S.-based Occidental and Spanish Repsol, has ignited fighting among illegal armed groups and between them and the national army. The violence has been concentrated around areas of natural resource extraction and has caused many Colombians to flee their homes and take residence in urban centers. Community members reported to Refugees International instances of selective assassinations, intimidations and death threats as major causes of displacement. The increase in oil exploration in an agricultural region has also caused economic hardships, as Colombians living in the region have lost access to land and agricultural employment without adequate compensation from the state or the companies.

State Response and International Presence

The former Governor of Arauca, now a fugitive from the law, called the internally displaced criminals and welfare queens, demonstrating lack of commitment to IDP needs at the Department level. Newly elected mayors in municipalities, meanwhile, have little experience with the requirements of the constitution, and face increasing difficulties in developing appropriate responses for the humanitarian crises in their towns and cities.

Despite the substantially increasing IDP population, with urgent needs for basic assistance and protection, the presence of international humanitarian aid organizations in Arauca is small, but growing. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees opened an office in February 2008 to coordinate the response. International non-governmental organizations are providing leadership and legal training for selected displaced people, with the ICRC providing emergency assistance in some cases. With international agencies stepping in to fill voids in services, the risk is that local state authorities will step back and fail to fulfill their constitutional mandate.

4th of December

The 4th of December IDP settlement, which hosts around 230 families located outside the town of Saravena, has major water and sanitation needs and poses a grave security and health risk for its inhabitants. 4th of December was a pre-existing community of vulnerable poor that was filled with displaced people who had no other options. New arrivals to Saravena tend to go straight to 4th of December. Local governmental authorities refuse to recognize the settlement, stating that it is an unlawful occupation, and are therefore unwilling to provide essential water services or electricity. The displaced and vulnerable poor live in tent houses built on wood taken from a nearby forest, and cook on open flames, creating a health risk and fire hazard. There have been reports of diarrhea outbreaks due to poor sanitation, as well frequent reports of sexual violence.