Country Information

The Republic of Colombia has a population of approximately 44.5 million people. Fifty-seven percent of the population is Mestizo (mixed Spanish and Indian), 22 percent is black or Creole, 20 percent is white, and one percent is indigenous. 90 percent of the population is Roman Catholic. The current president of the Republic of Colombia is Alvaro Uribe.

Political and Economic Environment

During the course of the 20th century, Colombia became one of the most violent countries in the world. Political exclusion of the poor has been the main cause of the ongoing political strife in Colombia. During the 1930s many peasants began to campaign against the political and economic exclusion of their population by the mainstream Liberal and Conservative political parties. Many of the low income farmers had been marginalized by the powerful landed elite and this led to serious inequality in land distribution. The marginalization of low income farmers led to the emergence of guerilla movements in the 1960s. The principal groups have been the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (NLA). In reaction to their growth, the government of Colombia encouraged the development of paramilitaries, or armed civilians, in order to counter the dominance of guerilla movements in certain parts of the country. These paramilitaries became quite active during the 1980s.

The continual conflict between paramilitaries and guerrilla groups has only been exacerbated by the onset and persistence of the illegal drug trade in Colombia. In fact, both the paramilitary groups and FARC have been closely connected with the illegal drug trade because it is a lucrative source of funds for their activities.

President Alvaro Uribe continues to support a military solution when dealing with leftist groups. He has repeatedly insisted that no negotiations will take place with the FARC. Despite a formal demobilization of the 32,500 right wing paramilitary groups, many of these individuals have joined new criminal groups estimated in a number of 9.000, which exercise territorial control on areas used for the production, refinement, and transport of coca and cocaine. Since Uribe’s administration began in 2002, protection for the displaced population has failed to significantly improve. Uribe was reelected in 2006 after the constitution was amended to allow a second term.

Humanitarian Situation

The humanitarian situation in Colombia is characterized by large-scale displacement caused by the conflict. All parties to this three-sided war use tactics against civilians including forced displacement, forced recruitment, and collective punishment. President Uribe has tried to move aggressively against the guerilla forces while trying to entice paramilitaries with generous incentives to demobilize.

More than 200,000 Colombians were displaced between in 2006. Civil society statistics estimate that Colombia now has an 3.7 million internally displaced people. However, the government only recognizes 2.213 million as per mid-October 2007 as displaced, due to the fact that displaced persons could only start registering for IDP status in 2000. Although the Colombian government has admitted its failure to prevent further displacement, inadequate action has been taken to improve the ongoing crisis.

Although significant progress was made in the return of nearly 74,000 displaced persons between August 2002 and April 2005, there continue to be problems, mostly due to the overwhelming amount of violence in the return areas. In addition, once IDPs are officially returned, they automatically lose their displaced status and are no longer eligible for state assistance or aid. Many displaced persons have decided not to take part in the return process because of their fear of being uprooted once again. They still risk losing their humanitarian support from the government, however, as several state agencies refuse to assist any displaced persons that are unwilling to take part in the return process.

Other areas of concern include the use of landmines, which caused more than 1,100 Colombians to be maimed or killed between June 2005 and May 2006. Also, the Colombian government has failed to protect Afro-Colombians and members of the indigenous population. Both of these groups are subject to human rights abuses and discriminated against when it comes to being recognized as an internally displaced population. Although Colombia has passed progressive legislation committing the government to providing protection and support to displaced persons, implementation has lagged. The challenge to the Government is to take concrete actions to prevent human rights violations and violence against civilians, while creating adequate security for the displaced to return to their homes.

Updated November 2007