Michelle Brown from Refugees International and Gimena Sanchez-Garzoli from the Brookings-SAIS Project on Internal Displacement are traveling to Panama, Ecuador, and Venezuela to undertake a humanitarian assessment focusing on the protection and assistance needs of Colombian displaced persons from March 12-30.

Colombia is experiencing the worst humanitarian and human rights crisis in the Western Hemisphere.  With unofficial estimates placing the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) over 3 million, Colombia has the third largest IDP population in the world after Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  There are also roughly 250,000 refugees who have fled to neighboring countries.  The humanitarian crisis in Colombia is a result of an internal armed conflict between the Colombian military, guerilla groups and paramilitary organizations that started in the 1960s.  

The conflict is exerting a tremendous toll on the civilian population. The armed groups rarely confront each other directly; rather they attack civilians suspected of supporting the other side. This war strategy has forced many civilians not involved in the conflict to leave their homes due to threats and attacks in search of safety. Armed groups also deliberately displace civilians and curtail their freedom of movement in order to control strategic areas of the country for economic and political purposes. Ethnic minorities such as Colombians of African-descent and indigenous populations are disproportionately affected by displacement.

The war on drugs and the war on terror both play a large role in the conflict in Colombia.  Colombia is the world’s largest producer of cocaine.  Through the Andean Counter-Narcotics Initiative (Plan Colombia), the US government has devoted hundreds of millions of dollars annually primarily for anti-narcotics initiatives and military assistance.  Colombia is one of the largest recipients of US military assistance.  

Through interviews with refugees, the mission will examine the impact of US military assistance to Colombia on the displacement crisis in the country. The team will also assess the degree of protection that Colombian refugees are receiving in neighboring countries.