COLOMBIA SITUATION (Colombia, Ecuador, Panama y Venezuela)

PRIORITIES IN 2010 March 2010

Regional Context

The so called Colombia situation

hosts hundreds of thousands of refu-

gees, asylum seekers and internally

displaced persons (IDPs). An aggrava-

tion of the humanitarian situation in

Colombia, particularly in remote rural

areas, has left more than three mi-

llion people officially displaced within

the country -the second largest IDP

population in the world after Sudan–

while others have sought refuge in

the neighboring countries. However,

national security concerns related to

cross border movements have increa-

sed tensions among the countries

involved.

All countries of the Colombia situa-

tion are party of the 1951 Refugee

Convention and its 1967 Protocol as

well as the Cartagena Declaration on

Refugees and the Mexico Plan of Ac-

tion, which has helped to improve the

protection of refugees and IDPs.

UNHCR seeks to find common solu-

tions to the problems of asylum and

forced internal displacement, through

promoting solidarity between people

and countries for the construction of

a peaceful and stable future.

Strengthening partnerships to im-

prove the protection of refugees and

IDPs and to better cope with situa-

tions of mixed migration and state-

lessness is the main priority for the

UN Refugee Agency. The region is

receiving an increasing number of

asylum seekers, often mixed with

economic migrants, especially from

the Horn of Africa and the Middle

East, posing new challenges to some

already fragile asylum systems.

In this context, UNHCR works alongsi-

de with governments helping them to

respond to some of these challenges

in a coherent and practical way. An

example of this is a 10-point plan

proposed by UNHCR, which sets out

key areas where action is required to

address mixed migration in countries

of origin, transit and destination.

UNHCR is also playing an active role

in the regional forum on refugee pro-

tection and international migration in

the Americas.

Regional programs

The Mexico Plan of Action was signed

in November 2004 by 20 countries,

who committed themselves to

strengthening refugee protection and

implementing an integrated approach

to durable solutions. In the frame-

work of this Plan, UNHCR implements

in the countries involved within the

Colombia situation, three programs

addressed to a) urban displacement,

b) protection in the sensitive border

areas and c) resettlement, in close

coordination with the local

authorities.

The “Cities of Solidarity” program

aims at the vast majority of refugees

living in urban areas to ensure an effective integration

through self-reliance by promoting access to employ-

ment and housing as well as income generating projects

and their free and fair access to the labor market.

Instead, the “Borders of Solidarity” program strives to

assist both refugees and local host communities in border

areas to coexist. Integration is promoted by linking refu-

gee assistance to national and regional development

plans, with benefit for both refugees and host communi-

ties.

Meanwhile, “Resettlement in Solidarity” is a regional res-

ponsibility-sharing programme destined to benefit a limi-

ted number of refugees who face high protection risks in

their current countries of asylum. In 2009, 614 Colom-

bians were resettled from Ecuador to other Latin Ameri-

can countries.

Colombia (UNHCR operates since 1998)

More than 3.3 million people are on the State’s national

registry for internally displaced population, and thou-

sands more continue to be displaced each year. A long-

lasting internal conflict, widespread violence and illegal

production and exportation of coca are some combined

elements that have contributed to extreme vulnerability

for the civilian population.

A general trend in recent years has been the shift of the

conflict away from urban centers and towards remote

and less populated regions that lay in the lowlands and

jungles, as well as in border areas. Nariño and the Pacific

Coast located at the west part of the country, as well as

Arauca on the eastern side, continue to show extremely

worrying figures of fighting, insecurity and forced displa-

cement.

Antioquia and Magdalena appear among the most affec-

ted five regions, both in terms of expulsion and recep-

tion. The recent degradation in the south of the Bolivar

region is a concern. In addition, remote south-eastern

departments such as Guaviare, Vaupés, Vichada and

Guainía, have been proportionally very hard hit, when

comparing displacement numbers with their relatively

low total population.

On average in recent years, 10% of all municipal districts

have generated more than 60% of all cases of forced dis-

placement. Reception of IDPs is also highly concentrated,

with 82% hosted in less than 10% of municipal districts,

mostly in large urban centres. Another trend is towards

“intra-urban” displacement, with IDPs moving from one

neighborhood to the next in search of protection. There

is also a steady flow of Colombians seeking protection in

neighboring countries and other parts of the world.

Meanwhile, the number of asylum-seekers arriving in

Colombia is increasing, particularly among individuals

originating from the Horn of Africa. In 2003, only 18 per-

sons sought asylum; by 2008 the number had increased

to 89 and 334 in 2009.

UNHCR´s work in Colombia mainly focuses to give sup-

port at both the central and local level in the building of

institutional and organizational capacity, the protection

of communities and in advocating on displacement and

humanitarian issues. In this context UNHCR strengthen its

community based approach to ensure that public policies

have a concrete impact at local level, without any discri-

mination for ethnic groups like indigenous and afro-

descendants,

In the field of durable solutions, the Office implements

land protection initiatives, relocation program and provi-

de technical assistance to promote local integration.

Ecuador (UNHCR operations since 2000)

Ecuador has the largest refugee population in Latin Ame-

rica, mostly (98%) fleeing the internal armed conflict in

neighboring Colombia, with whom Ecuador shares a 585

km long border. The majority of persons in Need of Inter-

national Protection come from the southern Colombian

departments of Nariño, Putumayo, Valle del Cauca and

Cauca, where ongoing violence has caused high levels of

internal displacement.

With three offices along the border, one in the pacific

coast (Esmeraldas), one in the Andean region (Ibarra) and

another in the Amazon (Lago Agrio), UNHCR works with

local receiving communities to support their develop-

ment and promote integration as well as to protect refu-

gee rights and develop long-term solutions.

Although half of the refugees live in the cities, the rest of

them mostly stay near the border, in under-developed

and isolated regions with little access to basic infrastruc-

ture and services. Lack of information, difficulties of ac-

cess and fear of approaching government institutions, all

contribute to an under registration phenomenon, leaving

many refugees without documentation.

© UNHCR/ Colombia

One of the main current protection challenges constitu-

tes the registration of these people. Responding to this

need, UNHCR has supported the Ecuadorian Government

in the launching of the Enhanced Registration initiative,

which consists on mobile registration brigades reaching

even hard access localities throughout the border provin-

ces: Sucumbíos, Orellana, Esmeraldas, Imbabura and

Carchi.

The legal recognition of status for these people in need of

protection enable them to fully enjoy the rights they are

entitled to. In 2009, some 22,000 people in need of inter-

national protection gained access to the asylum system

thanks to these mobile brigades that have provided them

with documentation within a complex one-day process.

Resettlement has also served as another important pro-

tection tool. Since the inception of the Resettlement Unit

in 2003, up to December 2009, a total of 1223 cases, con-

sisting of 4048 refugees, have been submitted for reset-

tlement. This figure represents approximately 9% of the

total recognised population (54,192) in Ecuador.

Panamá, (UNHCR presence since 2004).

During the 90s, UNHCR started implementing projects

and programmes through local Implementing Partners

under UNHCR Venezuela. The UNHCR office which

opened in 2004, its two-fold role as Representation Of-

fice and as Field Office advocates for international stan-

dards of protection for persons of concern at different

levels including the highest governmental instances and

with a full scope of actors in a very politically challenging

context.

The operation works through Implementing Partners

with persons of concern both in urban centers and in the

Darien province at the border with Colombia in very iso-

lated areas of the Panamanian jungle. It monitors and

ensures protection to some of the most vulnerable per-

sons in the continent which have their origin from the

deteriorating situation in the Chocó region.

Urban arrivals living mainly in impoverished areas of

Panama City depend on the assistance provided by

UNHCR through its Implementing Partners as they are

not allowed to work as Asylum Seekers.

The overall protection environment for persons of con-

cern is driven by a restrictive migratory policy, leading to

increased detention of undocumented foreigners. Al-

though there is no accurate data on cases of refoule-

ment, persons entering the country through jungle paths

or small isolated sea ports are returned without access to

protection mechanisms.

In spite of the increasing flow of migrants, there is no

effective mechanism to identify asylum seekers within

the broader migration movements and the current Refu-

gee Status Determination (RSD) carried out by Govern-

ment counterpart ONPAR. The large majority of asylum

claims are classified unfounded, hence, are not admitted

to the asylum procedure.

It is estimated that the number of persons who live in

Panama in a refugee-like situation but who have not yet

approached the authorities or UNHCR could be as large

as 15,000. Furthermore, due to infrequent meetings of

the Eligibility Commission the backlog of asylum seekers

dates back to 2006.

Some of the reasons why people fall short to approach

authorities include lack of information concerning the

procedure, denial of admissibility to the RSD procedure,

and fear of detention and deportation.

Law 25/2008 establishes an exceptional legal mechanism

that enables refugees and persons granted political asy-

lum that have held this status for ten or more years at

© UNHCR/ Panamá

© UNHCR/ Ecuador

the time the Law entered into force (November 2008), to

opt for permanent residency status over a period of two

years (ending in November 2010).

Similar regularization processes should be implemented

for other groups who find themselves in the same pro-

tracted situation as the persons under Temporary Hu-

manitarian Protection (THP) regime. During the

Binational meeting between the governments of Panama

and Colombia in 2008, Panamanian authorities reiterated

the compromise to regularize the legal status of persons

living under temporary humanitarian regime in the

Darien border region by granting them permanent resi-

dency.

Venezuela, (UNHCR presence since 1991)

At the beginning of the XXI century, UNHCR Venezuela

contributed to draft the National Law for Refugees.

The law enacted in 2001 gave origin to the National

Commission for Refugees and its three regional offices.

Refugees arrive to Venezuela mostly from neighbouring

Colombia. Like in other countries in the region, under-

registration is a major challenge, making assistance and

protection work more difficult. Improved documentation

is the number one priority for UNHCR and its partners,

together with the delivery of basic services and of

long term productive solutions for refugees and local

communities.

Facts and numbers

Of the estimated 200,000 people in a refugee-like

situation, less than 15,000 are registered and 73% of

them have no form of documentation at all. Because of

this, UNHCR, with the funding of the EC is supporting

Venezuelan authorities to speed up the Refugee Status

Determination process in 2010, for near 15,000 asylum

seekers who have been waiting years for the State

response. The project aims to provide documentation

to those asylum seekers recognized as refugees by the

state in the year-end.

Most of the refugees are in the states of Zulia, Táchira,

Apure and Amazonas. More than half live in precarious

housing, with no running water. Two-third of families

survives on daily wages for casual labour. UNHCR has one

office in the capital Caracas and three field offices along

the border. The primary objective of these offices is to

assist national and local authorities in dealing with asy-

lum seekers and refugees.

What we do:

• We provide the government with technical assis-

tance to improve their protection response and

constantly carry out capacity building sessions for

the militar y, police and other institutions related

to refugee attention.

• We promote refugee’s self-reliance and their live-

lihoo capacity with professional training and micro

-credits that benefit refugees and their local com-

munities.

• We improve refugee’s lives and promote local

integration by bringing basic infrastructure for

health and education to poor communities where

the refugees live; making sure each project is lin-

ked to activities to reduce tension among locals

and Colombians fleeing conflict.

• We identify and focus on the most vulnerable

groups, including indigenous communities and

women through periodical participatory assess-

ments.

• We build alliances with government officials, the

Church, community leaders, NGOs, universities

and other United Nations agencies to reinforce

refugee protection networks.

Asylum seekers in Colombia Situation (Ecuador,

Venezuela, Panamá and Costa Rica) exceed the

100,000 cases and the figure for People in Need

of Intern Protection (PINP) is around the 250,000

and 350,000.

UNHCR is the United Nations Refugee Agency, with the international mandate to protect more than 34 million refugees

and displaced people around the world. It is in Colombia at the invitation of the government to support the State’s efforts

to assist and protect displaced people. UNHCR has 14 offices in Colombia, including a Branch Office in Bogotá and 13

Field Offices in conflict zones and reception areas. For more information contact in Colombia: Francesca Fontanini, phone +571 6580600 ext 156, fontanin@unhcr.org – in Venezuela: Ligimat Pérez, phone: +58 212 286 3883 ext 133, perezl@unhcr.org – in Ecuador: María José Martínez - Phone +593 22 460 330 ext 1128 martinem@unhcr.org— in Panamá: José Euceda: euceda@unhcr.org, or www.unhcr.org.

© UNHCR/ Venezuela