Displacement in Colombia
Country: Colombia | Partner: Nomadesc
Aims
- Prevent further displacement of vulnerable communities in south-west Colombia
- Strengthen grassroots organisations and networks between communities, organisations and human rights defenders to enable them to have a common voice, defend their rights and participate in decision-making processes
- Give support, and legal advice to communities at risk of eviction
Successes
- Documented and publicised the human rights abuses in south-west Colombia throughout the country
- Held workshops and training programmes in the displaced communities on human rights and conflict resolution
- Co-ordinated the Forbidden to Forget Campaign, a national and international movement against privatisation, corruption and the imposition of penalties for social protests
The facts
- More than three million people have been forced from their homes within Colombia
- With an estimated 3,000 trade unionists killed in the last 22 years, Colombia ranks as the most dangerous place in the world for trade unionists
- The name Nomadesc comes from the word "nomad". It refers to a community forced to move from one place to another, resulting in a lack of roots and broken ties with family, social and cultural environment. These people have been constantly deprived of the most basic rights.
In Colombia, more than three million people have been forced from their homes by violence and extreme poverty, made refugees in their own country. Rural Colombians have lost huge swathes of land, by some estimates as much as 26,000 square miles. This humanitarian crisis, and the needs of displaced people, is well known in Colombia and around the world.
Yet very little is done for those at risk of displacement. Vulnerable, isolated communities such as Afro-Colombians and indigenous people are particularly at risk. Cut off from government institutions, national organisations and often each other, these groups have little or no recourse when their human rights are abused. Studies have shown that lack of communication between groups, social leaders and human rights defenders in south-west Colombia exacerbates problems for at-risk communities.
The Social Research and Action Association (Nomadesc) is a human rights organisation working to fix this massive disadvantage. By bringing these vulnerable groups together, Nomadesc gives these communities a voice. By strengthening the ties between the groups and giving them the tools to defend their human rights, these communities are better able to protect themselves from violence and displacement.
War on Want is proud to support Nomadesc's work that protects the human rights of these vulnerable communities in Colombia.
