Colombia’s Invisible Crisis
Colombia is suffering one of the largest hidden tragedies of today, that of internal displacement, as a result of more than forty years of internal armed conflict. The number of internal displaced people (IDPs) is continuing to grow; current estimates place the number between 3 million and 4.6 million (the latter figure comes from CODHES1 - the non-governmental body which monitors Human Rights and Displacement), making Colombia, after Sudan, the country with the largest number of internally displaced people.
The pattern of displacement is predominantly from rural areas to cities and disproportionately affects Afro-Colombians and indigenous communities, while women and children constitute some 70% of the displaced population. The displaced suffer from high unemployment, and difficulties in gaining access to housing, land and education.
According to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, ‘IDPs suffer an unemployment rate that is three times higher than for the Urban poor in general…. The situation is particularly precarious for adolescents, who are vulnerable to forced recruitment by militias and sexual exploitation’ 2
1 ‘Consultoría para los derechos humanos y el Despazamiento’
2 UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency – Colombia Profile: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/page?page=49e492ad6
Some links for your information
- UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency – Colombia Profile: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/page?page=49e492ad6
- ACNUR (UNHCR – Spanish language site): ‘Colombia, Crisis Humanitaria’: http://www.acnur.org/crisis/colombia/index.php
- BBC Mundo report (in Spanish): The Invisible Tragedy of Colombia’:
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/america_latina/2009/07/090716_1135_colombia_ai.shtml
- IDMC (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre): http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004CE90B/(httpCountries)/CB6FF99A94F70AED802570A7004CEC41?opendocument&count=10000
- UNHCR video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ-JpCiNQ3g
