A/HRC/16/45/Add.1
displacement of 56 persons. During late 2009, three major internal displacements were
recorded by AFRODES as a consequence of intensive aerial fumigations, Colombian army
operations, and confrontations with illegal armed groups. On 2 March 2010, combat
between the military and FARC allegedly caused displacement of 576 Afro-Colombians in
the municipality of López de Micay, Cauca. Fumigation in January 2010 reportedly caused
the displacement of 48 people to the Municipality of Guapí.
41.
In Chocó in 2010, confrontations between armed groups caused forced displacement
in Antioquia. On 5 January, 96 persons of the Afro-Colombian Community Puerto Luis in
Alto Baudó were displaced due to confrontations between army forces and National
Liberation Army guerrillas. On 15 and 16 February, 11 families were forcibly displaced in
the rural area of Barrancón at Urrao municipality in Antioquia due to combats between
military forces and FARC guerrillas. On 29 March, 234 members of the Dipurdú
community in Medio San Juan in Chocó were forcibly displaced as a consequence of
intimidation by “Los Rastrojos”, a new illegal armed group. On 17 April roughly 100 AfroColombian persons abandoned their lands in Itsmina and San Juan towns, Chocó, due to
confrontations between illegal armed groups. On 15 August, 180 Afro-Colombians of the
Unión Berrecuy community at Medio Baudó were forcibly displaced after the kidnap of 3
members of their community and threats from Los Rastrojos.
42.
The threat of displacement is ever present for other communities. During her visit to
Buenaventura, community leaders informed the independent expert that expansion of port
facilities, in a private/public partnership, will lead to displacement of approximately 3,400
families. Communities report that they have yet to be consulted. Afro-Colombian fishing
communities are concerned that displacement away from coastal areas will restrict them
from traditional fishing-based livelihoods. Communities fear that not all displaced families
will be eligible for re-housing. Projects to build a new road connecting Buenaventura with
the Pan-American Highway and expansion of a military base were also identified as
potentially leading to displacements.
43.
Displaced Afro-Colombians have little choice but to move to urban areas,,
frequently inhospitable environments of poverty, discrimination and fear. Impoverished city
neighbourhoods provide a fertile recruitment ground for armed groups who coerce young
people living in poverty to join them.
B.
Afro-Colombian women’s experience of violence and displacement
44.
Colombia’s Constitutional Court identified 13 risk factors making women affected
by violence and displacement more vulnerable than men, including the risk of sexual
violence, exploitation for their labour, and persecution for their membership in women’s
organizations. Afro-Colombian, female, displaced and poor is a potentially fatal
combination for discrimination, trauma and vulnerability. An NGO survey of displaced
women found that the majority of displaced Afro-Colombians are women, many of whom
are heads of households with children. During their displacement, women surveyed
frequently reported physical aggression and sexual violence. Few victims register
complaints due to fear or ignorance of channels of complaint. Afro-Colombian women in
Suárez in Cauca described to the independent expert their experiences of forced labour,
violence and rape committed by illegal armed groups. Many children were born as a
consequence of rape and both mothers and children are ostracized within their
communities. Women expressed their concerns regarding their children being forced and
coerced into joining armed groups.
45.
Afro-Colombian women who serve in leadership roles in their communities reported
lack of recognition and disrespect for their roles from Government officials called upon to
protect them and asserted that threats against them are not given the same credence given to
11