E/CN.4/2004/18/Add.3 page 2 Summary In accordance with his mandate, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance visited Colombia from 27 September to 11 October 2003 at the invitation of the Colombian Government. The visit made it possible to evaluate the progress achieved in the implementation of policies and measures to improve the situation of Afro-Colombians and indigenous populations, particularly following the visit of the former Special Rapporteur, Mr. Maurice Glèlè-Ahanhanzo, in 1996 (see E/CN.4/1997/71/Add.1, paras. 66-68). The Special Rapporteur also examined the situation of the Roma, a people that has apparently been excluded from Colombian ethno-demographic data. The Roma, who receive very little attention from human rights defenders, consider themselves to be victims of age-old discrimination. However, the principal aim of the visit was to assess the situation of all these communities in the context of the new upsurge of political violence in Colombia. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges that, since 1991, Colombia has adopted a Constitution and laws and created institutions that recognize and protect its ethnic and cultural diversity, guarantee human rights and lay the foundations of democracy. However, the Special Rapporteur also noted that the emergence of a society based on respect for human rights and the rule of law has been seriously jeopardized by persistent – and increasing – violence by all the actors in the Colombian drama. The political and military violence, and its corollary, the priority accorded by all parties concerned to a military solution, as well as the marginalization of respect for human rights, and the systematic violation of the basic rights of the population, have led to a dramatic increase in the precariousness and economic and social distress of these communities, as well as discrimination - particularly racial and ethnic discrimination - against them. The massive presence of indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian communities in regions of major economic and strategic importance and in conflict zones makes them extremely vulnerable to such violence. According to a government estimate, there are between 890,000 and 3 million displaced persons in Colombia; of that number, 3.75 per cent are indigenous peoples, who represent only 2 per cent of the total population. Afro-Colombians account for 17 per cent of the total number of displaced persons. The disastrous impact of the conflict on these populations reflects a cultural and social context marked by the persistence of attitudes that are the historical legacy of racial and ethnic discrimination against Afro-Colombians. The ethnic and racial dimension of the Colombian armed conflict is therefore a sad reality. For this reason, the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations focus on the following issues: a political solution and human rights; a national programme to combat racism and discrimination; the situation of displaced persons; an intellectual strategy against discrimination; and the question of San Andrés island.