E/CN.4/2004/18/Add.3 page 4 Introduction A. Purpose and conduct of the mission 1. At the invitation of the Colombian Government, and 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. 2. The Special Rapporteur was able to visit 4 of the country’s 32 departments, as well as the capital. He travelled to Bogotá; to Cartagena (Bolívar), a popular tourist destination on the Caribbean coast, where the shantytowns of displaced populations are a blot on the landscape; to San Andrés island, where the indigenous people, known as Raizales, informed him of their “double marginalization”: demographic marginalization as a result of large-scale migration of Spanish-speaking Colombians from the mainland, and economic and social marginalization, owing to their low participation in the economic and touristic development of the island; to Cali (Valle del Cauca), a city of refuge for a large number of displaced persons from the Pacific zone; and to Quibdó (Chocó), where the abandoned, predominantly Afro-Colombian, population is suffering the tragic consequences of political and military violence between the government army, paramilitary forces and guerrillas. 3. In Bogotá, the Special Rapporteur met with the Vice-President of Colombia, Mr. Francisco Santos Calderón, the Vice-Minister of the Interior, Mr. Juan Carlos Vives Menotti, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ms. Carolina Barco Isaacson, the Minister of Social Protection, Mr. Diego Palacio Betancourt, and with the Ombudsman, Mr. Volmar Antonio Pérez. In Cartagena, he met with the Mayor, Mr. Carlos Díaz Redondo, and visited two communities for displaced persons, Pablo VI Segundo and El Posón. In San Andrés, he met with the Governor, Ms. Susanie Davis Bryan, and her team and with the Special Representative of the President of the Republic for the islands of San Andrés and Providencia, Mr. Juan Guillermo Angel. In Cali, he met with the Governor of the department of Valle del Cauca, Mr. Germán Villegas Villegas, the Mayor of Cali, Mr. Jhon Maro Rodríguez, and the candidate for mayor – who is blind – Mr. Apolinar Salcedo. In Quibdó, the Special Rapporteur met mainly with representatives of the Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities and visited their ramshackle dwellings, and with representatives of the Catholic Church who are providing assistance to many displaced persons. 4. At all stages, the Special Rapporteur met with representatives of civil society, particularly members of Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities. In Bogotá, he held very productive working meetings with the Roma community and also visited the Roma district. 5. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank the Government of Colombia for its cooperation and the efforts that it made to ensure the smooth conduct of his mission. He also expresses his gratitude to the representatives of human rights institutions and thanks all the representatives of civil society who, through their testimonies and their information, enabled him to gain a better understanding of the situation in Colombia. He is particularly grateful to the Colombian Commission of Jurists, which coordinated all of his meetings with non-governmental organizations.