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of their right to a special jurisdiction, thereby restricting and, in some cases, preventing the
exercise of that right; the non-recognition of their autonomy, their government and their own
laws and methods of settling disputes within their communities; and the destruction of,
non-respect for, and restrictions on access to their sacred sites. The various armed groups
display even more blatant contempt for indigenous peoples in this regard.
67.
The Constitution recognizes indigenous jurisdiction but the mechanisms to coordinate it
properly with the State judicial system are still not in place. Issues yet to be resolved include the
recording of the various procedures carried out under indigenous jurisdiction and the protection
of individual human rights within it. The Special Rapporteur urges the parties involved to
devote particular attention to these issues.
68.
In addition to the valuable work being done by the Constitutional Court, mention must be
made of the Office of the Ombudsman, which has a division for indigenous peoples, whose
coverage has been expanding across the country. The Office of the Ombudsman has taken steps
to protect indigenous human rights, one of the most important of which is resolution 24/2002,
which takes note of serious violations of indigenous human rights in the region of the
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía del Perijá, and requests the Department of
Indigenous Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior to implement an emergency plan to safeguard
the fundamental and collective rights of the region’s indigenous peoples, in coordination with the
indigenous peoples and organizations concerned, and to complete the process of establishing the
Kankuamo reserve, the rehabilitation of the Yukpa reserve in El Coso and the extension and
rehabilitation of the Arhuaco and Kogui-Malayo reserves.
69.
The true scale of the problem far outweighs the scope of these initiatives, however. In
terms of coverage, for example, the Office of the Ombudsman needs reinforcement in regions
such as Magdalena, Guajira, César and the Valle del Cauca, all of which are known to be
epicentres of the conflict and have large Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities, but
where there is scant coverage by the Office of the Ombudsman for lack of resources.
E. Situation of indigenous women
70.
The situation of indigenous women, who account for 49 per cent of the total indigenous
population, is particularly worrying. To begin with, the few indicators available show that
women’s level of human development (education, nutrition, health, etc.) is lower than that of
indigenous men and of the non-indigenous population as a whole. At least 60 per cent of
displaced women lack access to health services. Displaced children present high rates of
malnutrition, respiratory diseases, diarrhoea and dehydration, and many of them are forced to
migrate to urban areas to avoid recruitment by the armed groups.
71.
The Special Rapporteur received reports of abuses and violations of the rights of
indigenous women, who are frequently subjected to physical violence, usually accompanied by
sexual assault, by the armed groups in the socio-political conflict. However, acts of
intracommunity and domestic violence against women, committed by men from their own
communities, are also reported. Indigenous women also show low levels of involvement in
community affairs and in the political and institutional life of the country.