E/CN.4/2002/94/Add.1 page 17 of migration in both directions. In the interviews she held, the Special Rapporteur was informed that there is great concern in various circles at the growth of xenophobic sentiments directed towards Colombian migrants, who are often regarded as being involved in crime or drug trafficking. On the border, it was reported that such sentiments are becoming more acute as the conflict in Colombia and the application of Plan Colombia affect security and economic well-being in the region. The Foreign Minister informed the Special Rapporteur in this connection of a development programme along the northern border which the State is implementing together with IOM and USAID and which is said to make a direct contribution to stability and consolidation in the provinces of Carchi, Esmeraldas and Sucumbíos. IOM reported that the purpose of the programme known as “Strengthening of communities in the northern provinces of Ecuador” is to conduct activities that provide real and sustainable benefits to the local population, such as improving health conditions, promoting development by upgrading transport arteries and meeting the needs of displaced population groups coming from Colombia. 49. The Special Rapporteur was provided with information concerning the situation of Colombians fleeing from their country as a result of the internal conflict and the implementation of Plan Colombia. A total of 4,281 Colombians sought refuge between January 2000 and 31 October 2001. Of these, a total of 2,106 cases are under consideration, 1,620 have already been accepted as refugees and 555 have been denied refugee status. The regulations for the application in Ecuador of the rules contained in the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol to it established a commission to determine refugee status, composed of two officials from the Foreign Ministry and one from the Ministry of the Interior. A representative of UNHCR participates as an observer. The law provides that persons granted refugee status are issued with a 12-IV visa, on the basis of which they can request the Ministry of Labour to issue an employment card to enable them to work. It also provides for appeals to the Foreign Ministry against denial of refugee status. 50. In Sucumbíos, the Provincial Head of Migration informed the Special Rapporteur that very few Colombians are officially registered or enjoy proper status as migrants in the region. It was also reported that between September 2000 and February 2001, the number of persons entering Ecuador from Colombia doubled from 600 a month to 1,400. The Provincial Head of Migration said that a large proportion of those affected by violence in Colombia make use of Ecuadorian territory as a transit zone and return home through other border crossings. Others fleeing the armed conflict in the neighbouring country do not seek refugee status because they make use of family ties or friends to settle locally, sometimes temporarily until they can return home. Others again head for cities inside Ecuador, because of the lack of jobs in the area of Lago Agrio - the cause of the economic depression affecting the town, the Special Rapporteur was told, since the dollarization of the economy, the rise in violence in Colombia and the application of Plan Colombia, which have had an impact on trade. 51. In the province of Sucumbíos, UNHCR informed the Special Rapporteur that, of the 994 Colombians who had been granted refugee status in the province, 54 had opted for voluntary repatriation with the help of UNHCR, 350 continued to live in the area (only 11 of them in the hostel intended for refugees), while the remainder were thought to have moved to other parts of Ecuador, or had for the most part returned to Putumayo.