Cuentos de Colombia

Various Links Round-Up: Colombia & ICC, Cauca, and displacements

Colombia and the International Criminal Court: New Prosecutor, New Standards?atJustice in Conflict,

by guest bloggers Mariana Rodriquez-Pareja and Salvador Herencia-Carrasco discusses the situation in Colombia in light of the recent sentencing of Lubanga for the recruitment and use of child soldiers in Uganda. They ask whether the conditions lend themselves to reconsidering the case of Colombia, which despite President Santos’ call for increased attention to human rights, has seen deteriorating or sustained attacks against civilians, use of children, gender based violence and legalprocesses granting impunity to perpetrators of such crimes.

Various pieces concerning the situation in Cauca:

Infobae.com reports President Santos asking indigenous people in Cauca department to ‘reflect on their actions’ after several dozen attacked six soldiers, in another flare up as indigenous groups demand all armed actors to leave their territory. Santos stated that “our enemy is the terrorist group Farc, not the indigenous”. The Cauca region has been the site of violence and heated stand-offs between indigenous groups and the Army in recent weeks. Interesting to note that despite Santos’ distinction between Farc and the indigenous population, his Defense Minister claimed last week that the indigenous population had been infiltrated by Farc, blurring the boundaries of who the perceived ‘enemy’ might be, and putting civilians lives at risk.  

Last week I summarised various news and information I had come across concerning the situation in Cauca here. Paula Delgado-King at Talking about Colombia, had even more details in her post on July 24.

The UNHCR expresed their concern in regards to multiple and simultaneous displacements in Colombia

They note that while many people have been displaced in Cauca, less visibly have been massive displacements particularly in the departments of Putamayo, Chocó and Norte de Santander. In all cases the UNHCR cites the presence of non-state armed actors, forced recruitment and eradication of illegal crops and presence of anti-personnel mines.