Rights
Monitor
Colombian
conflict could wipe out indigenous groups
Indigenous
groups in Colombia are in danger of disappearing amid
the country's continuing conflict, warned the UN refugee
agency today as it joined a mission to assess the situation
of thousands of indigenous people displaced by fighting
in the south-west.
The
clashes between the Colombian Army and guerrillas from
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) displaced
an estimated 3,500 indigenous Nasa people from the area
around the village of Toribí
o in the south-western province of Cauca. The number could
swell to 5,000 if the fighting continues. UNHCR and other
UN agencies visited the area on Friday to evaluate the
humanitarian needs of the population and to support relief
efforts by the civilian authorities.
The
Nasa, however, are just one of many indigenous groups
that have been affected by more than two decades of conflict
in Colombia. Attacks on indigenous communities and leaders
are reportedly on the rise this year.
"There
are even fears that, if the present trend continues, some
of the smaller and more vulnerable groups and their cultures
may actually disappear as they are driven from their ancestral
lands and disperse possibly never to return," UNHCR
spokesman Ron Redmond told journalists in Geneva on Friday.
"Some
small indigenous communities of the Amazon region are
in real danger of becoming extinct," said Rodolfo
Stavenhagen, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples. "The conditions of internally
displaced indigenous people are especially worrying, particularly
those of women, girls and boys."
Colombia
is home to over 80 indigenous groups numbering just under
1 million people. Forced displacement has affected them
in a disproportionate way: although indigenous people
make up just 2-3 percent of the country's population,
as many as 8 percent of all internally displaced people
are indigenous. Virtually all indigenous groups in Colombia
have been victims of forced displacement or are at serious
risk of being displaced from their ancestral lands.
Indigenous
people often become displaced within their region of origin,
to try to preserve their ties to their ancestral territories,
or flee towards remote areas where they cannot be easily
detected, and this is a contributing factor in making
their tragedy invisible.
Since
indigenous identity and culture are closely linked to
the land, indigenous communities suffer serious irreversible
damage when forced to displace: loss of traditional and
cultural patterns, including language, and a dramatic
deterioration of their lifestyle. These changes affect
particularly the most vulnerable groups, such as children,
youth and the elderly.
In
the north-western province of Choco, some 4,000 indigenous
Embera people are at imminent risk of being displaced
by fighting between guerrillas and paramilitary groups
in the Bojaya area. In March 2004, over 1,200 persons
from five indigenous communities in this area were forced
to flee their homes. Since the beginning of this year,
the irregular armed groups have increased their activities,
imposing blockades to stop food, medicine, fuel and other
vital supplies from reaching some communities.
In
the northern region of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta,
some 40,000 people belonging to four indigenous groups
(Wiwas, Koguis, Kankuamos and Arhuacos) are struggling
to survive and defend their culture. Caught between different
armed groups fighting for control of this strategic area,
the peoples of the Sierra Nevada face a growing trend
of forced displacement and restrictions in the access
to vital food and medicine supplies.
Like
many of the indigenous peoples of Colombia, the Eperara-Siapidaara,
who live along Colombia's Pacific coast, have historically
suffered from the colonization of their lands, which resulted
in the sacking of natural resources and the planting of
illegal crops. They have also been victims of forced recruitment
by irregular armed groups, and are at risk of being forcibly
displaced.
According
to UNHCR's estimates, 46 percent of all the victims of
mass displacements in the southern province of Nariño
last year, were indigenous. This is particularly worrying
since indigenous people make up less than 8 percent of
Nariño's population. Nearly half of those indigenous
persons who were victims of mass forced displacements
were neither registered not assisted by the authorities.
The figure is probably higher for individual displacements.
Indigenous
communities in Antioquia, Choco and Cauca, have denounced
abuses by the Colombian Armed Forces. Others, like those
in Arauca, Choco, Guaviare and the Amazonian province
of Vaupé
s, have denounced the presence of antipersonnel mines
in their territories.
"More
than 20,000 people in the Mitú and Carurú
areas of Vaupés, a province where 85 percent of
the population is indigenous, are caught in the cross-fire
between the different parties to the conflict. We warn
about the serious risk of extinction of these indigenous
communities," said the Association of Traditional
Authorities of Vaupés.
"We
call on the Colombian authorities to take urgent measures
to protect indigenous communities and leaders and to investigate
all the murders and other crimes committed against them,"
said UNHCR's Redmond. "We also call upon all the
parties to the conflict to respect the principles of International
Humanitarian Law, respect the rights of the civilian population
and refrain from involving civilians in the conflict."
In
Colombia, the UN refugee agency works to protect the rights
of indigenous people, to promote the participation of
indigenous women in their communities' decision-making
processes, and to strengthen indigenous organizations
in order to improve their response capacity.
Source
: UNHCR
