Building Capacity of Internally Displaced Afro-Colombians to Participate in the Political Decisionmaking Process

USIP supported a partnership between Global Rights and AFRODES to build the capacity of internally displaced Afro-Colombians to engage the Colombian government and appropriate international human rights bodies over issues of displacement.

Background

In Colombia, where a brutal internal armed conflict has raged for decades, the United Nations estimates that between three and five million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes and land.  Afro-Colombians have found themselves disproportionately displaced or otherwise negatively affected by the protracted conflict. 

Activities

Through a series of workshops Global Rights and AFRODES trained more than 90 Afro-Colombians in Chocó, Valle, Narino, Bolívar, and Cundinamarca to document human rights violations and build capacity for seeking remedies with local, regional, national and internationals authorities.  Project participants completed a report on the status of Afro-Colombian human rights and presented it to international agencies as well as to local authorities.  Their documentation was used by Colombia’s Constitutional Court, which was monitoring the status of displaced populations under a 2004 finding (T-025), and resulted in 2009 in a new Constitutional Court Order (T-005) that calls on the government to include AFRODES in the design and execution of programs to address the legitimate claims of displaced Afro-Colombian communities. 
Activities related to this project included:

• Training NGO leaders on report-writing and human rights documentation
• Providing technical assistance to assess the effectiveness of public institutions
• Empowering internally displaced Afro-Colombians to play a role in establishing an ongoing dialogue with local, regional, and national authorities
• Strengthening the capacity of Afro-Colombian organizations to participate in the political decision-making process in Colombia and to resolve peacefully the violence that accompanies displacement.

Explore Further

Read publications of Global Rights and AFRODES:

• "Bicentennial: Nothing to Celebrate!"
  This report, published in English and Spanish, details threats and human rights violations against Afro-Colombian leaders and makes policy recommendations to the international community and the Colombian government.
• "Guía para la Participación Política y la Incidencia"
  This guide, published solely in Spanish, is directed to Afro-Colombian leaders who wish to participate in political processes and advocacy.
• "Easier Said than Done"
  This report, published in English and Spanish, analyzes the public policies and laws that affect internally displaced Afro-Colombians.
• Countries and Regions: Colombia
  
• Learn more about USIP's Grants and Fellowships

PROJECT DIRECTOR: Carlos Quesada, Global Rights, Washington, DC