The Institute Participates in IACHR Thematic Hearing on “Investigating Attacks on Human Rights Defenders in Colombia”

On March 21, the thematic hearing “Investigating Attacks on Human Rights Defenders in Colombia” was held at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Through its representative for Colombia, Pedro L. Cortes-Ruiz, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights participated in the hearing as petitioner, together with representatives of the Marcha Patriótica and a collective of human rights organizations represented by the Corporación para la Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos Reiniciar.

The hearing was requested by the Colombian government. In its presentation, led by Assistant Attorney General María Paulina Riveros, the government offered an assessment of the adjustments being implemented by the Office of the Attorney General to improve investigations into attacks on human rights defenders and strengthen protection and prevention mechanisms. The government also requested the assistance of the IACHR in developing directives to improve institutional responsiveness in this area.

In the remarks to the Commission by its representative, the Institute expressed its positive assessment of the efforts to improve investigations of attacks. Nevertheless, it conveyed its concern that such efforts “do not adequately include a differentiated approach that recognizes the particular characteristics and impacts involved in the risk situations and rights violations suffered by Afro-Colombian and LGBTI community leaders.”

The Institute also shared the concerns of several partner organizations from Colombia, including those of the Asociación Nacional de Afrocolombianos Desplazados (AFRODES). The first concern shared was in regard to the National Protection Unit, the institution responsible for providing protective measures for human rights defenders at risk. Cases continue to occur wherein leaders who have been victims of attacks are not granted protective measures because, according to official evaluations, their risk situation has been classified as “ordinary.” Even in the case of Erlendy Cuero, Vice-President of AFRODES, for whom the IACHR has requested precautionary measures, the government has failed to work with her to implement protective measures because it “insists that she must undertake for the sixth time the administrative process for a risk-assessment.”

The Institute also highlighted the need for the Colombian government to reevaluate institutional processes regarding collective protection measures, reminding the Commission that on two prior occasions before the IACHR the government has declared its commitment to do so, but that has as of yet it has failed to take any action on the matter.

The concerns of the Colombian LGBTI community as conveyed to the Institute by its partners at Caribe Afirmativo were also expressed to the Commission; namely, that in the face of an increasing number of murders and attacks on the LGBTI community, the government has yet to implement the necessary changes to its protection programs recommended by the Commission in 2014.

The Institute’s assessment concluded by relating to the IACHR the message of the Diocese of Quibdó, which included follow-up information on issues and recommendations related to the human rights violations against communities and organizations in Colombia’s Pacific coast region.

Lastly, the Institute offered three specific recommendations to the Commission.

• That the Commission recommend to the Colombian government that it revise and update the norms and programs for the inclusion of collective protection measures in its provision of protections for Afro-Colombian leaders.
• That the Commission recommend to the Colombian government to fulfill its commitment expressed to the Commission to refrain from requiring new risk assessments for persons for whom the IACHR has requested precautionary measures.
• That the Commission urge the Colombian government to act on the Commission’s recommendation from 2014 to modify Decree 4912 of 2011 in order to include LGBTI leaders as persons warranting protection for risks associated with their work regardless of their status as members of a formal human rights organization.

The intervention made by the representative of the Marcha Patriótica offered a critical assessment of the institutional responses regarding investigations and protection of its members, who have been systematically attacked and murdered. A serious concern was expressed for members’ stigmatization and criminalization, which at times has even come from high-level government representatives. It was also announced that the organization would soon make a formal petition to the IACHR for precautionary measures.

The intervention made by Reiniciar focused on questioning the government’s failure to recognize the systematic nature of threats against and murders of human rights defenders, which have increased in intensity of the past fourteen months.

The comments made by the Commissioners following the remarks by the state and the petitioners included a recognition of the usefulness of considering the Institute’s insistence that a differential approach be incorporated in the institutional improvements being made to better protect LGBTI and Afro-Colombian leaders. The Colombian government also publicly expressed its commitment to implementing this recommendation.

Photo by: Daniel Cima/CIDH used unaltered, under creative commons license cc by 2.0. To access the image from its original source, please click here. 

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Grants Precautionary Measures to Afro-Colombian Leader Erlendy Cuero Bravo

Washington, DC | December 21, 2016 The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights granted precautionary measures to Erlendy Cuero Bravo, Vice-President of the Association of Internally-Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES) on December 6, 2016. The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights acted as Ms. Cuero Bravo’s legal representative before the Commission, arguing that Colombia is failing to adequately protect her against threats, harassment, and attempts on her life, all related to her work as a human rights defender.

Ms. Cuero Bravo, who advocates on behalf of Afro-Colombian communities in Cali displaced by Colombia’s decades-long internal armed conflict, has survived several assassination attempts. Since 2008, she has received multiple threats signed by known armed paramilitary and criminal groups. Despite repeatedly informing Colombian State agencies charged with protecting human rights defenders about her security situation, Ms. Cuero Bravo has received inadequate protection. The National Protection Unit has either not responded to Ms. Cuero Bravo’s requests for help or has qualified her risk level as “ordinary” on several different occasions.

The security risks Ms. Cuero Bravo faces as a human rights defender in Colombia are unfortunately not unique. As of November 30, 2016, the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights in Colombia reported 35 assassination attempts and 52 murders of human rights defenders in the country. Likewise, earlier in November, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a press release in which it condemned the increase in killings of human rights defenders in Colombia, and noted special concern for the vulnerability of Afro-Colombian leaders.

In its resolution, which references this broader context of violence, the Inter-American Commission found that Ms. Cuero Bravo’s situation satisfies prima facie the elements of seriousness, urgency, and risk of irreparable harm necessary to grant precautionary measures. The Commission requests that Colombia take all measures necessary to protect the life and personal security of Ms. Cuero Bravo, and to allow her to continue her work as a human rights defender free of intimidation, threats, and harassment.

“We are pleased that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has recognized the risks Erlendy is facing to carry out her work as a community leader for some of Colombia’s most vulnerable citizens, when the State failed to do so,” stated Institute Executive Director Carlos Quesada. “Colombia must now comply with the Commission’s request for protective measures.”

The Institute will continue to work partner organization AFRODES and Ms. Cuero Bravo to ensure compliance with the Commission’s resolution in her favor.

Displaced Afro-Colombian community in Cali holds meeting to analyze the situation of the peace process in Colombia.

Bogota, November 1, 2016.  On October 28, the National Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES), with support from the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (IREHR) held a meeting with 50 members of the internally displaced Afro-Colombian community in Cali, including several leaders of organizations representing displaced persons. The name of the meeting was Workshop/Dialogue – Afro-Colombians Displaced in Cali: Facing the Current Peace Process Situation. The event included participation of representatives of the office for consultation of the peace process of the Cali Mayor’s Office. Pedro L. Cortés-Ruiz, the Colombian Consultant and Representative of IREHR in Colombia, coordinated the event with the support of Erlendy Cuero, Vice-President of AFRODES.

The goal of the event was to promote a dialogue to help organizations deepen their analysis of and reflections on the current status of the peace process under negotiation between the Colombian government and the FARC paramilitary, as well to better understand the implications of the current scenario for displaced Afro-Colombian communities in Cali. Given the high level of uncertainty about the future of the peace process, and in light of the unfavorable outcome of the national plebiscite on the agreements, the event reinforced the commitment of AFRODES to maintain a proactive stance towards peacebuilding. This is especially important given that the “ethnic chapter” included in the agreements – the result of advocacy efforts in which AFRODES actively participated – is an achievement whose legitimacy must be maintained in any modifications made to the accords.

The event was very productive in at least three aspects: (1) it deepened educational actions regarding the accords directed toward community members who have not had an opportunity to learn about their content; (2) it helped to identify and analyze the content and mechanisms proposed in the accords that will specifically affect Afro-Colombian communities displaced in urban centers such as Cali; and (3) it helped identify advocacy priorities to be adopted and implemented by organizations of displaced Afro-Colombians in Cali, and helped them prepare for participation in the implementation process of the accords once the process of “renegotiation” concludes.

Regarding the educational aspect of the event, it is worth noting that although support for the implementation of the accords, especially the ethnic chapter, was confirmed, it was also made evident that large sectors of the displaced Afro-Colombian population do not have a sufficient understanding of the structure and content of the accords. A very valuable contribution to the dialogue came from the spontaneous participation of younger members of the group who expressed their more critical stance regarding the peace process, including criticism of some elements of the accords which have come under scrutiny throughout the nation.

As for the group’s collective analysis of the content and mechanisms proposed by the accords, the event concentrated on the Victims’ Accords – the Integrated System for Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition. The reason for this emphasis is that the Victims’ Accord most directly affects the situation of displaced Afro-Colombians. Unfortunately, the accords’ lack of an adequate ethnic differential approach (with the exception of the ethnic chapter) is reflected in the invisibility faced by this subsection of the population, which represents the largest collective group of victims. In reviewing and discussing each element of this Accord, the group was able to identify the aspects critical to ensure that the implementation of the Victims’ Accord results in the restitution of their rights.

Finally, the event also allowed the group to identify advocacy priorities in anticipation of their participation in the implementation process of the Accords. In this sense, it was very positive to have the participation of representatives of the Mayor’s Office of Cali, who expressed agreement that civil society organizations must have a central role in these processes. For their part, the event’s participants offered analyses that accurately identified particular characteristics of the reality of displaced Afro-Colombian communities Cali which to date had not been included in public discussions on the peace process and the accords.

In its assessment of the event, IREDH confirms the need to further strengthen spaces for collective discussion and analysis by the communities most affected by the armed conflict. When imagining what form the implementation of the accords may take, we believe that strengthening the capacity of the displaced Afro-Colombian community to participate in the process is a necessary condition to ensure State institutions effectively guarantee their human rights within Colombian society.

For more information, please contact:

Pedro L. Cortes-Ruiz

Representative/Consultant for Colombia

Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights

Cortes@oldrace.wp

The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights releases a new publication with analysis on the Colombian peace process and the situation of Afro-Colombian populations

Bogotá, October 14, 2016. The Colombian office of the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (IREHR) is pleased to publically release its first policy paper on Afro-Colombians and the post-accords, titled “Afrocolombianos, Afrocolombianas y Post-Acuerdo: Análisis de condiciones para la adopción de un enfoque diferencial étnico-afrocolombiano.” This paper aims to analyze the necessary conditions in the post-accord environment for the implementation of a differential ethnic approach to peace for Afro-Colombians.

The analyses presented in this report were carefully constructed prior to the results of the national plebiscite on October 2, 2016, whose unfavorable results halted the implementations of the final Peace Accords between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla forces. Despite the fact that regions with majority ethnic populations voted largely in favor of the final Peace Accords, the final results at the national level rejected the accords by a minimal margin (YES – 49.76%, NO – 50.23%). This result has suspended the peace process and the implementation of the accords. At this moment, social processes and institutions are being put in place with the aim of preserving the existing bilateral ceasefire and to finding alternatives to “renegotiate” the final accords. It is within this context that ethnic organizations and communities are making great efforts to safeguard the progress achieved so far in the Peace Accords, particularly in regards to the “ethnic chapter” incorporated in to the accords.

Despite the situation of uncertainty, the analysis of the accords presented in this document remain valid and will continue to be a relevant guide for action in the new and developing circumstances surrounding the peace process. For this reaseon, the document will make an important contribution to the efforts to understand the necessary conditions in the post-accord scenario that will ensure the restitution and protection of the rights of Afro-Colombian communities most affected by the armed conflict.

Vote Against the Peace Accords Reinforces the Need to Support Colombia’s Ethnic Communities Who Voted Yes

Bogota, October 3, 2016. Given the result of the nationwide plebiscite rejecting the Peace Accords, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights urges continued support for Colombian ethnic communities’ peacebuilding efforts. Although at the national level the NO vote received 50.23%, minimally edging the YES vote’s 49.76%, in the regions most affected by the conflict and inhabited mostly by ethnic groups the majority of the population voted in favor of the implementation of the Accords. The initial reactions of ethnic communities’ organizations and coalitions who have supported the peace negotiations and achieved the inclusion of an “ethnic chapter” in the Accords have been to express their continued commitment to support a negotiated end to the conflict.

There now exists a high level of uncertainty about what will happen to the peace process. Despite this, both the government and the FARC have publically affirmed their commitment to maintain the bilateral ceasefire. Moreover, political leaders who opposed the Accords have called for the construction of a “Grand National Pact.” The renegotiation of the Accords appears to be the most likely option moving forward.

In this scenario, where would the ethnic communities find themselves? Most concerning would be that the guarantees for respect for ethnic communities’ rights achieved thus far through the inclusion of the “ethnic chapter” find themselves in serious jeopardy, given that, for now, their implementation will not be carried out as planned. Moreover, although both sides have expressed a commitment to maintain the ceasefire, the vulnerability of ethnic communities to violence carried out by other armed actors continues to be a cause for serious concern. This applies to ethnic communities in rural areas as well as to those who have been internally displaced to marginalized urban areas. The rejection of the Accords fosters a political climate that, unfortunately, does not help the country move toward becoming a society where conflicts are resolved without violence.

The international community, especially the Inter-American System of Human Rights and the human rights bodies of the United Nations, but also national and international human rights organizations, should be attentive in monitoring Colombian ethnic communities’ human rights situation. Moreover, they should provide the necessary support to ethnic communities’ organizations so that they may help ensure that the guarantees achieved through the “ethnic chapter” are respected during the possible renegotiation process. This backing should also include support for ethnic communities’ effective participation in upcoming political processes regarding the Accords.

The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights and the Washington Office on Latin America Denounce the Threats and Attacks Against the Leaders of the Colombian Organization AFRODES

The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) condemn the threats and attacks against the lives of several members (and their families) of the National Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES), a nationwide umbrella organization that defends the rights of Afro-Colombians displaced as a result of the Colombian armed conflict. We urge the Colombian government to adopt the necessary protective measures to guarantee these leaders’ rights to life, physical safety and political participation. In Colombia, the signing of the Peace Accords is approaching, which through its “ethnic chapter” will obligate the State to adopt specific measures to guarantee the rights of the country’s ethnic groups. The governments of Colombia and the United States should support and help reinforce measures to protect Afro-Colombian leaders and organizations.

Since the organization’s creation in 1999, members of AFRODES have seen their rights systematically violated. The constant threats received by AFRODES members have seriously undermined their organizing work. Several of the organization’s leaders have been killed or victims of assassination attempts. Recently, leaders of organizations associated with AFRODES Cali and their family members have been victims of threats and attacks. In some cases, formal petitions for protection measures made to the Colombian government have been rejected based on risk-assessment evaluations that incomprehensibly establish that these leaders face only “ordinary risks.” Of all AFRODES members facing clear risks, only a very few have been granted protection measures.

The most recent threats and attacks against AFORDES Cali’s leaders and their families include the following occurrences:

• On September 10, 2016, the son of the leader Stela Alomia was wounded by gunshot and is currently in critical condition. This occurred when the victim went to check on the state of his home (located in the Barrio Taller sector of Potrero Grande), which the victim and his family were forced to abandon in December 2015 after numerous threats and an attack against a different son of Stela. The visit was made in order to avoid losing a housing subsidy for having “abandoned” the property.
• Erlendy Cuero, Vice-President of AFRODES, continues to receive telephoned threats to assassinate her and one of her children. These threats have continued to intensify since 2013, when she participated in a thematic hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Recently, Erlendy’s son was a victim of an assassination attempt on March 27, 2016. Before that, on September 1, 2015 two armed men attempted to kill her at her house. On February 7, 2015 a leaflet was left at her house that threatened her life and the life of her daughter if they did not leave the Llano Verde neighborhood.
• On July 30, 2016 the leader Yaneris Cabrera received calls and text messages threatening her life and making explicit reference to the organizing work she does with AFRODES. She is the secretary of AFRODES Cali, in charge of announcements, documentation and monitoring of the organization’s activities.
• The daughter of the leader Yenny Castro was a victim of forced recruitment in December of 2014. Additionally, Yenny was leading a group of persons in the substandard settlement Playa Alta, home to 55 displaced families. The settlement was burned down on April 29, 2015.
• In 2014 the door of the residence of the leader Felipe Asprilla was shot. In 2015, persons painted onto his door a message in blood that read “ASPRILLA IS GONE…” In addition, these persons left a leaflet that read “that the leaders promoting the election of the Llano Verde community action council will be military targets by the end of 2015.”
• Bernardo Cuero, leader and treasurer of AFRODES who resides in the Atlántico Department, has been the victim of multiple attacks on his life. Similarly to Erlendy, these threats and attacks have intensified since his participation in 2013 in a thematic hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. His petitions for protective measures have been rejected by the Colombian government and the complaints made to the Prosecutor’s Office have not been adequately received and processed.

We recommend to the Colombian government the following:

• To guarantee the effective application of adequate protective measures in each of the cases heretofore described.
• To immediately investigate the incidents presented and to bring those responsible for them to justice.
• To begin a process of registering the organizations associated with AFRODES so that they may be eligible for collective reparations.
• To guarantee the integration—through consultation with the Ethnic Commission—of the principles contained in the Ethnic Chapter of the final Peace Accords in the mechanisms responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the accords.

We recommend to the United States government the following.

• The State Department and the Embassy in Bogota should ensure compliance with the human rights conditions linked with military assistance provided to Colombia by the United States that obligate the Colombian government to ensure protection for Afro-Descendent leaders.
• United States officials should insist that Colombia improve its protection mechanisms for members of the organization AFRODES and these leaders’ family members, investigate these instances and publicly condemn acts of violence against them.

A YES vote in the plebiscite on the Final Peace Accords in Colombia will strengthen the conditions necessary to guarantee the rights of ethnic groups.

Bogotá, September 13, 2016. After the signing of the Final Accord by representatives of the Colombian government and the FARC-EP guerrilla movement on August 24, 2016, the Colombian Congress authorized President Juan Manuel Santos to hold a plebiscite on October 2 so that Colombia’s citizens may express their agreement or disagreement to the agreed upon terms of peace. The plebiscite asks: Do you support the Final Accord for the conclusion of the conflict and the construction of a stable and lasting peace? The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights expresses its support for the ethnic organizations and communities that have been publically promoting educational activities to rally all Colombians in support the YES vote.

There are many reasons for both Colombia’s ethnic communities and Colombian society as a whole to support an affirmative vote on the Peace Accords. Some relate to institutional procedures during the implementation of the Accords; others transcend these operational aspects and involve Colombian society’s collective imagination and long-held perceptions that are also key to ensuring that peacebuilding includes the country’s ethnic groups.

The YES vote, by expressing popular support for what has been agreed upon, would by extension affirm the differential ethnic approach that has been included in the Final Accords. In a press release published on September 5, 2016, the Ethnic Commission for Peace and the Defense of Territorial Rights argued that the inclusion of an “ethnic chapter” in the Final Accords establishes a commitment to guarantee the rights of ethnic communities in the implementation of the Accords. It is for the reasons expressed below that the groups comprising the Commission are mobilizing in support of the YES vote.

After both sides to the conflict reached a Final Peace Accord on August 24 of this year, Colombia’s ethnic peoples have continued our permanent assembly throughout the country, carrying out a Pedagogy for Peace to instruct ethnic communities in the content of the Accords and thereby ensure our survival. Throughout more than 35% of the country we are saying YES to PEACE, YES to LIFE! For this reason, we invite all Colombians to work for a peace for all and to tell those who want to perpetuate the war that we will not accept the NO of the apologists of war, of political parties and their allies in the media. After more than 50 years of war, it would be an embarrassment before the entire world for Colombians to support war instead of supporting the victims who want PEACE; to them we say that here, the truth will win…the truth will set us free, the truth will let us live in PEACE.

A YES will help consolidate conditions for the construction of peace in ethnic communities’ territories. Ethnic communities are aware that the signing of the Accords and a YES vote are only a starting point for peacebuilding. They are also aware that beyond these first steps, popular support for the Accords will help create a better understanding by citizens and institutions of the differential impact of the conflict on ethnic communities and increase support for policies and programs designed to help restore their rights.

A YES vote will also provide an opportunity for ethnic groups to overcome past structural exclusions through the implementation of the Accords. The organizations that comprise the Ethnic Commission for Peace and the Defense of Territorial Rights and who led the advocacy efforts for the inclusion of the ethnic chapter in the Final Accords have highlighted from the very beginning that the Accords represent an opportunity for the State and Colombian society to finally adopt the public policies necessary to overcome the structural exclusion that has only worsened as a result of the armed conflict. In this way, a YES vote strengthens the legitimacy of ethnic groups’ claims and offers an opportunity adequately and sufficiently implement these just demands.

A YES vote also demonstrates Colombian society’s commitment to the elimination of racial discrimination and other forms of exclusion that affect ethnic groups. By recognizing the differential impact of the conflict on ethnic groups and incorporating principles to guarantee a differential approach, the Accord will help to correct the negative impact of racial discrimination that ethnic communities continue to experience. Specifically, public investment to improve quality of life in rural areas will offer an opportunity to eliminate one of the most powerful expressions of institutional racism: the State’s indifference towards the ethnic groups’ living conditions.

A YES vote will give the green light to Colombian society to uncover and acknowledge the truth regarding the impact of the armed conflict on ethnic communities. Over the last 20 years, ethnic organizations and communities have denounced as genocide the systematic pattern of violence and rights’ violations they have experienced at the hands of all armed actors. These facts, widely documented by national and international NGOs and human rights bodies, demonstrate that the armed conflict has destroyed the basic conditions necessary for the physical and cultural survival of Colombian indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. Until recently, it appeared that both the Colombian State and society had not fully recognized the magnitude and severity of this impact. A YES vote, which would give a green light to creating the appropriate mechanisms to uncover and acknowledge truth about the conflict, will finally offer an opportunity to recognize the real impact of the conflict on the country’s ethnic communities.

The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights reaffirms its commitment to support Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities and organizations in their efforts to include a differential ethnic approach in the implementation of the Final Accord as a means to guarantee the protection and restitution of their rights.

Final Peace Accords in Colombia include Ethnic Chapter

Bogota, August 25, 2016. The Final Peace Accord, which brings an end to the Colombian armed conflict, was signed in Havana yesterday, August 24, by presiding representatives of the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla group. The Accords include an “ethnic chapter” that provides a set of “principles, safeguards and guarantees” whose application during the implementation of the Peace Accords will contribute to guaranteeing the rights of Colombia’s ethnic communities and restore those rights that have been violated as a result of the conflict.

The inclusion of this important, last minute chapter was primarily due to the advocacy work of the Comisión Étnica para la Paz y la Defensa de los Derechos Territoriales, consisting of the Consejo Nacional de Paz Afrocolombiano – CONPA (National Afrocolombian Peace Council), the Organización Nacional Indigena de Colombia – ONIC (National Indigenous Organization of Colombia) and The Gobierno Mayor de las Autoridades Indigenas de Colombia (Major Government of the Traditional Indigenous Authorities of Colombia).

The inclusion of this ethnic chapter helps in some ways to correct the omission of a suitable differential ethnic approach in the draft agreements created during negotiations. This omission was due in large part to the negotiating table’s failure to implement appropriate mechanisms for dialogue with ethnic organizations that had sought participation in the negotiations since they began. The contents of the ethnic chapter undoubtedly offer a central reference point for the implementation an appropriate differential ethnic approach. But the application of a differential approach will depend on a set of mechanisms and conditions, the creation of which will require a commitment by the Colombian government, the FARC, and ethnic organizations and communities.

Within the contents of the ethnic chapter, it should be noted that the Accords:

• Recognize the structural nature of exclusion and the differential impacts of the conflict experienced by ethnic groups.
• Confirm the validity of all national and international norms by which the Colombian State has committed itself to protecting the rights of ethnic peoples.
• Propose ­the Consulta Previa mechanism, the “prior, free and informed consultation,” of ethnic communities as the main safeguard for ethnic communities’ rights to be applied in the implementation of all the Accords. As such, the Accords acknowledge the legitimacy of ethnic authorities as key actors in all implementation mechanisms.
• Stipulate a transversal approach that includes gender, family and generational dimensions as the guiding principle of applying a differential ethnic approach.
• Propose the creation of special mechanisms for consultation and ensuring participation in all institutions created for the implementation of the each of the Accords (comprehensive rural reform, political participation, victims, solution to the problem of drugs, and implementation and verification).
• Establishes a High-Level Special Body for Ethnic Peoples to serve as a mechanism for participation in all processes of implementation and verification of the agreements

These are some of the key elements of the ethnic chapter. Now, does the inclusion of this ethnic chapter guarantee that the agreements will effectively implement and apply an appropriate differential ethnic approach? This will depend on many political, institutional and social conditions that must be guaranteed in the post-agreement stage. Among them, the following should be highlighted:

• The most important, which will be an indisputable, necessary condition (sine qua non), is that communities and organizations must have the necessary capacity and resources to effectively participate in the mechanisms proposed for the implementation of the Accords. The Colombian State must prioritize the establishment of this condition.
• All legislation adopted by the Colombian Congress must include all the principles, safeguards and guarantees provided in the ethnic chapter, a constituent part of the Final Accord.
• The budgets for the implementation of the Accords must include resources required specifically for the differential ethnic approach to be actually applied.
• The regional and local entities who will ultimately will be responsible for the implementation of the Accords must incorporate into their programs and projects these principles, safeguards and guarantees.
• Verification processes must incorporate specific mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of the provisions of the ethnic chapter.

The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights commends the Colombian government and the FARC for having successfully completed the negotiation process, and for having included the ethnic chapter in the Final Accords. But above all else we congratulate and express our sincere appreciation and admiration for the work of the Comisión Étnica para la Paz y la Defensa de los Derechos Territoriales (Ethnic Commission for Peace and Defense of Land Rights), and all the organizations and communities they represent. It was their perseverance and unconditional commitment to peace in the country that has created the conditions for the implementation of the Accords to help lead to the restoration of their rights. The Institute will continue to support them in their continued efforts.

See pages 180 -183 of the Peace Accords in Spanish.

“Afro-Colombians in the Post-Agreement”: Workshop with organizations of Afro-Colombian displaced populations from Cali (Colombia)

Bogota, July 25, 2016. On Saturday, July 23, 2016 in Cali, Colombia The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights and the National Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES Cali) held the workshop/discussion Afro-Colombians and the Post-agreement: Mechanisms for the protection of Human Rights. The event was attended by leaders of twenty (20) Afro-Colombian organizations facing forced displacement from this city as a result of the Colombian internal armed conflict. The goal of the event was aimed at promoting a dialogue that would help organizations deepen their knowledge of the implications of the Peace Accords between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army (FARC-EP) will have on Afro-Colombian communities. This knowledge is fundamental for the design and implementation of advocacy strategies which organizations must continue to promote in the manner that will guarantee their rights.

During the dialogue, the high levels of uncertainty that these organizations face was made evident, with the implementation of the agreements in place. While they maintain their position of approval and support regarding the end of the armed conflict, which is being negotiated in Havana, they note that the current assessment does not clearly identify the institutional processes necessary that will ultimately restore their fundamental rights. One of the factors contributing to the feeling of uncertainty is the minimal level of specified knowledge they have about the contents of the agreements. They express that the government has not promoted informational activities which would help to adequately explain the Agreements and the implications of its implementation.

Faced with this situation of “disinformation” the Institute’s representative for Colombia, Pedro L. Cortes Ruiz, offered basic, yet essential information about the negotiation process currently underway in Havana between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP; about the contents of the agreements, and the institutional processes that will follow the signing of the final agreement. In the analysis presented, the principal outcome of the exclusion of ethnic groups in the negotiating process was identified: a failure to adopt a differential ethnic approach in the Agreements. This limitation in the agreements, which involved the absence of inadequate recognition on ethnic communities of the differential impact of conflict, carries significant risks to guaranteeing the rights of these communities in the process of implementing the agreements.

In specific cases of displaced Afro-Colombian communities in cities like Cali, the absence of a suitable differential ethnic approach might develop institutional responses in the Agreement that are oblivious to the progress made in recognition of the specific problems these communities face. The Agreements do not provide clarity about the effect that the current rules and policies that guide the care of victims of armed conflict will have on these communities. It must be remembered that the displaced Afro-Colombian population represents at least 30% of the total displaced population in the country, equivalent to more than one million citizens.

Another issue that arose in the dialogue relates to the safety and security of community leaders. Some of them have continued to receive threats, which severely restrict their community and advocacy activities. Security conditions in the Post-Agreement in a city like Cali are also a major concern for them; hence, they coincide with the Institute’s vision of the need to strengthen autonomous conditions for the monitoring of Human Rights during the Post-Agreement.

The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights will continue conducting advocacy events in different parts of the country, to help strengthen the capacity of Afro-Colombian organizations in the manner of the protection of their rights during the Post-Agreement.