* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
By Michael Boyce
Last week at the US Institute of Peace (USIP), members of civil society and government met to discuss one of the world’s most pernicious, and least well-known, displacement crises.
Unlike the situations in Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, or Sudan, the 5.4 million displaced persons in Latin America rarely grab global headlines. But their numbers are staggering and their plight is serious.
The crisis is particularly severe in Colombia and neighboring countries, where violence has forced thousands of civilians from their homes each year. Colombia’s borders are porous and insecure, and those who flee often find themselves trapped between armed groups, narco-traffickers, and ill-equipped security forces.
Those who have fled face harsh living conditions, poor infrastructure, and often discrimination in their host communities – with women and children being especially vulnerable.
“There has been a total failure to meet the long-term aspirations of the displaced in this region,” RI President Michel Gabaudan told the audience at USIP. “For example, the government of Colombia has now produced a top-level policy on displacement, but it's had little impact in terms of giving displaced people a new start in life.”
After years of inadequate governmental response, Latin American civil society groups – including RI – stepped forward in 2010 through a regional conference, and produced the Quito Declaration. The document focuses on the integration of refugees into asylum countries; resettlement elsewhere if necessary; and dignified, safe repatriation of those who wish to return to Colombia. It also presses regional governments to engage civil society in planning and implementing refugee assistance.
The well-attended USIP event took a significant step in that direction, with representatives of RI, Refugee Council USA, Jesuit Refugee and Migration Service of Ecuador, and Ecuadorian advocacy group CODHES engaging representatives of the State Department, UNHCR, and members of the diplomatic corps. Some of the solutions discussed included:
* Expanding regional protection programs to include those fleeing violence from drug-trafficking, large development projects, and environmental destruction.
* Getting regional governments to reach out to refugees who have tentatively settled in urban areas to ensure they have access to basic services.
* More US funding aimed at integrating Colombian refugees into Ecuadorian society, placing special emphasis on housing, education, and access to naturalization.
* Extra measures to ensure victims of sexual violence receive medical attention and have access to judicial remedies.
* A greater presence for UN agencies (including UNICEF, UNDP, and UNHCR) on Colombia’s borders to increase protection for refugees and host communities.
“In the past, there has been a top-down approach, where civil society waited to be invited in by governments,” Mr. Gabaudan said. “But now civil society is taking the lead and bringing in the governments. We won’t solve these problems without equal and active participation by both sides.”
