VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
IN THE ARMED CONFLICT IN COLOMBIA VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST WOMEN IN THE ARMED CONFLICT IN COLOMBIA

IV.      MULTIPLE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST AFRO-COLOMBIAN AND INDIGENOUS WOMEN

102.     The IACHR corroborated that the situation of indigenous and Afro-Colombian women is particularly critical, as they are victims of multiple forms of discrimination on the basis of their race, ethnic background and their condition as women, a situation aggravated within the armed conflict.  They face two layers of discrimination since they are born: firstly, as members of their racial and ethnic group and secondly, their sex.  Being exposed to two forms of discrimination historically, they are doubly vulnerable to abuse and mistreatment by the armed groups in their struggle to control resources and territory.  As previously stated, the armed groups exploit and manipulate social disadvantage factors in specific groups as a strategy of war.  In the case of indigenous and Afro-Colombian women, there is more than one vulnerability factor they can abuse.  

103.     In this regard, the United Nations Rapporteur has stated that:

Women from the indigenous and Afro-Colombian population suffer multiple/intersectional discrimination on the basis of gender, race, color and ethnic origin and as internally displaced persons…..The conflict reproduces and deepens discrimination between the different groups and women suffer intersectional discrimination on the basis of their gender, and their ethnic and cultural origin. [124]

104.     Article 9 of the Convention of Belém do Pará stipulates that, in acting with due diligence, the State must take special account of the increased vulnerability to violence that women may suffer because of their race and ethnic background, among other risk factors. This provision was enacted because discrimination, in its different manifestations, does not always affect all women to the same degree: there are women who are more exposed to the infringement of their rights.  Certain women confront various forms of discrimination, which increases their vulnerability and exposure to being abused on the basis of more than one factor.

105.     Internationally, it has been recognized that discrimination, in its different manifestations, can be motivated by two or more factors.  For example, the Committee overseeing compliance with CEDAW has stated in this regard that:

Certain groups of women, in addition to suffering from discrimination directed against them as women, may also suffer from multiple forms of discrimination based on additional groups such as race, ethnic or religious identify, disability, age, class, caste or other factors.  Such discrimination may affect these groups of women primarily, or in different ways than men.  State parties may need to take specific temporary special measures to eliminate such multiple forms of discrimination against women and its compounded negative impact on them.[125]

106.     Additionally, the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenofobia and Related Intolerance, recognized that racial discrimination and racism manifest differently for women and girls and lead to the detriment of their living conditions, poverty, violence, multiple forms of discrimination, the limitation or denial of their human rights.[126]  Furthermore, the United Nations Committee against Racial Discrimination has recognized the serious consequences and the unsafe situation of women who face multiple forms of discrimination.  It has emphasized that racial discrimination does not always affect women and men the same way, and that there are circumstances in which racial discrimination only or mainly affects women.[127]  Certain forms of racial discrimination may be directed specifically against women because of their gender, such as sexual violence during an armed conflict.[128] 

A.       Afro-Colombian women

107.     The IACHR was able to verify that the situation of Afro-Colombian women living on the Pacific coast is particularly precarious and alarming.  Both State authorities and non-State sources confirmed that the Afro-Colombian population has been subjected to a history of discrimination, exclusion, invisibility and social disadvantage, both economic and geographic.  The armed conflict has worsened this situation, since the armed actors profit from these disadvantages in their struggle to control territories and resources. In the particular case of Afro-Colombian women, their condition as women adds another factor of discrimination and vulnerability to their lives and exposes them to greater abuses by the actors of the conflict:

We women have been trampled over in our territory and anywhere by the different groups, the legal and illegal armed groups, who kidnap us, kill, rape and humiliate us … leaving as a consequence of these actions the deterioration of the social fabric around us. Therefore, there is no doubt that the armed conflict has harmed black women’s feelings, their ancestral legitimacy, their creativity to form and generate life, their cultural identity and their love for their territory.[129]

108.     The United Nations Rapporteur, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Mesa de Trabajo Mujer y Conflicto Armado have identified Afro-Colombian women as a particularly vulnerable group to violence and the consequences of the conflict on the civilian population, such as forced displacement.[130] In its last report, the High Commissioner for Human Rights specifically stated that:

The security, particularly of rural, indigenous and Afro-Colombian women and girls and of those that are organized, displaced, confined or are returnees, has deteriorated as a result of the armed conflict and the use of sexual violence and social control by the illegal armed groups.[131]

109.     The Mesa de Trabajo Mujer y Conflicto Armado has stated that the “racism that prevails in Colombian society is also present in the way the armed actors reproduce, in their relations with Afro-Colombian women, exclusionary and discriminatory practices that ignore their differences.”[132]

110.     The ICBF confirmed with the Rapporteur that the Afro-Colombian population comprises approximately 20% of the Colombia’s population. The Rapporteur had the opportunity to interview a number of networks, groups and Afro-Colombian women who made reference to the “subtle racism” in Colombian society towards Afro-Colombians because of their race, which has meant for them, as a group, unequal access to the country’s economic, social and political development.  They communicated that this racism limits their access to educational services, work, income and participation in national and local decision-making.  For example, groups of women in Quibdó, where 85% of the population is Afro-descendent, indicated that most of the population lives in extreme poverty.  Quibdó[133] is the locality with the least water supply coverage in the country, 81% of homes have no sewage, illiteracy is up to 19% and maternal mortality rates are high.[134]  The State has estimated that 72% of the Afro-Colombian population is in the country’s two lowest socio-economic strata.[135]

111.     All of these factors have limited the possibilities for this population to enjoy their particular worldview, traditions and culture and have promoted their invisibility in the public policies of the country.  Local authorities of the government of Quibdó, confirmed to the Rapporteur that they felt like a territory forgotten by the national authorities in the social and economic spheres.

112.     In the particular case of women, their sex has exposed them to discrimination not only because for their condition as Afro-Colombian, but also because they are women, both in and outside of their communities.  Afro-Colombian women shared with the Rapporteur information about the discrimination and violence they suffer from inside their own communities because they are women. For example, they are left out of most organizational processes in their communities, either in the form of community councils, municipal councils, departmental assemblies, and other such models, and they are subject to cultural stereotypes based on their sexuality.[136]

113.     The racism and marginalization of the Afro-Colombian groups, as well as them inhabiting territories with resources appealing to combatants, has resulted in their territories turning into scenarios of violence and death, making them one of the population groups with the highest rate of forced displacement, which can reach 30% according to CODHES and Human Rights Watch.[137]  For example, Quibdó is an attractive territory for the armed actors because it has one of the world’s highest biodiversity rates, coasts on both oceans, good conditions to grow coca and oil palm.  For Afro-Colombians, this reality is particularly harsh because of their close connection with their territory, culture, identity and past.  The aggressions by the armed actors are an attack against their culture and their worldview.

114.     The Colombian State enacted Law 70 in 1993, which recognizes the Afro-Colombian population as an ethnic group and sets standards for the protection of their cultural identity and rights.  Through this law the State recognizes that Afro-Colombians have the right to live according to their own worldview, are entitled to exist as an ethnic group with different needs, and to enjoy their collective property over areas they have occupied according to their traditional production practices.  However, illegal armed groups do not respect the right of collective ownership of the Afro-Colombian groups.

115.     One of the worst effects of the conflict on Afro-Colombian women is the forced displacement and its consequences.  According to CODHES figures, women constitute approximately half of the displaced population and as much as 28% are reported to be Afro-Colombian women.[138]  An analysis of different figures also leads us to conclude that women constitute about 50% of the Afro-Colombian displaced population and almost half are heads of household.[139]  Within the percentage of displaced women who are heads of household, the highest rates are among Afro-Colombian women (47%) and indigenous women (49%).[140]

116.     The impact of forced displacement on Afro-Colombian women is significant and manifests itself in various ways, due to their worldview, culture and traditions, identification with their territory and their condition as women.  In addition to the effects on women discussed in previous sections, Afro-Colombian women lose the ability to carry out their cultural practices, for example, having wakes for their deceased, funeral rites, and in general, sharing community life.[141]  For example, during the meeting that the Rapporteur held with networks of women in Quibdó, the delegation received the following testimony from an Afro-Colombian victim of forced displacement:

We cannot use the river as we always have ancestrally, as a sacred place. But not anymore, because of the occupation of the armed actors.[142]

117.     The loss of territory is also crucial for them. From their perspective, it represents more than a physical space, integrating “neighbors, animals, nature, and social organization: elements that provided a feeling of belonging to a group and distinguishing them from the rest”.[143] 

118.     The change in roles and family structure faced by displaced women may be even more intense and radical in the case of Afro-Colombian women living in rural areas who move to urban zones, because of the community life that they used to lead, the traditional correlation of their activities with those of their husbands or fathers, and the uprooting of this social model.  CODHES has described this change as follows:

For rural, indigenous and Afro-Colombian women, the change they experience because of displacement is very significant; generally, their movements in the past closely corresponded to the movements of their father or husband, their social setting was limited to household activities and production in the same area, as well as their relations with organizations and other outsiders through their men … This situation has molded their self-image and understanding of their environment, which clashes with the perspectives of the urban setting when they arrive in the city. They are exposed to complex cultural, affective, material and spatial losses, particularly when they attempt to symbolically and materially reaffirm their maternal role, which they have always played in their own culture, generating life and preserving family stability.[144]

119.     The situation of Afro-Colombian women in the Pacific Coast reveals the relegation of Afro-Colombian women inhabiting rural zones to the domestic sphere as a historical fact. [145]   They are the center of their family group and of the direct ties between their children and family members.

Afro-Colombian women subscribe to a social pattern that assigns them the role of care-givers, with domestic chores under their responsibility, and furthermore, male mobility as opposed to female lack of mobility is assumed as a form of complementing roles; the behavioral norms for men and women are different.[146]

They are also entrusted with transmitting beliefs, traditional norms and controls inside the community and to define elements of identification with their territory.  These traditions and practices change with the displacement experience.[147] 

120.     Groups and networks of women interviewed by the delegation in Quibdó described the consequences of displacement for Afro-Colombian women and the change in family structure, roles and traditions they face, as follows:

On their shoulders falls the reorganization, care, and daily hygiene tasks of the family and even the community. Generally, housework is done by women and under these conditions men feel unable to solve these problems and unable to do the work they ordinarily do in their fields. This generates an emotional overload for women, because this situation sometimes leads to family conflicts. Furthermore, women are generally obliged to take the responsibility of obtaining the economic resources to support the family, since the uprooted conditions make it more difficult for men to do work that would generate income, whereas women can work as maids, washing clothes or selling any product as street vendors.  When the resettlement is in shelters, women’s privacy is affected, because these places are usually not adapted to satisfying private hygiene needs, or privacy at all, and sometimes there is harassment and abuse of young girls by the males.  In the case of displaced persons, there is no differentiated care for women. Their health needs regarding menstruation and family planning are not taken into account.[148] 

121.     According to the information and testimonies gathered, displacement leads Afro-Colombian women to suffer various forms of discrimination in addition to being women – because they are Afro-Colombian and because they are displaced.  Testimonies that the Rapporteur received from displaced Afro-Colombian women indicate that they suffer acts of racism, ridicule and stigmatization by the receiving communities.  The Asociación de Afro-Colombianos Desplazados (hereinafter “AFRODES”) has described the persistent belief of receiving communities that “black women are dirty, thieves, or if they come to work in a house they are only useful in bed”.[149]  This situation is aggravated by the low levels of education and poverty of the displaced women, which along with their race challenge their adequate access to work and to different forms of economic subsistence.[150]

B.        Indigenous Women

122.     The IACHR verified that the situation of indigenous women is especially critical due to the serious effects of the armed conflict and the history of discrimination and exclusion they have faced based on their condition of indigenous women.[151]

123.     The Rapporteur had the opportunity of meeting in Bogotá and Valledupar with indigenous women pertaining to different groups and could verify through their testimonies, that the protection of their rights is directly linked to the real possibility of living freely in their ancestral lands.  Therefore, while the ancestral lands of indigenous peoples are not protected and respected by the armed actors indigenous women will continue to gravely suffer the effects of the armed conflict.

124.     From the varied and categorical testimonies received by the Rapporteur from indigenous women, it may be concluded that the armed conflict has meant for indigenous peoples massacres, murders, especially of their leaders and traditional authorities, kidnappings and massive displacements from their ancestral lands.  The indigenous women communicated to the Rapporteur that the armed conflict has taken their husbands, their children, their families and even their land, and they said they were tired of suffering:[152]

We are tired; we have no tears left to cry for another loved one[153]

125.     Indigenous women in Colombia are recognized as the reproducers of their culture, the guarantors of their peoples’ survival.  They have resisted centuries of repression and are now resisting the illegal armed groups who want to take their territories. They recognize that the deterioration is immense, but that they continue, because as they say, not only grief and sadness exist – “the important thing is that we are still alive.”

1.         Indigenous women and their ancestral lands

126.     Indigenous women belong to societies where the ancestral land is an essential element of their existence and culture.  This is the reason why any analysis of the human rights situation of indigenous women in Colombia must consider that they are part of peoples with a different culture, which have a close connection to their lands.  It is important to note that the armed conflict has turned indigenous lands into scenarios of war and death.[154]

127.     In Colombia, 84 indigenous peoples inhabit 31 of the 32 departments of the national territory, comprising 2% of the total population. Their cultural and social wealth is reflected in their diverse forms of life, generally closely linked to their ancestral lands, in the defense of their autonomy, their organizational structures and ways to resolve conflicts, all of which has enabled them to maintain their cultural identity.

128.     The Colombian Constitution of 1991 is one of the most interesting and advanced in the Americas in regards to the rights of indigenous peoples.  The State recognizes and protects the ethnic and cultural diversity of the Colombian Nation,[155] recognizes the right of indigenous authorities to exercise judicial functions within their land according to their own norms and procedures[156], and grants indigenous lands the status of territorial entities, by virtue of which they are autonomous to manage their interests, within the limits of the Constitution and the law.[157]  Accordingly, they have the following rights: 1) to be governed by their own authorities; 2) to exercise the corresponding competencies; 3) to administer their resources and establish the necessary taxes to enable them to perform their functions.[158]

129.     Approximately 27% of the Colombian national territory has been recognized as property of the different indigenous peoples. This recognition has been granted by means of resguardos[159], indigenous reserves with individual titles for the community or parcialidades.

130.     In this context of constitutional and legal recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples in Colombia and the enforcement of their rights to ancestral lands, the internal armed conflict has been developing for decades.  The Colombian State has been a pioneer in the recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples.

131.     Nevertheless, only in 2005, approximately 19,000 have been forcibly displaced from their lands.[160]  Even though indigenous peoples constitute about 2% of the total Colombian population,[161] 12% of the internally displaced persons are indigenous.[162]

132.     The IACHR in its annual report for 2004 stated that, during the past few years, pressure by illegal armed groups on indigenous lands has intensified.  This is due to their strategic importance, both military and economic, for growing and trafficking illegal drugs, and the extraction of natural resources, and for its use in road, mining and hydropower works. [163]  Several peoples are at risk of disappearing.[164]

133.     Furthermore, the IACHR expressed that in response to this war context, indigenous peoples had expressed publicly at the national and international level their categorical denial to be involved in the armed conflict.[165]  They have demanded from all armed actors respect to their right of autonomy and neutrality, declaring their community resistance against the armed conflict actors and the State, in defense of their autonomy, their human rights and with the objective of safeguarding their collective survival. 

134.     The Rapporteur received testimonies from indigenous women from different peoples who described the serious challenges they face in their lands because of the persistent threats and harassment of the armed actors, and the pressures exercised by third parties sometimes associated with the armed actors, with the purpose of forcing them to abandon their lands, to occupy them strategically and/or exploit their natural resources.  An alarming situation is that of the Wayúu women in the Media Guajira, who have denounced the presence of the AUC in a zone where there was no conflict. In that area, the members of the AUC have, for approximately three years, murdered, threatened and harassed members of the Wayúu people in order to wield political and military control over a zone that is considered strategic.  Wayúu female leaders have also been threatened, which has required protection by the Inter-American Human Rights System.[166]

135.     As the Rapporteur learned during her visit to Colombia, indigenous women view their lands as a fundamental part of their existence.  They expressed that the armed conflict has worsened the situation of marginalization they face, but that they have suffered a history of discrimination and marginalization since strangers have desired their lands: 

If the bullets don’t kill us, the public policies will[167]

136.     Despite the serious challenges indigenous women face by remaining in their lands, they have chosen to stay and resist the various methods the armed actors use to intimidate them.  In indigenous lands, the murder of leaders, the kidnapping of children and the rape of women are part of the daily reality:

There have been many human rights violations affecting indigenous and Afro-Colombians, especially in terms of murders, forced disappearances, death threats and internal displacement in rural areas.[168]

According to official statistics, some 855 indigenous people were murdered between 1998 and September 2004 and the OACNUDH reported that “over 100 indigenous individuals and authorities were murdered”. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Indigenous Peoples has stated that these actions constitute “genuine genocide and ethnocide”.  In the case of the Kankuamo people who live on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada in Santa Marta, some 166 of their members were murdered between 1993 and 2003.  This led the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to issue provisional measures [for protection] in July 2004, ordering the State to safeguard the lives and personal well-being of the members of that community and to investigate and punish prior violations. Nevertheless, less than one month later, another Kankuamo leader was murdered.[169]

137.     As members of thousand-year old communities, indigenous women communicated to the Rapporteur that their survival is linked to preserving their lands, because that is where they can freely express their culture.

138.     According to the National Human Rights Information System (SINDHO) of the Organización Nacional de Indígenas de Colombia (hereinafter “ONIC”), 21,711 persons have been banished from their reservations and communities.  Between January 1st and December 9 of 2005, 63 indigenous people were forced per day to migrate from their ancestral lands; approximately over 12 families a day and nearly three persons per hour.  Over 14 thousand indigenous members of the Nasa peoples (66%) and nearly 4,600 Awa indigenous people (21.3%) were the worst affected by the armed actors, who were forced, in both cases, to disperse outside of their communities.[170]

139.     In addition to the pernicious effects provoked by the forced displacement on persons, indigenous women suffer the cultural impact resulting from leaving their territories:  

If it is an internal displacement[171] there are problems because they are disrupting the balance of our ecosystems.  If it is to urban centers, it is a bit more complicated, since most of our fellow indigenous women don’t know Spanish very well, the immensity of the city frightens them, with its anonymity and lack of solidarity among the residents. The memory of our mountains and jungles and their sound kills us.  We face new problems in raising our children and relating with our partners, because the city is not our customary environment. We are pursued by the images of the anguish when we had to leave, running with what little we had or could carry in order to outrun death and desolation. Amidst this anguish, we are in charge of our families, accepting activities that are not traditional in our cultures, such as getting jobs as domestic servants or, in the worst of cases, even selling our bodies”.[172]

140.     In the visit, it was evident that, even though the State has implemented actions to address the situation of the displaced population, the indigenous population was not considered specifically, much less in a culturally relevant manner, up to a year ago.  An UNHCR report from 2003 states: “Regarding the displaced indigenous population in Bogotá there is no accurate information on how many persons or families have come to the capital or what conditions they are living in because, when they register, there is no record of whether they are indigenous, much less what community or reservation they are from. This has contributed to making their problems invisible and, in consequence, they feel unattended.”[173]

Indigenous women have to fight to be recognized as displaced persons, fight to have access to health care and education even if it is not our own, prepare meals with food that is alien to our culture and bodies, struggle for our families not to break apart and our children not to lose our culture.[174]

141.     The indigenous women who met with the Rapporteur were emphatic in expressing that the assistance they receive in their capacity as displaced persons is provisional and insufficient. In Valledupar, the Rapporteur received testimonies of the unprotected situation of hundreds of widows and orphans living in extreme poverty and precariousness, who were forced to abandon their lands where they used to live freely to become extremely poor people in the cities.[175]  In Valledupar, the situation is especially critical because it is where most indigenous displaced people arrive from the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, where the Ijka or Arhuaco, Kogi, Wiwa Arzario and Kankuamo peoples live.  In the case of the Kankuamo peoples, between 1998 and 2004, 189 of their members were murdered and most of the widows and orphans were displaced to Valledupar.[176]

142.     Indigenous women are clear in explaining what they want and they communicated it as follows:

We don’t want any more widowed women, more orphans, we want to return to our lands.[177]

2.         Indigenous women, the armed conflict and sexual violence

143.     During her visit to Colombia, the Rapporteur received complaints about the use of indigenous women as “spoils of war” by the armed actors and verified that indigenous women have often been victims of sexual violence perpetrated by members of legal and illegal armed groups.

144.     In fact, the Rapporteur received testimonies from indigenous women denouncing sexual aggressions perpetrated by the armed actors participating in the conflict, to the detriment of indigenous women. The same women who offered these testimonies indicated that the discriminatory attitude of the aggressor worsens this type of aggression, already alarmingly serious. They explained that patrols of the different armed groups occupying indigenous lands kidnap indigenous women, collectively use them sexually, and then abandon them, protecting themselves by the impunity of their acts.

145.     ONIC denounced on November of 2005 that “only in Vaupes, in Carurú, approximately 20 indigenous women have been raped by the Security Forces, plus one adolescent from the Kokonuco peoples of Cauca”.[178]

146.     The testimonies received reveal that indigenous women do not often denounce sexual aggressions for different reasons, including cultural. However, one of the main reasons is that the armed groups that perpetrated such crimes often have social and political control over the area where they commit their crimes. Then the women wonder, Where should we file the complaint? For what?

147.     In regards to this situation, ONIC communicated how common are the cases of “young women harassed by the armed groups, both legal and illegal, who use them as emotional support, force them to perform domestic duties for them, which stigmatizes them for both groups, and thus forces them to abandon their land, increasing the rate of forced displacement to cities different from their environment, which also leads to begging, working as domestic servants and, worse yet, ending up in prostitution.”[179]

3.         Conclusion

148.     Accordingly, the IACHR considers that the serious effects of the armed conflict on the lives of Colombian women and men acquire a special dimension for indigenous women.  In fact, the pressure exercised by the armed groups over indigenous lands, whether for military strategy or economic reasons, impacts the lives of indigenous women especially seriously since they perceive their ancestral lands as essential places for their existence, culture, and family.  The main demand of indigenous women is that their lands should be respected. To the extent indigenous lands are still subject to military or economic interests, the lives of indigenous women will remain threatened, as well as the cultural integrity and the very existence of the peoples they belong to.

V.       THE RESPONSE OF THE COLOMBIAN STATE TO THE IMPACT OF THE ARMED CONFLICT ON WOMEN

149.     The Colombian State is obligated to exercise due diligence to prevent, sanction and eradicate the violence and discrimination against women aggravated by the armed conflict, even though the conflict poses complex challenges to this response.  In the past, the IACHR has recommended to the Colombian State to guarantee the validity and enforcement of legislative, public policy and institutional measures to protect the rights of women to live free from violence and discrimination, as well as to ensure the assignment of necessary resources for its implementation.[180]  The IACHR has also emphasized the obligation of the State to investigate and sanction those responsible for these acts, as well as its duty to offer reparations to the victims.[181]  As mentioned previously, the obligation of the State to act with due diligence has four components: the prevention, investigation, punishment and reparation of human rights violations.

150.     The IACHR has learned of key developments in the response of the Colombian State to generally protect the rights of women.  These have been above all in the adoption of a legal and public policy framework, as well as the design of State programs.  Furthermore, during the visit it was evident that State officials acknowledge and generally understand the scope of the existing challenges and express their willingness to find solutions both at the national and local level.

151.     The IACHR also recognizes the efforts on public policies to address the specific needs of women in the armed conflict, such as the policy denominated, Mujeres Constructoras de Paz y Seguridad, as well as a series of institutions and mechanisms at the national and local level to enforce these laws.  It is also important to highlight the efforts of the Colombian State to gather statistics about the violations of the rights of women, including the Observatory of Gender Issues, the work of the National Institute of Legal Medicine, and the incorporation of gender into the statistics of the Administrative Department of National Statistics (hereinafter “DANE”) and the Social Solidarity Network.  Moreover, the Constitutional Court has issued a series of notable court decisions over the last ten years, successfully invoking the recourses of tutela and inconstitucionalidad to protect the civil, political, social, cultural and economic rights of Colombian women.

152.     Nonetheless, both State authorities and civil society representatives, expressed their concern at the lack of an integral State policy addressing the specific impact of the armed conflict on the human rights of women, applicable to both the national and local levels.  This deficiency promotes a context of impunity that perpetuates the treatment of women as “spoils of war” by the armed actors.  The Rapporteur also corroborated noticeable flaws in the diagnosis, prevention and early warning of different forms of discrimination and violence against women which are aggravated by the armed conflict, and gaps in the provision of humanitarian assistance and multidisciplinary support services for victims, especially to displaced women. 

153.     On the other hand, it is important to highlight the homogeneous view of women of the Colombian State as a target group of public policies and as victims of the armed conflict.  Article 9 of the Convention of Belém do Pará obligates States to take special account in their legislation and public policies of the vulnerability of certain groups of women to violent acts on the basis of their race, ethnicity, refugee or displaced status, pregnancy and minor age, among other risk factors. [182]  However, during the visit and interviews of the delegation with State authorities, civil society and international agency organizations it was evident that these vulnerability factors still need to be taken into account by the Colombian State in the development of public policies and attention programs destined to improve the situation of all women.

154.     The IACHR observed specifically the absence at the national and local levels of the specific and different needs of indigenous and Afro-Colombian women in the programs and public policies geared towards protecting the rights of women.  It is key that the State implements measures to eradicate discriminatory socio-cultural patterns on the basis of sex, race, ethnic background and social class and to take these differences into account, as well as the possibility of discrimination on the basis of more than one factor, in the development of public policies to mitigate the pernicious effect of the armed conflict on Colombian women.

155.     On the other hand, the Rapporteur corroborated that the work of women’s rights defenders and their organizations still does not have the support and legitimacy of the State.  The need persists to protect their existence and safety throughout the national territory.

156.     In this context, and even in the presence of certain progress, women still confront numerous legislative, institutional, cultural and geographic obstacles to effectively access justice.  Among the most notable challenges are deficiencies in the investigation, judgment and sanction of acts of violence and discrimination, gaps in the collection of statistics, the mistrust of the administration of justice in the victims, the need for sustainable capacity-building programs for justice officials and programs to sensitize the population and promote the filing of complaints.   Additionally, there is a lack of justice in the zones occupied by the actors of the armed conflict and alarming principles within the penal procedure code applicable to violence against women that can challenge the access of women to effective judicial protections and guarantees. 

A.        Advances in the development of a legislative and public policy framework, and State programs to protect the rights of women

157.     The Rapporteur recognizes advances in the development of a legislative and public policy framework to address the discrimination and violence against women produced by the armed conflict supported by the Colombian State.  Colombia is a party to the American Convention[183] and between 1995 and 2004 the State has adopted a series of laws, decrees and policies to advance the rights of women.  Among the most noteworthy developments are Laws 51 and 248 of 1985 and 1995, by which the CEDAW and Belém do Pará Conventions were adopted as part of the domestic legislation, and Articles 13 and 43 of the Colombian Constitution, which guarantee equality under the law and non-discrimination against women.  There is also a legal framework in place to prevent and eradicate domestic violence pursuant to Law 294 of 1996 and its reform through Law 575 of 2000.  

158.     In regard to sexual violence, the Penal Procedural Code also typifies various behaviors as crimes that are part of the subject matter jurisdiction of the Rome Statute.[184]   Under Law 360 of 1997, some norms of the Penal Code of1980 were amended in the sphere of sexual crimes to strengthen the rights of victims. Among the rights included where to be treated with dignity, privacy and respect during any interview or action for medical, legal or social assistance purposes, to be informed about applicable legal procedures and services available, to access services such as testing for sexually transmitted diseases free of charge (including HIV/AIDS) and physical and emotional trauma, to collect legal and medical evidence and to access indemnity for damages resulting from the crime.  This law also provided for the creation throughout the country of specialized units within the Office of the Attorney General to specialize in handling crimes against sexual freedom and human dignity.  Each unit should have an on-site psychologist to advice officials in the management of the cases, and to interview and advice the victims. 

159.     It is also important to acknowledge key advances in the problem of trafficking, such as Law 7474 of 2002, which classifies trafficking persons as a crime and Law 800 of 2003, which ratifies the Optional Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children. It is also pertinent to especially recognize that through the Law 984 of June 8 of 2005, Congress approved the law through which the Optional Protocol of CEDAW was ratified.[185]

160.     The Constitutional Court has also issued a series of rulings favoring women, by applying the actions of tutela and inconstitucionalidad.  It is recognized by State and non-State authorities that the work of the Constitutional Court has been critical to protect, guarantee and develop the rights of women ingrained in the National Constitution and in international instruments ratified by the Colombian State.[186]  The Court has issued a series of decisions declaring unconstitutional all those norms involving sex-based discriminatory treatment against women in civil, family, labor and public policy matters.[187]  The most recent decisions include Sentence 453 of 2005, in which the Court protected the rights of a woman who had been a victim of sexual violence, establishing that victims of sexual violence have the constitutional right to be protected against proof that entails an unreasonable, unnecessary, and disproportionate intrusion into their private lives.

161.     During the visit, the Rapporteur learned of public policy efforts to address the specific needs of women within the framework of the armed conflict.  The Colombian State has established goals oriented to advance the social equity and the human development in the Política de Seguridad Democrática y la Política de Reactivación Social of the administration of President Uribe.[188]  The State has also manifested publicly that within the National Development Plan of 2003-2006, Haciendo un Estado Comunitario, it is launching actions to promote the equity and the empowerment of women with an emphasis in the following areas: women and the economy, violence against women, women in the exercise of power and decision-making.[189]  

162.     As an example of positive actions, the Rapporteur learned of the adoption of the national policy known as Mujeres Constructoras de Paz y Seguridad, with the main purpose of gradually achieving equality between men and women in the political participation processes in social, economic, political and cultural life of the country.  The policy includes several program areas, such as, employment and the entrepreneurial development of women, education and culture, sexual and reproductive health, violence against women and institution-strengthening.

163.     The Colombian State has also created a series of institutions and mechanisms, nationally and locally, to enforce the legal framework described above.  These include the Presidential Office on Gender Equality, which is the coordinating entity, the Office of the Ombudsman for the Rights of Children, Women and the Family, the Office of the Procurator for the Minor and the Family, the ICBF, the Ministry of the Interior and Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Family Commissions, the Office of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Social Protection, the Social Solidarity Network and the Vice- Presidency of the Republic.

164.     As a result of the existing public policy framework, the Presidential Office on Gender Equality, as coordinating entity, has launched a series of programs aimed at addressing the specific needs of women.  The Presidential Office is executing a plan of affirmative actions, in coordination with ministries and other public entities and in the framework of the Programa Nacional de Desarrollo, in order to incorporate the gender dimension in their programs, projects and budgets.[190] Among them are programs aimed at preventing and confronting domestic violence with an integral model of attention, named  Democracia Familiar and the Mesa Interinstitucional de Violencia Intrafamiliar, the campaign Rutas por la No Violencia to increase the visibility of the violence problem as a human rights violation and to increase the legal training of women[191], and the Consejos Comunitarios de Mujeres, which seek to create collaboration spaces between women and the State at the local level about themes such as political participation and violence.[192]  Furthermore, the inter-institutional program Haz Paz has been created, as a product of the Política Nacional de Construcción de Paz y Convivencia Familiar to promote the prevention, detention, monitoring and attention of domestic violence at the municipal level.[193]  Additionally, a series of State agencies have created programs to assist women victims of violence. [194]

165.     It is also important to recognize a series of inter-institutional efforts and programs to combat different forms of violence against women aggravated by the armed conflict.  For example, in the case of sexual crimes, an Equipo Técnico Central has been formed by the ICBF, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Office of the Attorney General, the National Police, the Ministry of Social Protection, UNFPA and the INML.[195]  These agencies have signed an agreement to identify minimum non-negotiable criteria for care provided to victims of sexual crimes, which any official or private party treating the victims must implement.  The model has been validated in five pilot municipalities and there is an expansion process coordinated by the ICBF that has progressed to 19 localities in Bogotá and there are activities under way to achieve its implementation in more than 30 municipalities.[196]  In regards to the issue of trafficking, a Mesa Interinstitucional contra la Trata de Personas has been formed which is coordinated by the Ministry of the Interior and Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

166.     The State has also created a series of support services for victims.[197]  Among the most notable ones are the creation of Family Commissions, the Center of Integral Support for Victims of Sexual Crimes, Inter-Institutional Committees that have been created under the Office of the Ombudsman to provide services for victims and survivors of sexual crimes and the territorial extension of centers of the ICBF and the Social Solidarity Network. 

167.     In the sphere of health, the Colombian State has publicly stated that the creation and diffusion of the Política Nacional de Salud Sexual y Reproductiva is included within the public health priority goals for the period 2002-2006.[198]  The priorities of this policy include the promotion of safe motherhood, family planning for men and women, the reduction of adolescent fertility, the prevention and control of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, the detection of cervical cancer and the prevention and integral care for domestic and sexual violence.

B.       Absence of an integral State policy and of coordinated and multi-disciplinary programs to address the specific impact of the armed conflict on women

168.     Despite notable and significant advances, several State and non-State sources communicated their concern to the Rapporteur about the lack of an integral State policy to address the specific impact of the armed conflict on women with a coordinated and multidisciplinary approach that includes the specific needs of women throughout the national territory.  The IACHR observes that the State seems to lack an integral vision and an effective preparation to address the consequences of violence and discrimination that the conflict imposes on women.  The existing policy framework does not provide an adequate base for the implementation of integral programs and services for victims that include the justice, education and health sectors.  The State has recognized publicly that between the years 1995 and 2004, an adequate policy framework, strategies and plans of action were absent to facilitate the systemic follow-up to commitments made to advance the rights of women and the scarcity of resources to implement these measures. [199] 

169.     Furthermore, the institutional mechanisms that presently execute programs destined to protect the rights of women lack sufficient influence, competency to coordinate, and the resources to effectively implement State policies destined to mitigate the impact of the armed conflict on women. Several State and non-State sources communicated their concern over the lack of resources and political will to execute the legislation, public policies, institutions and existing programs destined to address the rights of women and how the problems faced by women are secondary to national security needs.  These loopholes and flaws weaken the effectiveness of any legislative and public policy and State programs created to protect the rights of women within the armed conflict. 

170.     The Rapporteur learned during the visit of the perception of the international community and of non-governmental organizations of the weak capacity of the Presidential Office on Gender Equality to act as coordinating entity of the inter-institutional efforts to address the specific needs of victims of discrimination and violence and of resources to sustain and create programs.  Moreover, this entity does not seem to have as a priority addressing the impact of the armed conflict on women in regards to violence and discrimination. 

171.     During the meeting of the Rapporteur with the Presidential Office on Gender Equality, its actual director, Dr. Martha Lucia Vásquez, highlighted the implementation of programs oriented to advance the economic development of women and the eradication of poverty and not the violence and discrimination that is aggravated by the armed conflict.  Additionally, its programs destined to address violence against women, such as Democracia Familiar and the creation of the Consejos Comunitarios de las Mujeres, do not focus on the impact of the armed conflict on women and the physical, psychological and sexual violence employed, but mostly address the problem of domestic violence.  The Rapporteur recognizes that the budget and political will dedicated to the issue of the impact of the armed conflict on women cannot be evaluated solely by the actions and budget of the Presidential Office on Gender Equality.  However, it considers the programs that are being currently implemented as a reflection of the priorities within the State, due to its competency as coordinating entity of public policies to advance the rights of women.

172.     The Rapporteur verified as well during the visit flaws in the coordination and communication between different State entities that execute programs and support services destined to victims of violence and discrimination produced by the conflict.  The Colombian State has recognized that a deficiency in the public attention of violence against women is the: “lack of articulation among the different entities involved that challenges the attention and prevention of violence against women.  It is necessary to improve the channels and mechanisms of coordination, in order for each of the relevant entities to develop, in the framework of its competencies, plans, actions, and programs for the protection, prevention, attention and sanction of violence.”[200] 

173.     As previously mentioned, the Rapporteur learned of a series of support services for victims of violence that are granted through the Family Commissions, the Center for Integral Attention for Victims of Sexual Violence of the Office of the Attorney General, the centers of the ICBF, as well as the Inter-Institutional Committees created by the Office of the Ombudsman.  However, the Rapporteur received information through different channels that highlighted the absence of communication and coordination among these services, which results in a fragmentation of the attention to the victims.

174.     Additionally, the deficiencies in the coordination between national and local services were evident during the visit of the Rapporteur to Valledupar and Quibdó.  In Valledupar, several units of the Community Ombudsman shared their concern with the delegation over the weak communication between the local units of the Office of the Attorney General and the national unit, mostly when the crimes are committed by the armed actors in occupied zones.  In the particular case of Quibdó, the State authorities shared with the Rapporteur their concern over the low coordination between the national and local services and how they felt “abandoned” and unsupported by the national authorities. 

175.     However, the Rapporteur was informed of good practices and local efforts to offer a coordinated and multidisciplinary attention to victims of violence and discrimination, above all to displaced women.  For example, in Valledupar, the Social Solidarity Network and the ICBF are trying to offer a multidisciplinary team support to victims of displacements, including psychologists, nutritionists, and social workers.  Nonetheless, these coordination efforts are limited by the lack of human and financial resources.

176.     In regards to resources, several State sources, including the INML and the State authorities interviewed in Valledupar and Quibdó, manifested their concern over the scarcity of resources destined to attend the discrimination and violence against women in Colombia produced by the armed conflict and the provision of specialized services for victims.  In regards to the investment to attend sexual violence, the INML has manifested that there is a “total gap between the social investment during 2004, in comparison with the resources destined for national defense and executed through the armed forces.”[201]  To support this premise, the INML compared the budget assigned on 2004 to the National Defense, a total of 76 billion of Colombian pesos, in contrast to the budget of the Social Solidarity Network, a total of 150 thousand millions.[202]

177.     Another concern highlighted by both State and non-State authorities about the public programs is their limited territorial presence, in particular, their notable absence in the zones occupied by the actors of the armed conflict.  For example, the reform of the domestic violence law, through the Law 575 of 2000, transferred the competencies to dictate protection orders to the Family Commissions.  However, several sources confirmed that there are not sufficient Commissions to cover the needs of all municipalities in the country.  For example, the Rapporteur received information confirming that only 222 exist for the 1,080 municipalities in the country and only 82 have a multidisciplinary team.[203]  The Office of the Ombudsman for the Rights of Children, Women and the Family in Colombia shared with the Rapporteur its concern over the closing of many of these Commissions, as well as the disincentive to create new ones, which decreases the existence of important avenues to access justice. 

178.     However, the Rapporteur learned in her interviews with State and non-State authorities of coordination efforts between the government, international agencies and the civil society to attend victims of the violence and discrimination produced by the armed conflict.  For example, the Rapporteur received information from the Office of the Attorney General about its collaboration and articulation with the OFP to document cases in zones occupied by the armed actors.  The Rapporteur was also informed about efforts on behalf of different State agencies to design collaboration programs with United Nations agencies, such as the program of the Office of the Procurator with UNIFEM to attend displaced women.  Nevertheless, it is visible how these efforts are insufficient and how the initiatives undertaken, mostly by civil society organizations, to offer needed services for victims, such as those provided by PROFAMILIA in the area of sexual and reproductive rights, do not have sufficient recognition and support from the Colombian State.

C.       Flaws in the diagnosis and prevention of the consequences of the armed conflict on women

179.     One of the major gaps the Rapporteur observed during her visit was in the area of prevention and diagnosis of the specific consequences of the armed conflict on all women, throughout its national territory, especially pertaining to the legislative and public policy framework and the collection of statistics. The IACHR highlights the key and positive efforts from the Colombian State to collect statistics about the existing gender inequalities and the situation of violence against women in Colombia, such as the Observatory of Gender Issues launched by the Presidential Office on Gender Equality and the efforts of the INML.  Another recognizable achievement has been the incorporation of a gender perspective in the analysis of the statistics gathered by DANE.  Furthermore, the Colombian State informed the IACHR about the National Information System for registering and consolidating national statistics on domestic violence, child abuse and sexual abuse.[204]  The IACHR recognizes these initiatives as a good beginning to obtain an adequate diagnosis of the situation and to design adequate prevention and early warning systems.

180.     However, several State authorities, including the Vice Minister of Multi-Lateral Affairs at the time, Jaime Girón, and non-State sources, communicated to the delegation the existence of serious problems to collect figures and statistics that accurately reflect the magnitude of the situation because there is no uniform, reliable statistics system.  The Rapporteur also corroborated during the visit the lack of statistics disaggregated by risk factors faced by different groups of women, based on their race and ethnic background, among others.  This deficiency contributes to keeping acts of violence and discrimination by the armed actors invisible and limits the scope and effectiveness of State actions oriented towards prevention and early warning. 

181.     Furthermore, it is noteworthy that most programs concentrate on statistics of acts occurring in urban and central areas rather than areas occupied by the armed actors.  The Vice Ministry of Multi-Lateral Affairs and the Presidential Office on Gender Equality also communicated to the Rapporteur what they perceive as a challenge in collecting figures and statistics of acts of violence and control that occur in the zones occupied by the actors in the conflict.  Furthermore, during the visit of the Rapporteur to Valledupar and Quibdó, different State and non-State sources expressed their concern at the scarcity of reliable figures on different forms of violence and discrimination perpetrated by actors of the armed conflict, especially in regards to the special effect of the conflict on Afro-Colombian and indigenous women.

182.     The IACHR also verified the lack of a State policy incorporating prevention as a priority strategy, reflected both nationally and locally.  The application of the present legislative and public policy framework is not achieving the effective prevention of these problems, reflected in the information and testimonies received during the visit.  Additionally, several non-State sources shared with the Rapporteur their concern over the fact that the State does not implement or invest sufficiently in activities to sensitize the population to eliminate discriminatory sociocultural patterns based on sex, race and ethnicity that promote that the actors of the armed conflict abuse women. 

D.         Homogenous perspective and view of women as a target group benefiting from State protection and services destined to mitigate the impact of the armed conflict on them

183.     The Rapporteur and the IACHR corroborated during the visit the State’s homogeneous view of women as a group benefiting from public policies, which has resulted in a response that fails to consider the particular needs of different groups, such as those of Afro-Colombian and indigenous women.  This absence poses challenges to understand the magnitude of how the conflict affects these groups of women and the design of legislation and policies oriented to prevent, investigate, sanction and offer reparation to the human rights violations that affect them, pursuant to the obligation of the Colombian State to act with due diligence.  In this regard, the High Commissioner for Human Rights manifested in its 2004 report the following:

The security, particularly of rural, indigenous and Afro-Colombian women and girls and of those who are organized, displaced, confined or are returnees, has deteriorated as a result of the armed conflict and the use of sexual violence and social control by the illegal armed groups. In spite of efforts by the State, weaknesses persist in gathering information on the specific situation of women; this affects its ability to respond appropriately to their needs. [205]

184.     For example, the Rapporteur observed at the national and local level the failure to include the specific needs of indigenous and Afro-Colombian women in public programs and policies geared toward protecting the rights of women.  Indigenous and Afro-Colombian women are conspicuously absent from the implementation of the policy for Mujeres Constructoras de Paz y Seguridad, the programs of the Presidential Office on Gender Equality and the initiatives to collect statistics on situations of violence confronted by women.  The ICBF communicated to the delegation its concern that the State policy is mainly designed to address the needs of sectors, such as women, and not of population groups with different needs, such as indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian groups.

185.     Moreover, their needs are absent from the laws and public policies destined to mitigate the impact of the armed conflict in their racial and ethnic groups.  For example, in the case of Afro-Colombian women, the groups and networks interviewed during the visit to Quibdó and Bogotá expressed their concern over the absence of the specific needs of women in Law 70 of 1993 and in decree CONPES 3310,[206] both intended to improve the civil, political, economic and social conditions of Afro-Colombian communities.

186.     The 1991 Constitution establishes that Colombia is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country and recognizes the specific rights of the different ethnic groups that exist.  This gave rise to the enactment of Law 70 of 1993, which recognizes the Afro-Colombian population as an ethnic group and sets guidelines to protect their cultural identity and rights.  Therefore, the Law is a major achievement, as it brings this group out of obscurity nationwide and recognizes their differences.  Among the most important principles for the Afro-Colombian community in this Law are that the State grants them collective ownership of the areas that they have been occupying, according to their traditional production practices.  Furthermore, the Decree CONPES 3310 also provides for a number of affirmative actions to improve the condition of these groups.  However, both policies address Afro-Colombians as a homogenous group, without considering the specific needs that Afro-Colombian women may have because of their sex.

187.     The Rapporteur learned of some efforts and good practices that reflect future progress in incorporating these specific needs.  For example, during the meeting between the delegation and the Governor’s Office in Valledupar, the Rapporteur found that support for populations from different ethnic groups, such as indigenous communities, had been incorporated as a priority in their current development plan.  Moreover, national entities such as the Social Solidarity Network communicated to the Rapporteur their intention to incorporate the specific needs of Afro-Colombian and indigenous women in initiatives to gather statistics, as well as programs designed to meet the needs of displaced women belonging to these groups. Furthermore, the IACHR has received information which confirms that the Presidential Office on Gender Equality is currently promoting the design of a Plan de Acción para las Mujeres Indígenas with the participation of indigenous women from across country, aimed at identifying the problems that have to be overcome in achieving the protection of their rights.[207]  According to the State, the elaboration and validation of this Action Plan took place through three regional meetings of indigenous women which attempted to “generate space for dialogue and socialize the importance of the actions that indigenous women are working on in their communities.”[208]

E.        Gaps in the humanitarian assistance and support services for victims: response to forced displacement

188.     During the visit, a series of advances and challenges were noted in the response of the Colombian State to the humanitarian crisis promoted and reproduced by the conflict, especially in regard to the phenomenon of displacement and its specific impact on women.   The IACHR has reiterated in the past that the presence of displaced persons in the national territory means that the State itself must take primary responsibility for guaranteeing their safety and well-being.[209]  As mentioned previously, the IACHR in its 1999 report highlighted principle 19(2) of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, which refers directly to the situation of women, establishing that: "Special attention should be paid to the health needs of women, including access to female health care providers and services, such as reproductive health care, as well as appropriate counseling for victims of sexual and other abuses."[210]  

189.     Among the advances is the presence of a legislative and public policy framework and State programs to address the psycho-affective, economic and social needs of the displaced population, including the System of Integral Attention for the Population Displaced by Violence (hereinafter “SNAIPD”), Law 387 of 1997 and the National Plan for the Integral Attention of the Displaced Population.  It is also important to recognize the creation of the Social Solidarity Network as the entity specialized and responsible for the coordination of the SNAIPD.  According to the State authorities interviewed, the integral assistance for the displaced population includes four components: development and consolidation of prevention and protection programs; provision of emergency humanitarian care; socio-economic stabilization; and the development and consolidation of the SNAIPD.

190.     Advances have been noted in the improvement of the SNAIPD, a Registry for the Displaced Population has been launched, and there has been increased attention to the population throughout the territory with the establishment of field offices of the Social Solidarity Network.[211]  The High Commissioner for Human Rights also reported that in 2004 the budget of the Social Solidarity Network increased considerably and the Network implemented major efforts in providing emergency humanitarian aid and strengthening care and orientation units.[212]

191.     However, shortcomings in the support of the displaced population are evident, above all highlighted in the Sentence T-025, issued by the Constitutional Court on January 22 of 2004, which addresses a number of rights of the displaced population that are being infringed in Colombia, and the need for the State to ensure a minimum level of protection for these people.  The decision identified the minimum level of protection that the displaced population should receive from the State, including a series of rights relevant to women, such as the right to be registered, to receive special protection, to receive immediate assistance for three months, to receive a document accrediting her registration in a health facility, to return in safe conditions and to identify specific circumstances in her personal situation to define how to generate income, among other rights.   

192.     For women, this decision is extremely importantly since the Court expressly establishes “the importance of consulting the opinion of women in the definition of humanitarian assistance programs, the need to overcome an assistance-driven perspective that reinforces and reproduces discriminatory practices against women and the relevance of formulating a public policy providing differentiated attention, in two key aspects: including sex as a suspect criteria of discrimination for the interpretation of Law 387 of 1997 and to adapt information systems to have updated data disaggregated by sex.”[213]   

193.     Moreover, the Court advised that “the registration systems are not sensitive to the identification of the specific needs of those displaced that pertain to groups with an increased level of vulnerability such as women heads of household and ethnic groups.”[214]  The Court explicitly establishes that displaced women or heads of household that dedicate all of their time and efforts to care for minor children or older adults under their responsibility, have the right to receive humanitarian assistance until the “extraordinary urgency has ceased or until the subjects are capable of economically supporting themselves or are in conditions to do so.”[215] 

194.     As a follow-up to the principles included in this Sentence, the Colombian State adopted the new Plan de Atención al Desplazamiento Forzado and the Document CONPES 3400 of 2005, that set the goals and prioritization of resources to address the needs of the displaced population, assign a higher level of responsibility to territorial entities to ensure an integral response to the problem, and creates mechanisms that favor the participation of the displaced population in the design and evaluation of the public policies.

195.     The IACHR highlights the need for public policies to address the specific needs of displaced women and the principles included in the Sentence T-025.  In particular, it calls on the Colombian State to incorporate the participation of women in the formulation of public policies and in the adoption of an adequate level of protection to the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the displaced women and heads of household, in the short and long-term.  Lastly, it is relevant to emphasize the need of the Colombian State to adopt the necessary measures to ensure the participation of organizations of women in the systemic follow-up of compliance with this Sentence. 

196.     A range of United Nations and non-State sources confirmed during the visit the non-inclusion of the specific needs of women in policies to attend the displaced population, above all in the spheres of health and economic subsistence.  The Social Solidarity Network even recognizes that there are limits to a differentiated and specialized attention that they can provide to vulnerable population groups such as women, Afro-Colombians and indigenous peoples and the entire displaced population. Among the difficulties identified by the Network are the challenge of providing assistance to women in finding employment, which means that most perform domestic work and to provide psycho-social support to assist displaced women in handling the cultural changes and the effects of violence.  

197.     State and non-State authorities also highlighted the noticeable absence of institutional coordination that challenges the synergy among existing efforts and services and the absence of resources to provide a specialized attention for women.  Even though there has been progress in consolidating an attention system, a better definition of policies and commitments by the relevant entities is needed, in particular the departments and municipalities.  The Social Solidarity Network, for example, recognized that more coordination is needed with other State entities, such as the Presidential Office on Gender Equality and the National Service for Learning. 

198.     Representatives of State agencies in Valledupar and Quibdó also mentioned the lack of resources to provide an integral care for women, including psycho-social support and sexual and reproductive health services. The Sentence of the Constitutional Court T-025 stated that “resources assigned to the displaced population correspond to 0.04% of the total budget.  This does not take into account the fact that, according to certain calculations, the number of displaced persons in Colombia is 4.3% of the total population.”[216]  In addition, the Social Solidarity Network highlighted the need to design impact indicators to better understand the situation of displaced women and to disaggregate them by major variables such as race and ethnic group.

199.     During the meeting of the Rapporteur with the Social Solidarity Network, the Network communicated to the delegation that they are working to provide an integral approach to the specific needs of women, pursuant to the Sentence T-025, especially for pregnant and breastfeeding women, in the form of food and “basic kits” and the program Familias en Acción.  They are also participating in projects with international organizations such as the International Organization for Migration to identify the specific needs of displaced women and they are preparing a program with ICBF to meet the specific needs of displaced women, including psycho-social support.  Another major advance in achieving an integral and multi-disciplinary approach is a consensus-based questionnaire, agreed upon among different entities serving different sectors, namely the Social Solidarity Network, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, CODHES, and the Catholic Church, to assess the institutional response to the displacement phenomenon.

200.     Other difficulties in the provision of State services that were identified by non-State entities were, for example, deficiencies in emergency humanitarian care, which is provided late and is of a palliative nature, and the bureaucratic barriers displaced women face when registering, such as those displaced from fumigation zones because they have to travel long distances.   An investigation of the Observatory of the Human Rights of Women also revealed that key problems in the assistance provided include a lack of policies for prevention, sustainable economic re-establishment, in line with the needs and expectations of the persons affected, and the access to adequate health services.[217] 

201.     One key problem with the emergency assistance discussed by the Observatory of the Human Rights of Women is its temporary nature, especially in regards to health.  If the person remains affiliated with some health program at the time of the displacement, the contract remains in effect for one year, even if they cannot continue paying the fees.  Once the emergency phase is over, the receiving territory must take over the assistance within the period during which the person is recognized as beneficiary, one year, according to the norms of the National Registry of the Displaced Population.  Therefore, these timeframes fail to take into account the process of adaptation and socio-economic re-establishment of displacement victims.[218]  In many cases, women also require more specialized treatment, with medicines not included in the Plan Obligatorio de Salud (hereinafter “POS”), especially in regard to sexual and reproductive health.[219]  The Rapporteur received information regarding women’s possible exposure to mistreatment in the few health centers where they can receive medical care, and the far distance of the health centers from their settlements.

202.     The Rapporteur has also received information from the Social Solidarity Network and ICBF indicating that when the national registry was designed, racial and ethnic variables were not considered.  Therefore, current support services and programs for women do not consider the specific needs of indigenous and Afro-Colombian women, especially at the national level.  However, the Rapporteur does recognize the political will of these agencies and their understanding that the needs of displaced women require specialized services from the Colombian State, especially in the area of sexual and reproductive health.

F.         Obstacles to access justice

203.     A number of State and non-State sources manifested their concern to the Rapporteur over the main obstacles that women face to access justice when they are victims of violence and discrimination resulting from the armed conflict.  The obstacles can be of a legislative, institutional, cultural and geographic nature.  For example, the High Commissioner for Human Rights in its 2004 report about the situation in Colombia described the problem as follows:

The majority of violations of the rights of women and girls remain unpunished, due to a lack of official investigations, the low number of complaints because of shame, lack of credibility of the justice system, and underreporting in cases of death or sexual violence. Access to the courts and the manner in which such crimes are dealt with have also been affected by the absence of training programmes for court officials on gender issues, as well as by sexist practices in the justice system, especially in penal matters.[220]

204.     The IACHR observed in general the lack of an integral vision and policy, sustained by adequate human and financial resources from the Colombian State, to investigate, sanction and offer reparation in the sphere of justice to acts of violence and discrimination that women suffer as a result of the armed conflict in all zones of the country.  Among the most notable challenges are deficiencies in the investigation, judgment and sanction of acts of violence and discrimination, gaps in systems to gather statistics and the dearth of human and financial resources to address the persisting problems.  Furthermore, the IACHR highlights the need to establish sustainable capacity-building programs for justice officials and to begin programs to sensitize the population and to promote an increase in the filing of complaints.  Lastly, the IACHR observes the weaknesses of the administration of justice in the zones occupied by the actors in the armed conflict and the implementation of alarming principles and practices within the penal procedures applicable to violence against women that can challenge the access by women to effective judicial protection and guarantees.  

1.         Deficiencies in the legal framework

205.     Several State and non-State sources confirmed that, in practice, the legal framework to protect the rights of women is not implemented to their benefit and fails to address their specific needs within the armed conflict, above all, in the criminal sphere.  A number of sources, including the Office of the Ombudsman for the Rights of Children, Women and the Family, shared with the Rapporteur some principles incorporated within the system of criminal justice relevant to the rights of women, after the reforms of 2000 and 2004[221], that have the potential of challenging the access of women to effective judicial protections and guarantees when they are victims of different forms of violence.  The changes reflect the absence of sensibility and knowledge of the situation of vulnerability and lack of protection of victims of violence before their aggressors and victimizers.  In regards to sexual violence particularly, there is a gap between the protections and objectives incorporated in the legal framework and an effective attention and control of the problem.

206.     The most recent reform to the Penal Code adopted in 2004, which entered into force in 2005, establishes the parameters of application of the opportunity principle, in which the relevant Prosecutors can decide according to general criteria which crimes they investigate and which they do not in the area of violence against women.  The degree of discretion granted to the relevant Prosecutors facilitates that in the decision whether to investigate a crime, their beliefs and personal attitudes play a crucial role.  This principle ignores the situation of vulnerability and danger the victims of violence face, as well as the silence that can cloud these incidents, for fear of reprisals by the aggressor and the fear of the victim to be publicly stigmatized. 

207.     The Rapporteur also learned of alarming provisions regarding the “chain of custody”[222] in cases of violence, which were reaffirmed by the reform of 2004, for its major emphasis on physical evidence.   The Rapporteur received information indicating that the procedures are designed only for physical evidence and ignore the key role of other types of proof to support cases of violence against women, such as psychological proof in cases of sexual violence. 

208.     In the specific sphere of domestic violence, a crime worsened by forced displacement, according to the reform of the Penal Procedure Code in the year 2000, women are obligated to personally file the complaint of the crime, which is referred to as querella de parte before the Office of the Attorney General.   This reform does not consider that domestic violence victims are frequently incapable of demanding by themselves the protection and recognition of their rights, due to the threats they suffer by their partners, as well as the fear of stigmatization.  The law also allows the person who commits the crime of domestic violence in violation of a protection order to return to the household where he committed the crimes, without taking into account the dangers this poses for the family group.  On the other hand, the reform of 2004 additionally subjects domestic violence victims to a public and oral trial to expose the aggressions they faced and to defend their rights before their aggressors.

209.     The reform of 2000 also characterizes domestic violence as a crime that the victim can desist from, which does not consider the reasons that could motivate a victim to withdraw a complaint, including threats from the aggressor and the fear of stigmatization by her community.   Additionally, the crime can be subject to a process of conciliation, in which it can be negotiated between the victim and the perpetrator.  The conciliation option assumes that all parties involved are on equal grounds to negotiate, which is not the case in the sphere of domestic violence.   It is recognized internationally that conciliation in cases of domestic violence is not advisable.[223]  In several countries, it has been clear that agreements reached in the framework of mediation increase the emotional and physical risk of women, because of the inequality in power relations between the victim and the aggressor.[224]  The aggressor usually does not comply with the agreements and these do not address the causes and consequences of the violence.[225]

210.     The Rapporteur also learned of concerns regarding Law 882 of 2004, better known as the Ley de Ojos Morados, which excluded sexual violence from the crime of domestic violence, thus, considering that sexual abuse constitutes physical abuse that is already sanctioned without the need for specificity.  This norm was denounced as unconstitutional by the Office of the Ombudsman, but the Constitutional Court dismissed the arguments and declared it constitutional.   The High Commissioner for Human Rights has manifested that this disposition, in addition to be contrary to the international law designed to protect the rights of women and girls from violence, underestimates sexual violence as a specialized and serious problem, ignores its systematic practice, and minimizes this gender-based violation, thereby fostering impunity.[226]

211.     In regards to sexual violence, despite the State efforts to enact legislation, public policies and institutions, several State and non-State sources indicated that they do not perceive significant advances that facilitate an effective control of the problem.  The Office of the Attorney General confirmed to the delegation of the Commission that on 2004 there were a total of 9,084 pending investigations for sexual crimes, of which 89.16% corresponded to female victims.  Some of the challenges identified in the application and implementation of the existing legislative framework has been the scarce creation of the units to attend sexual violence throughout the national territory and of trained professionals to perform sexology exams, mostly in rural areas and in zones where the actors of the armed conflict exercise control.[227]  Therefore, there is a gap between the protections and objectives included in the legislative framework to address sexual violence and an effective control of the problem.  

2.         Persistence of discriminatory socio-cultural patterns

212.     In information provided to the IACHR, the Colombian State has recognized that:

The most recurring challenge to prevent, protect and sanction violence is the persistence of sexist tendencies, where violence against women has a high degree of acceptance[228]

213.     The IACHR has corroborated from the information and testimonies gathered that violence and discrimination against women are still accepted in Colombian society, which is reflected in the response of the officials of the administration of justice towards victims of violence against women and the treatment of these cases.  The Rapporteur received information about the fear of the victims to be re-victimized by the system of justice and the mistrust that what they have suffered as a consequence of the conflict can be investigated, sanctioned or be subject to reparations.  Other factors that impede women to denounce acts of violence include the fear of being stigmatized socially by making the crime public and the lack of knowledge of available judicial recourses.  Consequently, it is evident that the Colombian State needs to create additional capacity-building programs for officials of the administration of justice and to implement campaigns to sensitize the general public about the gravity of these crimes and the importance of filing complaints. 

214.     Non-governmental organizations such as CLADEM and PROFAMILIA, as well as representatives from United Nations agencies, communicated to the Rapporteur their concern over the mistrust that the judicial authorities have towards victims and what they relate as crimes against them or their families.[229]  The following two testimonies were offered to the Rapporteur during the visit, which illustrate the treatment received by women, when they or their relatives have been victims of violence and they try to access justice: 

The victims claim that they do not report for fear of being persecuted; moreover, they do not trust any organ or institution to file a complaint or to seek assistance of a psychological, economic or judicial nature…..Due to the patriarchal conception of justice and in the operators, who do not equally enforce due process guarantees to crimes such as sexual abuse and domestic violence, under the rubric of procedural doubt.  Furthermore, there is a manipulation of the proof, because the Office of the Attorney General has no interest to collect and review proof before the crimes committed by the armed actors.[230]

Most evident has been the impunity of all situations of human rights violations faced by women in the region…..when women know where to seek help, they go to entities to request the required certifications to access subsidies they are entitled to due to the violent death of their loved ones as a result of the armed conflict.  They receive from the Office of the Attorney General, organ entrusted with the investigation of violent deaths, responses such as “Throw Fire to That”.  The women feel more mistreated by the institutions than by the same actors that harmed them.  Another factor that leads to impunity is the mistrust of the women in these institutions, in the case of the Office of the Attorney General concretely…..There was the case of a woman who submitted facts for the preparation of verbal portraits of the murderers of her husband and son and after the complaint was prepared, she was threatened that same afternoon.  This was the only institution that had knowledge of the case in detail [emphasis added].[231]

215.     Amnesty International recently described in detail how the fear of being revictimized by the system and the mistrust that the aggressor will be really sanctioned, discourages victims of sexual violence to present complaints before the justice system:  

Sexual violence is rarely reported by the victim.  In those cases in which survivors muster the strength to do so, the authorities often seek to dissuade the women from doing so…….Even if they persist, the case is unlikely to be fully and independently investigated.  The prospect of a conviction is virtually zero, especially if the alleged perpetrator is a member of the security forces, the paramilitaries or the guerrilla.  Every step of the process appears to be designed to block survivors’ attempts to seek truth and justice.[232]  

216.     The Rapporteur corroborated during her visit that the authorities entrusted with administering justice, at the national and local levels, tend to assume that when a victim withdraws a complaint this means that the crime has not occurred.  This type of presumption and conclusion ignores the multiple motives that can lead a victim of violence not to report a crime, including mistrust in the administration of justice, the potential stigmatization of her family and community, and the fear that the aggressor may exercise reprisals against her or her family.  

217.     Additionally, non-State sources communicated to the Rapporteur their concern over the social stigma that can suffer a violence victim, above all from sexual violence, which discourages women to report abuses by the actors in the conflict.  The victims can be rejected by their communities, families, partners and often receive death threats by the illegal armed actors when they report cases.  When the sexual violence has been produced in zones where the armed actors impose norms and punishments, the community can find that what occurred is the fault of the victim for violating the rules.  This factor contributes to a high level of under-reporting of cases of violence against women, reflected in the statistics.  In the year 2000, the Office of the Attorney General conducted 21,189 investigations for sexual crimes, however, the State estimates that these only represent between 5 to 10% of the cases.[233] 

218.     The Rapporteur learned of valuable efforts from the Colombian State to train officials of the administration of justice.  It is important to highlight the initiative of the Consejo Superior de la Judicatura and the Escuela Judicial Rodrigo Lara Bonilla in the creation of a Training and Capacity-Building Plan with a gender perspective that has as a goal to train 15,000 administration of justice officials between 2002 and 2006.[234]  It is also important to highlight the organization of specialized workshops in the subject with the support of the Women, Gender and Justice Program of the United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (hereinafter “ILANUD”), one of the entities in the region with extensive capacity-building experience in these themes.  These initiatives are a good start to develop effective capacity-building programs in the theme that are sustainable and can be institutionalized.   Representatives from the Office of the Attorney General communicated to the Rapporteur the need to increase and strengthen capacity-building programs for administration of justice officials to effectively address cases of violence against women and discrimination and to treat victims with sensibility and respect. 

219.     The Rapporteur also recognizes the efforts of the Presidential Office on Gender Equality to implement sensitization campaigns to the general public about violence against women.  However, the Rapporteur encourages the State to assign a larger amount of resources to increase the territorial coverage and the specificity of these awareness-raising actions.  The Office of the Attorney General communicated to the Rapporteur the need on behalf of the State to strengthen the communications work to promote the social respect of the human rights of vulnerable populations such as women within the armed conflict. 

220.     Therefore, it is crucial that the Colombian State continues to implement concrete measures, such as capacity-building programs and awareness-raising campaigns, to eradicate discriminatory socio-cultural patters on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity and social class to promote that women report acts of violence and discrimination and receive a humane and dignified treatment by judicial authorities. 

3.        Deficiencies in the investigation, judgment and sanction of acts of violence and discrimination on the basis of gender and in the creation of safe conditions for the reporting of crimes

221.     The IACHR in the past has recommended to the Colombian State the exercise of due diligence to ensure that all cases of violence and discrimination against women are subject to a prompt, complete and impartial investigation, as well as the adequate sanction of those responsible and the reparation of the victims.[235]   However, during the visit, a variety of State and non-State sources voiced their concern over the inefficacy of the justice system to effectively investigate and sanction cases of violence against women that occur as a consequence of the armed conflict, especially those perpetrated by the actors of the conflict and in zones under their control.  The United Nations Rapporteur after its visit highlighted that the failure to investigate, process and punish those responsible for violations and other forms of violence on the basis of gender, has contributed to creating in Colombia a climate of impunity that perpetuates violence against women and contributes to an increase of the violence in general.[236]

222.     The Rapporteur learned of a series of challenges in the documentation and investigation of cases of violence and discrimination.  For example, the Office of the Attorney General communicated to the Rapporteur its challenge in documenting cases of violence against women and abuses, especially in areas of the country where the victims fear reprisals when they report acts of violence and how the life of Prosecutors is endangered when they work in these zones.  Moreover, the creation of safety conditions to facilitate that women report sexual violence acts and to prevent that crimes remain in impunity constitutes a challenge.[237] 

223.     Additionally, the scarcity of resources assigned to address cases of violence and discrimination against women limits the territorial scope of the existing programs of the administration of justice.  For example, in Valledupar, the Community Ombudsman confirmed that they only have one Attorney for the Department of César and Guajira.  They confirmed the existence of multiple attacks of illegal groups and forced displacements that are not registered and the challenge in providing permanent assistance to women in this limiting context.

224.     However, the IACHR recognizes a series of efforts, especially by the Office of the Attorney General, to effectively address these cases.  Representatives from the Office, for example, explained to the Rapporteur how the subject of gender has gained key importance in their work and how special units have been created, including a special unit for trafficking persons.  A center to attend cases of domestic violence has also been created.  The Office of the Attorney General is committed to offering effective services throughout the territory, despite the challenges mentioned and the danger faced by the Prosecutors when they perform their duties in zones occupied by the actors of the conflict.  The Office of the Attorney General shared with the Rapporteur good examples of collaboration with non-governmental organizations such as the OFP, who supports their work in the areas of documentation and attention in areas particularly affected by the armed conflict such as Barrancabermeja.  However, the Office of the Attorney General recognized the need to strengthen the actions of the administration of justice in mitigating the effects of the armed conflict on women, by developing an integral and specific response, as well as a larger assignment of resources. 

G.       The need to protect and legitimize the work of women’s rights defenders

225.     Colombia stands out for the organizational experiences of groups of women who wish to participate and influence the public agenda, both in areas traditionally linked to the specific needs of women as in issues related to the resolution of the armed conflict.  However, as has been manifested in the past by the High Commissioner of Human Rights and the Untied Nations Rapporteur, this type of participation has become an extremely dangerous activity in which women’s rights defenders and their loved ones are exposed to multiple violations of their human rights. [238]  In fact, armed actors find that the leadership exercised by women’s rights organizations challenges the extent of their social and territorial control, which – the IACHR believes – has led to the systematic intimidation, persecution, kidnapping, torture and sexual abuse of representatives of organizations that work to protect the rights of women and their families, among other crimes. 

226.     The Mesa de Trabajo Mujer y Conflicto Armado has identified as a form of violence when national and regional organizations of women, especially those acting in war zones, are subjected to harassment and threats, affecting both their members and the community work they conduct.[239]  Armed actors find that the leadership exercised by women’s rights organizations limits the extent of their increasing social and territorial control in certain areas of the country.[240]  The following testimony illustrates the situations of violence that representatives of the organizations defending the rights of women face and the impact on their relatives and communities:

I am the daughter of a member from [……] in the municipality of Viota Cundinamarca and now, because of what has happened, I am working directly in the office of the Association in Bogotá, who despite the difficulties, have supported me at all times….. When the paramilitary invasion began by the Rural Self-Defense Groups of Casanare, in the municipality where my mother, little sister and I lived, on March 8, 2003, my mother was in the fields when a group of unidentified men came to the neighborhood, asking about “la paisa”, referring to my mother.  When she was identified, these men – two of them wearing hoods – handcuffed her and took her to the pickup truck of death, which was what they called it in our town, and took her away.  My little sister, who saw everything, was threatened with a rifle and forced to shut up. She saw them take my mother away. From that time on, I started to search for her, but we have not learned anything about her to this day.  Since then, and without any experience, I have become the head of household for my sisters, since my mother was separated and she was our sole breadwinner. We were obligated to move to Bogotá to save our lives, but lost everything. In Bogotá, the Organization has helped us, because the threats continue [..] We need protection, but we know that the State is not going to give us any.[241]

227.     In view of this unsafe context, the High Commissioner for Human Rights has recommended to the Colombian State:

To strengthen programs for protection of human rights advocates with the Ministry of the Interior and to search, jointly with other State institutions, new mechanisms to reduce risk factors and act preventively to eliminate them… Accordingly, it is fundamental for programs and mechanisms to respond adequately to the needs of organizations that defend the rights of women and the needs of their members, so they may continue working to promote and defend their rights.[242]

228.     Among the organizations most severely affected and threatened are those conformed by rural, indigenous, Afro-Colombian and displaced women: the OFP and ANMUCIC, both beneficiaries of precautionary measures granted by the IACHR, the Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas and the Casa de la Mujer.  Just the OFP has suffered nearly 120 incidents, including attacks, threats, and disappearances.  The members of these organizations and their families have been subjected to systematic acts of intimidation, persecution, kidnapping, torture and sexual abuse, among other crimes.  The representatives of these organizations and their relatives have been obligated to abandon their regions, quit their organizational work and even leave the country.  Women who belong to certain political parties or movements, such as the Patriotic Union have also been victims of persecution and selective assassinations because of their political views.

229.     In addition to working to protect the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of women, these organizations perform a crucial role in the areas of services and case documentation.  In zones where the armed actors are present, these organizations provide assistance to victims of violence and reproductive health services.  Some of the organizations carrying out these activities are the Iniciativa de las Mujeres por la Paz, the Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas, the OFP, ANMUCIC and PROFAMILIA, among other entities.  The UNDP communicated to the Rapporteur during her visit that this important work does not receive the social recognition it deserves.

230.     Moreover, phenomena such as forced displacement pose major challenges to the activities and organizational processes of women.  For example, the groups and networks of women interviewed by the Rapporteur in Quibdó described as follows the impact of forced displacement on their organizational efforts:

The organizational processes that women have begun implementing in their communities tend to disappear, because they focus their attention on how to survive; and it would seem that the idea of organization makes no more sense, because it is not viewed as a useful strategy to resolve the problems they face in these circumstances.[243]

231.     The IACHR reiterates the need to legitimize and protect the actions of these groups, whose existence and work is threatened by the actors of the armed conflict.  The State does not sufficiently acknowledge the importance of the work of these organizations, who represent the interests of women in the public life, and who provide key services within the zones occupied by the actors of the armed conflict.[244]  The Rapporteur reiterates the observations of the United Nations Rapporteur regarding this situation:

The State should provide greater support and protection for human rights that work with women and on women’s human rights issues.  The work currently underway in the areas of research and the production of materials on women’s rights, and the documentation of women’s experiences of conflict, is seen by certain actors as contentious and adequate thought needs to be given to addressing the risks to the people who conduct this work and to providing them with appropriate support.  Much valuable work is done in remote areas by women’s organizations at the grass-roots level and they deserve appropriate protection measures and support systems.  Tackling impunity and prosecuting gender-based violations will send a message that these crimes will be taken seriously. Serious priority and commitment must be devoted to understanding the risks, implementing preventive measures and providing protection. [245]

H.         Perspectives of truth, justice and reparation

232.     The IACHR has publicly stated that “establishing the truth about what happened during the conflict, searching seriously for justice through the determination of the responsibility of the perpetrators vis-a-vis the victims, and the reparation of the damage cause–far from generating obstacles for the agreements that can lead to peace building—constitute basic pillars of its strength.”[246]

233.     In the case of Colombian women, it is crucial that any process oriented towards peace contemplates the clarification and reparation of the acts of violence and discrimination they have suffered as part of the armed conflict.  Resolution 1325 of the United Nations Security Council underscores “the responsibility of all States to put an end to impunity and to prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes including those relating to sexual violence against women and girls, and in this regard, stresses the need to exclude these crimes, where feasible from amnesty provisions.”[247]  Similarly, the Convention of Belém do Pará urges States to establish the judicial and administrative measures necessary to ensure that women who have been subjected to violence will have effective access to restitution, reparation of the damage, or other just, effective means of compensation.

234.     The IACHR has ascertained that for Colombian women truth, justice and reparations are indispensable prerequisites for any negotiation process destined to resolve the Colombian armed conflict.[248]  This need has been described by Colombian women’s groups before the IACHR as follows:

the recovery of dissident memories in the official history and to rebuild the circumstances of past acts from all viewpoints. Consciously making the memory of a particular group invisible is done to ignore those traces of the past that can prevent the past from being idealized in the future.

genuine punishments must be applied to those guilty of serious human rights violations, to avoid impunity.  For this purpose, three rules must be respected: 1) society must know that the actions committed are serious crimes and that the persons condemned are responsible for committing them; 2) it is indispensable for non-combatants who suffered the effects of these crimes to have rights that society is obligated to protect; and 3) it is essential for recognition of responsibility for crimes to have a just consequence, through proportional punishment.[249]

235.     The IACHR has publicly stated its observations and concerns regarding the named Law of Justice and Peace, which establishes the legal framework for the access to procedural benefits by members of illegal armed groups which have been involved in the perpetration of serious crimes against the civil population in the context of the armed conflict.[250]  The State, on the other hand, states that the demobilization process which is part of the peace-building effort constitutes per se a manifestation of the fulfillment of its international obligations regarding human rights.[251]

236.     The IACHR recognizes the challenges confronted by the State to find a negotiated solution to the Colombian armed conflict.  In this context, it is indispensable that the State respects the rights of women, as well as those of other vulnerable groups in the clarification and sanction of acts of violence and discrimination that have occurred, as well as the adequate reparation of the harm done, through individual measures of restitution, indemnity and rehabilitation. 
 

VI.        CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

237.     Through this report, the IACHR conveys and reiterates its grave concern over the suffering of Colombian women due to the violence and discrimination worsened by the armed conflict and the importance of considering their specific needs in the public response to the problem.  Under the current circumstances, Colombian women and girls affected by the armed conflict cannot enjoy or exercise their rights set forth in the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, in the American Convention on Human Rights, and in other international instruments protecting human rights.

238.     The IACHR reaffirms its commitment to collaborate with the Colombian State in seeking solutions to the problems identified.  Some steps adopted to address this situation display an understanding of the gravity of the existing problems and the commitment of the State and non-State sectors in considering the specific needs of women in public policies designed to sanction, prevent and eradicate acts of violence and discrimination against women and to understand the gravity of the problems. 

239.     As the IACHR has stated in the past, the problem of violence in Colombia is lengthy and extremely complex, requiring comprehensive solutions that cannot be postponed and this applies to the specific situation of women.  Pursuant to its obligations under international law, the Colombian State is obligated to act with due diligence to prevent, punish and eradicate the violence and discrimination against women, worsened by the armed conflict, even when the conflict poses structural challenges to this response.

240.     The recommendations issued in the report are geared towards the design of an integral State policy that takes into account the manifestations of discrimination and violence affecting women that are aggravated by the armed conflict, in order to make progress in the diagnosis, prevention and response to these problems, and in the incorporation of women’s specific needs into the public agenda.  They are also intended to motivate the State to implement measures to eradicate discriminatory socio-cultural patterns based on sex, race, ethnicity and social class and to account for these differences in the development of public policies to mitigate the pernicious effect of the armed conflict on Colombian women throughout the national territory.  The recommendations formulated herein are of a dual nature: general recommendations and recommendations by category of attention and response, covering legislation, public policies, State institutions and programs, diagnosis and prevention, public services for displaced women, administration of justice, civic and political participation, and truth, justice and reparations.

241.     The IACHR wishes to especially recognize the extraordinary efforts by Colombian women to cope with the adversity of the internal armed conflict.  It also highlights their work against the discrimination, exclusion and violence and to achieve full enjoyment of all their human rights.  This capacity to associate and make an impact has achieved major legal developments and promoted the adoption of progressive policies and institutions for women in Colombia.  Colombian women are not only victims of structural discrimination and violence, which is exacerbated by the internal armed conflict, they are also the bearers of initiatives of inclusion, democratization and authentic peace-making for the Colombian State and society.

General recommendations

1.       To adopt an integral State policy to address the specific impact of the armed conflict on women in the areas of justice, health and education, among others.  These policies should be guided by the logic of protecting the rights of women and should tend to guarantee their autonomy.  

2.       To implement and strengthen measures to comply with the duty to act with due diligence to prevent, sanction and eradicate violence and discrimination against women, exacerbated by the armed conflict, including concrete efforts to fulfill its four obligations: prevention, investigation, sanction and reparation of the human rights violations of women.

3.       To implement measures to eradicate discriminatory socio-cultural patterns based on sex, race, and ethnic background, and to take these differences and conditions of vulnerability into account in the development of public policies to mitigate the pernicious effect of the armed conflict on Colombian women. 

4.       To publicly recognize that the different manifestations of gender-based violence and discrimination are closely related to the human rights and humanitarian crisis that Colombia is facing, that they are serious violations of international and national law, and that it is necessary to assign adequate State resources to achieve their prevention, eradication and sanction. 

5.      To duly apply the recommendations previously issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and United Nations follow-up mechanisms, such as the United Nations Rapporteurs, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Committee Against Torture, the Human Rights Committee, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Specific recommendations

Legislation, public policies, State institutions and programs

6.     To adequately enforce the national legislation and the existing public policies designed to protect women from acts of violence and discrimination and their consequences in civil, political, economic, social and health matters, and to allocate sufficient resources to make this enforcement effective at the national and local level.

7.       To incorporate the voices and specific needs of women affected by the armed conflict and the organizations representing them in the design of legislation and public policies geared toward ameliorating the impact of the consequences of the armed conflict on them.

8.       To adopt and amend existing legislation in order to ensure compliance with decisions and recommendations by supra-national bodies designed to protect the rights of women within the internal armed conflict.

9.     To implement dissemination measures and campaigns for the general public regarding the duty to respect the civil, political, economic, social, cultural, sexual and reproductive rights of women; the available services and resources for women who have experienced violations of their rights; and the judicial consequences for perpetrators.

10.   To identify and institutionalize new forms of capacity-building for public servants in all sectors (justice, security, health and education) with an integral approach that addresses the right of women to live free from violence and discrimination, and to respect their physical and psychological well-being when they receive public services.

11.   To identify and create indicators and inter-institutional monitoring systems on the implementation of legislation and policies destined to mitigate the impact of the armed conflict on Colombian women. 

12.   To create coordination and communication mechanisms among national and local programs and services for women who are victims of violence and discrimination aggravated by the armed conflict. These mechanisms must favor coordination among all programs at the national level and among programs implemented on the national and local levels.

13.    To strengthen and institutionalize the work of the Presidential Office on Gender Equality as the coordinating entity for public policies for women, with adequate financial and human resources.

14.    To implement a greater number of State resources allocated to entities responsible for providing services and implementing programs to mitigate the effects of the armed conflict on women.

15.    To implement measures to address the violence and discrimination suffered by women in zones occupied by the actors of the armed conflict. 

16.    To set up inter-institutional teams to determine the exact dimension of the problem and identify comprehensive strategies to address it in these zones.

17.    To create spaces where inter-institutional dialogue and greater collaboration can occur to mitigate the effects of the armed conflict on women.

18.   To design public policies in the area of citizen protection which incorporate the specific needs of women.

19.    To adopt the steps required to complete the ratification and implementation of the Protocol of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Assessment and Prevention

20.   To create and improve statistical and qualitative information systems and records on incidents of violence and discrimination against women.  

21.   To create mechanisms to achieve uniformity among these information systems.

22.   To implement measures in order for these information systems to adequately reflect the national and local situation, including incidents of violence and discrimination taking place in zones occupied by the actors of the armed conflict. 

23.   To adopt measures in order for these and future programs to disaggregate information by sex, age, race, ethnic group among other factors.

24.   To maintain reliable and updated statistics including the armed actors as possible aggressors.

25.   To incorporate problems such as sexual violence, already reflected in existing official statistics, in the design of public policies destined to mitigate the effects of the armed conflict on women.

26.   To promote that the information collected by State entities about incidents of violence and discrimination is processed with a gender perspective. 

27.   To launch the design of a single questionnaire to collect information about incidents of violence and discrimination that can be used by all sectors – government, administration of justice, health, international agencies, the academic sector and civil society – among others, and to promote pilot experiences to evaluate its effectiveness. 

Public Services for Displaced Women

28.   To design and implement a policy including positive actions to recognize and make effective the rights of women in terms of an integral and multidisciplinary attention and support in the areas of health, justice, education and economy of the displaced women, that adequately address their needs in the short and long-term. 

29.   To address in public policies and State programs, the specific needs of displaced women and their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.  Especially, to adopt measures to guarantee the protection of their sexual and reproductive rights. 

30.   To effectively implement the principles included in the Sentence of the Constitutional Court T-025 in regards to the participation of women in the formulation of public policies and the adoption of an adequate level of protection of the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of displaced women heads of household, in the short and long-term.  Furthermore, to adopt the necessary measures to give participation to organizations of women in the periodic follow-up of this Sentence.

31.   To design impact indicators to measure the effectiveness and scope of State support measures and services to mitigate the impact of forced displacement on women of different races, ethnic backgrounds and ages.

32.   To strengthen official statistics collection systems on the displaced population and to disaggregate information by race, ethnicity, and sex, among other conditions of vulnerability.

33.   To create the conditions and eliminate bureaucratic, inefficient obstacles in order to facilitate the access of displaced women to the registry and the national health system. To create effective safety measures so that women can register and obtain health-care services.

34.   To adopt measures to ensure that State entities, particularly those providing services to displaced women, respect and protect their rights and health needs, including those within the sphere of reproductive health, and adequate services and information are granted.

35.   In the sphere of access to education, to grant school spaces and offer technical training programs for women and girl children who are displaced so that they can have more opportunities to re-establish themselves socio-economically after the displacement. 

36.   To develop training programs so that indigenous and Afro-Colombian women can offer psycho-social support to displacement victims belonging to their same race and ethnic groups.

Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Women

37.   To design and adopt policies taking into account the specific needs of indigenous and Afro-Colombian women within the armed conflict in regard to health, education, justice and livelihoods.  National policies designed to promote the rights of all women must consider the specific needs of indigenous and Afro-Colombian women and have an integral vision of how to address important issues such as health, education, and justice.  National policies geared toward improving the situation of indigenous and Afro-Colombian groups must also include the specific needs of women.

38.   To reinforce the social investment in indigenous and Afro-Colombian women in the justice, health and education sectors to mitigate the effects of the armed conflict and to render effective the rights of displaced women and heads of household.

39.   To adopt measures and dissemination campaigns targeting indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, the State and society at large, regarding the problems that these women confront, especially displaced women, in order to generate action commitments to solve them and achieve complete respect for their human rights.

40.   To develop initiatives to collect information, statistics, research and studies reflecting the specific situation of indigenous and Afro-Colombian women that will provide the foundation to develop public policies geared toward prevention, punishment and eradication of acts of violence and discrimination perpetrated against them.

41.   To design and adopt culturally relevant policies, with the participation of indigenous and Afro-Colombian women, to protect displaced women from these groups.

42.   To design and adopt policies, with the participation of indigenous and Afro-Colombian women, considering respect for their culture, with the purpose of ameliorating the effects of the armed conflict.  In particular, to carry out actions to reduce the negative effects in terms of health, education, and justice caused by the armed conflict.

43.   To create mechanisms and spaces to strengthen the leadership, organization and citizen participation of indigenous and Afro-Colombian women in order to incorporate their role and voice in decision-making, according to their own culture and traditions.

44.   To achieve the full respect of the rights of indigenous women to live free from violence, discrimination and the forced displacement worsened by the armed conflict, it is essential for the State to respect and protect effectively the ancestral lands of their peoples, from both military and economic interests.

45.   To design and implement policies to promote and protect the human rights of indigenous women, including special directives for the armed forces and the National Police in order to facilitate the respect of their right to live free from sexual violence and other forms of discrimination.

Administration of Justice

46.   To design an integral, coordinated State policy, supported by adequate public resources, to guarantee that victims of violence and discrimination adequately access justice and that acts of violence are adequately investigated, sanctioned and repaired.

47.   To adopt the necessary measures to prevent, sanction and eradicate acts of rape, sexual abuse and other forms of violence, torture and inhumane treatment by all combatants in the armed conflict.

48.   To ensure that due diligence is exercised to guarantee that gender-based violence cases are promptly, completely and impartially investigated, those responsible are adequately punished and victims receive reparations.   

49.   To strengthen the institutional capacity to confront the pattern of impunity for cases of violence against women through effective criminal investigations, with consistent judicial follow-up, in order to guarantee adequate sanction and reparations.

50.   To implement measures to reinforce the resources and capacity for investigation processes, in order for violations of human rights with gender-specific causes and their consequences to be investigated and sanctioned according to their gravity.

51.   To increase access to legal representation free of charge for victims of violence and discrimination against women.

52.   To prepare and disseminate information to ensure that victims of violence and discrimination against women know their rights within the judicial system.

53.   To gather and systematize decisions by regional and international bodies designed to protect the rights of women and to make this information accessible to public officials at the national and local level.

54.   To adopt effective guarantees to facilitate that victims denounce acts of violence, such as the adoption of effective measures to protect those filing complaints, survivors and witnesses.

55.   To adopt immediate measures to guarantee effective training in women’s rights for officials responsible for processing crimes, administering justice and supervising the actions of public officials, in order for them to adequately apply national and international norms to bring sexual crimes to justice.

56.   To create conditions so that the INML continues training and increasing the awareness of judicial authorities who handle cases of different types of violence so they can adequately and thoroughly evaluate all available evidence in resolving cases of sexual violence, including the legal-medical examination, physical and psychological findings, and laboratory tests, among others.  It is important to encourage the multi-disciplinary investigation of such crimes.

Civic and political participation

57.   To apply United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security, which requires women to be involved in the decision-making in order to resolve Colombia’s armed conflict and mitigate its consequences. The Colombian State should take this Resolution as a guideline and ensure the right of women to participate in all levels of decision-making related to the conflict and its consequences in their daily lives.

58.   To legitimize and effectively protect the work of women’s human rights defenders and their organizations throughout the national territory.

59.   To continue implementing measures to increase the participation of women in the country’s social, political and economic life, nationally and locally.

60.   To ensure that organizations defending the human rights of women and their members actively participate in formulating programs, services and instruments destined to protect them.

61.   To create spaces for coordination and collaboration between non-governmental organizations and State agencies entrusted with providing services to victims of violence.

Truth, justice and reparations

62.   To adopt, under the legal framework governing negotiations with the illegal armed groups, measures to guarantee the rights of women who have been victims of violence and discrimination, to truth, justice and reparations. The State must take particular account of the measures set forth by the Convention of Belém do Pará, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the Rome Statute.    

63.   The State should create spaces for victims to be actively involved in and influence the ways in which their rights to truth, justice and reparations are fulfilled and protected by the State.  The enforcement of these rights should reflect the perspective and specific needs of victims and granted in a non- discriminatory fashion.

64.   To ensure that the legal framework and the demobilization programs are compatible with the international principles and norms about the rights of victims to truth, justice and reparation and, as such, address the specific needs of women. 

65.   To guarantee that women directly affected by the conflict and its consequences are incorporated in the decision-making bodies working towards the resolution of the causes and consequences of the conflict.

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