The forced removal of civilians from their homes has been a major feature of the 40-year conflict in Colombia. The country has the second highest number of internally displaced people in the world - around 4.9 million people are internal refugees.
The crisis affects already vulnerable and marginalised groups including indigenous people and afro-descendants.
Human rights: the conflict has led to gross violations of human rights against civilians. Meanwhile, those defending human rights (lawyers, activists, journalists) are stigmatised, imprisoned, threatened and murdered.
Inequality: the minority elite own most of the land and benefit from the country’s riches, while 60% of the population live in poverty.
Land: people living in areas rich in natural resources face violent eviction from their lands. While the constitution guarantees protection for ancestral territories, in practice the lack land titles means land is seized by mining and palm oil companies.
Our work
• Advocate for the defence of human rights and protection of human rights defenders.
• Help vulnerable groups understand and claim their rights, as laid out in Colombia’s constitution.
Our partners
Justice and Peace offers legal advice and takes cases through international courts and provides accompaniment (witnessing and international reporting on the situation of vulnerable populations).
Justice and Peace with support from Christian Aid and the European Union have provided homes, schools, wells and seeds to more than 400 displaced families in five communities living in a humanitarian safe heaven in Choco. The families were forced off their lands by palm oil growers.
CCALCP gives legal advice and training to peasants and Bari indigenous people living caught in the conflict and living in areas rich in coal and oil.
Our advocacy work on behalf of the community of Las Pavas, put pressure on The Body Shop which as a result decided to stop sourcing palm oil from the company implicated in the forced displacement of the community from their land.
What you can do
• Help us continue our our work by donating.
• Take action to help eradicate poverty and injustice across the world.
Further content
• Misael Payares from the Las Pavas community is made Human Rights Defender of the month by the British government in Colombia
• Afro-Colombia communities finally secure the legal right to their land.
• Body Shop decision praised as it cuts ties with Colombian palm oil supplier.
• Colombian human rights defender arrested.
• Colombia: fighting for the right to land.
• Christian Aid partner's life at risk in Colombia.
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