The Ombudsman’s Office found that in 2022 Chocó was the department in Colombia that suffered the most from the confinement of communities due to the actions of illegal armed groups. 65 confinement events were presented in Chocó.
Illegal armed groups also install explosive devices in their territories and issue threats, which makes it impossible to carry out their planting, hunting, and fishing activities, putting their survival at risk.
In Colombia, in 2022, 15,761 families from 303 communities had to confine themselves to their territories, a significant increase compared to the 40 cases in 2020 and the 109 in 2021. Then there are Arauca, with 39; Valle del Cauca, with 10; Cauca, with 9; Nariño, with 4 facts; Antioquia, with 2, and Bolívar, Córdoba and Risaralda, with 1 case each.
Displacement
In 2022, there were 28 displacements in Chocó. Other departments affected by forced displacement were: Nariño with 45 massive displacements, Cauca 15, Arauca and Norte de Santander (each with 8 cases), Valle del Cauca (7) and Putumayo, Bolívar and Córdoba with five cases each.
Although the number of displacement cases in 2022 was less than the 163 registered in 2021, last year was one of the years with the most forced displacement events in the last six years. In 2017, 51 occurred, in 2018 there were 99, by 2019 they reached 79 and by 2020 it reached 92 cases.
“In addition to the protection and security that the military and police authorities must provide to the 36,077 families who are victims of forced displacement and confinement in 2022, it is urgent that the authorities attend to the recommendations of the different early warnings where the Ombudsman’s Office warns of the risk of displacement and confinement”, concluded the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo.