Chocó is the department with the most confinements so far in 2023, since it registered 70 events of the 89 that are counted throughout the country; that is to say, it represents 79% of the total of this type of violations to the human rights of the communities.
Other departments with the presence of illegal armed groups, which register this type of situation are Arauca and Cauca with six events each; Valle del Cauca, five, and Nariño, two.
This was announced from Quibdó, the capital of Chocó, by the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo Assis, during the presentation of the report ‘The State of Forced Human Mobility 2022’, a document that details the number and location of the confinements, the displacements and risks.
“It is urgent to warn that the communities prefer to confine themselves to displacement, and the reason is that the emergency care provided by the State is not good and is not delivered in a timely manner,” explained Carlos Camargo Assis.
The confinement of communities has been a constant in the last two years. While in 2022 there were 92 events between January 1 and June 20, in the same period of 2023 89 were registered. So far this year, 103 communities have been confined, the equivalent of 5,825 families.
“Communities are forced to remain practically sequestered in their territories, being left in the middle of clashes between illegal armed groups, which are the cause of the risks, threats and accusations”, stressed the Ombudsman.
In 2023, also at the country level, the main causes of confinement were related to the increase in the presence of illegal armed groups, with 47 events; confrontations, 32; threats, seven, and finally, one event due to an armed strike.
“These are the cold figures that we must deliver and with which we hope to draw the attention of the State authorities so as not to allow events such as confinement to become landscape, without the State addressing the violations against the communities in a timely and effective manner” , assured the Ombudsman.
In the socialization of the report, Carlos Camargo Assis also revealed that so far this year there have been 59 massive displacements in Colombia, which is equivalent to 18,755 people. Chocó is the second department with the most trips, with 12 events; the first is Nariño, who reports 20.
Finally, in addition to the forced displacement of the communities, the Ombudsman drew the National Government’s attention to the forced displacement of mayors, councilors, teachers, and other public officials from their territories, due to threats from illegal armed groups.
“There it is fundamental that the national, departmental and municipal authorities take the necessary measures to defend the institutionality of the State and prevent the violent ones from continuing to gain ground,” the Ombudsman pointed out.