The Ombudsman’s Office, through its Regional Arauca, has been carrying out a field verification mission on the humanitarian effects that the fighting of the last days between the ELN and the Farc dissidents has left for the communities, in the sector of Marreros, in the limits of the municipalities of Arauquita and Puerto Rondón, which originated the confinement of the civilian population.
During the visit, it was possible to verify that in the villages of Lejanías, Normandía, El Progreso, La Esmeralda and El Palón, in the municipality of Puerto Rondón, among others, the effects that nearly 1,445 families have been suffering since last year due to the armed conflict , and that were accentuated as a consequence of the confrontations that occurred on January 10 and 11 of this year.
Given these facts, the communities are in a state of fear and widespread anxiety, with the consequent shortage of food necessary for their food, without the possibility of leaving their homes to attend medical appointments and obtain medicines, as well as the exit of their harvests for their later commercialization. This situation seriously jeopardizes their right to health, life and access to basic services or goods for their survival, assured the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo.
Likewise, the mission of the Ombudsman’s Office warned of possible limitations that students will have to go to educational institutions, taking into account that the start of classes is approaching and there is fear in parents of sending their children to schools and colleges, because they could end up in the middle of the confrontations, which also generates a violation of the right to education of children and adolescents in the area.
Likewise, the mission of the Ombudsman’s Office was able to verify the poor provision of health services, the scarcity of medical brigades and the terrible state of the roads, sewers and bridges through which the communities travel to access the urban centers of the municipalities of Puerto Rondón and Arauquita.
From the Ombudsman’s Office they call on the authorities of the affected municipalities, especially the municipal administration of Arauquita and Puerto Rondón and the Government of Arauca, to immediately provide humanitarian assistance to this population, through the allocation of the necessary resources and implement urgent care strategies.
Finally, the Ombudsman’s Office reiterates its call to the armed actors to remember that the regulations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) are mandatory, in terms of respect for the civilian population.
Source: Ombudsman