The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Victims Unit develop the “Project for the social inclusion of victims of conflict with disabilities”.
This Thursday, the Japan Ambassador in Colombia, Keiichiro Morishita; the resident representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Satoshi Murosawa; the director of interinstitutional management of the Unit, Ana María Almario; the coordinator of international cooperation group of the Unit, Nicolás Fernández de Soto; the coordinator of differential and gender approaches group, Leonardo Montenegro; representatives of the ministries of health, education, labor and interior, the Presidential Cooperation Agency -APC Colombia and Decontamina Colombia, together with the mayors or delegates of the municipalities of Granada and Marinilla (Antioquia), Lebrija and Puerto Wilches (Santander) and the Government of Santander met to share the achievements and progress of the project, which is in the second stage of implementation in the prioritized territories.
The objective of this international cooperation project is to design and promote a strategy of social inclusion for victims with disabilities and the surrounding environment, through processes of empowerment, understanding about disability and improvement of health, education and work services.
The first phase of implementation was carried out between March 2015 and March 2018, and the second phase has been carried out between April 2018 and December 2019.
The Government of Japan provides technical assistance and the Unit works as coordinator of the system, articulating the actions with the partner entities of the project. In its implementation role, the Unit is incorporating adjustments in the mission processes in order to institutionalize said strategy in the route of attention, assistance and reparation that it implements in the national territory.
“Japanese cooperation is committed to the development of victims and community processes. Today we commemorate 110 years of friendship with Colombia and we hope to continue contributing to the implementation of peace agreement, “said Japanese Ambassador Keiichiro Morishita.
One of the main achievements of this project in the municipalities of Granada, Marinilla, Lebrija and Puerto Wilches has been the linking of family nuclei, institutions and the community in the processes and activities developed by people with disabilities.
“This project is as valuable for people with disabilities as it is for the community in general. In Granada social investment has allowed us to have a peaceful territory, we hope to continue counting on you, “said the mayor of the municipality.
The integration of different sectors seeks to strengthen the management capacity to meet the requirements and particularities of this population, as well as the definition of a pedagogical line that allows them to have a real inclusion in the education system and be part of the productive chains of work in their municipalities.
In the project transference of knowledge and techniques mediated by peer counseling that allow emotional recovery and awareness. It is vitally important to improve accessibility to generate the necessary spaces that victims with disabilities require in the process of social inclusion.
“Given the importance that the results of the project have had in the incorporation of the disability differential approach in the public policy of victims and in the public policy of disability, our short-term commitment is to consolidate the lessons learned in the articulation of these two policies and, in the medium term, transform the strategy of social inclusion into the program of differential protection for victims of conflict with disabilities, which has been previously raised by the Constitutional Court, “said Ana María Almario, of the Victims’ Unit .
