The Victims Unit participated in the “Launch of the Campaign to Commemorate the 20 Years of the Guiding Principles of Forced Displacement”, an event organized by UNHCR, among other international organizations and Agencies of the System of Nations (UNS).
The event was attended by the 11th High Commissioner of the United Nations for Refugees -Acnur-, Filipo Grandi, who is visiting our country.
The event began with a discussion in which attendees expressed their opinions on the current situation of forced displacement in Colombia, the advances and challenges on this aspect, based on the guiding principles of prevention, protection and durable solutions.
The attendees highlighted the existence of the Victims Unit, due to the fact that few countries have a public entity exclusively in charge of victim assistance and the existence of the Victims Registry (RUV) was also highlighted.
The Unit for Victims was attended by Deputy Director Viviana Ferro, who acknowledged all the work that has been done by United Nations agencies regarding forced displacement, indicating that the guiding principles of displacement marked the path of recognition of the Colombian state to the phenomenon of displacement through Law 387 of 1997 and stating that this phenomenon was invisible and that it had been happening for 40 years.
Regarding this aspect, he said that Colombia is currently monitoring the process of restoring the rights of internally displaced persons based on measuring the situation of vulnerability.
Similarly, Ferro said that despite having an extensive regulatory framework, the important thing is to ensure that these laws are articulated and converge to achieve durable solutions.
Regarding the challenges, it was indicated that the main challenges are framed in the prevention and protection where progress must be made in achieving territorial strengthening, which is very complex, especially in the zones there is presence of armed actors and in this sense , it is important to strengthen the attention schemes.
The other challenge is to advance in the recognition of local integration scenarios as the concrete scenario for a lasting solution, when the phenomenon of displacement is prolonged and the places of reception are urban environments.
Regarding the situation in Venezuela, it was stated that the accompaniment of United Nations Agencies and international organizations is very important, given that Colombia does not have an immigration policy and it is important to begin to address all the dynamics that derive from this topic. In this regard, the attention of the Unit to the fellow nationals who are returning to the country was highlighted.
After the discussion, attendees signed a banner that says: “Together for prevention, protection and solution to forced displacement.”
