Colombia Protection Analysis Update

In the first half of 2024, Colombia faced ongoing armed conflict, mixed migratory flows and the impacts of climate change, which have increasingly restricted access to essential rights for communities in remote rural areas and urban peripheries. Persistent armed conflict across several regions has led to forced internal displacement and confinement, further deteriorating living conditions in both rural and marginalized urban areas. The fragmentation of non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and intensified conflicts among them have frayed the social fabric of affected communities, severely impeding access to rights, while compromising freedoms, security, and autonomy, thus straining the state's capacity for protection.

Despite ongoing humanitarian efforts, the continuous influx of refugees and migrants due to the Venezuelan migration crisis, whether transiting to third countries or intending to settle in Colombia, requires substantial state support in areas such as healthcare, education, and employment, particularly in border regions. This situation has heightened social tensions and increased challenges related to integrating refugees and migrants into the formal economy.

Floods and landslides have impacted various regions, affecting not only conflict-affected communities but also refugees and migrants. The “El Niño” phenomenon has been particularly devastating and these events continue to test the response capacities of the state and local communities, underscoring the critical need to intensify mitigation and prevention efforts to avert a more severe humanitarian crisis in the coming months.

The impact of crisis drivers generates greater severity in the Pacific Axis (Chocó, Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Nariño), the Urabá-Catatumbo Axis (Antioquia, Córdoba, Bolívar), and the regions bordering Venezuela (Guajira, Norte de Santander and Arauca). Protection risks in the southeast of the country, including the departments of Putumayo and Caquetá, saw an increase. The protection risks requiring immediate attention in the period covered by this analysis are as follows:

1. Unlawful impediments or restrictions to freedom of movement, siege and forced displacement.                                           
2. Gender-based violence.
3. Forced recruitment and association of children in armed forces and groups.
4. Trafficking in persons, forced labour or slavery-like practices.
5. Presence of Mine and other explosive ordnance.