Colombia Can Only Be Compared With Colombia

In September 2021, the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) conducted a mission to support the National Protection Cluster (NPC) in Colombia and to raise awareness of the ongoing protection crisis. The mission met with people affected by the crisis, authorities, NGO fora, local organisations, INGOs, UN Agencies, Protection Cluster and Areas of Responsibility (AoR) and their Lead Agencies, OCHA, Intercluster groups, humanitarian-development-peace nexus group, local ombudsman bodies (Personeria, Defensoria) and the Resident Coordinator.

Boris Aristin, the Head of the GPC Analysis and Information Management Pillar, was the team leader of this mission. Together with colleagues from the national and sub-national Protection Cluster in Colombia, he travelled to some of the most isolated areas of the country, which are experiencing huge tensions, protracted displacement and increased violence.

In this interview, he talks about the ongoing protection crisis in Colombia and describes the challenges that one million people in need of protection face on a daily basis. He reflects on his observations during his mission as well as the discussions he had with individuals and communities affected by the conflict – sharing five concrete actions that we can collectively take to avoid the situation quickly escalating.

Authors

Boris Aristin and Marie-Emilie Dozin, Global Protection Cluster

Sebastián Díaz, Andrea Verdeja and David García, National Protection Cluster Colombia

Read the full publication in English or Spanish