Humanitarian Situation Analysis Sheets Montes de María 2004 - 2007.

Humanitarian Situation

Analysis SheetsMontes de María

2004 - 2007

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Bruno Moro Resident Humanitarian Coordinator

Raul Rosende Head of Office

Gianni Morelli Senior Field Coordinator

Helena Mazarro North – West Area Coordinator

Texts, systematization and Data Analysis Diana Roa Castro Information and Analysis Officer

Cartography Jeffrey Villaveces Cartography Officer

This document and the information contained therein may be reproduced totally or partially by any means, whether mechanical, electronic, magnetic, photocopy or another, as long as the source is mentioned.

Bogota, Colombia, April 2008 © Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations - OCHA

Armed ConfrontationsJanuary 2004- December 2007OCHA | UN | Colombia

Source: Human Rights and IHL Observatory, of the Vicepresidency of Colombia | Military Armed Forces

SYNOPSIS 2004 - 2007

Number of armed confrontations 111

Number of affected municipalities 14

Average of armed confrontations per affected municipality 7,9

average of armed confrontations per month during the period 2,3



Fourteen of the 16 municipalities that make up the region of Montes de Maria, have been affected by the occurrence of 111 armed confrontations in its territory.

According to the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law of the Vice Presidency of Colombia, the region accounts for 3,7% of total war events developed between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2007.

The municipalities of Ovejas and Carmen de Bolívar, side to side of the border between the departments of Sucre and Bolivar, concentrated 45,5% of the armed contacts in the region. Both municipalities are the most affected due to this events.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

OVEJAS

EL CARMEN DE BOLÍVAR

SAN JUAN NEPOMUCENO

SAN JACINTO

SAN ONOFRE

LOS PALMITOS

EL GUAMO

ZAMBRANO

MARÍA LA BAJA

TOLÚ VIEJO

COLOSO

CÓRDOBA

CHALÁN

PALMITO

2004 2005 2006 2007 TOTAL

Ambushes4%

Attacks to military infrastructure

1%

Combats95%



FARC79%

ELN6%

ERP6%

New Armed Groups9%

The armed forces have participated in 83 armed confrontations . The Army has taken part in 29 events, while the Navy, through the First Infantry Brigade, has faced illegal armed groups in 82 opportunities.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - FARC, is the most active illegal armed group in the region, with active participation in at least 90 events. FARC is followed by the New Armed Groups that have emerged in the region, which have participated in no less than 9 combats. The National Liberation Army - ELN, clashed with the Navy in 6 opportunities and the People's Revolutionary Army - ERP participated in 6 armed confrontations.



The region of Montes de Maria presents an stable trend with regard to the development of military actions. However, it is important to mention that there has been an increase of 10 armed attacks between 2006 and 2007. Thirty-six percent of the armed confrontations developed during the period between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2007 took place within the last year.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

2004 2005 2006 2007

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

2004 2005 2006 2007


Number of new victims 135


Average of new victims per affected municipality 19,3

Average of new victims per month during the period 2,8

LANDMINES AND UXOJanuary 2004 - December 2007OCHA | UN | Colombia

Source: Integral Mine Action Presidential Program



0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90


ZAMBRANO

SAN JACINTO

SAN JUAN NEPOMUCENO

OVEJAS

EL GUAMO

CÓRDOBA

2004 2005 2006 2007 TOTAL

Seven of the 16 municipalities of Montes de Maria region have been affected by the occurrence of no less than 135 accidents generated by the presence of landmines and/or unexploded ordnance – UXO. According to the Integral Mine Action Presidential Program, the Montes de María region concentrates 3,4% of the total amount of accidents occurred between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2007.

The municipality of Carmen de Bolívar is the most affected one, with 82 recorded accidents.

Civil21%

Military79%



Civilian adults78%

Children22%

Twenty-nine of the 135 victims of the Montes de Maria were civilians, all of them men. Carmen de Bolívar is the municipality with a highest rate of civilian victims, with 16 civilians injured between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2007.

Seven out of the 29 civilian victims were boys between 4 and 15 years old. Children have reported that their accidents took place while they were helping their families in agricultural activities. All of children’s accidents occurred in the municipalities of El Carmen de Bolívar and Ovejas.



0

5

10

15

20

25

2004 2005 2006 2007

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2004 2005 2006 2007

2005 was the year with the highest level of accidents, recording an increment of 83% between this year and 2004. However, although the global rate of accidents has decreased in 2006 and 2007, the amount of civilian victims remains the in the same level (between 6 and 9 civilian victims per year).

HomicidiesJanuary 2004 - December 2007OCHA | UN | Colombia

Source: Human Rights and IHL Observatory, of the Vicepresidency of Colombia


Number of homicides 429


Average of homicides per affected municipalities 28,6

Average of homicides per month during the period 8,9



0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

SAN ONOFRE

SINCELEJO

OVEJAS


TOLÚ VIEJO

COLOSO

SAN JUAN NEPOMUCENO

MARÍA LA BAJA

SAN JACINTO

EL GUAMO

LOS PALMITOS

CHALÁN

MORROA

PALMITO

ZAMBRANO

2004 2005 2006 2007 TOTAL

The Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law from the Vicepresidency of Colombia recorded 429 homicides between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2007. Homicides have taken place in 15 of the 16 municipalities of the region, being San Onofre, Sincelejo and Ovejas the most affected ones.

The recent discovery of common graves in the municipality of San Onofre is considered to be the main reason for the high level of homicides.



Unknown27%

Men62%

Women11%

Adults70%

Children3%

Unknown27%

At least 48 women were killed between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2008. According to the source, more than 50% of the female victims were members of victims’ movements, and 7 were tortured before being killed.

No less than 13 children between 2 and 17 years – old were killed in the municipalities of El Carmen de Bolívar, Ovejas, Zambrano and Sincelejo.

Given the high volume of victims found in common graves during the second semester of 2005, the identity and age of 27% of them remains unknown.



05

1015

2025

3035

4045

50

2004 2005 2006 2007

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

2004 2005 2006 2007

The discovery of 14 common graves in the municipality of San Onofre during the second semester of 2005 makes this the most critical period. However, the month of February 2007 is the most affected one, considering all assassinations recorded for this period.

The Observatory has registered the homicide of 30 former members of the demobilized Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia. Together with the department of Cordoba, the Montes de María region is the area were more ex-combatants were killed during the reporting period.

Communities at RiskJanuary 2004 – December 2007OCHA | UN | Colombia

Source: Early Warning System – People Ombudsperson’s Office


Number of Warnings 32


Average of warnings per affected municipalities 3,2



FARC43%

ELN6%

New Armed Groups32%

Public Forces6%

ERP13%According to the Early Warning System form the People

Ombudsperson’s Office, communities of 10 municipalities of the Montes de María Region experienced risks to the survival and effective exercise of rights of civilian population.

The Early Warning System alerted risks in 32 opportunities, being the communities of Zambrano, Córdoba, Carmen de Bolívar and Ovejas de most affected ones. Keeping with the global trend, FARC is the armed group that presumably generates more risks to civilians. Nevertheless, it is important to highlight that the reconfiguration of new armed groups has increased the levels of risk to special communities, such as the victims' movements, the human rights defenders, and women.

The Revolutionary People’s Army – ERP, a guerrilla that was presumably demobilized during the second quarter of 2007, generated risk to peasants and cattle raisers of the municipalities of El Carmen de Bolívar, Zambrano and Ovejas.


Source: Early Warning System – People Ombudsperson’s Office Stigmatization of

civilians; 0,31

Reconfiguration of Illegal Armed Groups; 0,25

Control of social and authority spaces;

0,19

Armed confrontations in populated areas;

0,11

Concealment and/or destruction of

evidence; 0,14

The Early Warning System identified 5 variables that contribute to structure of risk scenarios. The stigmatization of civilians as collaborators or even members of illegal armed groups is perceived as the most dangerous conduct, generating forced displacement, homicides, threats and forced disappearance

The Early Warning System has recurrently alerted of the risk generated by new armed groups in their purpose of concealing or even destroying evidence of crimes against humanity. In this sense, the homicide of members of victims’ movements and human rights defenders, the forced disappearance of community leaders and leaders of displaced population, evidence the concretion of de described risk scenarios.

The development of armed confrontations between armed groups in populated areas is also a matter of concern.

Finally, the will to control social and authority spaces has generated extortions, threats, homicides and displacement of public servants, community leaders and candidates to public positions.

Methodological note: To measure the weight of each variable in the configuration of risk scenarios, we identified the variables from each of the reports / risk notes and proceeded to count the number of times they appear. Later the total number of times each variable was mentioned was divided by the general total to assign weight to each of the variables in relation to each other.



Human Rights defenders

Women's organizations

Victims'organizations

Community leaders

Social organizations

Leaders of displaced population

Public servants

Demobilized population

Marginalized populationTraders

Peasants

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

-2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

ZAMBRANO

CÓRDOBA


OVEJAS

CHALÁN

EL GUAMO

MARÍA LA BAJA

SAN JACINTO

SAN JUAN NEPOMUCENO

SAN ONOFRE

2005 2006 2007 TOTAL

Members of victims’ organizations and leaders of displaced population have been identified as the most at risk groups in the Montes de María region.

Special mention needs to be made about demobilized population, which has also been identified as a group with high levels of risk. The alerts in this sense are highlighted with the evidence of 30 homicides in the region.

Methodological note: For the calculation of risk levels related to the population, events mentioned in each of the reports / risk notes and the number of times they were mentioned were considered, along with the municipalities in which there were risk reports for specific populations. The x-axis represents the number of municipalities and the size and colour of the circle, the number of times risk was mentioned.

Forced DisplacementJanuary 2004 – December 2007OCHA | UN | Colombia

Source: Presidential Agency for Social Action and International Cooperation

No. Of displaced persons 47803No. of affected municipalities 16Average of displaced persons per affected municipality 2988Average of displaced persons per month during the period 996




0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000


SAN ONOFRE

OVEJAS

MARÍA LA BAJA

SAN JUAN NEPOMUCENO

SAN JACINTO

COLOSÓ

TOLÚ VIEJO

CÓRDOBA

SINCELEJO

ZAMBRANO

MORROA

LOS PALMITOS

CHALÁN

EL GUAMO

PALMITO

2004 2005 2006 2007 TOTAL

The Presidential Agency for Social Action and International Cooperation – Acción Social, has recorded the displacement of 47803 persons between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2007. All 16 municipalities of Montes de María are considered to have the double condition of expellers and receptors of displaced population. El Carmen de Bolivar is the most affected municipality regarding expulsion of population.

Keeping with the national trend, 42% of the victims of displacement were women, 19% were children under 18 years – old and 39% were men.

According to Accion Social, among the most common reasons cited by displaced persons for their migration are the recurrence and intensity of armed confrontations in populated areas, forced recruitment by illegal armed actors, individual and collective threats and homicides of community leaders.



0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

2004 2005 2006 2007

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

2004 2005 2006 2007

While there was an evident low level of forced displacements during 2004 and 2005, there is an increase of more than 1200% between 2005 and 2006. The trend remains equal for the first months of 2006 and, while there is a decrease of 45% between 2006 and 2007, the levels of forced displacement between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2007 are the highest in the past 10 years.

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Humanitarian Situation Analysis Sheets Montes de María 2004 - 2007.

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