MCC partner, Justapaz, has released a report on the humanitarian and political crisis in the Colombian province of Córdoba. The report was produced as a result of a delegation that traveled to Córdoba in October of 2009.
The report indicates that even though paramilitaries were officially demobilized in 2003, groups have rearmed and continue to terrorize the civilian population.
The following is a short excerpt from the report:
The unarmed civilian population continues to be acutely affected. Murder rates in the province have increased over the last two years, displacement continues at alarming rates and crimes committed by paramilitaries go unprocessed. The result is a near complete deterioration of social fabric of Cordoba and civilians’ ability to engage in meaningful civic, business or social activities.In the absence of other leadership, pastors and lay leaders have galvanized minimal resources to meet the needs of displaced communities, helped communities regain access to lands lost to aggression by armed groups and diligently worked to secure municipal and national resources for humanitarian work in Córdoba. Pastors and lay leaders are often targeted for their community leadership and simply for their physical presence in areas contested by warring groups. Even when they are not directly engaged in politically sensitive issues such as land rights, pastors and lay leaders face intimidation and violence.
