| Grant Profile: |
| Project Title: |
Protection of Patrimonial Assets of Colombia's Internally Displaced Population |
| PCF/LICUS/SPF: |
PCF |
Status: |
Closed |
| File Number: |
234
| Region: |
LAC |
| Sector: |
Health and other social services |
Country: |
Colombia |
| FY approved: |
2003 |
Grant Theme : |
Social protection and risk management |
| Keyword(s): |
Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons |
Approved Amount: |
$809,658.00 |
| Related Documents |
 234 - Colombia - Protecting the Patrimonial Assets of IDPs - PCF Occasional Note.pdf
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Grant Recipient:
International Organization for Migration |
Grant Purpose:
The main objective of the project was to design, test and implement a strategy to minimize the risk of displacement and mitigate the effects of forced displacement through protection of patrimonial assets.
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Grant Activities:
The project supported the application of existing legislation through the development of participatory methodologies, procedures and tools. In order to validate these methodologies and procedures, they were piloted in five different areas of the country in which high risk of displacement existed and displacement had already occurred. The areas were selected to reflect the different systems of land tenure and Colombia's cultural diversity (small private properties, long standing small peasants properties with no titles, collective lands of afro Colombian communities, collective lands of indigenous people, and recent settlers in the border of the agricultural frontier).
The approach of the project was:
(i) Participative as it articulated national and local governmental and non-governmental organizations and affected communities in the decision-making process and in the application of the existing legal framework;
(ii) Decentralized since it strengthened local authorities, local organizations and communities, and took into consideration the different regions of the country;
(iii) Partnership based as it built alliances among the different sectors to prevent displacement and to mitigate its effects;
(iv) Ethnically and culturally inclusive given that it reflected Colombia's cultural diversity.
Activities under the grant included:
Component 1: Development of methodologies and procedures to protect patrimonial assets belonging to displaced populations, or those at risk of displacement, including:
(1) Development of participatory methodologies, institutional procedures and technical tools to protect the patrimonial assets in accordance with the rules and procedures of Colombia's Decree Number 2007, dated September 24, 2001;
(2) Development of methodologies, procedures and tools to recover information on abandoned land and assets;
(3) Definition of responsibilities and development of coordination mechanisms for Colombia's institutions dealing with asset protection matters at the national, regional, and local level;
(4) Definition of rules and procedures for the declaration of "areas in imminent risk" and "freezing" of assets to avoid them being titled to, or occupied by third parties without the due process of law;
(5) Definition of criteria to assign temporary land to internally displaced persons while their situation was resolved;
(6) Pursuant to Colombia's Law Number 387, dated July 18, 1997, and Decree Number 2007, dated September 24, 2001, definition of rules and technical procedures to assist displaced persons, or those at risk of displacement, in the replacement of their lost assets through the execution of programs for the exchange of assets.
Component 2: Provision of support for overall project coordination, evaluation, supervision and
implementation, including, inter alia:
(1) The establishment and maintenance of a Project Coordination Unit (PCU);
(2) Carrying out of Project studies, including, inter alia, performance reviews and impact evaluations;
(3) Carrying out of audits;
(4) Design and implementation of a program to monitor and evaluate the carrying out of the project.
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Results:
Forced displacement, mainly caused by armed conflict, is one of the most serious humanitarian and social problems in Colombia. Most displaced migrate to urban centers after losing their land, savings and material assets and poverty is common problem them.. The World Bank has been supporting a series of projects aimed at assisting Colombia’s displaced population. The first project , Protection of Patrimonial Assets of Internally Displaced Population (IDP), has set the foundations for a sustained process of helping people displaced by conflict in Colombia. It supported the implementation of the Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy 2002-2006, and more specifically the “Sharing the Fruits of Growth” objective. The objective of the project, to implement a strategy to minimize the risk of displacement and mitigate its effects through protection of the rights of the displaced and the strengthening of social networks, remains valid today, as the third phase of the project is progressing.
Key achievements of the founding IDP project in Colombia include:
• First-time inclusion of assets protection in the National Plan to Assist Displaced Population.
• Effective implementation of a law on the legitimate property rights of displaced populations. It supported the development of methodologies and procedures to protect the land and material assets belonging to displaced populations, or those at risk of displacement. It helped produce the “Procedural Manual for the Protection of Patrimonial Assets of Displaced Population or at Risk of Displacement”.
• The protective measures contained in the Manual were piloted and validated in 13 municipalities located in five regions of Colombia (Montes de Maria, Oriente Antioqueño, Valle del Cauca, Cauca, Catatumbo, and Buenaventura). They also allowed the dissemination of information and training of local government authorities, institutions and communities on the protective measures.
• As a result of the pilot activities conducted in the five regions, 5,219 households had their land rights over 69,954 hectares protected. Close to 42 percent of these beneficiaries did not have legal titles before the project.
• The participation of key governmental agencies increased from 3 in 2002 to 7 in 2004. Trainings strengthened their institutional capacity to assist IDPs.
• The project created awareness at regional, national and international levels of the impact caused by loss of assets of IDPs, both on the individual and the national level. Successful knowledge dissemination and advocacy increased the project’s budget by 36 percent and turned the project into a multi-donor initiative.
• Work on the project contributed to a sustained multi stakeholder discussion of IDPs’ property rights in Colombia.
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Lessons Learned:
Lessons learned during the implementation of the first project to address property rights of IDPs in Colombia include:
• Innovative proposals require time. In the case of this IDP project, activities were planned to be implemented in 24 months which turned out to be an unrealistic timeframe. The Protection of Patrimonial Assets Project was well received by different stakeholders as it addressed one of the most important root causes of the conflict in the country, and mitigated its consequences.
• International agencies can play a key role in promoting an analysis of the causes of the conflict, and supporting initiatives to solve them. In this project, the participation of several international agencies, inter-governmental institutions, the Catholic Church, and NGOs facilitated its implementation.
• It is important to develop alliances and partnerships. Addressing sensitive problems requires the contribution and cooperation of all the agencies involved, rather than a unilateral solution.
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