| Grant Profile: |
| Project Title: |
Protection of Lands and Patrimony of Internally Displaced Population People - Phase III |
| PCF/LICUS/SPF: |
SPF |
Status: |
Open |
| File Number: |
| Region: |
LAC |
| Sector: |
Health and other social services |
Country: |
Colombia |
| FY approved: |
2009 |
Grant Theme : |
Social dev/gender/inclusion |
| Keyword(s): |
Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons |
Approved Amount: |
$5,000,000.00 |
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Grant Recipient:
International Organization for Migration |
Grant Purpose:
The project will support the implementation of the third phase of the project for Protection of Lands and Patrimony of Internally Displaced People in Colombia, which has been implemented uninterruptedly since 2003. This project had received funds from the Post-Conflict Fund for two phases (2002-2005 and 2005 to mid-2008) and become a multi donor operation.
The purpose of the current project is to diminish the risk of impoverishment of the displaced population by continuing to scale up the application of measures for protection of patrimonial assets, providing land titles for those displaced persons whose rights have been protected but do not have legal titles, and proposing public policy initiatives for restitution of properties to internally displaced people (IDPs).
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Grant Activities:
Component 1: Protecting patrimonial assets of population at risk of displacement or already displaced
Through joint activities with national, regional and local governmental institutions, NGOs and communities, this component will:
(i) apply the individual and collective protective measures in 250 municipalities out of those 408 most affected by forced displacement,
ii) strengthen the institutional capacities to apply the protective measures according to the new legislation through dissemination, training, technical assistance and logistical support,
(iii) follow up the application of protective measures to ensure that all the institutions involved comply with the functions established in the legislation.
Component 2: Supporting land titling to IDPs who have protected their rights to land
Technical and operational support to institutions responsible for land titling will be provided in order to implement land titling processes for IDPs who have protected their right to land but do not have legal titles (i.e. occupants, possessors, Afro-Colombians and Indigenous Peoples) . The main activities that will be implemented include:
(i) design of special procedures and regulatory proposals for land titling of IDPs following the mandate of the Constitutional Court that required preferential treatment,
(ii) estimation of costs for land titling of individual properties and collective territories (of Indigenous Peoples and Afro Colombians) and identification of sources of funding (e.g., target subsidies available in governmental poverty reduction programs),
(iii) promotion of synergies among institutions responsible for land titling to implement land titling programs,
(iv) supporting land titling programs in the regions.
Component 3: Supporting reparation and restitution of land and assets to IDPs
This component will provide technical advice and support to the institutions and authorities responsible for designing and implementing strategies for land and assets restitution according to Law 975 of July 2005. The main activities that will be carried out include:
(i) technical advice and training for national and regional institutions and authorities responsible for the application of the Justice and Peace Law regarding protection of land, assets and collective territories under the framework of reparation-restitution,
(ii) definition and characterization of the forms of dispossession of land and collective territories, based on cases identified in the regions where the project is being implemented,
(iii) exchange and analysis of data on protected assets and land dispossession with institutions and authorities responsible for the reparation and restitution processes,
(iv) formulation of recommendations on land restitution according to the legislation and the evidence found in the regions where the Project is being implemented.
Component 4: Assisting and supporting communities to safeguard their rights to land and territories
This component will strengthen the capacities of communities and IDPs to be aware of their rights to land and to know the means available for the protection of these rights. The main activities include:
(i) dissemination and training, with a differential approach based on gender, age and ethnic groups to inform the victims and community organizations of their rights and the means available for protection of these rights,
(ii) training to community leaders and traditional authorities (Indigenous Peoples) about the tools and methodologies for land and assets protection,
(iii) technical advice and support to communities for land protection and land titling.
Component 5: Developing Protective Complementary Measures
This component will continue analyzing specific problems and situations that restrict the rights of IDPs to land in order to have a better understanding and contribute to the formulation of public policies. Some of the topics that will be analyzed include:
(i) legal zoning of the country and restriction for land titling,
(ii) changes in landholding associated with the processes of abandonment and dispossession and their socioeconomic impact;
(iii) identification of IDPs with financial debts in arrears with banks, and drafting public policy proposals to alleviate these debts,
(iv) estimation of the total area of land and collective territories affected by abandonment or dispossession,
(v) land acquisition and involuntary displacement caused by development projects (the Project will support the Ministry of Environment, Housing and Territorial Planning to create a task force to analyze the current policies and practices of land acquisition in development projects) ,
(vi) organization of an international seminar on deprivation of land in conflict-affected countries and strategies for restitution and reparation.
Component 6: Supporting Project Management Unit
The Project Management Unit will support the management of the project in:
(i) implementing the Project in the eleven regions prioritized,
(ii) coordinating activities with institutions involved in the application of the protective measures, and departmental and local authorities,
(iii) reporting to the Executive Committee and the Donors Committee,
(iv) providing technical assistance and advice to institutions involved in the process on legal, cadastral and ethnic-social issues,
(vii) preparing guidelines and didactic material on the tools and methodologies,
(v) monitoring and evaluating the implementation and results of the Project, (vi) disseminating the results of the project,
(vii) supporting Acción Social in the progress reports to the Constitutional Court.
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News:
Earlier this month the World Bank endorsed its support to the third initiative in a series of projects aiming to alleviate the plight of displaced populations in Colombia. The Protection of Lands and Patrimony of Internally Displaced Population project has been developed in an effort to help people overcome the consequences of long-lasting violence and forced displacement in the country.
The Government of Colombia has made sustained efforts to decrease conflict in the country since 1998, initiating peace talks with guerrilla groups, a peace agreement with the paramilitaries, demobilization of ex-combatants, and increased State presence throughout the Colombian territory. Recently, however, the situation has worsened. For the first half of 2008, there have been registered 270,675 new internally displaced persons (IDPs), constituting the highest rate of displacement in 23 years. The recent situation has turned the displacement problem in the country into one of the most severe, sustained and chronic, humanitarian crises in the world, ranking Colombia second worldwide for number of IDPs after Sudan.
Decades of armed conflict in Colombia have forced people to migrate and lose their land and property, leading to rapid impoverishment of large sectors of society. In response, the government has enabled legislation to assist displaced populations and to protect citizens’ land and assets. Since 2002, the World Bank Protection of Patrimonial Assets of Colombia’s Internally Displaced Population project has supported the government to develop methodologies and procedures that help implement the legislation. The program has helped the government strengthen its capacity to address forced migration and scale up its assistance to internally displaced populations and those at risk of displacement. The initiative assisted recovery and registration of land and property of displaced populations in municipalities throughout the country, protecting more than 53,000 land titles for over 665,000 hectares of land. It also supported the development and implementation of the Registry System of Abandoned Lands by IDPs which serves as the foundation for protection of IDP’s land in the country. Methodologies developed as part of the project also contributed to the development of the Peace and Justice Law of 2005.
In addition to its tangible results, the program has contributed to increased domestic and international visibility and awareness of the problem of loss of land and property by displaced populations. This has promoted discussion of land issues among international stakeholders and media, and has helped attract additional government and international funding, turning the project into a multi-donor program of assistance. The program is currently supported by SIDA, IOM, USAID, UNHCR, AECID, the Canadian International Development Agency, and the European Commission.
The purpose of the newly-initiated phase of the project is to scale up measures for protection of land and assets, providing land titles for more displaced persons and supporting additional public policy initiatives for restitution of properties. It is expected to strengthen IDPs’ awareness of their rights to land and the means available for the protection of these rights. The project will also continue analyzing specific problems and situations restricting the rights of IDPs to land, in order to promote a better understanding and contribute to the formulation of effective public policies. Activities will be implemented through joint efforts by national, regional and local governmental institutions, NGOs, communities, and international development partners.
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