Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Overview

Estimates of the percentage of Afro-Colombians in Colombia range from 10 percent (US 27 Feb. 2014, 43; Colombia Reports 21 May 2014; MRG n.d.) to up to 25 percent of the population (ibid.; US 27 Feb. 2014, 43; Freedom House 20 Mar. 2015). Sources indicate that Afro-Colombians are mainly concentrated on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Colombia (NOREF June 2012; MRG n.d.; Colombia Reports 21 May 2014). According to Minority Rights Group International (MRG), Afro-Colombians comprise 90 percent of the population on the Pacific coast and 60 percent on the Atlantic (MRG n.d.).

Sources indicate that Afro-Colombians are present in all major urban areas of Colombia (MRG n.d.; NOREF June 2012, 4). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an associate professor of International Development and Social Change (IDSC) at Clark University, who has done research on Afro-Colombian issues, indicated that the cities of Medellín, Bogotá, and Cali have the largest percentage of Afro-Colombians outside of the coastal region (Associate Professor 24 Mar. 2015). According to MRG, there are 1 million Afro-Colombians in Bogotá (n.d.).

The Associate Professor indicated that since the mid-1990s, due to "rising levels of violent death and displacement," Afro-Colombians have been relocating to the peripheries of metropolitan cities, including to "large shantytowns or slum settlements such as the Agua Blanca district in Cali or Soacha in Bogotá" (Associate Professor 24 Mar. 2015). The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), a Geneva-based NGO that provides information and analysis of internal displacement worldwide and is part of the Norwegian Refugee Council (n.d.), indicates that Afro-Colombians are "disproportionally affected by internal displacement" and that the cities of Medellín, Bogotá, and Cali were among the cities that received the most Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in 2012 (IDMC 16 Jan. 2014, 4).

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an assistant professor of geography at Florida International University, who has done research on political geography, Afro-Latin America and forced displacement, indicated that Afro-Colombians are the "worst affected" in terms of literacy rates, income disparity, unemployment rates, and poverty levels, "particularly in the Pacific coast department of Chocó," where they are the highest in the country, and also the "coastal areas of the departments of Nariño, Valle, and Cauca" (Assistant Professor 11 Apr. 2015). The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013, citing UN figures, indicates that in Chocó, the department with the highest percent of Afro-Colombian residents, 71 percent of residents live below the poverty line and 41 percent in extreme poverty; in comparison, 46 percent of the national population lives below the poverty line (US 27 Feb. 2014, 43). The Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE), an organization that promotes the right to education and provides support through network development and resource mobilization (INEE n.d.), indicates that, according to the Colombian Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación), in comparison to the national illiteracy rate of 8.4 percent, the illiteracy rate is 11.89 percent in the Pacific region and 20.89 percent specifically in the Department of Chocó (INEE n.d.). Moreover, INEE cites the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, who indicates that "10 percent of Afro-descendant children aged 6 to 10 do not have access to education" and that "27 percent of Afro-Colombian children aged 15 to 16 do not attend secondary school" (ibid.).

According to a study produced by the Ministry of Labour (Ministerio del Trabajo) and the Mayor of Cali that surveyed employment and quality of life in Cali between November 2012 and January 2013, the unemployment rate in Cali was more accentuated among Afro-descendants and women (Colombia 8 Apr. 2013). According to the study, the unemployment rate for that city was 15.7 percent, for Afro-descendants it was 19.9 percent, and the informal labour rate was 69.7 percent (Colombia 8 Apr. 2013).

According to the Assistant Professor, high unemployment rates among Afro-Colombians in urban areas are partly a result of "forced displacement," when displaced campesinos [farmers] migrating from rural areas to cities are being "confronted with racial discrimination" and finding it harder to find work than "other more light-skinned displaced people" (Assistant Professor 11 Apr. 2015). Regarding the treatment of Afro-Colombians specifically in Medellín, Cali, and Bogotá, the Assistant Professor stated that

[t]here is ample evidence of racial discrimination in Medellín, Cali, and Bogotá, and also in the country as a whole. It varies from city to city and is probably most evident in Cali, where the black population is large and there is some racial segregation. Although racial discrimination is often most overly expressed in working-class barrios [neighbourhoods], it may have greater effects on Afro-Colombians trying to enter the middle classes. (ibid.)

Similarly, in correspondence with the Research Directorate, a program assistant at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), an NGO that researches and advocates to promote human rights in the Americas, stated that acts of discrimination against Afro-Colombians are "common" in major cities in Colombia, where this group faces "hardships accessing viable employment, housing and state services" (WOLA 13 Apr. 2015). Colombia Reports, an English-language news website on Colombian issues, indicates that "racism has continued to disadvantage the Afro-Colombian population" due to economic disparities, and a large educational performance gap (21 May 2014). Country Reports 2013 indicates that Afro-Colombians face "significant economic and social discrimination" (US 27 Feb. 2014, 43).

2. Treatment of Afro-Colombians
2.1 Internal Displacement

Sources indicate that the internal displacement of Afro-Colombians is due to armed conflict (WOLA 13 June 2013; NOREF June 2012, 4), and violence linked to large-scale development projects (ibid., 7; US 27 Feb. 2014, 28; INEE n.d.), such as "intensive sowing of palm oil, the exploitation of wood and the implementation of electric centrals" (ibid.). The IDMC indicates that "armed actors also continue to stigmatise and target community leaders" after displacement and that Afro-Colombians are amongst a group of minorities representing a disproportionate number of IDPs (IDMC 16 Jan. 2014, 1). IDMC cites a UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) figure, which indicates that the indigenous and Afro-Colombian population made up 73 percent of mass displacement victims in 2013 (ibid.). Freedom House indicates that Afro-Colombians are the largest group of displaced people in Colombia and that areas with a larger population of Afro-Colombians "continue to suffer from abuses by the FARC [the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia] and security forces" (2015). According to the Ombudsman's Office (Defensoría del Pueblo), 47 percent of massive displacement affects Afro-Colombians (Colombia 4 Oct. 2014).

2.2 Violence and Death Threats

WOLA reports that their office has received "reports of death threats, security incidents, and assassination attempts against Afro-Colombian leaders and human rights defenders who work on Afro-Colombian issues" (WOLA 13 June 2013). WOLA's Program Assistant indicated that over 140 Afro-Colombian leaders and members of the National Association of Afro-Colombian Displaced Persons (Asociación de Afrocolombianos Desplazados, AFRODES) are "under death threat and constantly intimidated or under attack by illegal armed groups in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali and various other large cities" (ibid. 13 Apr. 2015). The source further indicated that, despite efforts to work with the National Protection Unit (UNP), these leaders remain without collective protection and many of the leader's individual protection measures processes have been "stalled, not implemented or limited" (ibid.).

NOREF reports that, although there are no official statistics on the number of Afro-Colombians killed, according to the National Working Group of the Afro-Colombian Organisations, at least 40 Afro-Colombians, including leaders, were murdered between January 2009 and January 2012 (NOREF June 2012, 7).

According to the Assistant Professor, there is a higher homicide rate for Afro-Colombians in urban areas of Colombia (Assistant Professor 3 Apr. 2015). The Associate Professor noted that the slum communities of large urban areas house "demobilized paramilitary and guerilla forces" and are "overrun with guns and arms," causing displaced Afro-Colombians who relocate to these areas to "continue to face violent threats" (24 Mar. 2015).

Sources report specific incidents of violence and threats against Afro-Colombian leaders, including, but not limited to:

• A statement by WOLA, which was written with the support of twelve NGOs and numerous professors and activists [1], reports that on 1 February 2014, Carlos Arturo Ospina Córdoba, the son of Ana Fabricia Córdoba, an Afro-Colombian IDP activist, was killed in Medellín (WOLA et al. 18 Feb. 2014). The same source reports that at least four members of the family have been killed by "illegal armed groups," including Ana Fabricia Córdoba (ibid.). Sources indicate that Ana Fabricia Córdoba was involved in land claim restitution processes (El País 3 Feb. 2014; El Espectador 4 Feb. 2014a) and, according to Carmen Palencia, a candidate for the Liberal Party (Partido Liberal) house of representative in Antioquia, the murder of Carlos Arturo Ospina Córdoba is a result of the "'extermination and persecution that exists against Ospina Córdoba's family, because they insist on reclaiming their land'" (ibid.). In contrast, sources report that the National Police (Policía Nacional) commented that his murder has no relation to the land claim restitution process as he had no involvement in that program (ibid. 4 Feb. 2014b; El País 3 Feb. 2014).
• The statement by WOLA et al. reports that armed men entered the office of AFRODES in Bogotá on 11 and 13 February 2014 to threaten a member because of his efforts to reclaim ancestral land from illegal armed groups (WOLA et al. 18 Feb. 2014).A later report by WOLA states that the armed men were looking for Tutelar Beytar, "a land rights restitution leader displaced from the Uraba, and a survivor of torture and various assassination attempts" (WOLA 20 May 2014).
• Sources report that Francia Márquez, an Afro-Colombian leader who went to Bogotá to protest illegal mining in the department of Cauca in November 2014, received death threats from an armed group (Associate Professor 24 Mar. 2015; Agencia EFE 6 Jan. 2015). According to new agency Agencia EFE, she has been "receiving death threats since 2009 for her role as a community leader" (ibid.). WOLA indicates that Francia Márquez and Lisifrey Ararat, another activist who opposed illegal gold mining in the Afro-Colombian areas of northern Cauca, "were forced to flee their homes due to intimidation from illegal armed groups" (WOLA 13 Apr. 2015). In January 2015, Agencia EFE cites Márquez as saying that she received messages and phone calls that declared her a "'military target'" but that there was no indication of who was responsible for the threats (Agencia EFE 6 Jan. 2015). WOLA reports that in February 2015, Márquez and two other Afro-Colombian leaders received new death threats from the Black Eagles (Águilas Negras) paramilitary group (13 Apr. 2015).

3. Legal Recourse

Sources indicate that Colombia has legislation criminalizing racial discrimination (Assistant Professor 3 Apr. 2015; US 27 Feb. 2014, 44). According to Country Reports 2013, the 2011 anti-discrimination law calls for a penalty of one to three years imprisonment or a fine of up to US$4,100 (ibid.).

Sources indicate that the Attorney General (Fiscalía de la Nación) reported in July 2014 that, since 2012, 74 complaints of racism have been filed through the Constitutional Court (Corte Constitucional) and that Bogotá has the most with 54 complaints and Medellín with 15 (El Tiempo 31 July 2014; RCN 31 July 2014).

Sources indicate that Fernando Antonio Delgado, a council member for the municipality of Marsella, in the department of Risaralda, was the first person to be convicted of racism for stating during a municipal council session on 14 August 2012 that, [translation] "'to be sincere, groups that are hard to manage, such as blacks, the displaced, and the indigenous, are a cancer for the national government and governments around the world" (El País 28 Nov. 2014; El Tiempo 27 Feb. 2015). El Tiempo, a daily national newspaper in Colombia reports that Delgado was sentenced to 16 months in prison and fined close to six million pesos (approx. 2,937.38 CAD) (ibid.).

The Assistant Professor indicated that there have been many cases where Afro-Colombians have filed formal complaints (also known as tutelas) against individuals or the state in instances of racial discrimination (Assistant Professor 3 Apr. 2015). However, he stated that "it is difficult and an often drawn-out process to lodge such formal complaints," noting that most Afro-Colombians "do not have access to these legal mechanisms" (ibid.).

Sources indicate that Claudia Mosquera, a professor at the National University (Universidad Nacional), was a victim of racist remarks in Cartagena on 19 January 2013 for being a black woman (Colombia 29 Jan. 2013; El Heraldo 3 Feb. 2013). According to El Heraldo, a newspaper based in Barranquilla, the incident happened at a cash register in a store where the professor was verbally attacked by a woman waiting in line (ibid.). The article also indicates that after the police showed up at the store, one of the police officers, an Afro-Colombian himself, told Mosquera that she should not be [translation] "resentful" about these remarks (ibid.). The article indicates that Professor Mosquera filed a lawsuit against her aggressor with the Attorney General (Fiscalía General de la Nación) (ibid.). Additional information on the lawsuit could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. El Heraldo cites the president of Cimarrón National Movement (Movimiento Nacional Cimarrón), an NGO working for the rights of Afro-Colombian communities, as saying that their organization receives approximately a dozen cases of racial discrimination complaints per week from Bogotá, Cartagena, Barranquilla, Cali, and Medellín where there is a concentration of Afro-Colombians (ibid).

According to the Associate Professor, the Colombian government "has extensive measures to protect Afro-Colombian ethnic, territorial and civil rights," but "few of these laws are enforced or enforceable," providing "little or no effective protection" (24 Mar. 2015).

4. Services available to Afro-Colombians

The Assistant Professor indicated that government services available to Afro-Colombians include the Ministry of Interior's Directorate for Black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal and Palenquero Community Affairs (Ministerio del Interior's Dirección de Asuntos para Comunidades Negras, Afrocolombianas, Raizales y Palenqueras), which includes the Observatory Against Racism and Discrimination (Observatorio contra la Discriminación y el Racismo) (3 Apr. 2015). According to the WOLA Program Assistant, the Observatory "provides an outlet to present complaints on discriminatory and racist acts" (WOLA 13 Apr. 2015). Country Reports 2013 indicates that the Ministry of Interior's Directorate for Black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal and Palenquero Community Affairs "trained 520 government employees throughout the country on Afro-Colombian problems, including on the prevention and eradication of racism and racial discrimination" (US 27 Feb. 2014, 44). The Associate Professor of IDSC at Clark University indicated that the Ministry of Interior's Directorate for Black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal and Palenquero Community Affairs "has had an uneven history in terms of when and how it has functioned" (24 Mar. 2015).

The Assistant Professor stated that there are also local level state agencies, such as the Counsel of Afro-descendent and Ethnic Affairs (Asesoría de Asuntos Étnicos y Afrodescendientes), a local state agency in Cali that deals with ethnic minorities (Assistant Professor 3 Apr. 2015).

The Program Assistant at WOLA indicated that the Colombian government has partnered with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to create the Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Program (ACIP) which "aims to improve the socioeconomic and political inclusion of Afro-Colombians and indigenous people" (WOLA 13 Apr. 2015).

Regarding NGO services available to Afro-Colombians, the WOLA Program Assistant said that the NGO AFRODES provides services for Afro-Colombians through orientation, support, follow-up and consultancy and raises awareness, as well as defends their rights and cultural identity (ibid.). The UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights indicates that the Black Community Process (El Proceso de Comunidades Negras, PCN) is made up of 120 ethnic organizations, including community councils and grassroots organizations, based in the regions of the Caribbean Coast (Costa Caribe), Magdalena Medio, Pacífico, Buenaventura, Tumaco, Caucana Coast, Villavicencio, and Bogotá (UN n.d.). The main task of the PCN is to defend Afro-Colombian human rights in the context of the armed conflict, as well as to defend their territory, natural resources, cultural identity, and look for the recognition of their ethnic, territorial, social, economic, and political rights (ibid). The Assistant Professor said that there are "hundreds of NGOs, big and small," that provide services and programs to Afro-Colombians, including the national human rights organization Cimarrón, the Proceso de Comunidades Negras (PCN), an "influential network of Afro-Colombian NGOs," and AFRODES (3 Apr. 2015). The Associate Professor said that government and NGOs offer a variety of services for Afro-Colombians but that they are "not adequate and are unevenly available" (Associate Professor 24 Mar. 2015).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agencia EFE. 6 January 2015. "Afro-Colombian Leader Threatened After Denouncing Illegal Mining." (Factiva)

Assistant Professor of geography, Florida International University. 11 April 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

_____. 3 April 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Associate Professor of international development and social change, Clark University. 24 March 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Colombia. 4 October 2014. Defensoría del Pueblo. "En Día de la Afrocolombianidad, Defensoría alerta por elevado desplazamiento en el Pacífico colombiano." [Accessed 31 Mar. 2015]

_____. 8 April 2013. Ministerio del Trabajo. "MinTrabajo y Alcaldía de Cali buscan mecanismos para enfrentar desempleo en la cuidad." [Accessed 13 Apr. 2015]

_____. 29 January 2013. Ministerio del Interior. Programa Presidencial para el Desarrollo Integral de la Población Afrocolombiana, Negra, Palenquera y Raizal. Boletín de prensa No. 27. [Accessed 13 Apr. 2015]

Colombia Reports. 21 May 2014. Oliver Sheldon. "Afro-Colombian Day: An Opportunity to Celebrate Culture and Reflect on Inequality." (Factiva)

_____. 21 February 2014. Maren Soendergaard. "International Organizations Call on US, Colombia to Protect Afro-Colombians." (Factiva)

El Espectador. 4 February 2014a. "Arrecian críticas al Gobierno por asesinato de hijo de reclamante de tierras." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2015]

_____. 4 February 2014b. Tatiana Molina Vargas. "Los cinco crímenes en la familia de Ana Fabricia Córdoba." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2015]

El Heraldo. 3 February 2013. "La discriminación racial, un delito desconocido." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2015]

El País. 28 November 2014. "Primera condena por racismo en Colombia a un concejal de Risaralda." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2015]

_____. 3 February 2014. "Familiar asesinado de Piedad Córdoba no hace parte del programa de restitución de tierras." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2015]

El Tiempo. 27 February 2015. "16 meses de prisión para concejal, primer condenado por discriminación." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2015]

_____. 31 July 2014. "Bogotá, la ciudad donde más se denuncian actos racistas." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2015]

Freedom House. 2015. "Colombia." Freedom in the World 2015. [Accessed 1 Apr. 2015]

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). 16 January 2014. "Colombia: Displacement Continues Despite Hopes for Peace." [Accessed 10 Mar. 2015]

_____. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 17 Apr. 2015]

Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE). N.d. "EiE Crisis Spotlight: Afro-Colombians in the Pacific Region." EiE Crisis Spotlights. [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015]

_____. N.d. "What we do." [Accessed 17 Apr. 2015]

Minority Rights Group International (MRG). N.d. "Afro-Colombians." World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples. [Accessed 16 Apr. 2015]

Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre (NOREF). June 2012. Gimena Sanchez-Garzoli. Stopping Irreparable Harm: Acting on Colombia's Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Communities Protection Crisis. NOREF Report. [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015]

_____. N.d. "About Us: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC)." [Accessed 17 Apr. 2015]

Radio Cadena Nacional (RCN). 31 July 2014. "Fiscalía reporta 140 denuncias de racismo y discriminación en los últimos 2 años." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2015]

United Nations (UN). N.d. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for Colombia. "¿Qué es el Proceso de Comunidades Negras - PCN?" [Accessed 15 Apr. 2015]

United States (US). 27 February 2014. Department of State. "Colombia." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013. [Accessed 31 Mar. 2015]

Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). 13 April 2015. Correspondence from a program assistant to the Research Directorate.

_____. 20 May 2014. Gimena Sanchez. "May Afro-Colombian Update." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2015]

_____. 13 June 2013. "U.S. Moving in Right Direction on Afro-Colombians." [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015]

Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) et al. 18 February 2014. "Colombia and the U.S. Must Prioritize Protection of Afro-Colombians." [Accessed 10 Mar. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: The following were unable to provide information for this Response: professor of history and Coordinator of Latin American studies, Salem State University.

Attempts to contact the following were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: National Coordinator of Advocacy and Outreach, Proceso de Comunidades Negras); senior associate for the Andes, Washington Office on Latin America; visiting professor of international law, Fordham Law School.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; Asociación Nacional de Afro-Colombianos Desplazados; British Broadcasting Corporation; Cable Noticias; Cimarrón; Colombia – Dirección de Asuntos para Comunidades Negras, Afrocolombianas, Raizales y Palenqueras, Observatorio contra la Discriminación y el Racismo, Procuraduría General de la Nación; ecoi.net; The Economist; El Universal; Europa Press; Fundación Ideas Para la Paz; Global Voices; Human Rights Watch; InSight Crime; Instituto Popular de Capacitación; International Crisis Group; IRIN; Jane's Intelligence Review; Latin News; Movimiento Nacional de Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado; Reporters Without Borders; UN – High Commissioner for Human Rights, Refworld, ReliefWeb.