Attachments
BACKGROUND: SUSPENSION OF US-FUNDED FOREIGN AID
On 20 January 2025, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order mandating a 90-day suspension of US-funded foreign assistance, including humanitarian operations (WH 20/01/2025). On 24 January, the administration began issuing stop-work orders and halting the initiation of new aid programmes. By 7 February, most United States Agency for International Development (USAID) staff had been placed on administrative leave, with only critical personnel remaining active (CNN 05/02/2025). Although a waiver to allow lifesaving humanitarian assistance was granted on 28 January, implementation has been limited and inconsistently applied across contexts (Reuters 29/01/2025). Despite continued legal challenges to the funding freeze, humanitarian organisations globally were already reporting significant disruptions to their operations by 20 February (ACAPS 21/02/2025; HRW 10/02/2025; NYT 07/02/2025).
Colombia faces a longstanding and complex humanitarian crisis, driven by decades of armed conflict. Up until February 2025, over 9.88 million people had been registered as victims of the conflict (UARIV 28/02/2025). By March 2025, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had identified eight domestic armed conflicts in the country, based on international humanitarian law criteria (ICRC 25/03/2025). These multiple conflicts are largely fuelled by the expansion and fragmentation of non-state armed groups (NSAGs), particularly in rural areas with limited state presence (OCHA 21/03/2025).
In 2023, over 2.1 million people (4.1%) in Colombia identified as Indigenous and over 3.9 million (7.5%) as Afro-Colombian (DANE 24/04/2024). Limited information is available on the humanitarian implications of the US funding freeze, particularly for ethnic communities living in remote rural areas with an NSAG presence. These communities face disproportionate exposure to protection risks. In 2024, 39% of people affected by confinement were Indigenous, while 33% of those displaced in mass events were Afro-Colombian (OCHA 03/02/2025).
These dynamics increase the risk of escalating violence and protection incidents, such as mass and individual displacement, confinements, mobility restrictions, and threats, which also lead to humanitarian health, food security, and other needs. The humanitarian situation in Colombia is concerning, as the US funding freeze aggravates a response capacity already strained by multiple, overlapping emergencies linked to the country’s complex and prolonged armed conflict.