Colombia: Emergency Response Fund Annual Report 2014

Executive Summary

Despite an ongoing peace process between the Government and FARC-EP guerrillas, during 2014 Colombia continued to face the consequences of an armed conflicto and violence caused by a host of actors: the FARC-EP and ELN guerrillas, Post-demobilization Armed Groups (PDAGs) and other groups with less clear structures. In 2014, the principal challenges were related to the persistence of the conflict and violence; a proliferation of small criminal groups with less clear links to the organized armed actors and other less visible humanitarian impacts such as limitations on movement and access to basic services caused by violence, disasters or mass protests. Despite major efforts to respond to humanitarian needs, there are persistent gaps in the response, mainly due to an insufficient local response capacity in the areas most affected by violence and natural disasters.
According to the UARIV Government IDP unit, in 2014 cumulative displacement from 1985 reached a total of 6,419,3351 people. Afro-colombian and indigenous populations continued to be those most affected by natural disasters and armed conflict, representing 75 per cent of those attended for displacement and other victimizations.
According to OCHA Colombia data, in 2014 the number of IDPs in mass events2 dropped by 40 per cent as compared to 2013. Nonetheless, these types of emergencies represent only a fraction of all forced displacement in Colombia (7 per cent in 2014, according to official data). The drop in mass displacements does not correspond to a similar drop in armed actions which, on the contrary, according to OCHA data remained stable as compared to 2013 (with a drop of under 10 per cent). In this sense, the drop in the more visible emergencies could be a result of changes in the modus operandi of non-state armed groups, which are avoiding engaging in highly visible actions that lead to a strong Public Forces response. This does not mean, however, a corresponding reduction in humanitarian and protection needs, since the social control exercised by these groups over local communities, movement and goods and services access limitations, and threats and selective violence persist and represent a challenge for humanitarian actors in the country. In 2014, the four departments of the Pacific coast, Choco, Cauca, Naririo and Valle del Cauca, were the location of 85 per cent of all mass displacements. As in prior years, the majority of mass displacements in 2014 were caused by clashes between the Public Forces and the FARC-EP guerrillas, with about half of all cases, followed by unilateral actions by the FARC in 11 per cent of cases and clashes between other armed groups in 11 per cent of cases.
In 2014, 589,786 people suffered severe movement limitations and restrictions in accessing basic goods and services. Events related to the conflict were the cause of 85 per cent of people affected in this way, followed by natural disasters and public order problems connected to mass protests. In 2014, for more than 12,000 people movement restrictions lasted for more than a week and limited their access to three or more basic services (e.g., education, water, food, etc.), which according to OCHA's criteria constitutes a confinement situation. These movement restrictions affected humanitarian actors which could no longer carry out needs evaluations or send aid in an opportune and efficient manner.
Colombia continues to be vulnerable to natural disasters. In 2014, disasters affected at least 1,260,000 people, of whom 730 thousand were affected on the Caribbean coast in La Guajira department, where the prolonged dry season limited access to water, sanitation and food in vulnerable communities. Nearly 300 thousand people were also affected in Choc& Cauca, Cordoba, Putumayo and Naritio departments, which were areas also greatly impacted by armed violence. The number of people affected by natural disasters in 2014 was double the number affected in 2013. It is of concern to the humanitarian community that the most affected areas continue to be highly vulnerable, with high levels of extreme poverty, persistent armed violence and difficult humanitarian access due to geographic and security conditions.
During 2014, the ERF focused its response on humanitarian situations caused by natural disasters and the armed conflict: if eight projects were financed to respond to emergencies related to the armed conflict in the departments of Choco, Cauca, Norte de Santander and Antioquia; ii/ three projects were focused on disaster response in La Guajira and Putumayo departments; iiii three projects focused on issues related to double affectation of both disasters and conflict. While 2014 was the year with the largest number of approvals for projects (14 in total), it should be mentioned that there were a total of 31 funding requests sent to the fund, which were not approved due to a lack of resources at the moment of the request, or for non-compliance due to programmatic and strategic requirements on the part of the projects requesting funding.
Some 36.4 per cent of funding allocated by the ERF in 2014 corresponded to the WASH sector, followed by 21.8% for shelter, 15% for health, 10% for education in emergencies, 9.8% for food security and nutrition and 7% for protection.
The Fund responded to the main emergencies caused by mass displacement in 2014, namely Guapi and Alto Baudo on the Pacific coast. It also responded to the drought in La Guajira with a WASH intervention.
OCHA led the first process of project review, guaranteeing that projects complied with Fund guidelines and were articulated with the National Strategy of the ERF. The Technical Review Committee, made up of Cluster leads and a focal point from UNFPA-UNWOMEN, carried out a secondary review guaranteeing technical follow-up on the project by sector. The headquarters for the ERF in New York and Geneva supported financial review of projects prior to final approval by the Humanitarian Coordinator. It took an average of 27 days to approve each project by the ERF in 2014.