The International Office for Human Rights Action on Colombia

Day: 20 June 2012

World Refugee Day – We ask the EU to break its silence on the million of Colombian displaced persons and refugees

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Colombia is the 7th major source country of refugees in the world (UNHCR) and the country with the highest number of displaced people within its own territory (IDPs).

Today, June 20th, marks World Refugee Day. According to figures, Colombia is the 7th major source country of refugees in the world (UNHCR) and the country with the highest number of displaced people within its own territory (IDPs). In Colombia there are 5.5 million, according to figures from the Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement (Consultoría para los DDHH y el Desplazamiento – Codhes), and 3.9 million according to figures from the Presidential Agency for Social Action and International Cooperation – Agencia Presidencial para la Acción Social y la Cooperación Internacional – two dramatic numbers. Colombia has been placed ahead of Sudan (5.2 million of IDPs according to the NGO IDCM), Afghanistan and Iraq in numbers of IDPs, but this drama has not been the subject of international alerts or global press coverage.

Our solidarity is universal.

We are deeply concerned about all victims of armed conflict, repression and violence around the world — from Sudan to Syria, including the persecution of the Rohingya and so many other crises that often receive less international attention than they deserve. Each of these situations calls for solidarity, remembrance, justice and action.

However, we have decided to specifically highlight the message ‘Stop Genocide in Palestine’ because what is happening in Palestine represents not only a human tragedy of enormous magnitude, but also a direct challenge to the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and to the rules-based international system itself. The indifference and complicity of much of the international community in the face of the apartheid regime imposed by the Israeli government on the Palestinian people represent one of the greatest moral and political contradictions of our time.

The persistent violation of essential norms — such as the protection of the civilian population, the prohibition of collective punishment and respect for proportionality in the use of force — not only has devastating consequences for the Palestinian population, but also erodes the global mechanisms designed to limit the power of states and prevent abuses.

When these rules are repeatedly breached without any effective consequences, the framework that protects all populations in conflict situations, anywhere in the world, is weakened. Therefore, speaking out in this case does not mean ignoring other forms of suffering, but rather emphasising the urgency of defending an international order which, if it collapses, leaves everyone in a more vulnerable position.

Drawing attention to this situation is, therefore, an act consistent with the universal values we uphold: the protection of life, human dignity and respect for international law, without exception.

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