2024-08-14 18:03:35
The recent declaration of an indefinite armed strike by the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group in the San Juan subregion of Chocó has unleashed a humanitarian crisis in the region.
The Ombudsman’s Office has issued an urgent call to guarantee the fundamental rights of the inhabitants of the municipal capitals and their rural jurisdictions of Nóvita, Istmina, Middle San Juan, Sipí and the San Juan Coast.
A total of 85 Afro and indigenous communities, comprising approximately 45,000 people, are currently in a state of confinement.Of these, some 7,500 people face a double impact due to the worsening of the armed conflict and environmental factors associated with climate change, which has led to a humanitarian emergency.
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The impact of the armed strike is exacerbated by the territorial confrontation between the ELN and the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC-Clan del Golfo). This dispute has intensified the crisis in the areas located in the basins of the San Juan, Sipí, Taparal and Cajón rivers, as well as in the vicinity of the Nóvita-Torrá highway.
The indigenous communities in the Sanandocito (Sipí), Wounán Union, Puado, Matare, La Lerma, Macedonia (Middle San Juan), Chocó-San Cristobal Union, Puado-Mataré-La Lerma (Istmina), Docordó-Balsalito, Santa María de Pangala, Taparal River, Tiosidilio, Togoroma, Buena Vista, Pichimá River, Chagpien, and Chagpien Tordó reservations, along with the community councils of San Juan-Acadesan and Mayor de Nóvita-Cocoman, are particularly exposed to these risks, the Ombudsman said.
In view of this emergency, the Ombudsman’s Office has urged state institutions to take urgent prevention and protection measures to safeguard the fundamental rights of the civilian population at risk. It is imperative that special attention be paid to the Early Warnings issued by the Ombudsman’s Office, including Alerts 020 of 2021, 025 of 2021, 027 of 2021 and 012 of 2022, which were updated with follow-up reports. During 2023, six armed strikes were recorded in the department and two additional ones have already been documented so far in 2024.
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