memorandum of justification concerning human ... - Just the Facts

UNCLASSIFIED
- 70 -
Protests and the Return of Land to Indigenous Groups
The government reported that rising land prices in Cauca have delayed it from
meeting its final obligations under the Nilo Agreement of 1991 and prevented it from
doing so under Decree 982 of 1999. However, the government has identified
mechanisms to fulfill its obligations.
Under the Nilo Agreement (signed in December 16, 1991, as compensation for the
Nilo Massacre against the Nasa (Paeces) peoples), the Colombian government agreed to
return 15,663 hectares of land to indigenous groups in the affected area. In October
2005, the agreement was revised; the government agreed – with the consent of the
indigenous groups – to allocate 10 trillion pesos ($5 billion) in 2007 and 10 trillion pesos
($5 billion) in 2008 to purchase this land for the groups. As of the beginning of 2008, the
government had purchased and returned 11,866 hectares of land, leaving 3,796 yet to be
returned. At this point, the government realized that – due to rising land costs in Cauca
(the price for 1 hectare had grown from 5 thousand pesos, approximately $2.50, to 17
thousand pesos, approximately $8.50) – it would not be able to purchase the remaining
land with the funding left in the 2008 budget. 44
As such, the government met with the indigenous peoples of Cauca. They agreed
to allow the government to purchase land in other Departments instead: Valle de Cauca,
Putumayo, Caquetá, Huila and Tolima. A few weeks after this meeting, the government
returned an additional 500 hectares and announced that the Department of National
Planning had approved only 1.5 trillion pesos (about $750 billion 45 ) for land purchasing
under the agreement in 2009 due to the financial crisis facing the country. Indigenous
groups were outraged at this announcement. The Ministry of Interior met with
representatives from the Cauca indigenous communities and pledged to seek additional
resources from other government sources and assured the groups that the government‘s
obligations under the agreement would be met. Following this, in October 2008, the
MOI&J announced that it had identified 8 trillion pesos (about $4 billion 46 ) that it would
be reprogramming to purchase land, which should allow the obligations of the agreement
to be fulfilled. In May 2009, the MOI&J turned over an additional 482 hectares of land
to the indigenous Paez community per the terms of the Nilo Agreement. This brings the
total hectares returned to 13,128. The Colombian government expects to be able to reach
the required 15,663.
44 At conversion rate of 1 USD = 2,000 COP
45 At conversion rate of 1 USD = 2,000 COP
46 At conversion rate of 1 USD = 2,000 COP
UNCLASSIFIED