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

UNCLASSIFIED
- 75 -
establish a commission that would serve as a recognition mechanism for the resolutions
put forward by INCODER and the Superintendent for Notaries and Registries and (2)
conduct a census to determine which community members have a right to the collective
territory. The MOI&J‘s Directorate for Afro-Colombian, Raizal, and Palenquera
Populations has led efforts to conduct this census and, as a preparatory measure, two
community training workshops were offered in August, 2008. At a follow-up workshop,
census-takers were chosen – 16 from Curvaradó and 6 from Jiguamiandó – they
completed their work on February 27, 2009, when the census committee approved 916 of
the 933 forms collected, and annulled 17.
Violence Against Afro-Colombians
Some individuals in the Curvarado area have reported threats by illegal armed
groups and the Colombian government has taken action to ensure their safety. For
example, during late August and early September 2008, nine members of the Inter-
Church Justice and Peace Commission (CIJP) and an indigenous leader allegedly
received eight telephone threats by phone from the Black Eagles (―Aguilas Negras‖), a
new criminal band, while accompanying Afro-Colombian and mestizo communities
seeking return of land allegedly appropriated unlawfully by African Palm companies and
cattle farmers in the Curvaradó river basin in Urabá (Chocó). In addition, on the evening
of August 30, 2008, two unidentified men entered the humanitarian zone of Camelias and
fled when apprehended by community members.
Following this, on September 3, 2008, one of the CIJP members who had been
previously threatened via phone, Yimmi Armando Jansasoy Muñoz, was allegedly
kidnapped by armed civilians and forced at gunpoint into a truck where he was held for
an hour. He was threatened and ordered to provide the names of people who live in the
humanitarian zones, or he and his family would ―bear the consequences.‖ Fearing for
their safety, Jansasoy and four other members of CIJP subsequently fled Curvaradó.
In response to these threats and prior concerns raised by CIJP, beginning in
February 2008, the Vice President‘s Office directed the commander of the Army‘s 15 th
Brigade and the police commander in Urabá to take steps to ensure that these individuals
were protected from harm. The Vice President‘s Office also asked the Prosecutor
General‘s Office to initiate investigations into the threats. Those investigations are ongoing.
Protective measures have been implemented for CIJP and related organizations.
The ―Julio Londoño Londoño‖ Battalion of the Army‘s 15 th Brigade has increased its
efforts to protect the communities of Curvaradó and Jiguamiendó. This includes:
Reaching out to individuals who consider themselves to be at risk or who have
been threatened in order to gain familiarity with their cases and to establish a
relationship so that the individual knows who to contact should any irregularity
UNCLASSIFIED