Press Release, Bogota, 28th of March 2022

The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) expresses its concern due to the compounding of the humanitarian situation in Colombia because of the increase of conflict dynamics and rise in Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law violations.

According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO), and as reflected in the Humanitarian Response Plan for 2022 (HRP) – launched recently – over 7.7 million people face humanitarian needs in the country.

In this respect, the HCT recognizes the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as a humanitarian organization and agrees with the concerns presented in its latest report1 , which highlights the different armed conflicts in the country and how they directly affect children, women, social leaders, and ethnic communities, especially indigenous and afroColombian people.

The 66 humanitarian partners of the HCT, including Agencies, Funds and Programs of the United Nations and National and International Non-Governmental Organizations, continue to provide humanitarian response activities to complement the efforts led by the National Government and local administrations to mitigate the suffering of vulnerable people facing humanitarian needs.

In 2021, we were able to jointly assist more than 2.2 million people affected by the complex humanitarian crises triggered by the internal armed conflict, natural disasters, mixed migration flows, and the impacts of the pandemic.

In the current context, the HCT calls on all institutions and organizations to continue their joint efforts to assist communities affected by the intensification of conflict dynamics. Furthermore, the HCT reiterates its support to local institutions, the National Government, to all partners of the HCT and to the ICRC in its essential work of attending the humanitarian needs of the communities.

We are grateful for and respect the mandate, experience, and presence of the ICRC over several decades in Colombia and recognize ICRC’s actions in favour of International Humanitarian Law both here in Colombia and in any country with humanitarian crises caused by armed conflicts. It is fundamental to promote the respect for the humanitarian rules and principles by all the parties to the conflict.

[1] CICR_ Retos Humanitarios 2022: Colombia: Vivir a la sombra de los conflictos armados | Comité Internacional de la Cruz Roja (icrc.org)

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