UN appeals for $50 million to help 2 million Colombian refugees

24 February 2003 – The United Nations has called on the international donor community to raise nearly $50 million to help two million internal refugees displaced by the on-going armed conflict in Colombia.

Last week the UN presented donors with a Humanitarian Action Plan (HAP) totalling $79.4 million, of which $48.9 million still needs to be raised. The Plan aims to ensure respect for, and access to, human rights for the population affected by the humanitarian crisis, as well as strengthen the state institutions and the rule of law.

Last year alone more than 250,000 Colombians were forced to flee their homes, with indigenous people being particularly affected, to the extent that most of the indigenous population has been or is displaced, or is at risk of being so. The Afro-Colombian communities have also been severely affected. Almost half the total population of displaced persons are children.

HAP is a joint effort undertaken by the UN under the leadership of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).