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Armed Forces and the civil authorities of Bajo, Medio and Alto Atrato to design and
implement a security plan that takes into account the reports of the social organizations
and the presence of illegally armed individuals. In this regard, the State reported that, in
compliance with this directive, the National Army, through the Commander of the
Seventeenth Brigade, issued a security plan to guarantee the security of the districts
(corregimientos) of Medio Atrato and to protect the civilian population, especially the
communities of the valleys of the Jiguamiandó, Curbaradó and Cacarica Rivers, and also
to protect the collective territories under extensive oil palm exploitation. The State
indicated that the National Army’s Seventeenth Brigade maintains a permanent presence
in the valleys of the Jiguamiandó and Curbaradó Rivers and that, in addition to exercising
effective military control in the area, it also conducts attacks on the different illegal
armed groups. Furthermore, the State advised that the Ministry of Defense had issued
Permanent Ministerial Directive No. 07 (2007), establishing a “Sectoral Policy of
Reconnaissance, Prevention and Protection of the Black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal and
Palenquera communities”; the directive describes the rights of these communities and
seeks to disseminate information on these rights to the Police. The State also indicated
that the commander of the Urabá Police Department had implemented permanent
security and protection measures and actions through police units posted to places in
Bajo Atrato, including, areas of access to the communities of African descent and the
collective territories of the municipality of Carmen del Darién. The National Police have
been planning joint actions with the Joint Force of Atrato in order to neutralize and
counteract the attacks on public order, as well as to protect the people who live there
from threats to their rights, and to prevent such threats.
6.
That, in their observations, the representatives indicated that they were unaware
of the contents of Directive No. 008 or its results as regards prevention, and also that the
acts of violence perpetrated by paramilitary groups and the guerrilla continue. In
addition, they considered that “[…] the security measures adopted by [the Seventeenth]
Brigade have been neither adequate nor effective to counteract the situation of violence
against the inhabitants, and that the response of the Ministry of Defense has been “[…]
ambiguous and vague in relation to the population regarding whom the prevention
measures should be adopted.” The representatives reported that the beneficiary
population is evidently in danger from paramilitary operations, since “some paramilitary
structures have still not been demobilized completely and other new ones have arisen, so
that there have been frequent threats, and dangerous situations persist.” In addition,
they indicated that the National Police have not carried out any specific actions to pursue
and combat the paramilitary groups operating in the region of Bajo Atrato Chocoano and
that the operations conduced have created a situation of greater vulnerability for the
beneficiary communities and have distanced them. The operations have included, “[…]
seizures and administrative detentions that, in some cases, deteriorate into arbitrary
detentions; as a result, the inhabitants of the Jiguamiandó humanitarian zones abstain
from traveling to the towns of Carmen del Darién and Murindó.”
7.
That the Inter-American Commission considers that the operations indicated by
the State appear to be mainly related to combating illegal armed groups belonging to the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and, on one occasion, to paramilitary
groups, while it makes no specific mention of the protection of the beneficiaries.
8.
That, based on the information provided by the State, the representatives, and the
Commission, the President considers that the Court requires further information about
the measures adopted specifically to protect the lives and safety of the beneficiaries of
the provisional measures, in order to monitor the satisfactory implementation of these
measures and to ensure the effective protection of the beneficiary civilian population.
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