B.
Establishment of a continuous monitoring and permanent communication
mechanism in the so-called “humanitarian zones”
B.1.
Information provided by the State
14.
The State emphasized that one of the mechanisms it has implemented in order to
ensure the adequate protection of the beneficiaries “has been the permanent link
established by the Presidential Human Rights Program” with the representatives and, in
general, with the members of the communities of the Jiguamiandó and of the Curvaradó,
which allows the State to be informed of the requests for protection and of emergencies.
According to the State, this mechanism has been acknowledged by the beneficiaries and the
representatives, so that “it can be considered an effective, suitable and expeditious
mechanism to deal with possible threats.” The above-mentioned Program works on the
elaboration and coordination of public policies in the area of human rights and international
humanitarian law, and facilitates the actions of different government entities. Its main
objective is to improve the levels of respect, protection and guarantee of human rights and
the application of international humanitarian law. In addition, the State indicated that,
within the framework of compliance with the orders of the Constitutional Court, specifically
with the adoption of the Integral Prevention and Attention Plan, other local and national
institutions had been incorporated such as the Governor’s Office of the department of El
Chocó, the Ministry of Agriculture, and INCODER (the Colombian Rural Development
Institute).
B.2.
Observations of the representatives
15.
The representatives considered that there is no effective verification mechanism to
evaluate the responsiveness of the local, military and civil authorities when performing their
task of protecting the rights of the beneficiaries of the provisional measures, and responding
to situations of extreme gravity and urgency. In addition, they stressed the ineffectiveness
of the Protection Program of the former Ministry of the Interior and Justice to respond
opportunely to the beneficiaries’ requests for protection, arguing that the program has
serious shortcomings which mean that the beneficiaries “do not receive opportune and
effective attention when facing situations of risk” that warrant a response. In addition, they
indicated that, in view of “the grave situation of risk,” the members of the lower councils of
the Curvaradó and Jiguamiandó river basins had forwarded the Government an integral
protection plan in which they requested individual and collective measures of protection for
48 leaders who were under threat, and urged that they be implemented rapidly and
effectively. However, according to the representatives, they have not received an answer.
Nevertheless, the representatives indicated that, on July 21, 2011, a meeting had been held
with the participation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and delegates from the
Ombudsman’s Office, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Presidential Human Rights
Program, during which the representatives proposed the creation of a committee to monitor
the beneficiaries’ situation of risk.
B.3.
Observations of the Inter-American Commission
16.
The Commission indicated that the State had not commented on the integral
protection plan that the members of the lower councils of the Curvaradó and Jiguamiandó
river basins had forwarded to the Government, and therefore recalled the importance of the
mechanism for concertation between the State, the beneficiaries and their representatives.
B.4.
Considerations of the Inter-American Court
8