internal armed conflict”; the “persistence of the mobilization, presence and control of the paramilitary groups in the river basins where the humanitarian zones are located, as well as in areas of transit that are necessary for the [zones]”; the “continuing threats [and] harassment against the land claimant leaders”; the “ illegal planting and processing of crops using the territories of the Curvaradó and Jiguamiandó river basins”; the “invasion of collective territories by illegal occupants […],” and the “absence of a response from the authorities to the protection plan requested by the communities.” 40. The representatives argued that the context of risk “continued in force even after the last hearing” in this matter; that this situation had been examined by the Constitutional Court of Colombia, and that the effectiveness of the measures should be analyzed based on the possibility that the beneficiaries can continue living in the humanitarian zones and biodiversity zones, exercising their rights, without suffering irreparable damage to their life and integrity as a result of this. In their brief of February 6, 2013 (supra having seen paragraph 5), the representatives indicated that, even though “progress has been made in the Government’s response aimed at facilitating legal restitution of the territories, […] the risk factors remain; [that …] the specific response of the 17th Brigade to the perimeter control has had serious shortcomings; [and that the …] response of the Protection Unit to the requests for collective plans corresponding to the identity of the Afro-descendant ethnic group has not received an adequate response […].” Based on the foregoing, the representatives asked the Court to maintain the provisional measures in force; that it order the State to adopt the necessary measures to protect the life and integrity of the beneficiaries, and that “it visit the humanitarian zones, beneficiaries de provisional measures, in order to verify the situation of risk […].” E.3. Observations of the Inter-American Commission 41. The Commission appreciated the information presented by the State, “and also the detailed analysis of the actions it had taken in relation to these measures and of the authorities involved.” Nevertheless, the Commission found that, in order to lift the provisional measures, it was necessary to consider whether the elements of extreme gravity, urgency and need to avoid irreparable damage subsisted, and to analyze the “improvements adopted, and the effective response in order to overcome the situation of risk that led to the adoption of the measures.” 42. The Commission indicated that the information presented by the representatives revealed that, since the Order of this Court of November 25, 2011 (supra having seen paragraph 2) and up until July 2012, “there had been death threats against the leaders of the beneficiary communities, executions and disappearances, harassment [and] a constant paramilitary presence in the area with alleged State acquiescence, among other elements.” The Commission indicated that the Inter-American Court had been made duly aware of this information. Furthermore, it stressed that the State itself had acknowledged the situation that subsisted in the area and that, in this regard, had referred to “the situation of the land restitution, the census that had been ordered, the displacement, the presence of the socalled BACRIM [Emerging Criminal Bands] [supposedly identified as paramilitaries] as well as the different decisions handed down by the Constitutional Court […].” It indicated that, during the processing of the preventive measures and the provisional measures, both the Inter-American Commission and the Court, respectively, had considered these elements, which had given rise to a situation “of extreme gravity, urgency and imminent risk of irreparable damage in the communities of the Jiguamiandó and of the Curvaradó.” 43. According to the Commission, “the alleged threats, surveillance and harassment which the members of the beneficiary communities have been subject to, the alleged lists of 17