69
continues. Finally, the Commission reiterates that not all of those displaced have returned to their place
of origin, and there are those who continue to be in a state of forced displacement.
305.
While the displaced were settled in Turbo, the State failed to provide food and water in
sufficient quantities. In November 1997, it officially suspended the aid to 75 families for lack of funds, and
illnesses increased, in particular among the children who in various cases suffered from malnutrition and
other diseases. The displaced suffered overcrowded conditions and their living conditions in 1999 were
difficult. The majority of the displaced were sleeping on the floor with no privacy.
306.
The State aided the undertaking of minimum works of basic sanitation (drainage and
piping of waste water), and from February 1999 until March 2001, it paid for water and electricity services
at the dwellings and the stadium. In 1999, the State co-financed a school and provided educational
materials and implements for a kitchen, classroom and kindergartens. It also lent food aid between May
1999 and December 6, 2000 and from November 1999 it organized access to medical care. It also lent
agricultural aid. However, the displaced lacked adequate and sufficient basic hygiene, food, housing,
health and educational services.
307.
During the displacement to Panama, some children were lost in the jungle and after
settling in impromptu camps in the Darién region were forced to return to Colombia. Some were initially
crowded into a dwelling in Apartadó without adequate sanitation. One group was forcefully transferred by
the State to Bahía Cupica and placed on a farm. The displaced only had access to one doctor and there
were no medicines for serious illnesses. The displaced received food aid from the State between
January 2000 and December 6, 2000. However, the State did not provide them with adequate or
sufficient humanitarian assistance.
308.
In this respect, the Commission recalls that the United Nations Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights has established that the State must guarantee that persons have access at
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least to sufficient essential and nutritionally adequate food to protect them against starvation.
309.
The Commission recognizes and appreciates the initiatives undertaken by Colombia with
regard to the humanitarian aid given to the displaced in the Turbo settlement, and that it aided the return
of the displaced and assisted them (see supra III.B). In this respect, for the period under analysis, there
was a consensus among national observers and representatives of international organizations that
Colombia had made some efforts to try to provide solutions for the displaced persons, but that the policy
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adopted up until now to confront the displacement has not been sufficient.
Therefore the Commission
considers that regarding the situation of forced displacement under analysis, the measures adopted by
the State were insufficient and inadequate for reversing the condition of vulnerability of the displaced
persons.
310.
Regarding the State's allegations that the humanitarian aid provided prevented or
minimized the damages caused by the displacement and the consequences of human rights violations,
and that it repaired the damages caused, the Commission believes it is relevant to reiterate the difference
between the concepts of "reparations" and "humanitarian aid". In actual fact, the Commission has
emphasized that "the concept of reparations is based on a principle of liability or legal obligation, in
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contrast to an ex gratia payment."
In this sense, the victims of displacement have the right to obtain
reparations for gross violations committed by the State that have been determined by legal action, as it
326
Annex 95. United Nations ECOSOC. General Comment No. 12. The Right to Adequate Food (Art.11), May 12, 1999,
para. 14.At: http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/3d02758c707031d58025677f003b73b9.
327
Annex 15. IACHR. Third Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Colombia, Ch.IV. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.102 Doc. 9 rev.
1, February 26, 1999, para. 80. At: http://www.cidh.org/countryrep/Colom99en/table%20of%20contents.htm.
328
Anex 96. IACHR Principal Guidelines for a Comprehensive Reparations Policy, OEA/Ser/L/V/II.131 Doc. 1, February
19,
2008,
para.
7.
At:
http://www.cidh.org/pdf%20files/Lineamientos%20Reparacion%20Administrativa%2014%20mar%202008%20ENG%20final.pdf.