The 2011 passage of the Victims’ Law raised hopes and dreams among Colombia’s hundreds of thousands of victims of violence and forced displacement. Yet a second in-depth investigation by LAWGEF with Lutheran World Relief in 2013 on the law’s implementation shows that two years later, many of its promises remain a distant dream. Land restitution is slow, with barely 1 percent of claims filed resolved to date. Land rights leaders and returning communities are in grave danger. This report, focused on the Caribbean Coast, concludes that land restitution cannot take place safely without more decisive action by the Colombian government to dismantle the structures that caused displacement in the first place, especially paramilitary successor groups, their allies in state security forces and local government, and the landowners and companies that employ them. The report includes dramatic case studies of communities that still face danger, whether they have returned or are still waiting their chance to return. It also includes recommendations on how to achieve sustainable and safe land restitution.
Read our report: Far from the Promised Land:Land Restitution on Colombia’s Caribbean Coast
Lea nuestra informe: Lejos de la Tierra Prometida: Restitución de Tierras en la Costa Caribe del Colombia
