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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon
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Results for violence (colombia)
8 results foundAuthor: Poveda, Alexander Cotte Title: Poverty, Armed Conflict and Human Rights: An Analysis of the Objective Causes of Violence in Colombia Summary: This work analyses the influence of economic variables, poverty and armed conflict on violence in Colombia. For this purpose, a time series method is used to analyse economic and social data through which different long-term coefficients are estimated in order to determine the effects of these variables on violence in Colombia from 1950 to 2006. Socioeconomic characteristics, poverty and variables associated with armed conflict affect the dynamics of violence, and moreover, there are various political variables that have a notable influence upon the determinants of violence in Colombia. More precisely, variables associated with a lack of state presence in some regions and educational aspects are determinant factors that influence the incidence of violence in the country. Details: Bogota, Colombia: Universidad de la Salle, Investigation Group on Violence, Institutions and Economic Development, 2010. 50p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: Colombia URL: Shelf Number: 118567 Keywords: Drug Trafficking (Colombia)Homicide (Colombia)PovertyViolence (Colombia) |
Author: Guberek, Tamy Title: Assessing Claims of Declining Lethal Violence in Colombia Summary: In this exploratory research note, we assess recent claims that violence in Colombia declined after the demobilization of paramilitaries. We show that these claims rest both on the overinterpretation of unadjusted data and on unsound causal inferences. We conclude that multiple data sources are needed to estimate the true rates of violence in Colombia after demobilization, and we suggest avenues for further research toward this end. Details: Palo Alto, CA: The Benetech Initiative, 2008. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 17, 2011 at: http://www.hrdag.org/resources/publications/CO-PN-CCJ-match-working-paper.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.hrdag.org/resources/publications/CO-PN-CCJ-match-working-paper.pdf Shelf Number: 121735 Keywords: Crime RatesViolence (Colombia)Violent Crime |
Author: Title: Moving Beyond Easy Wins: Colombia’s Borders Summary: Improved relations between Colombia and its neighbours have not alleviated the plight of border communities. For fifteen years, porous borders that offer strategic advantages to illegal armed groups and facilitate extensive illicit economies have exposed them to an intense armed conflict that is made worse by the widespread absence of public institutions. The warfare triggered a humanitarian emergency and worsened relations especially with Ecuador and Venezuela, the most affected neighbours. Spurring development in the periphery and reconstructing diplomatic ties are priorities for President Juan Manuel Santos. A little over a year into his term, his new policies have paid undoubted diplomatic and some security dividends. But the hard part is still ahead. Efforts to improve the humanitarian situation and build civilian state capacity must be scaled up, tasks that, amid what is again a partially worsening conflict, have been neglected. Otherwise, pacifying the troubled border regions will remain a chimera, and their dynamics will continue to fuel Colombia’s conflict. Border regions were drawn into the armed conflict by the mid-1990s, when they became main theatres of operations for illegal armed groups, often financed by drug trafficking. A crackdown under Álvaro Uribe, Santos’s predecessor, brought only elusive gains there. The illegal armed groups have been pushed deeper into the periphery but not defeated. Coca cultivation and drug trafficking remain significant. Violence has come down in most regions, but remains higher along the borders than in the nation as a whole, and security has begun to deteriorate in some zones, as New Illegal Armed Groups and paramilitary successors (NIAGs) extend their operations, and guerrillas gain new strength. The Uribe approach also carried high diplomatic costs. Relations with the neighbours became toxic over a 2008 Colombian airstrike on a camp of the main rebel group, FARC, located just inside Ecuador and over allegations that Venezuela was harbouring guerrillas. Fixing the border problems has been a priority for Santos. He has moved quickly to restore diplomatic relations with Ecuador and Venezuela, and bilateral platforms are in an early stage of either being revived or created. There is a strong political commitment on all sides to preserve the restored friendships, despite the continuing presence of illegal armed groups in both neighbouring countries. Security cooperation is improving. The Colombian Congress has passed a constitutional reform to redistribute royalties from oil and mining concessions, a measure that should increase funds for public investment in many peripheral regions that currently do not benefit from that bonanza. In an effort to produce tangible results fast, the foreign ministry is leading implementation of projects aimed at boosting social and economic development in border municipalities. The Santos agenda represents a substantial policy shift, but as the conflict continues unabated in the border regions and has increasing repercussions on Venezuelan and Ecuadorian soil, problems remain. Three sets of issues need to be tackled. First, more must be done to increase the civilian state presence in the destitute border areas. Militarisation of the borders has failed to deliver durable security gains, and efforts by security forces to increase their standing with local communities continue to stumble over human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law. With dynamics along their borders increasingly resembling the situation in Colombia, similar problems are fast emerging in Ecuador and Venezuela. The security forces of all three countries must play by the book and focus more on citizen security, and their civilian authorities must take the lead in providing services. Secondly, more effective responses to the severe humanitarian problems are needed. Colombia continues to struggle to attend to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other victims of the conflict, a large number of whom cross the borders in search of protection. But protecting them has not been a priority in Venezuela, leaving an estimated 200,000 highly vulnerable. This contrasts with the response in Ecuador, which has recognised and provided documentation to some 54,000 Colombian refugees. But Ecuador has tightened its policy since January 2011, exposing such individuals to new risks. Governments are hesitant to give more weight to a potentially divisive issue in bilateral relations, but looking the other way will only make matters worse over the long run. Thirdly, efficient forums to solve problems jointly and promote border development are still lacking. This partly reflects the neighbours’ reluctance to acknowledge any responsibility for a conflict they consider a domestic matter of Colombia but that in fact is sustained by transnational criminal networks and is increasingly creating victims on all sides of the borders. The high diplomatic volatility has also been damaging efforts to institutionalise cooperation that needs to be grounded in buy-in and participation of local authorities, civil society and the private sector. In a region where the next diplomatic crisis is often not far away, the current improved political climate offers the governments a chance to boost civilian state presence, improve the humanitarian situation and put relations on a more sustainable footing. They should seize it. Details: Brussels: International Crisis Group, 2011. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Latin America Report No. 40: Accessed November 4, 2011 at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/colombia/40%20Moving%20Beyond%20Easy%20Wins%20---%20Colombias%20Borders.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/colombia/40%20Moving%20Beyond%20Easy%20Wins%20---%20Colombias%20Borders.pdf Shelf Number: 123224 Keywords: Border SecurityDrug TraffickingOrganized CrimesViolence (Colombia) |
Author: Derks, Maria Title: A Community Dilemma: DDR and the Changing Face of Violence in Colombia Summary: Colombia has stood at the forefront of debate across Latin America and the world on how chronic armed violence can be combated. Its programmes of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) have aimed to put over 50,000 ex-combatants from paramilitary forces and guerrilla movements back into civilian life. But a rising tide of criminal violence has swept up former paramilitary fighters and is seizing control of Colombia’s many sources of illicit wealth, with cocaine production and trafficking at their heart. While thousands are still enrolled in reintegration courses, this paper asks what more the Colombian government, civil society and the international community can do to ensure that the demobilization process does not end in failure. The paper, based on extensive field research, argues that an essential first step is to ensure local communities are engaged, respected and protected. Details: The Hague: Conflict Research Unit, Netherlands Institute for International Relations 'Clingendael', 2011. 71p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 29, 2011 at: http://www.clingendael.nl/cru/news/2011/20110707_a_community_dilemma_ddr_and_the_changing_face_of_violence_in_colombia.html Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.clingendael.nl/cru/news/2011/20110707_a_community_dilemma_ddr_and_the_changing_face_of_violence_in_colombia.html Shelf Number: 123489 Keywords: Drug TraffickingHuman TraffickingParamilitary GroupsViolence (Colombia)Violent Crime |
Author: Vallejo, Catalina Title: Iron fist politics in Colombia: A panorama of destruction Summary: During the last decade many Latin American countries have resorted to mano dura (iron fist) politics and militarisation to combat crime, drugs and subversion. The high number of killed, injured and displaced persons in Colombia is a testimony of the failure of the iron fist policy with regard to in a crucial aspect of security: developing cultures of respect. When making policy in response to illegal groups’ violence, does using the same violent strategy allow for constructive social engagement? Does it break cycles of violence? While the villains’ death makes for a peaceful ending in comic books, in Latin America it reproduces violence. It is urgent to reimagine heroism and restore “enemies” their human dignity. Details: Bergen, Norway: CMI (Chr. Michelsen Institute), 2011. 4p. Source: CMI Brief, Volume 11 No. 1: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 31, 2012 at http://www.cmi.no/publications/file/4364-iron-fist-politics-in-colombia.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.cmi.no/publications/file/4364-iron-fist-politics-in-colombia.pdf Shelf Number: 123886 Keywords: Criminal NetworksCriminal Violence (Colombia)ParamilitariesParamilitary GroupsPolitical CorruptionViolence (Colombia) |
Author: Lamb, Robert Dale Title: Microdynamics of Illegitimacy and Complex Urban Violence in Medellin, Colombia Summary: For most of the past 25 years, Medellin, Colombia, has been an extreme case of complex, urban violence, involving not just drug cartels and state security forces, but also street gangs, urban guerrillas, community militias, paramilitaries, and other nonstate armed actors who have controlled micro-territories in the city's densely populated slums in ever-shifting alliances. Before 2002, Medellin's homicide rate was among the highest in the world, but after the guerrillas and militias were defeated in 2003, a major paramilitary alliance disarmed and a period of peace known as the "Medellin Miracle" began. Policy makers facing complex violence elsewhere were interested in finding out how that had happened so quickly. The research presented here is a case study of violence in Medellin over five periods since 1984 and at two levels of analysis: the city as a whole, and a sector called Caicedo La Sierra. The objectives were to describe and explain the patterns of violence, and determine whether legitimacy played any role, as the literature on social stability suggested it might. Multilevel, multidimensional frameworks for violence and legitimacy were developed to organize data collection and analysis. The study found that most decreases in violence at all levels of analysis were explained by increases in territorial control. Increases in collective (organized) violence resulted from a process of "illegitimation," in which an intolerably unpredictable living environment sparked internal opposition to local rulers and raised the costs of territorial control, increasing their vulnerability to rivals. As this violence weakened social order and the rule of law, interpersonal-communal (unorganized) violence increased. Over time, the "true believers" in armed political and social movements became marginalized or corrupted; most organized violence today is motivated by money. These findings imply that state actors, facing resurgent violence, can keep their tenuous control over the hillside slums (and other "ungoverned" areas) if they can avoid illegitimizing themselves. Their priority, therefore, should be to establish a tolerable, predictable daily living environment for local residents and businesses: other anti-violence programs will fail without strong, permanent, and respectful governance structures. Details: College Park, MD: University of Maryland, 2010. 657p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 6, 2013 at: http://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/10242 Year: 2010 Country: Colombia URL: http://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/10242 Shelf Number: 128671 Keywords: GangsHomicidesMilitiasOrganized CrimeParamilitariesRule of LawUrban AreasViolence (Colombia)Violent Crime |
Author: Franco, Liliana Bernal Title: Urban Violence and Humanitarian Action in Medellin Summary: Colombia has long experienced acute forms of political violence in and at the periphery of its major cities. Humanitarian agencies have also for decades protected civilians in order to minimize suffering within armed conflicts. Yet in recent years, humanitarian organizations have started to engage in settings that are neither war nor peace. These environments feature complex forms of politically - and economically- motivated violence. The city of Medellin (Colombia), in particular, is the paradigmatic example of such an environment where different types of violence come together in complex ways. Details: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: HASOW (Humanitarian Action in Situations other than War: 2013. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper 5: Accessed June 21, 2013 at: http://www.hasow.org/uploads/trabalhos/104/doc/496869705.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.hasow.org/uploads/trabalhos/104/doc/496869705.pdf Shelf Number: 129121 Keywords: HomicidesUrban AreasViolence (Colombia)Violent Crime |
Author: Isaza, Eric Wyss Title: Supporting Conflict Transformation and Victims in Colombia: An analysis of the Official Development Assistance from 2002 to 2011 and beyond Summary: This research focuses on the ODA allocated to Colombia from 2002 to 2011, as a way to understand the role of the international community in the process of conflict transformation. Using national and international data and sources, the analysis provides evidence of the approaches of different international stakeholders to assist the victims and to support the country in its journey towards peace. The results indicate that at least two thirds of the ODA addressed various conflict-related topics and that 'conflict victims' received the highest share. They also hint to different assistance and protection strategies, and show that recovery and restoration gradually became part of the cooperation agenda. Based on these findings, the paper explores the perspectives of international cooperation for the country in the coming years and proposes strategic recommendations for future external support to the transformation of its conflict. Details: Geneva: Geneva Centre for Education and Research in Humanitarian Action, 2013. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Master's Thesis: Accessed February 18, 2015 at: http://www.cerahgeneve.ch/files/8813/9506/6896/CERAH-dissertation-Eric-Wyss.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.cerahgeneve.ch/files/8813/9506/6896/CERAH-dissertation-Eric-Wyss.pdf Shelf Number: 134634 Keywords: GuerillasTransitional JusticeVictims of ViolenceViolence (Colombia) |