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Colombie

La Colombie étant un pays extrêmement diversifié, son approche du pluralisme est étroitement liée à son processus de paix.

Groupes Évalués

  • Population Rom
  • Paysans
  • Communautés autochtones
  • Afro-colombiens

La Colombie est l’un des pays les plus inégalitaires d’Amérique latine et a été profondément marquée par plus de 50 ans de conflit armé interne ayant fortement affecté la vie, la culture et les traditions de nombreux groupes ethniques et sociaux, notamment des Afro-Colombiens, les Autochtones, les paysans et les Roms. Les élections de mai 2022 ont amené au pouvoir un gouvernement qui s’est montré très clair sur la nécessité de répondre aux besoins des groupes ethniques minoritaires et de mieux aborder la question de l’impact du conflit armé sur leur vie, ce qui constitue un développement prometteur. Le rapport du Moniteur mondial du pluralisme sur la Colombie, réalisé en 2021, explore les lacunes et les perspectives pour ces quatre groupes et révèle qu’un processus de paix ne peut être pluraliste, ou pleinement achevé, s’il ne répond pas aux besoins des groupes ethniques et marginalisés. Cet evaluation été achevée en 2021.

Recommendations

Ratify relevant international treaties

Colombia could ratify international human rights treaties and their respective optional protocols to recognize the authority of international bodies overseeing their enforcement. In doing so, Colombia can better support and hold itself accountable to its Afro-Colombian, Indigenous and Roma populations.

Extend constitutional and legal protections for Indigenous groups and Afro-descendants Indigenous groups and Afro-descendants have.

Indigenous groups and Afro-descendants have been the most impacted by the conflict. The new Colombian government has the opportunity to fulfill its campaign promises by extending constitutional and legal protections to these groups.

In addition, they could create protections for the self-determination and diversity of other groups facing marginalization, such as the Roma people and the peasantry. Overall, the establishment and respect of autonomous communal authorities is essential.

Protect and respect minority rights through the implementation and enforcement of constitutional mandates

Existing laws, policies and constitutional provisions already provide protections to minority groups. Colombia can further protect minority group rights by fully enforcing these laws.

This could include strengthening the capacities of state institutions, with a focus on implementation. Colombia can also explore the reasons for the lack of enforcement.

Improve information about rights violations and impunity

Colombia has the opportunity to collaborate with civil society groups and international institutions to improve data collection on human rights violations and impunity. In doing so, Colombia can produce complete and systematic data on minority or oppressed groups and create policies that better address their needs. 

Indicators

Legal commitments

International commitments

Note moyenne:4

Colombia has a long tradition of ratifying international treaties. Yet, recent governments have failed to evenly implement or monitor these treaties. Colombia is one of the few Latin American countries with a high population of Afro-descendants.  As such, their lack of support on resolutions or treaties related to racial discrimination is worrying.

National commitments

Note moyenne:7

The Colombian Constitution of 1991 was groundbreaking in its recognition of ethnic rights. Although there are many laws protecting Indigenous groups, the same cannot be said for Afro-descendants or Roma people. For example, the Constitution has only one article about Afro-descendant rights and it is often misinterpreted or even reversed when implemented.

Inclusive Citizenship

Note moyenne:7

In general, Colombia has inclusive citizenship practices. Citizenship is granted to individuals born of Colombian parents or if their parents are residents at the moment of birth.  It can also be requested by Indigenous peoples sharing frontiers with Colombia. 

Practices

Policy implementation

Note moyenne:3

Despite the existence of multiple laws, rulings and policies for ethnic groups, these are seldom implemented. For example, affirmative action policies for Afro-Colombians tend to be denied. Indigenous groups were mostly left out of the National Development Plan (2018-2022). Finally, peasants continue to wait for the integral rural reform promised in the 2016 Peace Accords.

Data Collection

Note moyenne:5

Data collection efforts in Colombia tend to be incomplete due to poor coverage and lack of training. Additionally, it is difficult to access data about human rights or violence in the context of the conflict, particularly in remote areas. In the worst cases, these issues have resulted in statistical genocide of Afro-descendent and Roma people.

Claims-making and contestation

Note moyenne:2

Afro-descendant and Indigenous groups use writs (formal written orders by courts) for the protection of constitutional rights (tutela) to compel, or encourage, enforcement of those rights. When tutelas fail, large mobilizations and Indigenous mingas (Indigenous Quechua word for ‘collective action’) are carried out. Although groups can make claims freely, they are often met with state repression and wider violence.

Leadership for Pluralism

Political Parties

Note moyenne:3

Although many political parties embrace diversity as a value, they are indifferent to it in practice. There are representation quotas for both Afro-descendants and Indigenous peoples, but their representation is still limited. This is due to clientelism, poverty and their physical distance from the polls. In contrast, neither Roma people nor peasants have special political representation quotas. 

News Media: Representation (A) and Prominence of Pluralistic Actors (B)

Note moyenne:4

Media spaces in Colombia do not offer many opportunities for the contribution or representation of minority groups. In response, Indigenous groups, Afro-Colombians and peasants have created their own media networks. Although these are meant to educate the larger population on their culture and perspectives, they have limited reach.

Civil Society

Note moyenne:7

Civil society in Colombia is largely made up of organizations composed of ethnic and minority groups. Some organizations are exclusionary and fail to address ethno-racial issues, but these are the exception. Several human rights organizations, in contrast, promote an intersecting approach to ethnic rights. 

Private Sector

Note moyenne:3

For the most part, the private sector does not respect diversity. While peasants are an important part of the workforce, they rarely take part in ownership. Afro-Colombians, Indigenous groups and Roma peoples are excluded from the private sector almost entirely. When included, they often occupy non-managerial roles.

Group-Based Inequalities

Political

Note moyenne:4

Political representation quotas have promoted the creation of diverse parties. For example, Indigenous and Afro-Colombian parties have become more common. Still, these tend to be minority associations. Moreover, organizations that promote progressive agendas are more likely to be targeted by violence.

Economic

Note moyenne:2

Colombia has the greatest inequalities across subethnic groups in Latin America. The armed conflict has negatively affected ethnic groups, particularly through threats of displacement and dispossession. Indigenous and Afro-Colombians often live below the poverty line and receive wages below the legal minimum. Peasants and Roma people have also been affected by the conflict, mainly due to a lack of access to land and displacement.

Social

Note moyenne:2

Access to social well-being, education and health is vastly unequal across Colombia. Afro-Colombians are the most affected, especially concerning access to water and education. High levels of social inequality also exist between Indigenous groups and peasants compared to the general population. Notably, Roma people have above-average access to basic services, and high literacy levels in their populations.

Cultural

Note moyenne:2

Cultural practices are respected so long as they do not represent a threat to the status quo. This has resulted in the deterioration of cultural practices. For example, Roma people are increasingly not using their native language. Indigenous groups, on the other hand, cannot access social services that align with their cosmovisions (i.e. their perspectives on the world and the meaning they assign to life).

Access to Justice

Note moyenne:2

Afro-descendants, Indigenous groups, peasants and Roma people are subject to extensive rights violations. These cases often go unheard due to institutionalized forms of racial discrimination and impunity. Because of a lack of accountability in the justice sector, these groups have not yet received significant reparations for past rights violations.

Inter-group relations and belonging

Intergroup violence

Note moyenne:1

State and non-state actors exert violence against ethnic groups who hold different views. Nearly 20% of Indigenous peoples in Colombia suffered harm as a result of the conflict. Social leaders from peasant and Afro-Colombian communities are often victims of homicides. These groups have been targeted more frequently due to the lack of implementation of the Peace Agreement.

Intergroup trust

Note moyenne:4

There is fairly high trust between members of different oppressed groups in Colombia. Peasant, Indigenous and Afro-Colombian organizations often converge and collaborate. However, these groups are also frequently subjected to stigmatizing narratives in the public sphere.

Trust in Institutions

Note moyenne:5

Trust in public institutions varies depending on the group. There is limited data on ethnic groups’ perceptions of public institutions. Findings show that ethnic groups view the services provided by the state as created without any consideration for their cultures or traditions.

Inclusion and Acceptance

Note moyenne:2

Overall, Colombia is a highly exclusionary country. The distribution of resources, services and power is highly unequal between groups. Although peasant, Indigenous, Afro-descendant and Roma groups feel Colombian, they are discriminated against. In other words, they are not considered by others to be Colombian.

Shared Ownership of Society

Note moyenne:4

Minoritized groups tend to have stronger feelings of ownership in their own communities than in the wider society. These groups still insist on mobilizing for change and participating in politics. Although their sense of belonging is low, their desire to mobilize and participate shows a significant dedication to improve Colombian society and make it more accepting of differences.