The number of internally displaced people in Colombia dropped by 50 percent last year, the president of the Red Cross told President Alvaro Uribe on Thursday.
It is not known what figures the statistic is based upon.
Uribe is currently attending the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, where he met with Jacob Kellenberger, the Red Cross president.
Statistics on the number of displaced Colombians vary widely. One recent report published by human rights group CODHES found there was 24% drop in the number of displaced Colombians in 2009. Kellenberger’s statistic is similar to that given by the government’s social security director, Diego Molano, who recently claimed that there was a 56% decrease in displacement in 2009.
The Red Cross has been in active in Colombia since 1969, and currently has 377 staff members in the country.
