The United Nations must increase assistance for those displaced by flooding and FARC violence, says human rights NGO Refugees International.
According to the NGO, “United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Catherine Bragg’s visit to Colombia must aim to strengthen the UN’s response to the needs of displaced people,”
The high UN delegation is expected in Colombia on Friday to attend the signing of the Victims Law that seeks to compensate victims of Colombia’s conflict and regulate restitution of land stolen by illegal armed groups.
“The timing of this visit is crucial in light of the large numbers of people struggling from ongoing violence and the floods devastating the country,” said Andrea Lari, Director of Regional Programs for Refugees International in a press release. “We strongly encourage the Secretary General and his UN staff to work with the Colombian government to better protect those displaced both by natural disasters and by conflict. There is much more work to be done”.
According to the human rights group, nearly 20,000 Colombians have been displaced by violence or nature in the first four months of 2011. According to the press release, some 175,000 displaced families are yet to receive government assistance.