A total of 160 billion pesos (US$80 million) is to be distributed throughout December among some 10,000 victims of Colombia’s armed conflict.
The December initiative is expected to involve the distribution of between 10 to 18 million pesos amongst families affected by the country’s ongoing armed conflict, reported news station Caracol Wednesday.
The majority of those due to receive the compensation are female victims of sexual violence as well as land mine victims and children.
Eduardo Pizarro, spokesman for the National Reparation and Reconciliation Commission, explained that much of the compensation money has come from the resources of wealthy criminals now in prison such as drug kingpin ‘Don Mario’.
The objective is to use this compensation money to contribute to the reconstruction of the quality of living for communities battered by violence – in the hope that displaced members of these communities may be able to move back to their homelands, where possible.
Caracol asserts that of the 250,000 victims registered by the Commission, almost 50,000 have already been financially compensated and an outstanding sum of 20 billion pesos is awaiting it’s distribution by judges.