Protection, reconciliation and access to rights for DPs in Ecuador: requirements for the integration of displaced persons (DPs) form Colombia and Venezuela in Ecuador

Abstract

Structural marginalization of the Colombian-Ecuadorian border area offers a breeding ground for violent Colombian conflicts to spill over into Ecuadorian territory. With the help of cross-sector and cross-border programmes, actors in development cooperation (DC) should play a part in the long-term containment of the drugs economy and the resulting displacements. An integral and participative bottom-up approach should promote the development of government infrastructure, especially in justice, education, health and jobs. Building trust and establishing reconciliation are significant requirements for peace and (re)integration processes. They must be incorporated into programmes in Ecuador for a traumatized Colombian exile community, which includes victims as well as perpetrators. DC can support agencies that provide social work, public education institutions, and church-run institutions that enjoy confidence and authority in the region in particular. DC must combine educational efforts in the municipalities and in the education and health sectors as well as the reduction of financial and bureaucratic hurdles. Measures to support both local ombudsperson offices and victims' and migrant associations also strengthen local ownership. By providing advice on the formalization of micro-enterprises in start-up programmes, DC can enable the beneficiaries to advance to the formal sector. In this respect, the contributors should generally expand measures to cover all particularly vulnerable parts (Colombian, Ecuadorian and Venezuelan) of the population. The regional scale of forced displacement requires a regionally co-ordinated and long-term humanitarian and developmental approach that takes into account Colombian and Venezuelan displaced persons (DPs) equally. DC can contribute to this by providing expert advice to the responsible ministries and supporting regional initiatives such as the Cartagena Process.