workshop on the protection of land rights and patrimony

8/8/2019 Workshop on the Protection of Land Rights and Patrimony

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PROYECTO PROTECCIN DE

TIERRAS Y PATRIMONIO DELA POBLACIN DESPLAZADA

BACKGROUND DOCUMENT FOR THE WORKSHOP ON THE PROTECTION OF LAND RIGHTS AND

PATRIMONY OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS BUILDING ON THE COLOMBIAN EXPERIENCE


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BACKGROUND DOCUMENT FOR THEWORKSHOP ON THE PROTECTION

OF LAND RIGHTS AND PATRIMONYOF INTERNALLY DISPLACEDPERSONS BUILDING ON THE

COLOMBIAN EXPERIENCE

Project on Protection of Land and Patrimony of Internally Displaced Persons


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Workshop on the Protection of Land Rights and Patrimony of Internally Displaced PersonsBuilding On The Colombian Experience

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Agencia Presidencial para la Accin Social y la

Cooperacin Internacional ACCIN SOCIALHigh Presidential Counselor for the Social Action andInternational CooperationDiego Andrs Molano Aponte

International Cooperation Manager, ACCION SOCIALSandra Alzate Cifuentes

Social Program Manager, ACCION SOCIALPablo Ariel Gmez Martnez

Project on Protection of Land and Patrimony of

Internally Displaced Population - ACCIN SOCIALProject DirectorMyriam Hernndez Sabogal

Management TeamClaudia Helena Meja FernndezAlba Luca Zuluaga LangtonLuis Alberto Clavijo CuinemeJess Ricardo Sabogal Urrego

Ivonne Astrid Moreno HortaLuis Horacio Muoz CriolloDoris Elena Alzate GmezSonia Uribe KaffureCatalina Riveros GmezConstanza Ussa Fernndez

Project on Protection of Land and Patrimony of Internally Displaced Population - ACCION SOCIAL

Carrera 10 No. 27 27, Edificio Bachu, Oficina 702Phones: (57 1) 5998227, 5661164, 5661596

E-mail: [email protected] - [email protected], Colombia. - July 2010.


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I. Context ........................................................................................................................................................ 5

II. Background of the Project on Protection of Land and Patrimony of Internally Displaced Persons ..... 13

III. Evidence of the Actions: The Outputs ................................................................................................... 39

Annexes .......................................................................................................................................................... 47

Content


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I. Context


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Colombia has faced protracted armed violence during the last 70 years,which has come in two major waves: the first from the mid-1940s until

the mid-1960s, and the second from the 1980s to today.The Government of Colombia (GoC) has made significant efforts todecrease violent confrontations since 1998 through initiatives such as:(i) peace talks with one of the strongest guerrilla groups (1998-2002),

which did not succeed; (ii) a peace agreement with the paramilitaries(2003) followed by demobilization of approximately 42,000 people

who declared themselves combatants, and (iii) a policy of democraticsecurity which has increased State presence throughout the Colombianterritory. These efforts have contributed to a decrease in kidnappings,and in homicide rates in urban areas.

In the last six years the country has also experienced high economic growth rates, poverty reduction rates, and a risein social indicators. However, armed violence in several regions of the countryside still persists, causing an annualaverage displacement of 255,000 people. According to estimates from the Presidential Agency for Social Actionand International Cooperation (Accin Social), as of December, 2009, there are 3.3 million people in Colombia whohave been forced to leave their place of origin1 , equivalent to 7.4 percent of the total population2 . The statisticsreported by the NGO Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement (Consultora para los Derechos Humanos y elDesplazamiento CODHES) estimate the number of IDPs at 4.9 million for the period between 1985 and 2009 3 (seeChart 1 for the period 1997 2009).

A peak in the number of IDPs was registered in 2001-2002. This stage coincided with expansion of the paramilitaryforces and the collapse of peace talks between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia(Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia FARC)4 , which gave rise to intensification of hostilities and an increasein attacks against the civilian population. Since then, an official process of demobilization by the paramilitary groups

has been implemented, and the guerrillas have suffered significant defeats. Although there is a widespread impressionthat the armed violence has entered into a low-intensity phase and that security has improved, the level of IDPs remainsalarmingly high: since 2003 there have been, depending on the source, between 200,000 and over 300,000 new IDPsevery year.1. Registro nico de Poblacin Desplazada (Registry of the Displaced Population RUPD) Accin Social. Cut off date August 31, 2008.2. For 2008, according to the World Bank Development Indicators, the population was estimated at 45,012,096 people. Colombia, Projections of

Departmental Population by Area; at: http://www.dane.gov.co/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=16&id=497&Itemid=995,

October 23, 2008.

3. Codhes (2007). Huyendo de la guerra. In: Codhes informa. Boletn informativo de la Consultora para los Derechos Humanos y el desplazamiento.

Nmero 72, November 30, 2008, Bogot, Colombia, p.38. The difference between the two sources is explained by the fact that the government only

started to record IDPS in 1997. Also, CODHES and the RUPD have some differing criteria for registering IDPS.

4. Comisin de Seguimiento a la Poltica Pblica sobre Desplazamiento Forzado (2008). Primer informe a la Corte Constitucional Proceso de Nacional

de Verificacin de los Derechos de la Poblacin desplazada, 2008, Bogot, p. 28.


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The sustained forced displacement in Colombia is considered to be one of the most severe chronic humanitarian crisesin the world. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Colombia ranks second

worldwide after Sudan for number of IDPs, followed by Iraq and Democratic Republic of Congo5

.

Chart 1. Evolution of internal displacement, 1997-2009

Sources: CODHES; RUPD - SIPOD Accin Social; Cut off date: 12/31/2009

Arguably, after the peace agreements with the paramilitaries (Justice and Peace Law, 2005), new illegal armed groups withdifferent names have emerged in some of the regions where the paramilitaries were demobilized. As pointed out by theOrganization of American States (OAS), the armed confrontation with the guerrillas continues to be active and thepresence of un-demobilized emergent structures continues to be reported following demobilization of the self-defensegroups, as well as armed factions in the service of drug trafficking. These situations have meant that in certain areas ofthe country, communities continue to be exposed to threats and violence. These take diverse forms, including forcedinvolvement with illicit activities; forced recruitment; confinement; expulsion; and mass evictions6.

5. UNHCR (2007). Los desplazados internos: preguntas y respuestas. Seccin de Informacin Pblica y de Relaciones con los Medios de Comunicacin.

September, 2007, Geneva, p. 8-9.

6. Decimoprimer Informe Trimestral del Secretario General al Consejo Permanente sobre la Misin de Apoyo al Proceso de Paz en Colombia , Organiza-

cin de los Estados Americanos (MAPP/OEA). June 25, 2008.

0

50.000

100.000

150.000

200.000

250.000

300.000

350.000

400.000

450.000

500.000

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Accin Social - -SIPOD Expulsion CODHES - SISDHES


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Regarding the geographical expansion of forced displacement, themunicipalities affected has dramatically increased. In 1997, 502 municipalities

(44.7 percent of total municipalities) were affected by displacement, risingto 1,038 in 2002. By 2009, 1,119 municipalities were affected by expulsionof the population7 equivalent to 99.78 percent of the total number ofmunicipalities in Colombia8 .

Some of the available data and statistics illustrate the characteristics of theIDPs:

On average, 255,000 people - equivalent to 57,000 households - have had to flee their place of residence each year

during the period 1997-20099.48.2 percent of households in a situation of displacement are headed by women a proportion that is higher thanthe national average, which is 30 percent10 .39 percent of the population affected by displacement is under the age of 18.98 percent of IDPs come from rural or semi-rural areas (equivalent to 20.4 percent of the rural population ofthe country).10.7 percent of IDPs are members of minority ethnic groups: 8.7 percent belong to Afro-Colombian communitiesand 2 percent from indigenous communities11.

Forced displacement continues to be the most serious humanitarian and social problem in Colombia. The ConstitutionalCourt declared forced displacement a social emergency and a national tragedy that will mark the future of the countryin the decades to follow. Constitutional Court Sentence T-025 of 2004 declared that the situation in which the displacedlive represents an unconstitutional state of affairs given the situation of massive, generalized, and systematic violationof the constitutional rights of the population displaced by the violence, and the structural shortcomings of the Stateresponse, which involves several public agencies.12

In response to this Sentence, the Government of Colombia significantly increased budgetary resources for assisting

IDPs, and important progress has been made, particularly in improving access to education and health care. However,restitution of land and assets is one of the areas in which less progress has been achieved.

Consequences of Forced Displacement. One of the immediate consequences of forced displacement is the rapidimpoverishment of IDPs. Most IDPs have been forced to migrate to urban centers after losing their land, savings,material assets, sources of livelihood, and socioeconomic networks.7. Data accumulated in the RUPD for the years 1997, 2002, and 2009; cut off date December 31, 2009.

8. The DANE reports a total of 1,122 municipalities, districts, or departmental jurisdictions in Colombia.

9. The average number of persons per household is determined based on the trend recorded in the RUPD, which indicates that a household is made up of

4 or 5 people; cut off date September 30, 2008. The average for 2008 is not included.

10. General Census of 2005, at http://www.dane.gov.co/censo/files/libroCenso2005nacional.pdf. October 23, 2008.

11.Data accumulated in the RUPD- Accin Social for the years from 1997 to 2009.

12. Constitutional Court, Colombia. Judgment T-025, January 22, 2004.


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Displacement also has a detrimental impact on communities at both thesocial and economic levels. Affected households are likely to experience

sudden impoverishment, and also to be repeatedly displaced. Ibez andMontoya (2006) show how forced displacement causes substantial declinesin well-being due to loss of assets, destruction of social networks and theprecarious economic conditions of the receptor municipalities... Displacedhouseholds face generalized deterioration of their living conditions and,even though as time passes certain conditions improve, these householdsare in worse conditions than the urban poor and are incapable of recoveringthe levels of well-being that they enjoyed prior to displacement.13

Indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombians are overrepresented in thestatistics of displacement. Given the cultural meaning of land and territoryfor these ethnic groups, forced displacement affects their culture, the socialand political organization, and their traditional ways of government andsocial control, intensifying their acculturation process. Additionally, whencompared to the general population, members of these communities(especially the indigenous ones) tend to have fewer of the abilities that would allow them to survive in cities; some of themdo not even speak Spanish. All these conditions make them more vulnerable than the rest of the displaced population.

Land, violence and forced displacement. Machado (2004) states that the dispossession and abandonment of theproperties of IDPs leads to low social efficiency of resources, accentuates poverty, contributes to the growth ofinformal economies, generates food insecurity in the family sphere, affects the formation and development of socialcapital, destroys established relationships, produces mistrust of the state and its institutions, and reproduces factors ofconcentration and inequality in the countryside.14

The concentration of land in the hands of large landowners has increased in the last decade. In 1996, 0.4 percent of

landowners (of properties larger than 500 hectares) owned around 44.6 percent of the rural land; in 2001, the same0.4 percent controlled 61.2 percent of total land15 . Ibez and Querubn (2004) found that the municipalities with thehighest degree of land concentration, measured by the Gini coefficient for land ownership, coincide with those that havesuffered most from displacement16. Ibez and Vlez (2003) argue that warring factions use displacement as a strategicmeans to achieve territorial gains by committing crimes against the population. This is especially true if the people who

13. Ibez A. & Montoya A. (2006). Cmo el desplazamiento forzado deteriora el bienestar de los hogares desplazados?: Anlisis y determinantes del

bienestar en los municipios de recepcin. Documento Cede No. 26. 2006, Bogot.

14. Machado Absalon (2004). Tenencia agraria, problema agrario y conflicto. In: Bello Martha. Desplazamiento forzado: Dinmicas de guerra, exclusin

y desarraigo. UNHCR and Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Programa de Iniciativas Universitarias por la Paz y la Convivencia-PIUPC. 2004, Bogot,

15. Gaviria & Muoz (2007). Desplazamiento forzado y propiedad de la tierra en Antioquia, 1996-2004. Lecturas de Economa No 66, January June,2007. Universidad de Antioquia. Medelln, p. 13-14; Deininger K. y Lavadenz I (2004). Colombia: poltica agraria en transicin. World Bank. In: En

Breve, No 55. October 2004, Bogot.

16. Ibez A. & Querubn P. (2004). Acceso a tierras y desplazamiento forzado en Colombia. Documento Cede No 23. 2004, Bogot, p. 70.


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Map 1. Change on GINI Coefficients, 2000 - 2009

Fuente: Ibez y Muoz con base en Gran Atlas de la distribucin de la Tenencia de la Tierra (en preparacin) Convenio IGAC-CEDE (2009)

Numero deMunicipios

Porcentaje

Aumento 543 56.56

Igual 1 0.1

Disminucin 416 43.33

Aumento

Igual

Disminucin


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are intimidated are small landowners, due to their limited capacity for adopting measures for protection, which makesthem targets for threats by illegal armed groups17 .

In this sense, the Grand Atlas of Land Tenure Distribution (IGAC-CEDE, 2009 not yet published), found that the nationalGini coefficient increased by 2.5% between 2000 and 2009, and, in turn, the concentration of land ownership increased in56.6% of the municipalities in the country (this analysis excludes Antioquia), as shown in Map 1.

In addition, ambiguities regarding the definition of property rights and the lack of a modern land administration systemhave facilitated the dispossession of property through the use of violence. Colombia does not have a modern landadministration system in place. Although there are several institutions involved in the registration and administrationof land, most of the data in these institutions is not systematized, the institutions do not have compatible methods forland registration, and a significant portion of the country does not have cadastral information. This situation impedeseffective control of national territory by the government, and has facilitated the land deprivation of peasants, indigenouspeoples and Afro-Colombians, as well as the use of land for illegal purposes.

Land dispossesion. Although the precise number of abandoned or dispossessed hectares is unknown, indicationsare that the rural environment has experienced substantial transformations, and that displaced persons have sufferedhuge losses in terms of patrimony. In the National Survey for Verification of the Rights of the Displaced Population(Encuesta Nacional de Verificacin de Derechos a la Poblacin Desplazada - ENV) of 2007, carried out among 2,411

households, 73.4 percent of the households surveyed reported having abandoned lands, farms, and homes18 . Through the implementation of the Protection of Land and Patrimony of Internally Displaced Persons Project,modalities of land abandonment or dispossession have been identified. Land abandonment may be definitive, partial, ortransitory: (i) definitive: the victim is displaced and cannot return; (ii) partial: the victim is displaced to a nearby locationand sporadically returns; (iii) transitory: the victim is displaced, but can eventually return.

Land dispossession occurs in several ways: (i) constraint of use: the victimizers forces the victim to allow them to use theproperty for their own benefit; (ii) de facto dispossession: the victimizers force the victim to abandon the property or collective

territory and physically take it over, occupying it or leaving third parties in possession of it as their representative; (iii) forcedtransference of domain: the victimizers violently force the victim to transfer his or her domain (sell for less than 50 percentof the market price, sell under pressure, sell to a figurehead); (iv) take-over of production: the victim is forced to turn overharvests, products, income, etc. derived from economic exploitation of the property or territory; (v) administrative actions:denying the rights of the victims who have occupied certain properties or uncultivated territories, falsely issuing property deedsto other persons who do not fulfill the legal requirements to receive those deeds; (vi) revocation of adjudication: carrying outadministrative actions by means of which the adjudication that had been made of a property or territory to a person is revoked;(vii) fraudulent documents: falsification of public or private documents, which result in transferring domain over properties andterritories belonging to the victims, without their consent.

17. Ibez A. & Velez. C. (2003). Instrumentos de atencin de la poblacin desplazada en Colombia: una distribucin desigual de las responsabilidades

municipales. Documento Cede No 37. 2003, Bogot, p. 5. See also Gaviria y Muoz (2007), p. 13-14.

18. Comisin de Seguimiento a la Poltica Pblica sobre Desplazamiento Forzado. Primer Informe de verificacin. January 31, 2008, Bogot, p.82.


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II. Background of the Project on

Protection of Land and Patrimonyof Internally Displaced Persons

W k h h P i f L d Ri h d P i f I ll Di l d P


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While the most recent wave of forced displacement began in the1980s, the government response did not occur until 1997. Law 387,

aimed at preventing displacement and providing IDPs with assistanceand protection, was enacted that year. One of the strategic issuesincluded in this law was the legal protection of land and patrimonialassets of IDPs and the creation of a special register of abandonedland and properties (RUP, later called RUPTA). In 2001, this law

was complemented by Decree 2007, which expanded the scope ofprotection to all types of land rights (e.g., owners with legal title,possession without title, occupants of State lands, individual tenure,and collective tenure in the case of ethnic groups).

Protection of rights to land and assets has been considered by many experts to be a key issue for conflict resolution and forthe peace-building process in the country, as it eliminates one of the incentives for illegal groups to displace people (especiallythose vulnerable without legal titles to land), and contributes to diminishing the risk of impoverishment of IDPs.

However, the implementation of the aforementioned legislation posed an enormous challenge to the GoC given thepredominance of informal land tenure in the countryside and the lack of procedures to register different types ofrights to land co-existing in the country (e.g., owners with legal titles, possession without title, individual ownership, and

collective ownership by Afro-Colombians and indigenous peoples). Additionally, the law required municipalities withpopulations at risk of displacement to register the rights to properties of potentially displaced populations. This was alsoa huge challenge given the institutional weaknesses of violence-affected municipalities to implement these activities.

1. PHASE I (2003-2005) - LAND RIGTHS PROTECTION

To overcome these challenges, the government, in conjunction with the key national stakeholders and the support ofthe World Bank through the Post-Conflict Fund, formulated the Protection of Patrimonial Assets of IDPs Project,

which was implemented from July, 2003, to June 30, 2005.

The Project was designed with a participative, decentralized, and inclusive approach, which was reflected in: (i) theparticipation and articulation of national and local governmental organizations, local authorities, affected communities,and non-governmental organizations, (ii) alliances among the different stakeholders involved, and (iii) adequate ethnicand cultural strategies to reflect the diversity of the country.

Two procedures were designed to protect rights to land of IDPs: one for those already displaced (called the Individualroute), and another for municipalities and territories with massive displacement or risk of displacement (called theCollective route). Through thefirst procedure, any displaced person could request the protection of his/her abandoned

or disposed property. Through the second procedure, the Municipal Committee for Comprehensive Assistance of IDPscould declare an area as affected by displacement or at risk of displacement, therefore protecting all properties. Eachprotective route implies different procedures.

W rk h p n th Pr t ti n f L nd Ri ht nd P trim n f Int rn ll Di pl d P r n


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All the land and properties affected are registered in the UniqueRegistry of Land and Properties (RUP), and these properties

cannot be sold or bought. The methodologies and procedures were compiled in the Toolkit on Protection of Land Rightsand Assets of IDPs, which comprises a manual of proceduresto apply to each route of protection (individual and collective), aguide for sensitization and training, a compendium of all relevantlegislation, and a booklet on the rights of Afro-Colombians andIndigenous Peoples.

As a result of the first phase, methodologies, procedures, and tools

to protect the different types of land rights were developed andtested in fi ve violence-affected regions of Colombia. The pilottests resulted in the protection of 6,629 rights to land, covering69,887 hectares.

Additionally, the roles of seven institutions in the application of the protective measures were identified and aninstitutional network was created19. The implementation of this project also revealed additional threats to the rights toland and assets of IDPs such as banks debts, mortgages, arrears in taxes, and utilities bills, which IDPs are not able to

fulfill for obvious reasons.The implementation of the Project faced immense challenges of various kinds. Among others:

A large number of IDPs (1,883,185 people in 1,070 municipalities by December, 2004).A large number of rural parcels already abandoned. CODHES reported 3,057,795 hectares between 1996 and199920.Continuity of armed violence (and therefore forced displacement) in the country.Lack of response of the institutions responsible for carrying out the Unique Registry of Land and Properties

(RUP). INCODER had recorded a total of 150,267 hectares, by June 29th of 2003, belonging to 4,313 house-holds, with an average of 34.8 hectares per family21 .Outdated cadastral information. By 2004, only 19.9% of rural areas had updated information. For 43.6% theinformation was outdated, and 36.5% did not have cadastral data22.Most of the real property registry information was not systematized. By 2005, 101 out of 190 Offices for Registryof Public Instruments were operated manually23.Lack of land titles for a large percentage of the rural population, especially among small property holders, and

19. This institutional network has evolved according to modifications in the legislation.

20. Consultora para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento - CODHES-. Boletn No. 30 (August, 2000).21. Instituto Colombiano de Desarrollo Rural (INCODER) - Registro de Inmuebles Rurales Abandonados por la violencia. INCODER, 2004, Bogot.

22. Instituto Geogrfico Agustn Codazzi -IGAC, 2004.

23. Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro -SNR, 2005

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indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities which have not received titles as stipulated by the countrys Con-stitution in 1991.Lack of institutional information on possessors, State-owned land occupants 24 , tenants, and the territorial rightsof some ethnic groups (indigenous and Afro-Colombians).Lack of knowledge of IDPs and responsible entities regarding the rules and procedures for protecting land rights.

1.1. Projects Arrangements

Initially, the project was organized through a ManagementUnit - composed of four regional teams and one nationalteam - and supported by a Steering Committee composedof State and government authorities, representatives of civilsociety and of the international cooperation agencies, andchaired by the Presidential Agency for Social Action andInternational Cooperation ACCIN SOCIAL. The firstphase of the Project was technically developed through thefollowing areas:

Cadastral: Actions aimed to develop methodologies and

procedures for the physical identification of parcels, basedon official cadastral information (when available), socialmapping, and community information, in order to update thecadastral information or produce it where it does not exist.Such procedures are innovative, in that they are designed for

cases in which data gathering through ground-based methods is not possible, in areas lacking appropriate cartography.

Legal: Focused on the interpretation of law, the conceptualization of its content, and the scope of land rights, with

particular emphasis on so-called informal land rights and the clarification of the institutional roles and functionsregarding land rights protection. This helped place the topic on protection of land rights on the agendas of theappropriate entities, including the Public Affairs Ministry (Attorney Generals Office, Ombudsmans Office, Municipal

Attorneys offices).

Social fabric:Analytical work was complemented by direct community engagement in the design and application of theprotective measures. Methodologies for community participation in the gathering of the information and evidence requiredto prove land rights were developed. Training methodologies on land rights oriented to communities and local authorities

was also designed and tested.

24.Person who inhabits and exploits a State-owned parcel that can be titled



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1.2. OUTPUTS

a) Institutional Network

The analysis of the roles of the different institutions involved in the application of the protective measures led to createan institutional network composed of the following entities: The Superintendence of Public Notary and Registry, TheOffices for Registry of Public Instruments, The Colombian Institute for Rural Development (INCODER), The Public

Affairs Ministry (Attorney Generals Office, Ombudsmans Office, Municipal Attorneys offices), The Agustn CodazziGeographical Institute (IGAC), and the decentralized cadastral offices.

b) Design of Tools and Methodologies

First, the concept of land rights protection was developed. It was defined as the process that allows the identification andsafeguarding of land rights and informal relationships to the land of persons and communities that have had to abandontheir parcels due to forced displacement, or those facing an imminent risk of displacement. This protection is also aninstrument to prevent illegal transactions, as entered in the official records of real property, prohibiting conveyanceor land rights transfers which may be made against the wishes of proprietors. In case of informal tenure, there is anannotation in the land registry which makes public that the parcel is abandoned.

For ethnic groups, as holders of communal rights, strategies were adopted to minimize their vulnerability. These consideredboth the legal framework as well as the political and operational processes developed by the affected communities, theirorganizations, and the ethnic and municipal authorities governing such policies.

Additionally, it was found that the phenomenon of displacement occurs either collectively, heavily impacting ruralcommunities and large areas, or individually. Thus, the project designed and validated the following mechanisms torespond to these forms of displacement:

Collective route , designed to safeguard all the land rights and informal relationships to the land exercised bypeople located in areas seriously affected by violence, who are at risk of displacement or are already displaced. Itsimplementation is the responsibility of the Territorial Committees for Comprehensive Assistance to the InternallyDisplaced Population. (Annex 1)Individual route , aimed at protecting the land rights of an individual or his/her household to the abandonedparcel(s). Its application is the responsibility of the Public Affairs Ministry (Attorney Generals Office, OmbudsmansOffice, Municipal Attorneys offices) as recipient of the land protection request, the INCODER and the Officesfor Registry of Public Instruments as responsible for the registration in the Unique Registry of Land, Propertiesand Collective Territories (RUPTA).



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p g y y pBuilding On The Colombian Experience

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Unique Registry of Land,Properties and Collective

Territories RUPTA

Unique Registry of Land,

Properties and Collective

Territories RUPTA

Offices for Registry of

Public Instruments

Public Affairs Ministry

- The General Attorney's Office,

- The Colombian Ombudsman Office and

- Municipal attorney s office

An individual demands land rights protection

Superintendencia de Notariado y RegistroMinisterio del Interior y de Justicia

Repblica de Colombia

Ministerio Pblico

Individual Route Scheme



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Territorial Committees

for Comprehensive

Assistance to the IDPs

Inventory of land and property rights

Offices for Registry of

Public Instruments

DECLARATORIA

Imminent risk of displacement

Displacement

Unique Registry of Land,

Properties and Collective

Territories RUPTA

Occurrence of massive forced displacement or events

that put the population under risk of displacement

Superintendencia de Notariado y RegistroMinisterio del Interior y de Justicia

Repblica de Colombia

Collective Route Scheme

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c) Toolkit for Land Rights Protection

A toolkit to implement the land protection routes designed by the Project, were published. This Toolkit also includesdidactical material facilitate the understanding of the legal and technical issues involved, for both institutions involvedin the application of the protective measures, communities and affected people. The content of the Toolkit was asfollows:

General Users Guide for the implementation of the land protection routes.Guide for Sensitization , containing guidelines to promote the participation of the community in the protectionof lands and territorial rights.Compendium of rules , including laws, decrees, and jurisprudence.

Brochures and posters explaining the land protection routes.Guidelines for the Land Rights Protection of Ethnic Groups : for Indigenous Peoples and Afro-Colombians.

d) Validation of Land Protection Routes

Five regions were selected to pilot the validation of the routes and methods referred above. The regions were selectedbased on diversity in forms of land tenure, levels of informality, the presence of ethnic groups, and high displacement

figures. The pilot experiences allowed to test the following:

Data capture tools, procedures, and methodologies for community and institutional participation.Mobilization strategies of both institutions and communities.Divulgation mechanisms.For ethnic groups: strategies to characterize the types of negative impacts, arising from violence, on collectiveland rights.

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e) Other results

Additionally, the Project carried out analytical work on the following

topics:

Complementary studies to generate differential gender and ethnicapproachesDesign of a participative methodology for information gatheringand the protection of personal assetsFinancial relief, concerning the debts which IDPs incurred withthe financial sector, municipalities (due to land taxes), and utilities

companies (electricity suppliers). Legal, financial, and economicalternatives for debt relief are outlined.

f) Influence on Public Policies

The methodologies and procedures developed by the Project wereincorporated into Decree 250 of 2005 - National Plan for the Assistanceto the Displaced Population, which made mandatory the application of theland protective measures.

Specific directives (Resoluciones) were enacted in the institutions involved in the application of the protectivemeasures.

g) Land Rights Protected

The pilots to test the methodologies and tools developed by the Project simultaneously allowed protecting land rightsfor IDPs in the regions where the Project was implemented. Table 1 shows a summary of the rights protected by typeof right, highlighting the population displaced or at risk of displacement.

h) Costs and Funding Sources

For the implementation of the first phase of the Project approximately $1.8 billion were invested. The implementingagency ACCIN SOCIAL contributed 34% of the budget, the World Bank 46%, the Swedish International DevelopmentCooperation Agency (SIDA) 13%, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) 7%. See

Table 2.



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Table 1: General Results Phase I

Scenario VariablesType of Rights to Land

TotalState-

owned landoccupants

Private-owned landOccupants

Owners Holders

Displacement Area (hectares) 42.5 1,844.76 9,928.58 117.4611,933.30

Rural properties 10 227 701 7 945Rights 10 329 721 7 1,067

Imminence

Area (hectares) 6,107.40 13,010.49 37,936.99 801.8 57,856.68

Rural properties 458 914 2133 66 3,571Rights 455 1042 2183 68 3,748

Imminence andDisplacement

Area (hectares) 0.35 46.43 49.2 0,63 96.61

Rural properties 14 107 133 11 265

Rights 5 229 1579 1 1,814

Total Area (hectares) 6,150.25 14,901.68 47,914.77 919.89 69,886.59

Total Rural Properties 482 1,248 2.967 84 4,781

Total Rights 470 1,600 4,483 76 6,629

Source: CTAIPD. Cut off date: June 30, 2006

Table 2. Resources Invested in Phase I

SOURCE AMOUNT (US Dollars) PARTICIPATION

Presidential Agency for Social Action andInternational Cooperation (ACCIN SOCIAL)

603,686 34%

ASDI 233,392 13%World Bank 809,658 46%USAID 123,000 7%

TOTAL 1,769,736 100%



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2. PHASE II (2005-2008)

SCALE-UP OF LAND RIGHTS PROTECTION MEASURES: PROJECT CONSOLIDATIONBased on the successful results of the project, and in order to scale up the application of the protective measures acrossthe country and strengthen institutional and community capacities, a second phase was approved by the Post-ConflictFund and implemented from September, 2005, to March, 2008.

As a result of the implementation of the second phase 2,525,565 hectares were protected, covering 106,398 land rightson 83,450 properties belonging to 76,844 households (66 percent of the persons who requested the protection weremen, 33 percent women, and one percent were companies. Eighty-nine percent of the protected properties have lessthan 50 hectares, which demonstrates that small farmers have been the main targets for armed groups.

Others important outputs of the second phase of the Project were: (i) the design of an Ethnic route to protect the landrights of indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombians; (ii) the design of an information system for the Unique Registry ofLand and Properties (RUP) which later evolved into the Unique Registry of Land, Properties, and Collective Territories25(RUPTA) in order to include the registration of land rights for Afro-Colombians and indigenous persons and peoples;(iii) identification of barriers and constraints in protecting womens land rights and institutional recommendations toovercome these barriers26 ; (iv) information systems to assist some institutions in systematizing data on land registers andother relevant information, (v) implementation of a pilot land-titling program for IDPs who have protected their rights;(vi) exchange of information with the Justice and Peace Unit of the Attorney Generals Office and other institutionsabout abandoned and disposed land; (vii) suspension of legal proceedings against displaced people and victims of

violence because of their inability to pay taxes, loans and/or other financial obligations; (viii) expansion of protectivemeasures for other victims of violence, such as the missing and the kidnapped; (ix) sanctions on civil servants if they donot comply with this legislation.

The implementation of this Project highlighted the importance of land and assets in the conflict and the peace process,

and, as a consequence, the protection of patrimonial assets of IDPs was included by the GoC in the following policydocuments: (i) the Comprehensive Plan to Assist IDPs (Decree 250 of 2005), (ii) the National Development Plan (2006

2010), and (iii) the Rural Development Law (2007), which incorporated most of the protective measures developed bythe project. However, the latter was declared unconstitutional and therefore is not in effect.

During the implementation of the second phase, in July, 2005, the Justice and Peace Law was enacted. The Justice and PeaceLaw, other than addressing the demobilization of paramilitary groups, mandated asset restitution to victims of violence as well

25. According to the National Constitution, Indigenous Peoples and Afro-Colombians have collective land rights instead of individual rights. The termcollective territories refers to land of ethnic groups.

26. As a result of these recommendations and after the closing date of the second phase of the project, the protective measures were adjusted to facilitate

and encourage the protection of womens land rights.



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as reparation, thus granting particular relevance to the outcomes ofthe current project.

In the evolution of the ongoing, complex conflict and peace processin Colombia, the Project is playing a key role due to the data it hasprovided, and the knowledge and expertise acquired during itsimplementation. Since the peace agreement was signed betweenthe Government and the paramilitaries, the Project has providedpermanent technical advice to the Public Prosecutors Office and theNational Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation in support ofthe application of the legislation regarding reparation and restitution

of patrimonial assets to the victims. (A summary of the main resultsand outcomes of the two phases of the project is in Annex 1).

2.1. Projects Arrangements

The implementation of the second phase of the Project involved the redefinition of its components, as well as thedesign of strategic and complementary issues. Thus, the Project was developed based on the following areas:

Implementation of land rights protective measures

Transferring of methodologies, procedures, and tools to the relevant institutionsDeveloping of information systemsSupporting of land-titling processes

These lines of action guided the work of seven regional teams and the national team. As in the first phase, guidelines andgeneral direction came from the Steering Committee. Given the involvement of a greater number of donors, a DonorsCommittee was established with the objective of harmonize views and requirements and to facilitating partnerships withother initiatives of international cooperation.

2.2. Outputs

a) Scale-up of Land Rights Protection Measures

The project widened its geographic scope to 8 regions of the country (Caribe, Antioquia, Centro, Norte de Santander,Magdalena Medio-Santander, Valle del Cauca, Choc, Tolima-Huila). In these regions, the application of collectivemeasures was expanded to 58 of the 408 municipalities, which comprise 87 percent of the land forcibly abandoned.

Additionally, the application of the individual route for IDPs who had migrated to cities was expanded to 59municipalities, including the host cities that have received the majority of the IDPs.



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b) Strengthening Institutions Capacities

Institutional capacity building involved: (i) capacity and specialized technical assistance to the institutions involved in

protection at the national, regional, and local levels - more than 400 functionaries of the Colombian Institution for RuralDevelopment (INCODER) were trained in the application of protective measures as well as in the use of the rural landregistration system (Registro Unico de Predios, RUP); (ii) support and technical assistance to the Attorney GeneralsOffice, to the Justice and Peace unit of the General Prosecutor Fiscalia General, and to the National Commission ofReparation and Reconciliation; (iii) preparation of a handbook for the inclusion of protective measures in the IntegratedPrograms for Assistance to IDPs (Planes Integrales Unicos de Atencion a la Poblacion Desplazada); (iv) creation ofLand Commissions in eight regions and seven municipalities.

Table N 3: Institutional Strengthening, National Figures

Entities Men Women Total

Territorial Committees for Comprehensive Assistance to the InternallyDisplaced Population, later called Committees

2,133 2,095 4,228

Donors 95 113 208Entities responsible of the land rights protection 2,951 3,011 5,962

Public Affairs Ministry 684 616 1,300Other Institutions 548 611 1,159Total 6,411 6,446 12,857

Source: Projects Monitoring and Evaluation System SIME; Cut off date: March, 2008

c) Strengthening Institutional Information Systems

The project designed several information systems to support the collecting and processing of information about IDPsland and properties. The most important of them were: (i) a land registration system for IDPs (Registro Unico dePredios, RUP); (ii) software to be used by the Territorial Commissions of Assistance to IDPs to prepare the reports onprotected land and properties; (iii) a system to support data collection and management in the regional offices of theSuperintendence of Public Notary and Registry; (iv) a system to articulate and compare information among differentinstitutions.

d) Strengthening Communities Capacities

All communities present within the scope of projects implementation have been informed about their rights as displacedpeople and the procedures to request protection for their patrimonial assets. Specific training and information sessions

were delivered to community groups and organizations, leaders, IDPs, and people at risk of displacement.



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Chart N 2: Community Participation in the Projects Activities Per Year

Source: Projects Monitoring and Evaluation System SIME; Cut off date: March, 2008

e) Complementary Measures for Ethnic Minorities.

An ad hoc path of protection of patrimonial assets for ethnic groups was created in order to guarantee special protectionto indigenous people and communities of Afro-Colombian descendants27 . These measures were included in the RuralDevelopment Law enacted in July, 2007.

f) Land Rights Protection Figures

The AS a result of the second phase of the Project, land rights of 106,398 people were protected, associated with 83,450parcels with an estimated area of 2,525,565 hectares, located in 755 municipalities (Table 4).

27. The Ethnic route. is aimed at dealing with applications for protection presented by the members, legal representatives, or traditional authorities ofethnic communities, as well as those processed by the Ministry of Public Affairs in defense of their rights. The receipt of applications for protection is

the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Affairs, whereas the processing and adoption of measures is the responsibility of the Office for Ethnic Groups

of the Ministry of the Interior and Justice, the ORIP, the SNR, and the Notary Publics. (articles 116, 127, 140, 141, and 158 of Law 1152/07).

0

5.000

10.000

15.000

20.000

25.000

30.000

35.000

40.000

45.000

2006

2007

2008



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Table N 4: Accumulated Results of Phases I and II by Route of Protection

Variables Routes of Protection Total ProtectionCollective Individual

Rights 87,647 82.3% 18,751 17.6% 106,398

People 61,230 79.6% 15,614 20.3% 76,844

Properties 65,157 78.1% 18,293 21.9% 83,450

Area (hectares) 1,257,313.4 49.7% 1,268,251,3 50.2% 2,525,564.7

Sources: CTAIPD & INCODER RUP; Cut off date: 31/03/2008.

g) Rural Land Titling Pilot Experience

Given the low rate of land titles, and with the aim of creating legal security, socio-cultural roots, and reconstruction-of-life projects for individuals and communities affected, a pilot project came about in the department of Antioquia, withthe titling of 143 rural parcels in areas where land rights protection measures had been implemented. In situations of

violation of rights, the central lesson learned is that progress in the process of regularization of tenure and recognitionof land rights requires taking all necessary measures not to legitimize usurpation or dispossessions. It is in this sense that,during the second phase, the pilot project was developed for formalizing rights - an action also articulated in the nationalpolicy of overcoming extreme poverty.

h) Identification of Land Dispossession Typologies

According to the content of the Justice and Peace Law28 those demobilizing had the obligation to restore all goods taken

fAccording to the content of the Justice and Peace Law , those demobilizing had the obligation to restore all goodstaken from victims. Due to the great variety of mechanisms used to dispossess victims of their assets and specifically oftheir land, and in order to contribute to judicial restitution processes, a typology of land dispossession was put forwardby the Project. Among others, the document includes the description and legal strategies to reverse dispossessionsbrought about by: Forced sales, derisory price, sales by intimidation, dispossession by administrative acts, dispossessionby judicial decisions, and violent dispossession.

i) Costs and Funding Sources

In the implementation of the second phase of the Project, a higher number of donors were involved and therefore

28. Legal instrument put into force in order to achieve Paramilitary Forces disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration.



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more resources were allocated. An important fact was also the allocation of funds by some departamental authorities(gobernaciones). The participation and the amounts invested during its implementation are illustrated in Table 5.

Table N 5: Resources Invested in Phase II


Presidential Agency For Social Action And InternationalCooperation (ACCIN SOCIAL)

1,453,802 40%

WORLD BANK 990,000 26% ACNUR 324,557 9% ASDI 539,613 15%Territorial Government - Gobernacin de Norte de Santander 64,448 2%OIM 300,000 8%TOTAL 3,672,420 100%

3. PHASE III (2008-2012) - LAND RESTITUTION: THE BIG CHALLENGE

The current debate in Colombia on reparation of IDPs and other victims of violence faces many challenges and raisesquestions of many kinds from the need to deepen and refine concepts such as land dispossession, to the need ofestablishing the magnitude of the problem to define its impact on local governance. The debate also raises questions ofinstitutional responsibility, and institutional capacities for addressing multiple claims on the same asset, and to establish thelegitimate rights. Sophisticated methods of dispossession (such the use of straw men) only complicate things further.

The challenges of reparation are enormous given the difficulty in obtaining information about land deprivation, poorreporting of property crime, and the fear that still persists in the victims, given the recent increase in murders and threats

against IDPs leaders who have claimed their land rights.

The instruments developed by the Project include identification of people and their abandoned or dispossessed parcels,an account of the events which caused the displacement, and the evidence supporting the type of land rights involved.

This information is recorded through the Unique Registry of Land, Properties and Collective Territories29 (RUPTA),which serves as a baseline for the reparation and restitution processes.

Similarly, the basis of information contained in the RUPTA regarding abandoned parcels is the reference point for the

design of public policy on land restitution conducted by the National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation,29. According to the National Constitution, Indigenous Peoples and Afro-Colombians have collective land rights instead of individual rights. The term

collective territories refers to land of ethnic groups.



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the National Department of Planning, and the Ministry ofAgriculture, among others.

As regards land rights protection, the methodologies andprotective routes were adjusted in 2009, to respond tochanges in the legal and institutional frameworks, andpronouncements of the Constitutional Court and regionalcourts. With regard to the Ethnic Route, the adoption ofthe orders issued by the Constitutional Court is currentlybeing promoted with the responsible institutions in orderto adopt the procedures outlined by the Project.

The following are the main objectives of the third phase:

Increase land rights protection measures to 300of the municipalities most affected by internaldisplacement.

Work on the adoption and implementation of the Ethnic route, aimed at protecting the territorial rights of ethnicgroups, which was designed by the Project during the second phase.

Develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) that allows mapping the various legal regulations and restrictions

regarding land titling. Also develop a pilot spatial database that collects parcel information from institutional andcommunity sources.Promote the titling of informal land rights of individuals and communities affected by forced displacement,including those of ethnic groups.Impact the formulation of the land restitution public policy.Develop methodologies and tools to facilitate land rights restitution for IDPs.Promote the identification and recognition of land rights and patrimonial assets of women, orphaned children,and adolescents, as well as the characterization of the negative impacts to the fundamental right to the territoryof indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities in targeted areas.

3.1. Project Components

The third phase of the Project is composed of the following six components:

Component 1: Protecting Patrimonial Assets of Population at Risk of Displacement or Already Displaced

This component aims to diminish the risk of impoverishment for IDPs or persons at risk of displacement throughprotection of their rights to land. Through joint activities with national, regional, and local governmental institutions, NGOs,



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and communities, this component will: (i) apply the Individualand Collective protective measures in 300 municipalities out ofthe 408 most affected by forced displacement, (ii) strengtheninstitutional capacities to apply the protective measuresaccording to the new legislation through dissemination, training,technical assistance, and logistical support, and (iii) follow upon the application of protective measures to ensure that all theinstitutions involved comply with the rules established in thelegislation in accordance to the mandate of the ConstitutionalCourt. The implementation of this component will continue to

apply the inclusive cultural and gender approach, emphasizingthe protection of ethnic groups, women, and children.

Component 2: Supporting Land Titling to IDPs who have Protected their Rights to Land

This component was designed and included based on a successful land-titling pilot carried out during the second phaseof the Project30. This component aims to overcome the lack of legal titles to land, one of the critical issues thatfacilitates dispossession. Flexible and affordable land titling procedures for vulnerable people are needed in Colombia,

and preferential treatment to IDPs was requested by the Constitutional Court. For that reason, technical and operationalsupport to institutions responsible for land titling will be provided in order to implement land titling processes forIDPs who have protected their right to land but do not have legal titles (i.e. male and female occupants and possessors,and Afro-Colombians and indigenous peoples). The main activities that will be implemented are: (i) design of specialprocedures and regulatory proposals for land titling of IDPs, with a differential approach based on gender, age, andethnicity, and following the mandate of the Constitutional Court that required preferential treatment, (ii) estimation ofcosts for land titling of individual properties and collective territories (of indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombians), andidentification of sources of funding (e.g., target subsidies available through governmental poverty reduction programs),

and (iii) supporting land-titling programs in the regions.

Component 3: Supporting Reparation and Restitution of Land and Assets to IDPs

Land restitution is the ultimate goal in the protection of land lost by forced displacement. Land restitution is the effectiverestoration of the patrimony of IDPs, and guarantees the enjoyment of their property rights. Law 975 of July, 2005,requests land restitution and reparation to the victims of violence, and creates Regional Commissions of Land Restitution.

The information gathered by the Project during the first and second phases regarding land abandonment and disposal, as

well as the experience and knowledge acquired by the Project Team, have become crucial to land restitution. To this end, this30. This component was designed based on successful results of a land titling pilot activity conducted with the Department of Antioquia during the

second phase of the Project. Legal titles were provided to 125 households



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component will provide technical advice and support tothe institutions and authorities responsible for designingand implementing strategies for land and assets restitutionaccording to Law 975. The main activities that will becarried out are: (i) technical advice and training for nationaland regional institutions and authorities responsible forthe application of the Justice and Peace Law regardingprotection of land, assets, and collective territories underthe framework of reparation-restitution; (ii) definitionand characterization of the forms of dispossession ofland and collective territories, based on cases identifiedin the regions where the project is being implemented;(iii) exchange and analysis of data on protected assetsand land dispossession with institutions and authoritiesresponsible for the reparation and restitution processes;(iv) formulation of recommendations on land restitution with a cultural and gender-based approach, according to thelegislation and the evidence found in the regions where the Project is being implemented; (v) participation in the LandRestitution Technical Committee of the National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation; (vi) support for landrestitution programs.

Component 4: Assisting and Supporting Communities to Safeguard their Rights to Land and Territories

This component will strengthen the capacities of communities and IDPs to be aware of their rights to land and to knowthe means available for the protection of these rights. The main activities will be: (i) dissemination and training, with adifferential approach based on gender, age, and ethnicity, to inform IDPs and community organizations of their rightsand the means available for protection of these rights; (ii) training community leaders, women, womens organizations,

and traditional authorities (indigenous peoples) about the tools and methodologies for land and assets protection,;(iii)legal advice and support to IDPs for land protection, land restitution, and land titling.

Component 5: Developing Protective Complementary Measures

This component will continue to analyze specific problems and situations that restrict the land rights of IDPs, in orderto have a better understanding of and contribute to the formulation of public policies. Some of the topics that will beanalyzed are the following: (i) legal zones of the country with restrictions for land titling, leading to recommendations

for public policies; (ii) changes in land tenure associated with the processes of abandonment and dispossession andtheir socioeconomic impact; (iii) identification of IDPs with financial debts, and drafting public policy proposals to



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alleviate these debts; (iv) data on land abandoned or disposed of, extracted fromthe Official Register of IDPs to protect the rights of these persons and provideevidence of ownership to the Justice and Peace Unit of the Prosecutor GeneralsOffice; (v) land acquisition and involuntary displacement caused by developmentprojects (the Project will support the Ministry of Environment, Housing and

Territorial Planning to create a task force to analyze the current policies andpractices of land acquisition in development projects)31 .

Component 6: Dissemination, Monitoring, and Evaluation Dissemination,Monitoring, and Evaluation

Dissemination of the Projects results and the studies on complementaryprotective measures, will contribute to enhancing the impact of the Project andinfluencing public policies. Moreover, it is important to monitor and evaluatethe results of all the Project components. Therefore, the following activities willbe developed trough this component: (i) publication and dissemination of the

Projects results; (ii) preparation of guidelines and didactic material on tools and methodologies; (iii) organization of aninternational seminar on deprivation of land in conflict-affected countries and strategies for restitution and reparation;(iv) monitoring and evaluating the Projects results; (vii) supporting Accin Social in preparing progress reports for theConstitutional Court.

3.2. Main Outputs of Phase III

The main outputs of the third phase of the Project are summarized in the followingfive areas:

a) Protection of Land Rights

New rights included in RUPTA. From the moment the third phase initiated through April 30th, 2010, 25,196 new rightswere included in RUPTA, under both the individual and collective routes. The goal for the third phase is to protect136,000 new rights.

Updates included in protection routes. New updates have been included in the Individual and Collective protective routes, aswell as in the RUPTA information. Updates are related to information on orphaned children, precision in establishingjuridical relations to land, identification of dispossession cases, and a stronger emphasis on gender rights.

31.This activity was included because, during the implementation of the

first and second phases of the Project, forced displacement (through threats andviolence) caused by development projects was identified in some regions. The Ministry of Environment, Housing and Territorial Planning agreed with

this initiative. The Ideas for Peace Foundation (Fundacin Ideas para la Paz,), which is a civil society organization created by large enterprises, will also

join the task force.



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Ethnic protection route. The project has developed a strong inter-institutional effort in order to accomplish the implementationof the Ethnic protection route by competent institutions. Although the tool was designed some time ago, it has not yetbeen applied. 21 cases have been identified as needing implementation of the strategy developed by the Project.

Public Policy. The Projects contributions were successfully included into the Project in the National Land Policy for IDPs.

b) Land Titling

Land titling procedure. A special land-titling procedure was designed and presented by the Project to competent institutionswith the aim of establishing a unique method for formalizing different juridical relations to land.

Typology in informality.A specific typology of the different situations of informal land rights was developed by the Project. The conceptual instrument is helpful in adapting each intervention to the special needs of the case, depending onwhether they are technical, economic, or institutional.

Titling interventions. 522 titling-formalizing interventions have been advised by the Project in Tolima, Norte de Santander,Magdalena, and Cauca. A total of 560 families have been included in the interventions.

c) Cartography

In order to contextualize the situation of the countrys rural lands and facilitate the identification of land rights andtypes of tenure, a Geographic Information System (GIS) was developed. It compiles national territorial regulationslimiting the extent of private property (National Parks and Forest Reserves), and factors associated with displacementand dispossession of land. Likewise, the GIS collects information from titled ethnic territories, which facilitates theidentification of collective ownership and makes possible the detection of individual claims on ethnic territories under

special protection. This system also includes information on current and potential land uses.The information that feeds the GIS comes from official sources and its being elaborated on base maps produced byIGAC (National Mapping Agency). The scale of information ranges from 1:100,000 to 1:500,000. Additionally, in pilotareas, a parcel based land information system is being developed, which links official cadastral information to communityinformation regarding land tenure and dispossession, incorporating formal and informal land rights.

d) Contributions to the Bill on Victims of Human Rights Violations

The Project contributed specifically to the chapter of a national bill on Integral Reparation of Victims of Mass Human



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Rights Violations. In this respect, it introduced, among otherthings, initiatives designed to invert the burden of proof to benefitthe victim, the conception of spurious zones where gross forceddisplacement took place and land dispossession was widespread,and a holistic conception of the right to redress. Although thebill was not ratified, the active work of the Project helped bringthe issue of land restitution and integral reparation for victims offorced displacement into the national political agenda.

Additionally, the Project, as part of the Specialized Technical

Committee which advises the National Commission forReparation and Reconciliation (CNRR), has contributed to thepreparation of the paper First Draft Program of the Restitution

of Property, in which one of the primary contributions has been the physical and legal identification of land, usingofficial land information sand supplemented with community information, which accounts for informality of tenure,among other important issues.

e) Reparation - Restitution

Based on the experience gathered during phases I and II, the methodology established to carry out restitution interventionswas that of experimental pilots.

Selection of cases. A standardized methodology to establish useful interventions was designed. Parameters to definean intervention are mainly related to the diversity of types of dispossessions and to zones of influence of differentillegal armies. The aim of the methodological instrument is to provide ample understanding of land dispossession to

participating institutions. Methodology of intervention. A standardized methodology was constructed based on the knowledge gained in pastinterventions. Four main steps were identified: (i) case documentation, which is constructed from community andinstitutional information, combined with information collected duringfield visits; (ii) design of the strategy - legal,administrative, or otherwise aimed at achieving material restitution of the dispossessed land; (iii) strategy validation forfield application; (iv) systematization of the intervention -after corrections have been made, a document is constructedto serve as a guide for further interventions.

Interventions. A total of 12 restitution experiences were initiated during 2009, and another 6 are planned for developmentduring 2010.



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Public Policy. (i) As part of the implementation of theNational Land Policy for IDPs, the Project, along withother institutions, designed the Accin de Restitucin,a judicial instrument of transitional justice speciallydesigned to achieve land restitution for IDP. (ii) TheProject advised the CNRR in the design of the NationalRestitution Program. (iii) A design technical criteriato prioritize areas of intervention, according to localsituation and needs.

Obstacles Faced

Information-capturing instruments have yet tocapture all aspects of land dispossession and data have large gaps in time, manner, and place of despoilingactions.Effective judicial measures to undo the negotiations which formalize dispossessions have been lacking.In many cases abandoned or dispossessed land has been resettled, either by people placed by the perpetrators orby third parties acting in good faith.

The destruction or alteration of property titles and land registry records or the absence of them where there arehigh levels of informal land tenure makes it difficult to probe the land rights held before forced displacement.

The magnitude of the actions of dispossession and the diversity of mechanisms used to do it; many of the crimesor fraudulent conducts are hidden by apparent legality.

The disruption of public order in some areas by emerging crime groups does not yet provide appropriate securityconditions for restitution.

f) Costs and Funding Sources

Table 6 presents the budget and funding sources for the third phase.



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Table 6 Resources Invested in Phase III


Presidential Agency for Social Action and InternationalCooperation (ACCIN SOCIAL)

5,800,000 34%

ASDI 2,950,000 17%

World Bank 5,000,000 30%

European Commission 2,465,000 15% AECID 362,000 2%Territorial Government - Gobernacin de Norte de Santander 200,000 1%

USAID 150,000 1%

TOTAL 16,927,000 100%



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III. Evidence of the Actions:The Outputs



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0

20.000

40.000

60.000

80.000

100.000

120.000

140.000

0

500.000

1.000.000

1.500.000

2.000.000

2.500.000

3.000.000

3.500.000

4.000.000

Rights 6.629 106.398 131.594

People 4.230 76.844 98.801Properties 4.781 83.450 106.405

Area (has) 69.887 2.525.565 3.624.239

Phase I Phase II Phase III

In the preceding chapters the evolution of the Project in each phase was explained, as well as the different actions takenin order to position land dispossession on the national agenda. There is a significant result that is worth highlighting:131,594 protection rights were established between 2003, when the Project began, and April, 2010. This number

represents 98.801 people in 106,405 parcels, associated with an extension of approximately 3,624,239.29 hectares32,located in 855 municipalities throughout the country. (See chart N 3).

Chart N 3: Protection: National Total According to the Phases of the Project

Source: CTAIPD & INCODER RUP; Cut off date: 30/04/2010.

32. The extension represents: i) the area declared in protection processes does not necessarily correspond to the geographic area of the parcels; ii) when

overlapping rights are presented (i.e. proprietor and possessor), RUPTA measures and thereby defines both areas; iii) in the Collective Protection route,

the Report on Rights Over Parcels shows the area with information gathered from institutional information (Cadastres) when available. In case of the

contrary, the extension included comes from community sources.



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Of all the rights identified in the Collective Route, 95.483 correspond to those reported by the Committees. The rest,36.111, come from requests made by IDPs within the Individual route, and included in RUPTA. Of these protectedrights, 47,72% correspond to proprietors, 31,97% to possessors, and 17,50% to occupants of vacant lots; the rest are

distributed in other categories.

Regardless of various efforts in order to stimulate protection for womens rights, the numbers show a greater percentageof males rights protected. The general distribution shows that 33.72% of those reported are women and 65.15% aremen. As far as the type of protection route, the difference between men and women varies: in the Individual Route,39.59% are women and 60.06% are men, while in the Collective route, 28.39% are women and 68.23% are men.

Chart N 4: Distribution by gender. National Total

Source: CTAIPD & INCODER RUP; Cut off date: 30/04/2010

It is important to point out the fact that informal relations to land continue to be over 50% of all rights protected (See

chart N 7), which confirms the need for complementing land-titling strategies in order to guarantee economic stabilityand juridical safety of assets affected by conflict.

COLLECTIVE ROUTE

INDIVIDUAL ROUTE

0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000 80000

FEMALE MALE



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National Parks

Occupants

0,06%

Territorial Rigthsof ethnic groups

0,31%

Tenants2,32%

To be determined4,05%

Proprietor

45,79%

Private-owned land

Occupants

30,68%

State-owned landoccupants

16,79%

Chart N 4: Distribution by Gender: National Total

Source: CTAIPD e Incoder RUP, Cut off date: 30/04/2010.

Furthermore, percentage participation by legal relations to land does not show the same behaviour for both protectionroutes. It is worth pointing out that 51.06% of rights identified in the application of the Collective Route are proprietors,

in contrast with just 37.87% within the Individual route. This means that a percentage just over 50% of IDPs registeredin RUPTA had informal rights over their land. (See Table N7)



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Table N 7. Type of Land Rights Protected

Protection Route Relationship over the land Rights People Properties Area (hectares)

Collective Route

Territorial Rigths of ethnic groups 336 271 132 200,315.25National Parks Occupant 81 75 13 391.00

Private-owned Land Occupant 17,364 13,841 14,346 250,155.57

State-owned Land Occupant 26,523 18,290 18,748 424,325.80

Propietor 48,749 33,551 35,577 698,151.75

Tenant 531 462 316 7,120.39

To be determined 1,899 1,562 1,874 62,224.39

Total 95,483 68,052 71,006 1,642,684.16

Individual route

Territorial Rigths of ethnic groups 70 60 68 2,553.17


State-owned Land Occupant 13,844 11,822 13,709 687,452.00Propietor 11,507 9,381 11,110 673,386.87

Tenant 2,527 2,395 2,521 59,564.39

To be determined 3,431 2,946 3,310 136,622.54

Total 36,111 30,749 35,399 1,981,555.13

National total

Territorial Rigths of ethnic groups 406 331 200 202,868.42

National Parks Occupant 81 75 13 391.00


State-owned Land Occupant 40,367 30,112 32,457 1,111,777.80Propietor 60,256 42,932 46,687 1,371,538.62

Tenant 3,058 2,857 2,837 66,684.78

To be determined 5,330 4,508 5,184 198,846.93

Total 131,594 98,801 106,405 3,624,239.29

Source: CTAIPD & INCODER RUP; Cut off date: 30/04/2010.

Protective measures have been applied in 31 out of 32 departments of the country up to April 20th, 2010. The mostsignificant departments have been Antioquia (17.58%), Bolvar (11.11%), Meta (8.86%), Tolima (5.27%), Caquet (4.1%)and Putumayo (4.1%). The other departments represent no more than 4% each (Map. No. 2). This information is relatedto displacement statistics that have affected every department. This information coincides also with the regions wherethe Project has strengthened capacities in the institutions through the regional offices.



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Map N 2: Protection Measures by Region

Source: CTAIPD e INCODER RUP; Cut off date: 30/04/2010

LEGENDSSymbols

Number of rights

Regin

AntioquiaCaribeGuajira - CesarCentroChoc

NarioNte. Santander - AraucaSantander - Magdalena MedioTolima - HuilaU.G. NacionalValle del Cauca - CaucaPutumayorea Protegida en Colombia: 3624239.289 (Ha)

SOURCE OF INFORMATIONBase Map, IGAC, 2008

Digital Terrain Model, IDEAM, 2008RUPTA, Accin Social 2010Departaments N Rigths

Amazonas 11Antioquia 6349Arauca 844Atlntico 35Bogota D.C. 19Bolvar 4011Boyaca 101Caldas 461Caqueta 1481Casanare 150Cauca 1416Cesar 1319Choc 1195Crdoba 1180

Cundinamarca 563Guainia 37Guaviare 866Huila 614La guajira 172Magdalena 1296Meta 3199Nario 1420Norte de Santander 1365Putumayo 1487Quindio 35Risaralda 168Santander 1300Sin informacin 969Sucre 848

Tolima 1903

Valle del cauca 832Vaupes 41Vichada 424Total General 36111



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There is a wide gap between land rights protected to males and females, as females are practically invisible in the register.The Project has insisted on equal gender participation and protection. In this regard, the application form for protectionhas been designed to relate the information of the holder and his/her spouse to guarantee equality of rights.

Furthermore, 106,406 parcels are associated with the total protection. It represents 1.23 rights for every parcel whichmeans that more than one right exists for each parcel. As a result of protection measures, one-to-one relationship doesnot exist between rights and parcels, nor parcels and persons. This implies that different rights exerted by differentpersons exist for some parcels. This situation is especially present in the Collective route of protection. For possessors(29% more rights than parcels have been registered), and occupants (17% more rights than parcels registered), thesituation presents challenges in clarification of the property by the State. The same comparison in the Individual route

points out that possessors register just 1% as much as tenures. As a matter of fact, the concentration of informal rightsis the evidence of zones which must be prioritized in formalization programs.

Finally, the RUPTA contains fundamental elements to formulate and implement public policy actions on protection,formalization, and reparation-restitution on land and territories for victims of violence. In the same sense, the protectionconstitutes a fundamental proof that these processes must shared with the institutions in charge of the national restitutionpolicy safeguarding the habeas data policy for displaced people.



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ANNEX


ANNEX 1Individual Route Flowchar


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INCODER NacionalSubgerencia de Tierras Rurales

1. El formulario cuenta con la siguienteinformacin?

- Nombre e identificacin del titular.- Departamento y Municipio donde est ubicado

el inmueble.- Firma del solicitante.

- Nombre yfirma del funcionario del MinisterioPblico quien recibi la solicitud.

2. Est marcada afirmativamente la pregunta Elpredio a proteger ha sido abandonado a causa dela violencia.

La oficina de Registro de InstrumentosPblicos califica la solicitud para determinar:Procede la inscripcin de la medida de

proteccin?

El propietario, poseedor, tenedor u ocupante de pre-dio abandonado a causa de la violencia armada hace lasolicitud de proteccin

Ministerio Pblico*:- Personeras- Defensora del Pueblo- Procuradura General de la Nacin

Diligencia el formulario y orienta al solicitante acercade los derechos sobre la tierra y los mecanismos parael aseguramiento de sus bienes

Redireccionamiento inmediato para lacomplementacin de la informacin

INCODER ingresa en el RUPTA la informacincontenida en el formulario de solicitud de medida depr

workshop on the protection of land rights and patrimony

Documents