ACNUR - Plan estrategico 2023-2026

STRATEGY 2023-2026 – COLOMBIA

MULTI-YEAR STRATEGY

2023-2026

COLOMBIA

Table of Contents Section UNHCR / November 2023

STRATEGY 2023-2026 – COLOMBIA

1. Strategy

1.1 Executive Summary 1.2 Situation Analysis 1.3 Vision and Strategic Orientation 1.4 Age, gender and diversity

2. Impact Statements

1. Strategy 1.1 Executive Summary In 2024, UNHCR will provide lifesaving assistance, promote access to rights and find solutions for the people with and for whom we work including internally displaced people (IDPs), other people affected by conflict, refugees and migrants from Venezuela, people with international protection needs including people at risk of statelessness and those caught up in mixed movements, as well as Colombian returnees and host communities. UNHCR will provide particular attention and support to individuals with specific needs in a manner that empowers and engages them in decision-making.

Building trust between host communities, the people with and for whom we work, and institutions will be at the core of UNHCR’ s actions to foster social cohesion, prevent discrimination and promote inclusion. UNHCR’s interventions will have a focus on communities and areas most impacted by displacement and confinement and will multiply efforts to engage all actors – from local to national and from humanitarian to development – when designing and implementing its interventions. Despite the government’s Total Peace policy, internal displacement is expected to continue in areas controlled or disputed by illegal armed actors, making it necessary to work with authorities and communities towards prevention, protection, emergency response and community empowerment. In line with governments priorities, UNHCR will support the regularization of informal urban settlements, the formalization of tenure and the restitution of land as well as the adoption and implementation of public policies for solutions to IDPs, including return and relocations, access to truth, justice, and reparation rights. UNHCR will colead the Protection Cluster with the Norwegian Refugee Council and the UN Steering

group on Durable Solutions for IDPs with UNDP. UNHCR will also continue to coordinate with the respective national and local authorities and institutions. UNHCR / November 2023 STRATEGY 2023-2026 – COLOMBIA The Temporary Protection Status (TPS), a legal stay arrangement complementary to the international protection regime, aims at providing a regular status to Venezuelans and help them to integrate locally by providing access to documentation, rights, and services. UNHCR will support its implementation in collaboration with local and national authorities and humanitarian and development partners focusing both on ensuring access to TPS identity documents and the accompanying rights, such as access to health care and education services, and employment opportunities. Furthermore, UNHCR will support government efforts aimed at strengthening institutional capacities to process asylum claims, including through the adoption of different case processing modalities. UNHCR will also advocate for the implementation of the regional refugee definition adopted in the 1984 Cartagena Declaration, mark its fortieth anniversary, and incorporate it into Colombia's domestic refugee protection decree. 1.2 Situation analysis In 2022, Gustavo Petro, leader of the Historical Pact Coalition, was elected President of Colombia, with Francia Márquez, a human rights activist, becoming the Vice President. The new administration focused on normalizing relations with Venezuela implementing the 2016 Peace Agreement and initiating negotiations with multiple armed actors. The Government pledged to uphold the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for Venezuelans and work towards their socio-economic inclusion. By October 2022, approximately 1.63 million out of 2.4 million Venezuelans, who applied for the TPS, had received temporary protection permits. However, Venezuelans still face challenges in finding formal employment and accessing financial health services. They also experience a level of discrimination and xenophobia in certain areas. Colombia is facing increasing levels of internal displacement and confinement affecting hundreds of thousands of people. The government’ s Victims’ Unit

registered over 280,000 victims of forced displacement in 2022, the highest number since the 2016 Peace Agreement, and by December 2023 this figure surpassed 200,000. By December 2023, over 6.9 million internally displaced people still required assistance and reparation and over 1,060,000 people have been newly displaced since the signature of the 2016 Peace Agreement in November. Pervasive social control by armed actors, threats to communities, targeted killings of human rights defenders, massacres, recruitment of children by illegal armed actors, gender-based violence, and the use of mines and unexploded ordnance are a daily reality for the population in these areas. Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities are particularly affected by these situations. UNHCR / November 2023 STRATEGY 2023-2026 – COLOMBIA Women, girls, and LGBTIQ+ people also experienced disproportionate harm due to the conflict and the risk of human trafficking. Incidents of gender-based violence against Venezuelan women and girls increased over the past years. The number of people crossing the Darien jungle from Colombia to Panama, including Venezuelans and other nationalities, increased significantly in 2023, more than doubling 2022 figures (248,284), with projections indicating a similar tendency for 2024. By end December 2023, over 520,000 people have crossed the Darien, approximately a quarter are children. Colombia has a strong legal framework for protecting people with and for whom UNHCR works, but challenges remain in its implementation, including lengthy processes and limited measures for the reintegration of Colombian returnees. UNHCR works with partners to ensure an effective response to the humanitarian situation. It co-leads the Interagency Group for Mixed Migration Flows (GIFMM) in Colombia and leads the protection cluster within the humanitarian architecture. People in need of international protection face limitations in accessing their rights in Colombia. The legal and policy framework has advanced, but challenges remain

in terms of public policy development, institutional capacity, coordination, solutions, and socio-economic inclusion. The refugee status determination process has limitations, with cases often taking years to be decided, and asylum-seekers facing difficulties accessing work and rights. Refugees and migrants also face challenges in accessing healthcare, and children are particularly vulnerable to protection risks such as involvement in armed groups, displacement, sexual abuse, labour exploitation, and barriers to education. Xenophobia, discrimination, and gender-based violence further hinder their enjoyment of rights and access to protection. Addressing these challenges requires strengthening institutional responses, ensuring access to health services, addressing protection risks for children, combating xenophobia, improving access to education and decent work, and promoting meaningful participation of affected communities in decision-making processes. 1.3 Vision and strategic orientation To maximize impact, UNHCR will work in close coordination with authorities, nongovernmental organizations, other United Nations agencies, international financial institutions, the private sector, and other stakeholders, forging alliances, leveraging comparative advantages, and joining advocacy efforts. In doing so, the vision is that people with and for whom UNHCR works receive emergency humanitarian assistance when required, enjoy effective access to rights UNHCR / November 2023 STRATEGY 2023-2026 – COLOMBIA and a progressive inclusion until they reach an appropriate and sustainable solution, are empowered, and involved in decision making, taking into account their age, gender, and diverse perspective. To realize this vision, UNHCR will prioritize the following interventions:

1. Ensure access to territory (non-refoulement), non-penalization for illegal entry or stay, and access to asylum for people in need of international protection and scale up the response to people with specific protection needs in the context of mixed movements towards Panama through Darien.

2. Work with the State and partners to strengthen Colombia's asylum system, enabling fair and efficient processing of asylum claims while ensuring that those in need of international protection can exercise their rights.

3. Monitor the implementation of the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) to ensure the effective enjoyment of rights and access to basic services.

4. Advocate for meaningful responsibility-sharing arrangements to support host states, such as resettlement programmes, financial support for socioeconomic inclusion, and concerted actions against human trafficking aiming to reduce protection risks for population on the move.

5. Work with State institutions and partners to promote a better response to the continued situation of internal displacement and confinement, as well as support institutional efforts to overcome the Unconstitutional State of Affairs declared by the Constitutional Court in relation to internal displacement, including enhanced efforts to promote access to solutions and supporting the implementation of the Peace Agreement.

6. Reinforce the national and local child protection systems to reduce the risks and rights violations faced by children, including the risk of recruitment by illegal armed actors.

7. Strengthen the multisectoral response to reduce gender-based violence risks through prevention, risk mitigation and response, ensuring access to adequate, timely and quality services for survivors.

To deepen coordination and communication with the people with and for whom it works, UNHCR will also:

1. Enhance the protection capacities of affected individuals and communities, support their leadership processes, community and organizational mobilization, and their self-protection and self-management mechanisms, expanding civic spaces and their participation in the design of public policies and in the decisions that affect their lives.

2. Increase partnerships and seek greater involvement of the Public Ministry university legal clinics, and civil society to prevent and address refoulement and for the adequacy of international protection norms and policies.

UNHCR / November 2023

STRATEGY 2023-2026 – COLOMBIA

3. Further the process of training public servants, including government officials

(immigration authorities, those in charge of access to the asylum system), institutions of the Public Prosecutor's Office, and judiciary and civil society on the international protection framework.

4. Should repatriation be considered by refugees, initiate preparations, and the negotiations of guarantees upon return.

1.4 Age, gender and diversity UNHCR will undertake protection monitoring and assessments (including joint assessments) to collect and analyze disaggregated data on people with and for whom it works. UNHCR is committed to strengthening accountability to affected people (AAP) through two-way communication channels, feedback and response mechanisms, participation, and inclusion. UNHCR will expand ongoing consultations, focus group discussions, and participatory assessments with communities using an age, gender, and diversity approach. UNHCR will support and expand the network of community outreach volunteers and community-based organizations to promote autonomy, self-management, and selfprotection mechanisms, with special emphasis on those most at risk. UNHCR will involve people with and for whom it works through all phases of the programming cycle and secure direct interface and accountability mechanisms with communities in each field office. Community-based initiatives will promote dialogue and empowerment with most-atrisk groups to proactively participate in decision making and public policy formulation, especially in hard-to-reach areas where local institutions have limited capacity and presence. Local integration activities, notably through socio-cultural and sport activities, will be expanded to foster dialogue between host and displaced communities and promote peaceful coexistence and resilience. Affirmative actions for the prevention of discrimination and xenophobia through awareness campaigns will be amplified. Stakeholder participation in planning and decision-making processes will be strengthened, especially women, girls and youth in livelihoods and socio-economic inclusion initiatives. With expanded programmes that extend UNHCR’ s reach into communities, UNHCR / November 2023 STRATEGY 2023-2026 – COLOMBIA measures to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse are critical. Standard Operating Procedures for the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) will be systematically implemented and updated, and UNHCR and partner staff will continue to receive ongoing training to comply with related policies and standards, including the Victim Centered Approach Policy. UNHCR will work to reduce structural barriers to ensure equal access to rights for

women, girls, and LGBTIQ+ people. UNHCR will strengthen their strategy to prevent, mitigate and respond to gender-based violence through safe spaces and specialized services. UNHCR will analyze gender-based violence trends for advocacy and support to local and national institutions to improve understanding of gender-based violence risks and prevention and response.

2. Impact statements Displaced people, people at risk of displacement and people with international protection needs, including those with specific needs, access a fair and efficient protection system, in line with universal and regional standards, that guarantees their rights.

Impact area: Attaining favourable protection environments Outcome statements People UNHCR serves can access the territory without being returned.

Outcome area: Access to territory, registration and documentation Registration, documentation and asylum processes, as well as temporary protection permit status are effective and accessible to the people UNHCR serves.

Outcome area: Refugee status determination The implementation of the legal framework and policy is improved and decentralized, and public programmes are developed to strengthen the protection system and access to rights with an age, gender and diversity approach.

Outcome area: Protection policy and law People UNHCR serves are protected from the effects of armed conflict and other forms of violence and exploitation.

Outcome area: Safety and access to justice The risks of gender-based violence are reduced for the people we serve and survivors of gender-based violence have adequate, timely and quality access to UNHCR / November 2023

STRATEGY 2023-2026 – COLOMBIA multisectoral services.

Outcome area: Gender-based violence The children we serve are protected from all forms of violence, exploitation, abuse and discrimination, and have access to the child protection system and friendly procedures.

Outcome area: Child protection People UNHCR serves effectively meet their immediate and specific basic protection needs with a human right, age, gender and diversity and environmental approaches.

Impact area: Realizing rights in safe environments Outcome statements Sufficient and efficient orientation and activation response mechanisms coordinated

and articulated institutional response, and support of humanitarian, civil society and other relevant actors ensure that people UNHCR serves have timely and adequate access to services and assistance, applying the UNHCR strategic framework for climate action.

Outcome area: Well-being and basic needs People UNHCR serves and communities effectively exercise their right to participate in decision-making processes that affect their lives with a human rights-based and an age, gender and diversity approach.

Impact area: Empowering communities and achieving gender equality Outcome statements Civic spaces are expanded, and people UNHCR serves and communities are empowered and have strengthened self-protection mechanisms and autonomous self-management mechanisms.

Outcome area: Community engagement and women's empowerment People UNHCR serves access two-way communication and feedback and response channels/mechanisms with adequate and timely information about their rights.

Outcome area: Community engagement and women's empowerment Peaceful coexistence and community leadership increases integration and resilience UNHCR / November 2023

STRATEGY 2023-2026 – COLOMBIA in communities and decreases discrimination and xenophobia.

Outcome area: Community engagement and women's empowerment The people UNHCR serves find the most appropriate solution to their situation with effective enjoyment of their rights achieving full inclusion.

Impact area: Securing solutions Outcome statements Government and private sector ensure access of people UNHCR serves to decent work and sustainable livelihoods, social dialogue, and social protection systems.

Outcome area: Self-reliance, economic inclusion and livelihoods People UNHCR serves and host communities in urban and rural contexts have access to solutions process through an area-based approach.

Outcome area: Local integration and other local solutions Durable solutions are accessible to people UNHCR serves with specific protection needs who cannot locally integrate in Colombia.

Outcome area: Resettlement and complementary pathways UNHCR / November 2023