Humanitarian Action Corporation for Coexistence and Peace in Northeast Antioquia
The Humanitarian Action Corporation for Coexistence and Peace in Northeast Antioquia (Cahucopana) was founded fifteen years ago in the midst of the humanitarian crisis resulting from the economic blockades and confinements imposed by the armed actors in the region. Since its beginnings, the Corporation has carried out humanitarian actions to support the population, demanding that the Colombian State invest socially and guarantees the human rights of the population. In 2019, it became the first small scale farmers’ organisation to be granted collective measures to protect against the threats and attacks that local communities continue to suffer to this today.
“PBI is the ally that will always protect us, without them we don´t dare go to the regions. PBI’s international accompaniment is an important shield, not only for us, but also for the peasants where the Army and paramilitaries are present, and at one time, the FARC. We know that if PBI is there we are shielded, we feel much safer. PBI also helps us with advocacy. We are not alone: there are people who care about us, and this is clearly visible at the international and national levels.”
Cristy Lozano, affiliate of the Cahucopana board of directors
Resisting violence through the years
The Northeast Antioquia region has been experiencing systematic violence for many years. Local communities have suffered massacres, bombings and blockades that prevented the entry of food and medicine, imposed by illegal armed actors and the National Army. Starting in 1998, these scourges saw an increase from 2002.[1] In the years that followed peasants and social organizations carried out actions to respond to the humanitarian crisis. It was against this background that in 2004, a group of about four hundred peasants decided to form the Humanitarian Action Corporation for Coexistence and Peace in Northeast Antioquia, Cahucopana, in the neighbourhood of Lejanías in the Remedios municipality.{2]
Since then, the Corporation has assumed an important leadership role in the region, representing the local community’s capacity for resistance during so many years of violence. The organisation consists of around 150 people, including members of the women’s committees, human rights groups and small-scale miners’ committees, and those who are part of the organisation’s leadership. Its work benefits around three thousand people in rural areas of the municipalities of Remedios and Segovia, where Cahucopana’s work is concentrated.[3]
Work: strengthening of human rights leadership
Cahucopana’s main objective is to denounce the humanitarian crisis and create training opportunities for those involved in defending and promoting the human rights of peasants in Northeast Antioquia. To do this, the Corporation develops activities to organise the communities, support the Community Action Council (JACs), and provide training and education for leaders in human rights and International Humanitarian Law.
Cahucopana works with women in the region on issues related to economic autonomy and leadership. In this way, little by little progress is made so that women and girls – despite the dominant culture that is traditionally patriarchal, and difficult to modify – develop their own initiatives and take the lead in building peace. Peasant women’s committees meet monthly in different neighbourhoods.[4]
“We are women small-scale farmers, beautiful, courageous, part of the struggle”
Denunciation of extrajudicial executions in Northeast Antioquia
A crosscutting component of Cahucupana’s work is the denunciation of human rights violations by all the armed actors, and by private companies with operations in the region. Throughout its existence, the organization has denounced cases of extrajudicial executions under the command of those responsible within the National Army. One year after its foundation, in 2005, the peasant Luis Sigifredo Castaño was assassinated by the Army and his body appeared dressed as a camouflaged guerrilla fighter, despite the fact that the communities in Northeast Antioquia knew him as a rural worker and that he had a disabling injury in one of his arms.[5]
This marked the beginning of extrajudicial executions in the region. Different members of Cahucopana and other local farmers have fallen victim to this crime. According to a study by the Corporation for Judicial Freedom (CJL) and the Coordination Colombia Europe United States (CCEEU), of which Cahucopana is a member, Antioquia has been “the leading region of the Democratic Security Policy and false positives.” Under this flagship policy of former President Alvaro Uribe, public forces systematically assassinated civilians who were then presented as insurgents killed in combat, as a way of showing positive results to the public in the fight against the guerrilla groups.[6]
An important result of the Corporation’s efforts to denounce these crimes was the dismissal of seven high-ranking soldiers from the Calibio Battalion of the Fourteenth Brigade in 2008, and the opening of an investigation into several low-ranking soldiers charged with extrajudicial executions of peasants in the operating area of the Brigade in the northeast of Antioquia and the Magdalena Medio region, Boyacá and Santander.[7]
Today, the Northeast Antioquia region, rich in gold and other natural resources, continues to be a strategic corridor for illegal armed groups, among them paramilitary groups, criminal gangs and guerrillas of the National Liberation Army, ELN. As a result, despite the signing of the peace agreement between the government and the FARC, the local population still cannot live in peace. Murders of youths and peasants, threats and the diffusion of pamphlets in order to spread terror, extortion, micro-trafficking, and hired assassins continue to plague the region. According to Cahucopana records, in 2019 twelve people were assassinated in rural areas of the municipalities of Remedios and Segovia where the corporation works.[8]
Actions for peace
Cahucopana has been involved in the peace process between the government and the FARC and, after the signing of the Havana agreements in 2016, has been organising workshops and other peace education activities in the villages of Northeast Antioquia. In February 2020, Cahucopana delivered a report on this topic to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) together with its sister organizations Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (Credhos) and the Association of Agro-Ecological and Mining Fraternities of Guamoco (Aheramigua). In it, the organizations document 103 cases of serious human rights violations and infractions of International Humanitarian Law in the Magdalena Medio, Northeast Antioquia and lower Cauca Antioquia regions.[9]
Cahucopana is also playing an important role in the accompaniment of the Territorial Training and Reincorporation Area (ETCR) Carrizal (formerly known as Transitory Normalization Zone), installed in a district of Remedios.[10] In the ETCR, former FARC combatants and their families prepare for their reintegration into society. In parallel, the Corporation works to ensure that the communities who live in the region receive ex-combatants in their midst.
On several occasions, Cahucopana has drawn attention to the precarious basic services situation, among others, lack of clean drinking water in the ETCR. It has also denounced the critical security situation of ex-combatants and, more generally, local communities in the area.[11]
With the departure of the FARC, successor groups of the demobilised paramilitaries have arrived, and have started to dispute power with the ELN guerrillas. As a result, human rights violations of the civilian population increase. “We are concerned that these things are still happening,” says Gerardo Acero, one of Cahucopana’s leaders. “They continue to murder social leaders, and they continue to murder ex-combatants who left the war because of an agreement with the government. This worries us enormously.”[12]
A collective response: humanitarian refuge houses in north-eastern Antioquia
“Memory helps us to continue resisting”
Another important focus of Cahucopana are the actions to help construct the historic memory of the armed conflict in the region. It does so, among other things through acts of memory and tributes to human rights defenders in Northeast Antioquia, and the commemoration of the massacres and extrajudicial executions that have claimed the lives of so many local leaders at the hands of armed actors in the area.
In 2019, the Casa de la Memoria (House of Memory) was inaugurated in the remote area of the municipality of Remedios. In the house, a timeline summarizes the journey of Cahucopana in Northeast Antioquia since its founding, the attacks it has suffered, and its process of resistance. There also is an image gallery to pay tribute to the peasants who were killed by soldiers of the National Army in this region.[13]
Memory and Resistance in North-East Antioquia
“We promote historic memory to continue resisting. Sometimes communities forget what happened, or prefer not to speak about it out of fear,” explains Cristy Lozano, advocacy coordinator for Cahucopana. “Fortunately, many people in the neighbourhoods react well when we organize events for commemorate what happened. They hug us, saying ‘Thank you for not letting my parents’ memory be forgotten.’ Others tell us: ‘It is good to remind ourselves that we are still here, alive.’ ”[14]
Collective reparation recognises Cahucopana’s peace work
In July 2019, the implementation of so-called collective reparation measures began. These were granted to Cahucopana by the National Victims Unit to compensate for the damage suffered during the conflict and officially presented in a public act in the municipality of Remedios, in the district of Lejanías where the corporation had been founded fifteen years ago. In the presence of peasants and small scale miners Cahucopana socialized and validated the Comprehensive Collective Reparation Plan (PIRC).[15]
The PIRC outlines the mechanisms aimed at repairing the harm done, which in the case of the members and beneficiaries of the Corporation consists of a long list, including forced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, crimes against sexual freedom, forced displacement, torture and stigmatization, among others.
“Collective reparation is a political recognition by the Government of a community that was greatly affected by the armed conflict,” explained Jorge Mario Alzate, director of the National Victims Unit in the department of Antioquia. This measure “will facilitate State presence in order to reach agreements about the reparation of harm suffered by the communities.”[16]
“Collective reparation is a political recognition by the Government of a community that was greatly affected by the armed conflict”
For his part, Carlos Arturo Morales, legal representative of the organisation, assured that “Cahucopana shines with its own light. We are the result of a historical struggle for the defence of life in the regional territories and we hope to continue being an example for our region.”[17]
Industrial gold mining threatens artisanal miners
Many of the people Cahucopana works with involved in artisanal gold mining. Although as the Mayor of Segovia[18] expresses it “with all the wealth hidden under the soil of the municipalities of Segovia and Remedios, we could put an end to the poverty of the region”, this wealth has led to an environmental conflict that seriously affects the population. Parallel to small-scale gold mining, which has been an important economic activity for generations, large mining companies backed by the national government have begun to implement large-scale commercial mining projects.
As a result, social conflicts and armed violence in the area have intensified. Instead of bringing wealth, the precarious health and education situation and the lack of social investment and employment have worsened further. The systematic violation of the human rights of local communities is complemented by the deterioration of local ecosystems due to the effects on the environment caused, above all, by large-scale mining.[19]
“With all the wealth hidden under the soil of the municipalities of Segovia and Remedios, we could put an end to the poverty of the region”
Cahucopana points out that the multinational and trans-Latin companies present in the area “have developed actions to displace the population so that nothing stands in their way to exploit the gold, disappearing the small and medium-sized miners in our region.”[20]
Protecting artisanal miners is an important component of the corporation’s work. Cahucopana presents complaints and supports other organizations in creating strategies and strengthen their capacities to deal with this problem.
Threats and attacks
Cahucopana has been the victim of accusations, threats, harassment and murders since its creation. Since 2016 and in spite of the signing of the peace agreement, its members have regularly received threats – verbally and through pamphlets circulating in the region. In addition, they have suffered arbitrary arrests and detentions and irregular registration carried out by the Public Force.[21]
Currently, the members of Cahucopana who carry out field work suffer the greatest risks. These are related to the increased presence of so-called “neo-paramilitary” groups in the Northeast of Antioquia, and the disputes between them and the ELN guerrillas.[22]
Protection measures
Some members of Cahucopana have individual and collective protection schemes from the National Protection Unit (UNP), including armoured cars and trusted guards, among others.
In addition to these measures, the organisation has been granted so-called collective and differentiated protection measures, which, in early 2020, Cahucopana is in the process of defining with the UNP. On the one hand, the Corporation has requested collective measures, which can be extended not only to community leaders and leaders of the small and medium-scale miners, but to all the peasant and mining communities they work with.
On the other hand, Cahucopana requested differentiated measures, taking into account that in the rural area where it operates the traditional protection measures are neither adequate nor sufficient. [23] For example, the organisation called for improvement of the communication signal in the region. Without this, it is impossible to immediately report victimizing events when they occur, nor to manage the necessary response from the responsible institutions.[24]
Although the petition for collective and differentiated protection measures was approved by the UNP, Cahucopana points out that its implementation has not been easy. Especially, achieving effective measures that extend to local communities beyond the Corporation’s leaders is a challenge. This protection is very necessary, since Cahucopana considers that “the local people run the greatest risk.”[25]
PBI accompaniment
We have accompanied Cahucopana since 2013.
Contact
Social media
- Twitter: @CAHUCOPANA)
- Facebook: @Cahucopana-Nordeste
Footnotes
[1] Prensa rural: Una mirada sobre el Nordeste Antioqueño, 23 de agosto de 2013
[2] Cahucopana, Corporación Acción Humanitaria por la Convivencia y la Paz del Nordeste Antioqueño, 10 March, 2020
[3] PBI Colombia / Katja Noordam: Interview with Cristy Lozano, affiliate of the board and advocacy coordinator of Cahucopana, 20 January, 2020
[4] Ibid.
[5] Noche y Niebla: Deuda con la humanidad 2: 23 años de Falsos Positivos (1988-2011), 31 October 2011; Asociación Campesina del Valle del Río Cimitarra Zona de Reserva Campesina: Asesinado campesino por el Ejército en el Nordeste Antioqueño, 14 August, 2005
[6] Coordinación Colombia – Europa – Estados Unidos (CCEEU): Ejecuciones extrajudiciales en Colombia 2002-2010. Crímenes de lesa humanidad bajo el mandato de la política de defensa y seguridad democrática, January 2013
[7] Human Rights Watch: El rol de los altos mandos en falsos positivos, 23 June, 2015
[8] Cahucopana: Registro de datos sobre violaciones de derechos humanos. Documentación interna
[9] Corporación Regional para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – Credhos: Entrega formal del informe ante la JEP: Magdalena Medio y Nordeste Antioqueño, 4 February, 2020
[10] Cahucopana: Saludo a designación de vereda del nordeste como ZVTN, 22 August, 2016
[11] El Espectador: ¡Vamos al charco!, 29 November 2019, Junto con la Acvc, Cahucopana ha hecho incidencia para conseguir las necesarias condiciones de seguridad y exigir la instalación de servicios públicos en la vereda. En agosto de 2016 Cahucopana y la Acvc entregaron un informe a la Comisión del Mecanismo Tripartito de Monitoreo y Verificación de la ONU, en el que expresaron inquietudes, propuestas y exigencias para la convivencia en la Zona Veredal.
[12] Infocahucopana: Memoria para la resistencia, 15 January, 2020
[13] Op.cit. Infocahucopana, enero de 2020; Peace Brigades International: Memoria y resistencia en el Nordeste Antioqueño, 21 August, 2019
[14] Op.cit. Entrevista Cristy Lozano, January 2020
[15] Cahucopana: Se dio inicio a las medidas de reparación a comunidades del nordeste antioqueño. Cahucopana validó el Plan Integral de Reparación Integral, 1 August, 2019
[16] Unidad para la atención y reparación integral a las víctimas: Reparación colectiva a Cahucopana reconoce su resistencia en el territorio, 18 Septiembre, 2019
[18] Alcalde de Segovia, Didier Osorio, citado en: El Espectador: La realidad de la explotación del oro en el nordeste antioqueño, 7 March, 2020
[19] Leidy-Jackelinne Bernal-Guzmána: Minería de oro en el Nordeste antioqueño: una disputa territorial por el desarrollo, 2018
[20] Cahucopana: Rechazo a la creciente ola de violencia en el Nordeste Antioqueño, 6 June, 2019
[21] Prensa Rural: Defensor de derechos humanos de Cahucopana fue retenido ilegalmente por la policía, 24 March, 2017; Prensa Rural: Empadronamiento a esquema colectivo de protección de Cahucopana, 18 March, 2017
[22] Incidentes de seguridad registrados en el sistema de análisis de riesgo de PBI. Información interna
[23] Cahucopana: Medidas solicitadas por Cahucopana a la Unidad Nacional de Protección, octubre de 2016 (more information with the organization)
[24] Cahucopana: Otro campesino asesinado en el Nordeste Antioqueño, 1 July, 2018
[25] Op.cit. Entrevista a Cristy Lozano, January 2020