US embassy cable - 04QUITO3303

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 QUITO 003303 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF, EC 
SUBJECT: REFUGEE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS NEW TRENDS 
 
 
1.  Summary:  A recent study by a Quito human rights 
organization, the Center for Documentation of Human Rights 
Segundo Montes Mozo (CSMM), highlights strengths and 
deficiencies in the GoE's and civil society responses to the 
issue of Colombian refugees.  The study says that while 
Ecuador has good legislation on refugees, there is an over 
emphasis on Colombians as threats to national security. 
Current refugee efforts focus on the border regions while 
refugees are increasingly found in Quito, Guayaquil, and 
Cuenca.  The CSMM report recommends a more coordinated 
national policy on refugees and awareness campaigns on the 
magnitude of the refugee situation.  It comes at the same 
time as media and NGOs are alleging the restart of coca 
fumigations in Colombian border province, Putumayo.  End 
Summary. 
 
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GoE Strengths and Weaknesses 
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2.  While the GoE has passed legislation meeting 
international standards on refugee issues, including Decree 
3301 (1992) incorporating the wider definition of "refugee" 
(still not adopted by other neighboring countries), there are 
several current trends that may limit the human rights of 
refugees, according to CSMM's report.  CSMM found a growing 
invisibility of the human rights concerns of legitimate 
Colombian refugees.  At the same time, CSMM noted an 
increasing emphasis on national security issues at the 
border.  GoE attention is focused on migratory control as 
well as the militarization of borders.  The study recommends 
that the GoE find a balance between keeping dangerous 
elements from crossing its borders, while making sure 
legitimate refugees receive the asylum they are guaranteed 
under international agreements. 
 
3.  CSMM recommends that the GoE work on a coordinated 
national refugee policy that respects Ecuador's commitments 
under international agreements.  CSMM also found a general 
perception among Ecuadorians of the Colombian refugees as a 
homogenous group, which they do not believe to be true.  They 
called on the GoE to gather more data on the age, gender, 
occupation, etc. of the refugees in order to respond more 
appropriately to their needs.  The report also commented that 
the new requirement of a police record check for Colombians 
crossing into Ecuador, intended to keep out irregulars and 
criminals, is increasing the number of refugees who are not 
registered and have irregular status. 
 
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Stigmatization of Colombian Population 
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4.  The study found a growing stigmatization of the Colombian 
population as criminals, reinforced by some public statements 
by high government officials.  In March 2003, the newspaper 
El Comercio published a Letter to the Public stating that 
Ecuador should initiate a "Plan Ecuador" and claiming all of 
the violence in Ecuador was due to Plan Colombia and 
Colombians.  However, from January to December 2003, 
Colombians represented less than two percent of those 
arrested for illegal activities, according to statistics 
provided to the UNHCR by the National Police.  This 
stigmatization leads to discrimination in hiring, schooling, 
and health.  The human rights group recommends the government 
launch an awareness campaign to help the public recognize the 
magnitude of the legitimate refugee situation. 
 
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Civil Society Participation 
--------------------------- 
 
5.  CSMM asserts that Ecuadorian civil society has actively 
participated in analysis and research on the topic of 
Colombian refugees, as well as legal reform proposals and the 
promotion of peace negotiations in Colombia.  However, the 
study found that there needs to be more cooperation between 
Ecuadorian and Colombian civil society.  Ecuadorian civil 
society also needs to help promote a government policy on 
refugees, the report suggests. 
 
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Refugees Arriving in Interior Cities 
------------------------------------ 
 
6.  CSMM found that, increasingly, Colombian refugees are 
settling not along the border region, but in interior cities 
such as Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca, where there are greater 
economic opportunities.  Refugees may also feel more secure 
the farther they are from the Colombian border.  Cuenca, for 
example, received 826 applications between January and 
September this year compared with 532 last year.  This year's 
applications in Cuenca are of note as they represent 12.8% of 
all applications nationwide.  Quito received the highest 
percentage of applications with 45.9%.  The report suggests 
more research and data is needed on these refugees, as most 
of the current information focuses only on the border region. 
 
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CSMM Call for U.S. Action 
------------------------- 
 
7.  The Director of CSMM, Pablo de la Vega, said the MFA 
should seek greater international support for the refugee 
issue.  At the presentation of the study, De la Vega called 
for U.S. proposals to address the refugee problem as he 
considers the U.S. the main player in the regional crisis. 
De la Vega said $10 million a day is spent by the various 
groups on the conflict.  He suggested that because of the 
large amount of money invested in the conflict, many of the 
players, including the USG and the GoC, do not want the 
conflict to end.  De La Vega insisted there could be no 
military solution to the problem. 
 
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MFA Reaction to the Study 
------------------------- 
 
8.  In public comments, Christian Espinoza of the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs' (MFA) Refugee Office disagreed with some 
points of the report including the statement that half of the 
Colombian population in Ecuador are refugees.  The study also 
emphasized that the refugee population is not homologous, 
with many professionals settling in the cities of Ibarra and 
Quito.  Espinoza, however, said that the number of 
professionals is minimal and the vast majority of refugees 
are peasants, day laborers, and indigenous.  Espinoza 
believes that the refugee population continues to reside 
primarily in the border area.  Both the MFA and UNHCR 
concurred that the best durable solution to the Colombian 
refugee issue is local integration.  The two other durable 
solutions are voluntary repatriation and resettlement in a 
third country.  The MFA said they intend to keep the refugee 
issue permanently on their bilateral agenda with Colombia as 
Ecuador has to bear the burden of the problem. 
 
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Statistics from the MFA 
----------------------- 
 
9.  Espinoza said there are three legal and 23 illegal border 
crossings between Ecuador and Colombia.  There have been 
29,331 refugee applications from 2000 to November 2004, 8357 
of which were approved.  Espinoza said the number of refugee 
applications in 2003 rose due to the UNHCR opening more 
offices in the country.  There has been a 6100% rise in 
refugee applications in the past four years. 
 
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MFA Visits Border Region 
------------------------ 
 
10.  As a new round of coca fumigations allegedly began in 
Colombia, according to press reports and NGO statements, the 
MFA's Franklin Chavez, director general for Amazonian and 
Regional Affairs, as well as representatives from the MFA's 
Refugee Office, the military, the National Police, and the 
group Ecological Action, traveled to the border region in 
Sucumbios province on December 23 to study fumigation's 
effects on inhabitants of the region.  The group Federation 
of Peasant Organizations of the Ecuadorian Border Cordon of 
Sucumbios (FORCCOFES) claimed the fumigations put eight 
communities in San Miguel at risk.  FORCCOFES leaders say a 
shelter is needed for "internally displaced persons" because 
of spraying's effects and are planning to ask the Church as 
well as UNHCR to provide shelter to these Ecuadorians. 
However, UNHCR says it has a clear mandate in Ecuador which 
does not include sheltering Ecuadorian citizens within 
Ecuador (which is the responsibility of the GoE, with 
assistance from the Red Cross and the Church if needed).  On 
December 26, press reported an MFA statement announcing that 
the MFA had determined that fumigations had not restarted, 
after having conducted interviews with the local population 
and local authorities.  Samples of water and soil from the 
region were collected for analysis.  The MFA also concluded 
that no persons were internally displaced. 
 
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Comment 
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11.  UNHCR representatives consider CSMM a moderate 
organization that uses statistical data to back up its 
claims.  However, a weakness of the study is that its authors 
did not interview the MFA nor UNHCR.  The report notes some 
trends, such as the movement of refugees to the interior of 
the country and the growing stigmatization of the Colombian 
population, that need to be addressed both by the GoE and 
civil society.  Overall, however, the GoE seems to be taking 
more positive steps to address the Colombian refugee 
situation than neighboring countries. 
KENNEY