US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA9565

UNCLAS BOGOTA 009565 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PRM AND WHA/AND; GENEVA FOR CAMPBELL AND 
BIRDSALL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF, PHUM, SOCI, CO, Human Rts 
SUBJECT: OMBUDSMAN AND UNHCR OPEN "HOUSE OF RIGHTS" IN 
ALTOS DE CAZUCA 
 
 
1. The national Ombudsman inaugurated a "casa de los 
derechos" (house of rights) in the Altos de Cazuca 
neighborhood of Soacha, with support from the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on September 29.  Based on 
a model used by the UN in El Salvador, the office establishes 
the first official national and local government presence in 
the impoverished neighborhood some 12 miles south of Bogota. 
Residents will have access to the local and national 
Ombudsman, national agencies for family welfare, training, 
assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs), local 
government planning and education agencies, and a medical 
clinic. 
 
2. With an estimated population of 363,000, Soacha is one of 
the top places where new IDPs settle in the Bogota area.  The 
Government has officially registered 18,000 IDPs in Soacha 
since 1995.  Traditionally a neighborhood of guerrilla 
influence (the Government resettled many demobilized M-19 and 
EPL guerrillas in Soacha in the late 1980s and early 1990s), 
UNHCR and the local ombudsman report that criminal gangs and 
the militias of the so-called "Bloque Capital" paramilitary 
group have gained more control in the zone. 
 
3.  UNHCR Resident Representative Roberto Meier said criminal 
gangs control access to water and electricity in some parts 
of the neighborhood and supporters of guerrilla and 
paramilitary groups are reported to impose roadblocks, 
restrict parties after a certain time of night, murder, and 
forcibly recruit young people in the area.  UNHCR reports 
that between 2001-2004, 437 people were murdered, 244 of whom 
were between the ages of 16-20. 
 
4.  Because of the vulnerability of the population, and the 
large concentration of IDPs, the UN opened an office in Altos 
de Cazuca in February 2005.  Meier said at the time the 
intention was not to replace the Colombian state but to 
provide protection and draw attention to the problems in the 
area.  The "casa de los derechos" in Altos de Cazuca is 
expected to provide needy residents with easier access to 
government ombudsman, health, and social welfare agencies. 
UNHCR hopes to open more "casa de los derechos" offices in 
collaboration with the GOC in other parts of the country. 
WOOD