Internal Displacement

Enhancing the study and practice of Catholic peacebuilding.

100 Hesburgh Center
Notre Dame, IN 46556
USA

574.631.9370 phone
574.631.6973 fax

cpn@nd.edu

"The CPN is a much-needed way to support the courageous and mostly unheralded efforts of the Church to build peace in war-torn countries from Central Africa to Southern Asia."

Bishop John Ricard
Chairman, U.S. Bishops' International Policy Committee

"The CPN is a space of exchange, encounter and discovery where we help each other understand our peace-work, generated in faith and actualized in history."

Andrea Bartoli
Community of Sant' Egidio,
USA

"CPN is another concrete way of building solidarity among peacebuilders around the world. The energy that it will bring will help us in facing the many difficult challenges of peacebuilding work in our different contexts. My hope is that we are able to bring the same energy eventually to the communities directly affected by war, violence and conflict - creating not only a network of peacebuilders but more imoprtantly a network of communities all over the world."

Myla Leguro
Peace & Reconciliation
Program Manager
CRS-Phillippines

Overview of Colombian Conflict -- The Catholic Church's Role in Peacebuilding -- Internal Displacement -- Human Rights -- Social and Economic Development -- Peace Processes -- Education for Peace -- Reconciliation -- International Solidarity

Internal Displacement

Accompaniment by pastoral agents and organizations is the idea of 'walking with' those who have suffered most. Providing an active presence to individuals and communities allows for the exploration of possibilites together of understanding, empathy and the beginning seeds of healing as well as alternatives to the cycle of violence. Accompaniment of displaced communities also helps prevent further forced displacement.

Ten years ago, the Colombian Bishops' Conference (la Conferencia Episcopal de Colombia, CEC) launched a groundbreaking study of forced internal displacement that contributed to further protection of this population by the Colombian government and national and international organizations. Recently, the CEC through the National Social Ministry Secretariat working with CODHES issued a new report Challenges for Nation Building. The Country in the Face of Displacement, Armed Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis 1995-2005 with updated recommendations.

The National Social Ministry Secretariat (Secretariado Nacional de Pastoral Social, SNPS) has an Information System on People Displaced by Violence in Colombia 'RUT' Database that consists of interviews of displaced persons about the greatest challenges they face and needs they have. The RUT project publishes bulletins and case studies to increase awareness and knowledge about the situation of the displaced. The SNPS's Human Mobility Program began and implements this project and CRS supports their work.

This helps the SNPS design and implement better pastoral intervention programs such as the "Church and Displaced Persons Encounter in Solidarity Program" to benefit the population and to reduce their risk of further displacement.

The Church implements national and international campaigns to advocate for the displaced population. One such campaign to increase understanding and solidarity is the Day of the Migrant. On the third Sunday of September, parishes across Colombia focus on the theme of migrants, the displaced and refugees to raise awareness of their plight. The CEC in collaboration with Caritas Internationalis launched the 'Peace is Possible' campaign to focus attention on the humanitarian crisis within Colombia.