Components

Flower Farming is one the main exporting activities in Colombia. Through the IDP Program, USAID gives technical training to vulnerable women in orden to have access to qualified jobs in this industry.

USAID support focus on improving the conditions of vulnerable populations by enhancing the delivery of integrated assistance for internally displaced people (IDP), social and economic reintegration for victims, reintegration and restitution of rights of disengaged child soldiers and adult ex-combatants, and improved social and economic conditions for victims, Afro-Colombians, and indigenous communities.  The program includes the following components:

Internally Displaced Persons:

The objectives are

1. to assist victims of forced displacement throughout country and the receptor communities in which they reside;
   
2. provide institutional-strengthening and policy support to Government of Colombia (GOC) entities responsible for attending to displacement;
   
3. strengthen the GOC’s efforts to prevent displacement from occurring; and 4) assist the GOC in organized initiatives to return displaced families to their communities of origin.

The program also assists other vulnerable populations, including disabled persons and victims of land mines. The program coordinates with key GOC entities to achieve these objectives, including Acción Social, the Ministry of Interior and Justice, the Ministry of Social Protection, the Ministry of Housing and Environment, key municipal and local institutions, and Colombian civil society and human rights organizations.

Demobilization and Reintegration:

The purpose is to assist the demobilization and reintegration process by assisting the GOC efforts to reintegrate ex-combatants, promote reconciliation and reparations to victims of conflict, and prevent child recruitment by illegal armed groups.  Support to the DR process covers the following areas:

• Support for Legal Processing and Monitoring of Ex-Combatants: USAID provides technical, logistical and administrative assistance to the GOC’s Reintegration Service Center (RSC) Network and the Tracking, Monitoring and Evaluation System (SAME). The SAME is used to track ex-combatants and follow their progress through the reintegration process. RSCs provide access to healthcare, formal education, vocational training, income generation opportunities, and counseling services to ex-combatants and their families.  USG support includes strengthening the Office of the Inspector General (Procuraduría) and the Ombudsman (Defensoría) to ensure oversight of the demobilization and reintegration process.  Additional assistance is provided to the Office of the Attorney General (Fiscalía) to ensure access to the judicial process for victims.
• Support to the Organization of American States (OAS) Monitoring and Verification Mission: USG assistance is directed to strengthening the OAS capacity to verify the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration processes.  USAID support includes: verification of pre and post-demobilizations such as assessing the security situation of ex-combatants and of areas where demobilizations occur, as well as verifying the effective dismantlement of demobilized units; monitoring of the Justice and Peace Law (Law 975); design of confidence building measures with receptor communities;  monitoring reintegration to ensure that participants are complying with the requirements for entitlement; and, monitoring the GOC’s socioeconomic commitments.
• Reconciliation and Reparations to Victims: The U.S. promotes reconciliation and reparations to victims of conflict through support to the National Reparation and Reconciliation Commission (CNRR).  U.S. support to the Commission includes: design of national reparation policies; design of a victims database and asset identification database to monitor reparations; support for the regulatory framework for implementing reparations;  support to field offices and their outreach activities to build a service network for victims; strengthening of judicial counseling and representation for victims; and, pilot reparations projects.
• Reintegration of Adult Ex-Combatants: Financial and technical assistance is provided to create legitimate socioeconomic opportunities for adult ex-combatants through:  support for public and private alliances for education, vocational training and job creation; local and departmental community development projects.
• Support to Child Ex-Combatants: USAID supports child ex-combatants in partnership with the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare (ICBF).  Activities include:  providing technical assistance to the ICBF; support to attention facilities; promotion of family and community reintegration; consolidation of a legal framework to protect child ex-combatants; implementation of prevention strategies against forced recruitment and the development of a national prevention strategy.
  

Afro-Colombian and Indigenous:

The purpose is to improve the socio-economic status of Afro-Colombians and indigenous persons in selected urban and rural areas.

The Program will be implemented through the following activities:

1. strengthening the advocacy role and capacity of Afro-Colombian and indigenous organizations, Government of Colombia, and civil society organizations to implement policies in support of ethnic minorities,
   
2. increasing employment opportunities for Afro-Colombians and indigenous persons,
   
3. improving governance capabilities of Afro-Colombians and Indigenous communities, and
   
4. increasing respect for cultural diversity and identity through the use of mass media.