Forced displacement in Colombia is one of the strategies that have been adopted by the parties to the armed conflict; a strategy in which the civilian population is used for regional military, political and economic control. This is demonstrated by the concentrations of armed attacks and by the territorial expansion and geographical distribution of displacement. By definition, the phenomenon of displacement affects peasant sectors.

121 MUNICIPALITIES OF ORIGIN AND/OR RECEPTION OF 75 PER CENT OF THE DISPLACED POPULATION
	91 Municipalities belonging to the group of reception of 75 per cent of the displaced population.
	16 Municipalities belonging to both groups, of origin and reception, of 75 per cent of the displaced population.
	16 Municipalities belonging to the group of origin of 75 per cent of the displaced population.
Source: Social Solidarity Network. National Register of displaced population.

Colombia lacks a system of information on forced displacement that allows figures to be put on the real magnitude of this phenomenon and on the magnitude of the demand of effective assistance from the Colombian State. Estimates vary considerably, ranging from over two million people in the past fifteen years, 288,127 in 1999, according to the Advisory Office for Human Rights and Displacement -CODHES-, to some 180,000 registered in the National Register of Displaced Population from 1997 onwards, to a figure of 46,000 recorded by the Episcopal Conference's RUT system since 1996. For this reason, the national government has adopted an initiative from the UNHCR to evaluate the various methodologies of information gathering, and the criteria applied. The Social Solidarity Network draws information from two sources, namely, the population registered for state assistance -the Single Register System (SUR)-, and an estimate of the displaced population, given the fact that not all displaced persons register on the SUR system.

(1) The Displaced Population Estimates System collects information from the territorial committees on displacement. The SUR register collects voluntary, impromptu statements from persons claiming state assistance, which are assessed by the Social Solidarity Network.
(2) The Episcopal Conference's information system, RUT, summarizes three information sources: a) Displaced persons who approach parish churches or diocesan centers; b) Persons searched for by parish churches or diocesan centers; c) mass displacements, regarding which parishes generate information strategies.
(3) Summary of data from the CODHES Survey, complementary to the System of Information on Forced Displacement and Human Rights in Colombia, SISDES; secondary sources, fieldwork, and analysis committees.

According to government records, people are expelled from a total of 763 municipalities; 414 municipalities are reception zones . Displacement is most serious in 121 municipalities, the places of origin or reception of 75 per cent of the displaced population: 91 municipalities are places of origin, 14 municipalities are reception zones, and 16 municipalities are both places of origin and reception zones. (see map). Government data on displacement, consistent with the trends pointed out by other sources, indicate that the regions worst affected by expulsions brought about by the armed groups are, among others, Antioquia, including Urabá and neighboring areas, part of Chocó, southern Bolívar, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Magdalena and Guajira), the Middle Magdalena region (Santander, Antioquia, Cesar), Meta, Cesar, Valle del Cauca, Caquetá, Sucre, Tolima, Santander, the Catatumbo region (Norte de Santander). Reception departments include Antioquia, Santander, Magdalena, Sucre, Valle del Cauca, Bolívar, Córdoba, Tolima, Caquetá and Bogotá D.C.

Data from the Displacement Estimates System shows that displaced persons come mostly from rural areas. In terms of the geographical distribution of the phenomenon, 228 municipalities are places of origin, 193 constitute reception zones, and 62 are both places of origin and reception zones. As far as the composition of the displaced population is concerned, 47 per cent are female, 54 per cent are under 18 years of age, and 36 per cent are members of Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities. Seventy-five per cent of the displaced population come from 25 municipalities, and 19 municipalities are host to 75 per cent of this population . The various sources coincide in attributing responsibility for the largest number of cases of displacement to the self-defense groups, and, to a smaller proportion, to the subversive groups on a national level, although in some regions displacements are attributable mostly to the guerrillas. Widespread threats are the cause of the largest proportion of displacements.

Source: Social Solidarity Network - SEFC - System of Forced Displacement Estimates by contrasting sources

The worsening of the problem of forced displacement has turned towns and departmental capitals into potential refuge areas. Displacements originate in rural areas, small towns, and even middle-sized municipal capitals such as Barrancabermeja, Ocaña, Tulúa, Carmen de Bolívar and Tibú. Resources of strategic importance are found in these places, including commercial plantations, mineral deposits and strategically significant geographical locations. Because of their characteristics, displacements often bring about changes in land tenure and in the ownership of other strategically important resources. This goes beyond the limits of a short-term conflict. The upsurge in the phenomenon of displacement resulting from the armed conflict has begun to spread beyond the border areas with Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador.