How Colombia’s praised land restitution process is failing the displaced

How Colombia’s praised land restitution process is failing the displaced

written by Stephen Gill April 20, 2016

Colombia’s land restitution process is failing to adequately process the return of land to victims of displacement and is now facing severe criticism from both NGOs and political movements.

The Victims and Land Restitution Law (Law 1448) was enacted in 2011 with the chief purpose to reclaim around 8 million illegally stolen hectares, an area larger than Costa Rica, that have been forcefully seized from millions of Colombians since 1985.

However, according to a report from the University of Antioquia and a series of NGOs, “five years have passed and land restitution has not advanced.” The report entitled “Shaping Fortunes” sought to highlight the major inefficiencies that have plagued the restitution process in Colombia since its inception in 2011.

While the government continues to defend the process stating that it has resolved 32,532 cases of 89,498, the report claims that “only 3.4 per cent of applications have been resolved in court.”

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombias-praised-land-restitution-process-failing-displaced/