As part of a three-day official visit to Colombia, IOM Director
General William Lacy Swing is today meeting with Colombian
President Juan Manuel Santos to reaffirm IOM's commitment to
continue its work alongside the Government of Colombia as it
endeavours to put an end to decades of armed conflict, consolidate
peace and provide reparation to the victims of violence.

"More than four million Colombians have been directly impacted
by the violence.  But the entire country has suffered the
consequences of massive external and internal migration.  The
visit of the Director General is taking place at a moment that many
consider historic for this country," explains Marcelo Pisani, IOM
Chief of Mission in Colombia.

The Director General will also meet with the Presidential
Advisor for Social Action, Diego Molano, who oversees the
implementation of the Victims' Law that aims to provide reparation
to the four million victims of forced displacement and other crimes
against humanity; as well as with the High Commissioner for
Reintegration, Alejandro Eder, who heads the reintegration of
ex-combatants project that is currently supporting more than 54,000
persons who abandoned the illegal armed groups and are
reintegrating into civilian life.

IOM provides expertise and support to the Government reparation
initiatives for victims of violence.  Colombia's Justice and
Peace Law of 2005, includes collective reparation as one of the
mechanisms for compensation to victims.  Since 2007, IOM has
been providing support to the National Commission for Reparation
and Reconciliation (CNRR by its Spanish acronym), with funding from
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

IOM designed the collective reparation approach and worked with
six pilot communities in the drafting of each collective reparation
plan.

An assessment is also underway to identify the communities most
impacted by the violence of illegal armed groups.  Preliminary
findings identified 100 municipalities that have suffered severe
collective damage.  According to Colombian government figures
332,000 persons have applied for individual reparation.

Ambassador Swing will also meet with Juan Camilo Restrepo,
Minister of Agriculture, to discuss the land restitution policy
that seeks to return some two million hectares of land that were
abandoned or violently occupied by illegal armed groups, to victims
of violence.

The Director General also visited two IOM projects in the Valle
del Cauca region, in western Colombia where he met with the
beneficiaries and heard their stories.

The Stabilization Efforts for Displaced, Returned and Highly
Vulnerable Families Project is benefitting more than 470
coffee-growing families displaced by violence.  The project
was recently awarded the Emprender Paz award for its social
responsibility and partnership with the private sector.

Mr. Swing also met with the Embera-Chami indigenous community,
who live in the Garrapatas river canyon, and whose 3,100 members
have benefitted from an IOM project that has improved their access
to health, and has provided new housing for 43 families.

For more information, please contact:

Niurka Pineiro

IOM Washington

Tel: +1 202 862 1826, Ext. 225

E-mail: "mailto:npineiro@iom.int">npineiro@iom.int

or

Jorge Gallo

IOM Bogota

Tel: +57 1 639-7777

E-mail: "mailto:jgallo@iom.int">jgallo@iom.int