One of the
major accomplishments of the UMN - Antioquia Human Rights Law Partnership thus
far has been the work done in regards to the joint clinical cases that both the
Colombian universities and the University of Minnesota have been working on, in
particular the ongoing case of La Picacha.
Within the country of Colombia, the state of Antioquia, and the city of Medellin, La Picacha is a very large river, which since 2011 has flooded annually, leaving the city residents of Medellin at great risk, particularly in the neighborhoods of Altarista, Belén, and Laureles-Estadio.
The
cooperative clinical case undertaken by the partners included in the project
aims to raise awareness to the problem occurring in the communities effected by
the flooding, as well as object to a mandate court order, which will be
explained in further detail later in this piece.
Known as
"La Quebrada La Picacha" [roughly translating to the
"Broken" La Picacha], the river flooding and subsequent inappropriate
action taken by the Colombian government has violated their international
responsibilities in the treaties that they are party to, including the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights
of the Child, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination, and the International Convention to Eliminate all Forms
of Discrimination against Women.
On August
2, 2013, the Medellin Oral Administration Court Twenty-Four ordered the
arrangement and advancement of "the evacuation of homes and infrastructure
in general at high risk and the associated relocation and all measures it deems
necessary...to effectively avert the imminent danger that threatens the
inhabitants of the areas identified." However, this court decision was
issued without any dialogue with the "inhabitants" of those high-risk
areas. By excluding the community members from a negotiation, or even a
conversation, the court decided that the best option for the people of Medellin
would be to uproot them from their homes and relocate them to another region of
the city. This decision has proven to be misguided, and has thus led to much
resistance among the residents effected by the flooding.
Unfortunately,
Medellin is heavily overrun by gangs, each of which controls separate regions
of the city, and relocating a gang into a territory of another potential rival
gang could even further endanger the lives of the inhabitants. Moreover, under
international legal standards, the government must supply equal quality or
better housing and access to education as was provided in a person's previous
place of residence, making the task increasingly difficult for the Municipality
of Medellin. However, despite the challenge this presents for Medellin, all of
these things could have been remedied provided the city government had
initially taken the proper technologically preventative measures against the
flooding of La Picacha or had spoken with the residents of the affected areas.
Therefore,
the clinics have taken up a popular action against the Municipality of
Medellin, demanding that the government recognize the community's right to
security and disaster prevention, the right to a healthy environment, the right
to a balanced ecology, and the management and rational use of natural
resources. When the clinical cases first brought the La Picacha issue to
attention, there had already been a couple of solutions proposed. First, the
construction of parallel roads to La Picacha was suggested, and second, the
construction of a linear park alongside La Picacha. Neither of these proposed
remedies, though not entirely sufficient to improve the situation, have
manifested into any concrete action being taken.
As of now, the only enacted
remedy has been the case of forced evictions, and the people of Medellin have
clearly objected to this option. Hopefully, the city residents and the
government will soon sit down and collaborate on a possible solution to the
continuous threat that is La Picacha. But until then, the clinical students of
both the Colombian universities and the University of Minnesota will be working
at increasing public awareness of the problem and letting the government know
that their actions neither go unnoticed nor lack repercussions.
Nota publicada en junio de 2014 disponible en: CLIC AQUÍ
