Country:

Colombia

Date:

2020

Implementor:

Hileros/PCN (Consultant)

Funding Amount:

4,500

Details:

The goal to restore the collective titling process that was abruptly canceled by the National Land Agency, ANT, in April 2019 was achieved. The RRI coalition composed by Baru Community Council, OTEC-Javeriana University, Attorney General, PCN, and its leader and lawyer Silvio Garces (the leading creator of Law 70 of 1993 for the collective rights of Afro-descendant Peoples in Colombia) Dejusticia and the close support of RRG staff, coordinated and embarked in a legal battle against the decision of the ANT, part of which was financed by this SRM.

Titling of the Baru community is essential to continue as this is an emblematic case for the collective rights of Afro-descendant Peoples in Colombia. The Baru people inhabited the island since 1590 when runaway slaves created the first free territory or Palenque. Consolidating this case was essential for RRI to continue in the fight to pursue the collective titling of Afro-descendant Peoples in the Caribbean region of Colombia.