Over three years, between 2020 and 2023, the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative’s (ABA ROLI) Conectando Caminos por los Derechos (CCD) program also known as USAID’s Venezuelan Migrant Human Rights Activity, aimed to improve citizen security and community cohesion in communities receiving migrants. The CCD program represented a transition from short-term humanitarian assistance to long-term development assistance for migrants, Colombian returnees, and host communities. The program was implemented by USAID’s PROGRESS consortium, which included ABA ROLI, Freedom House, Pact, Search for Common Ground, and Internews.
In May 2023, ABA ROLI updated the Migration Judicial Log (known as, Bitácora Migración) with Colombia’s Universidad de ICESI to consolidate judicial decisions on human rights violations in migration. The Migration Judicial Log is accessible to national and local CSOs, the Colombian government, law enforcement, justice sector officials, and policymakers. ABA ROLI launched the second phase of CCD’s Social Inclusion Strategy, which focuses on rights, community integration, leadership, mediation, and conflict resolution to increase social and cultural inclusion. In February, ABA ROLI supported the eighth national meeting of the Strategic Litigation Network on Migration (Spanish, Red de Litigio Estratégico en Migración - Red-LEM) in Bogotá, which aims to improve access to quality legal services for migrants and refugees in Colombia. Furthermore, in February, the Honorable (Hon.) M. Margaret McKeown, Senior Judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals of the US, traveled to Colombia to meet with various judicial institutions, such as the Special Jurisdiction of Peace (Spanish, Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz) and the Superior Judicial Council. Also in Colombia, Hon. McKeown moderated a panel on Women in the Judiciary with a focus on US and Colombia perspectives and attended an event in Riohacha, La Guajira to hear from the local community and provide an overview of ABA ROLI’s various programs and support in the country.
In March 2023, CCD launched the Legal Assistance, Advocacy, and Strategic Litigation Working Group in Bucaramanga, involving academia, international organizations, and the mayor’s office; and later replicated it in Medellín. In May, ABA ROLI conducted closing events for the CCD program throughout Colombia, including an informal debriefing with key government and NGO partners in Bogota and an invitation to government officials from Casas de Justicia (Justice Houses) to share challenges and initiatives for community integration.
Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the three-year CCD Program was successful in its efforts to bridge the gap between vulnerable communities and institutional resources in targeted territories throughout the country—such as people-centered learning initiatives for Justice Houses. Also, in June, we collaborated with the Colombian newsletter El Espectador to develop the documentary, Justice Without Borders —which is a four-episode documentary telling the resilient story of the migrant, refugee, and returnee population and their journey to defend their human rights in Colombia. ABA ROLI partnered with local organizations that continue putting effort in improving lives of migrants in Colombia.