Southern Colombia

The present book is the synthesis of a research activity on the current humanitarian, social and economic situation in two departments of the southern part of the country: Putumayo and Vaups. Both departments have been severely hit by the internal conflict, both in terms of direct clashes between legal and illegal military forces and in terms of expulsion and receiving of internally displaced population. The research consists in an analysis of the socio-economic background of the two departments, followed by a more specific contextualization of the areas inside the framework of the Colombian conflict and humanitarian crisis, with particular reference to the violent episodes occurred inside the two departments in recent times. Inside of this picture, the research develops an assessment of the most evident basic needs (both humanitarian and developmental) of the departments of Putumayo and Vaups, with the aim of making a tentative evaluation of the response of the institutions and of the international cooperation to the needs of these areas.