With a staggering 3 million internally displaced persons and more than 70,000 people killed or forcibly disappeared since the late 1980s, Colombia has been described by the United Nations as having the worst humanitarian crisis in the Americas. Colombia’s ethnic minorities, in particular its Indigenous and Afro-Colombian peoples, have suffered disproportionately from both conflicts to the point that, according to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples, some Indigenous peoples in that country are currently in danger of extinction.

This conference will bring together activists, academics and key representatives of Colombia’s Indigenous and Afro-Colombian peoples to examine the dramatic situation facing these threatened communities and their proposals for positive change. All are welcome and participation is free. Spanish-English translation will be provided.

The conference is sponsored by Rights and Democracy (Montreal), the Latin American Human Rights Education and Research Network (RedLEIDH), and the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC, Toronto.

Date and venue:

Thursday, March 15, 2007
OISE, room 2212, 252 Bloor St. W.
7pm - 9pm (event co-sponsored by the Transformative Learning Centre, OISE, UofT)

Friday, March 16, 2007
Stong College, Master's Dining Room, York University
9am - 6pm

Please register in advance for the Friday conference by sending an email to cerlac2@yorku.ca, indicating whether you will require Spanish-English translation. Please visit CERLAC's website for the complete conference program.