Drugs and (Dis)order Forced Eradication Incidents in Colombia, 2016-2020

Collection of press reporting and videos on confrontations between state forces and rural populations that occurred during forced manual eradication of illicit crops in Colombia. It is based on a database created by the Observatory for the Restitution and Regulation of Agrarian Property Rights in Colombia, and continues to be updated as new events are registered. This version of the database contains 107 incidents registered between November 2016 and July 2020. The collection of videos contains 40 videos of forced eradication carried out by the Mobile Anti-Riot Squadron (ESMAD) and/or the Armed Forces. Most videos were recorded by peasants for use in formal complaints against the perpetrators, between February 2017 and July 2020.

Drugs & (dis)order is a Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) project generating new evidence on how to transform illicit drug economies into peace economies in Afghanistan, Colombia and Myanmar. By 2030, more than 50% of the world’s poor will live in fragile and conflict-affected states. And many of today’s armed conflicts are fuelled by illicit drug economies in borderland regions. Trillions of dollars have been spent on the War on Drugs, but securitised approaches have failed. In fact, they often increase state fragility and adversely affect the health and livelihoods of communities and households. In light of these failures, there’s increasing recognition that drug policies need to be more pro-poor and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But the evidence base for this policy reform is patchy, politicised and contested. Drugs & (dis)order is helping to generate pro-poor policy solutions to transform illicit economies into peace economies. To do this we will: (1) Generate a robust evidence base on illicit drug economies and their effects on armed conflict, public health and livelihoods. (2) Identify new approaches and policy solutions to build more inclusive development and sustainable livelihoods in drugs affected contexts. (3) Build a global network of researchers and institutions in Afghanistan, Colombia, Myanmar and the UK to continue this work.

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