Twelfth Quarterly Status Report: Victims Institutional Strengthening Program - VISP

The program's objective is to strengthen capacities and build necessary competencies for the timely and effective execution and implementation of the law. During the twelfth quarter, from April 1 to June 30, 2015, VISP made significant progress in each of its four intermediate results. Intermediate Result 1 focused on supporting the Victims Unit's implementation of the Comprehensive Route, which involved the election of municipal, departmental, and national victims participation roundtables for 2015-17. VISP also supported the renovation and inauguration of Victims Attention Points in three communities. Intermediate Result 2 aimed to improve rehabilitation services for victims, which included the inclusion of self-care policies within the Victims Unit's and the Ministry of Health's institutional and human resources structures. Regional trainings for the Victims Psychosocial and Comprehensive Health Program (PAPSIVI) Phase III were also held, qualifying 296 inter-disciplinary team members at the local level. Intermediate Result 3 focused on transitional justice processes, which involved supporting sessions with the Victims Unit to hand over financial compensations to victims and providing guidance on how to invest these compensations. The International School of Reparations network was also launched, bringing together local and international experts on reparations. Intermediate Result 4 aimed to strengthen the capacity of public servants to address the specific needs of ethnic groups and women. VISP supported the training of more than 200 public servants from governor's offices and mayor's offices of capital cities in 10 departments on ethnic decree-laws and special rights of ethnic groups. The program also coordinated efforts between the Victims Unit and the National Historical Memory Center to hold sessions with LGBT victims to validate the first version of the historical memory report for this community. The implementation of the Comprehensive Victims Attention and Reparation Route had significant implications for the program, requiring additional labor to support the integration of information systems and existing applications, the re-training of public servants, and the implementation of the strategy to clear more than 300,000 rights of petition and writs of protection. The program's financial report for the quarter shows a total confirmed fund of USD 65,452,500, with total federal funds authorized at USD 56,322,579 and total cash receipts at USD 35,870,000. The total cash disbursements for the quarter were USD 38,184,528. VISP's progress during the quarter was affected by the implementation of the Comprehensive Victims Attention and Reparation Route and the escalation of the conflict at the regional level. Despite these challenges, the program made significant progress in each of its intermediate results, demonstrating its commitment to supporting the Government of Colombia in implementing the Victims Law.