4.1.7. Confinement
Confinement events were caused by the spread of illegal armed groups and confrontation between them as they seek social and territorial control and benefits from illicit economies and fights with the armed forces.531 Confinement – as manifested in severe mobility restrictions on communities, curfews imposed by armed groups and the use of anti-personnel mines – remained a primary and increasing driver of humanitarian needs and risks.532 As with displacement, figures tracking confinement varied among sources. However, ICRC reported that in 2024, community confinement became more widespread than any time since the 2016 FARC-EP Peace Agreement.533 UNOCHA also reported that, in 2024, 138 419 people were in confinement, marking a 58 % increase compared to 2023, with 66 % being from Afro-descendant and indigenous populations.534 Indicating a similar trend toward increased confinement, ICRC commented that the confined population in 2024 grew by 89 % compared to the previous year.535 They also noted that confinements in 2025 have spread to departments where previously there were none reported, such as Norte de Santander, Guaviare, and Amazonas.536 Below are examples of sources reporting on confinement figures:
| Year | UNOCHA | ICRC | Office of the Ombudsperson |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 96 200537 | 39 404538 | 62 380539 |
| 2023 | 87 646 mainly in Caquetá, Cauca, Chocó, Nariño540 | 47 013 mainly in Chocó, Nariño, and Cauca541 | 66 279 mainly in Chocó, Putumayo, Nariño, Arauca, Valle del Cauca, and Cauca542 |
| 2024 | 138 419543 | 88 874 mainly in Chocó (36 288), Antioquia, Arauca, Bolívar, Caquetá, Putumayo, Cauca544 | 107 931 mainly in Cauca and Caquetá545 |
| 2025 | 85 760 (January to May 2025)546 | 11 490547 (January to May 2025) |
- 531
UNVMC, Report of the Secretary-General (S/2025/419), 27 June 2025, url, para. 36
- 532
UNVMC, Report of the Secretary-General (S/2025/419), 27 June 2025, url, para. 36
- 533
ICRC, Humanitarian Challenges 2025 – Colombia, April 2025, url, p. 6
- 534
OHCHR, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Colombia (A/HR/58/24), 22 January 2025, url, para. 16
- 535
ICRC, Humanitarian Challenges 2025 – Colombia, April 2025, url, p. 6
- 536
ICRC, Colombia : 2025 set to be the decade's worst year in humanitarian terms, 30 July 2025, url
- 537
UNOCHA, Informe : Impacto y Tendencias Humanitarias En Colombia Enero-Octubre de 2022, 21 November 2022, url
- 538
ICRC, Retos Humanitarios 2023 – Colombia, March 2023, url
- 539
Colombia, Defensoría del Pueblo, Informe anual sobre movilidad humana forzada en Colombia 2022, n.d., url, p. 25
- 540
OHCHR, Situation of Human Rights in Colombia (A/HRC/55/23),12 July 2024, url, para. 12
- 541
ICRC, Colombia Humanitarian Report 2024, April 2024, url
- 542
Colombia, Defensoría del Pueblo, Durante el 2023 en Colombia, cerca de 121.000 personas fueron víctimas de desplazamiento forzado masivo y confinamiento, url
- 543
UNOCHA, Informe Tendencias e Impacto Humanitario en Colombia 2024 – Fecha de corte: Enero-Diciembre de 2024, 3 February 2025, url; OHCHR, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Colombia (A/HR/58/24), 22 January 2025, url, para. 15
- 544
ICRC, Retos Humanitarios Colombia 2025, March 2025, url, p. 6; citing UARIV numbers
- 545
Colombia, Defensoría del Pueblo, Boletín sobre Dinámicas de Movilidad Humana Forzada en Colombia, 24 January 2025, url
- 546
ICRC, Colombia – 2025 set to be the decade's worst year in humanitarian terms, 30 July 2025, url
- 547
Colombia, Defensoría del Pueblo, Boletín mensual – Dinámicas de Movilidad Humana Forzada en Colombia, July 2025, url