Colombia: UN official seeks improved response to West’s worst humanitarian crisis

A senior United Nations relief official is in Colombia today for the start of an official visit, during which he will meet with senior government officials and look at ways to improve response to the Western Hemisphere’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, is expected to meet with President Alvaro Uribe, the Ministers of the Interior and Foreign Relations, Cardinal Rubiano, the High Commissioner for Peace, the Procurator General, and the Ombudsman of the Government of Colombia.

He is slated to hold talks also with diplomatic representatives and representatives of the civil society, and with the heads of the UN system in the South American country.

Mr. Egeland is scheduled to visit internally displaced persons (IDPs) and victims of the conflict in Cartagena, Soacha and in the south of Bogotá. Currently, there are an estimated two million IDPs in the country.