Colombia is characterized by a context of armed conflict and serious outrages of Human rights and International humanitarian law.

They give to the whole population and more particularly the most vulnerable, the access as much for the knowledge and the right of defense, as for the legal system.  

But these Colombian lawyers have to face 3 major difficulties :

1. The profession insecurity due to the lack of professional organization,
2. The isolation of lawyers in the regions by reason of a strong centralization in big cities,
3. The implementation of the code of criminal procedure favoring the accusatory system (since 2005)

All the actions of the project aim to improve the security, the independence and the lawyers’ training but also get the authorities and the civil society recognize the legitimacy of their function and the necessity to guarantee a specific protection for them.

Over 5 years, so since 2003, the 3 projects ASF France’s axis in Colombia have been fulfilled :

1. Creation of international mission of census and project support of lawyers in danger.
2. Institutional reinforcement of the profession through the constitution of a network composed of associations, of regional relay and by the creation of the Lawyer Home in Bogota.
3. Action of training in terms of professional organization, of juridical instruments’ use and above all the accusatory criminal procedure.

Projects 2008 :

• Training of the new code of criminal procedure (accusatory system) in collaboration with the Defensoria Publica.
• Training in Representation and Defense of the victims.
• Evaluation of the creation of a national order of lawyers, and the submission a bill to the Colombian Congress this year.
• Emergency network for the threatened lawyers.