A/HRC/10/32 page 22 ownership of lands. During these events, OHCHR Colombia observed excessive use of force by the National Police.41 The lack of internal oversight and the use of different police forces with no overall high command might have encouraged these excesses. Furthermore, OHCHR Colombia is concerned at the stigmatization of the indigenous communities and their leaders by government officials and members of the security forces. 3. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) 84. All the figures show a continuous growth in the numbers of IDPs, with a disproportionate effect on communities located in regions where the armed conflict is fiercest.42 One of the causes of displacement in some areas is actions by illegal armed groups that have emerged since the paramilitary demobilization, to strip civilian populations of their lands. Other factors include the increased use of anti-personnel mines by FARC-EP and ELN; the intensification of forced recruitment by the guerrilla groups, and armed confrontations between them;43 the eradication of illegal crops; and the security forces’ operations against illegal armed groups. 85. OHCHR Colombia received information about the unresolved murder of 9 IDPs and of threats against at least another 250, many of them leaders of IDP organizations. Furthermore, OHCHR Colombia observed that Social Action, the government body in charge of assisting IDPs, sometimes agrees to register IDPs only when legal pressure is brought to bear in the form of injunctions. IDPs suffering such impairment of their rights are normally those who claim to have been forcibly displaced by illegal armed groups or by counter-insurgency actions by security forces. 86. Constitutional Court decision No. T-025 of 2004, and subsequent orders, indicated the persistence of an “unconstitutional state of affairs”, with respect to the assistance provided to IDPs. In April and October 2008, while recognizing the financial efforts made by the Government to assist IDPs, the Court stated that the IDP public assistance policy continued to be deficient in various aspects, in particular with respect to the lack of a special support for children and adolescents and for indigenous peoples and communities and Afro-Colombian groups.44 87. OHCHR Colombia continues to appreciate the importance of the Ombudsman’s Office and its branches throughout the country. However, it was noted with concern that the early warning 41 Clashes between indigenous organizations and the police left 3 people dead and more than 170 injured all told. OHCHR Colombia deplored these clashes in a statement dated 25 October 2008. 42 Between January and June 2008, the NGO Consultancy on Human Rights and Displacement (CODHES) recorded 270,675 new IDPs, 41 per cent more than during the same period in 2007. According to Social Action, 249,816 IDPs were registered between January and October 2008. 43 44 Incidents of this kind are reported in the department of Arauca in particular. Constitutional Court Orders Nos. 092 (April 2008), on sexual violence against displaced women, and 251 (October 2008), on measures to protect displaced children.