The role and activities of national institutional mechanisms in promoting and protecting minority rights 2012, para. 41
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Where minorities face violence, the presence of local independent human rights bodies can be a deterrent and important monitoring mechanism. The Office of the Ombudsman of Colombia has a Division for Ethnic Minorities and undertakes activities to protect minority Afro-Colombian leaders and communities at risk or violence from illegal armed forces. Local representatives (defensores comunitarios) work in sensitive minority areas where the presence of State authorities is weak. They have developed the trust of communities and operate an early warning and risk assessment system (Sistema de Alerta Temprana) under which credible threats are identified and alerts are assessed by security forces and civil institutions, often resulting in protection measures. The present Government has continued the policy of institutional attention to Afro-Colombian issues implemented by previous administrations in creating a Presidential Programme for Afro-Colombian Issues.