Based on the results offered by research conducted in the cities of Medellin and Bogota, this article aims to understand: the characteristics of the contexts in which Organizations for Displaced Populations (OPD in Spanish) intervene; the way in which they aim to re-establish rights; and some tensions in the interactions these organizations have with public and private institutions. It concludes that vital urgencies, responses to basic necessities, security problems presented by urban contexts, organizational models, leadership, and modes of negotiating with the State determine the reach and limits of the struggles for the re-establishment of rights for displaced populations.