August 3, 2005

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
2201 C Street, NW
Room 7226
Washington, DC 20520

Fax: 202-647-2283

Dear Secretary Rice,

I am writing to express my outrage at the State Department’s recent decision to certify that the Colombian military meets human rights conditions. The release of this military aid sends a signal of approval to the Colombian government for the military’s human rights record, completely disregarding lack of progress in cases of murder by Colombian security forces. The human rights certification process was created to ensure that the U.S. government would not blindly fund the Colombian military. But the State Department’s certification decision shows that the U.S. does not hold the Colombian government responsible for the actions of its armed forces.

The Colombian military has been implicated in various human rights violations in the past year, and little to no progress has been made in the majority of these cases. The February massacre in the peace community San José de Apartadó is a particularly egregious example. Eight community members were macheted to death, including three children and human rights defender Luis Eduardo Guerra. The San José case is not advancing, and countless other cases, such as the Mapiripan massacre and continual threats against trade unionists, politicians and NGOs in the Operación Dragón case, are not resolved. Moreover, the Arauca murders of trade unionists by the U.S.-funded 18th brigade were only investigated with pressure from the U.S. State Department. This pressure needs to be maintained for all of these cases.

I am extremely disappointed that such little progress has been made on these cases, and even more upset that the U.S. is rewarding the Colombian government for such inaction by releasing military aid. I am also very concerned about the documented, continuous collaboration between the military and paramilitary death squads in many parts of the country. Until links military links to paramilitary forces are severed, and the perpetrators of human rights violation cases are prosecuted, the U.S. should not send military aid to Colombia.

The U.S. has considerable political leverage with the Colombian government, which it should use to demand accountability and prosecution of human rights abusers – whether or not they are in the military. I expect that in the next certification process the State Department will more seriously take into account the effect that their decision has on innocent Colombian civilians.

Sincerely,

[your name
and address]