Stand by Colombia's Victims of Violence

As the Congress wrapped up the FY06 foreign operations bill, there’s some good news and bad news for Latin America. Latin America Working Group and coalition groups won some of what we had called for in this bill, which funds US aid programs worldwide. The Congress decided to maintain the ban on military aid to Guatemala, in place since 1990. The Bush Administration pushed harder than usual to lift the ban, arguing that Guatemala had made sufficient progress, and the House lifted the ban in its version of the bill. Grassroots activists, LAWG, NISGUA, Guatemala Human Rights Commission, WOLA and other groups called on Congress to keep the ban due to continued threats and attacks against human rights and social activists and lack of progress in implementing military reforms contained in the 1996 Peace Accords. The final bill also contained $3 million in DNA analysis and support for forensic investigations in Guatemala, Mexico, Argentina and other parts of Latin America. It contained a provision we supported to stop the erosion of aid to Central America, by mandating that aid to the region not drop below 2005 levels.

The Congress approved $734.5 million for the Andean Counternarcotics Initiative, as expected. In a great disappointment, the House rejected what the Senate had done to improve the balance of aid to the Andean countries, especially Colombia – the Senate had for the first time placed a cap on military and police aid to Colombia of $278 million and had increased development funds. The final balance of aid to Colombia from the Andean Counternarcotics Initiative will be $310.8 million in military/police aid and $158.6 million in economic/judicial aid, which is the same quantity of military aid and $6.5 million more in economic aid than the year before. Colombia also receives military aid from other accounts in the foreign operations and defense bills, so that the balance of aid will remain overwhelmingly—probably still 80%—military.

The Congress also approved $20 million in aid to fund the paramilitary demobilization. Colombian human rights groups have criticized the demobilization process for providing minimal punishment to leaders responsible for massacres and assassinations; for having no truth commission; and for failing to ensure that demobilized paramilitaries disclose their crimes, structures and financial assets. The underlying concern is that paramilitary violence will continue in other forms. The Congress fortunately included conditions on the assistance, although not as strong as we would have wished. The conditions require the Secretary of State to certify that demobilized paramilitaries receiving benefits have renounced violence and disclosed their involvement in past crimes and knowledge of the paramilitary structures, financing sources, illegal assets, and the location of kidnapping victims and bodies of the disappeared. They also require State to certify that the Colombian government is providing full cooperation to the United States in extraditing individuals who have been indicted in the United States for murder, drug trafficking and kidnapping. Disturbingly, the administration plans to take the $20 million in aid for the paramilitary demobilization out of the limited existing development funds for Colombia, including alternative development and, possibly, programs for the internally displaced. However, Congress has not specifically agreed to this, and we will work to insist that it comes from other sources.

The human rights conditions for Colombia—which had resulted this year in a seven-month delay in delivering some US military aid—were maintained and a new provision added to reflect concern about the war’s impact on indigenous communities. The State Department will be required to certify that “The Colombian government is taking effective steps to ensure that the Colombian Armed Forces are not violating the land and property rights of Colombia’s indigenous communities.”

The environmental conditions on the aerial spraying program for Colombia were also maintained. The conditions also require compensation for food crops destroyed, in cases where farmers were not growing any coca or poppy. While these conditions have proven extremely difficult to enforce, maintaining them keeps certain minimal limits on the program.

The bill requires the Agency for International Development to appoint a special advisor for indigenous issues worldwide—an effort to ensure greater consultation with indigenous peoples and improve how they are affected by aid programs.

The Congress kept the requirement for the State Department and Defense Department to make public a Foreign Military Training Report on US military training programs around the globe. This report has been essential for monitoring US programs to Latin America, as documented on by Center for International Policy, LAWG and WOLA on http://justf.org/.

Thanks to all of you who worked hard to tell Congress to make aid and policies that supports human rights, denies military aid to human rights abusers, and supports humanitarian and development aid. We wish they’d listened to everything we had to say! But whether they did or not, we’re going to keep calling for the United States to support peace, justice, and human rights, and generous, well-targeted aid for poverty reduction. And we know you will too.

Action: Thank Senator Leahy (D-VT) and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) for their hard work and dedication to aid for poverty reduction around the globe and policies that support human rights in Colombia and Guatemala in particular. Thank Rep. Kolbe (R-AZ) and Senator McConnell (R-KY) for retaining the ban on military aid to Guatemala. It is most important for members of Congress to hear this from their own constituents.

On June 28, the House of Representatives voted down an amendment that would have cut $100 million in military aid to Colombia. Instead, Plan Colombia will now be extended into 2006, providing the Colombian military with another $742 million of U.S. assistance. The McGovern-McCollum-Moore amendment went to the House floor as part of the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, the legislation that determines the foreign aid budget each year. After a heated, hour-long debate, it was defeated 189-234.

Despite losing the vote, the amendment and the debate are significant in the struggle against Plan Colombia. Colombia was by far the most hotly debated issue on the foreign operations bill. This shows Plan Colombia has become controversial in Congress, and that there is considerable resistance to the current policy. Members spoke passionately about Plan Colombia’s failure as drug policy, lack of improvements in human rights, and the need to have a balanced policy focused on development aid.

Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) spoke powerfully about the need to reduce the amount of military aid to Colombia. “This policy has failed as an anti-drug policy. It has failed as a human rights policy, and it has failed to have any impact whatsoever in reducing the availability, price or purity of drugs in the streets of America. … It is time that this House stood up and decided to stop sending a blank check to Colombia, year after year. It is time that we demand real progress on human rights as a condition to our aid. It is time that we stop being a cheap date.”

Congressman Sam Farr (D-CA) also expressed his disdain for Plan Colombia on the House floor. “Eighty percent of funds have gone for military assistance [to Colombia] and been eaten up by coca eradication. Only 20 percent of funds have gone to social and economic programs. These programs are what build local economies and communities and provide alternatives to coca production. [The current] distribution of assistance is not a recipe for permanent coca eradication. It's not a recipe for peace. It's a recipe for disaster.”

In spite of these disappointing results in the House, the Senate version of the bill was considerably improved. An additional $25 million in aid to Colombia was shifted from the Andean Counternarcotics Initiative to development and human rights assistance. The bill included conditions on the aerial spraying program and added tough conditions prior to any U.S. assistance for Colombian paramilitary demobilization.

Plan Colombia will indeed be continued 2006 – despite the fact that it was scheduled to end this year – but the exact provisions of the policy depend on negotiations between the House and Senate. A compromise between the House and Senate versions of the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill will be reached in conference committee in the fall, and the final bill will then be sent to the President’s desk for his approval.

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 To see how your representative voted, go to: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll329.xml.

After the vote, Congressman McGovern sent this appreciative and enthusiastic message to all those who worked so hard for this amendment:

"I would like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude for the tremendous effort and vitality of the work carried out by the national and grassroots organizations on the McGovern-McCollum-Moore (KS) amendment to cut military aid to Colombia. The breadth of the coalition that collaborated in support of this amendment is a clear demonstration of the increasing awareness among the American people about the failures of our current Colombia policy and the needless waste of billions of US tax dollars over the past six years."

"I encourage your members to continue this important fight to bring sanity back to our foreign policy and to our foreign aid budget - including making sure that Members who voted against this amendment understand the critical mistake they made and taking the time and care to thank those who voted in support of the amendment."

"Once again—my deepest thanks to you all—and I look forward to working with all of you in the weeks and months ahead."

Special thanks go to Reps. McGovern, McCollum and Moore for sponsoring the amendment; to Minority leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi and minority whip Rep. Schakowsky for their active support; to those who spoke passionately in favor of the amendment, including Reps. Farr, Skelton, Obey, Lowey, Honda, Schakowsky, Paul and Meeks; and to the 189 members who voted yes. Reps. Leach and Van Hollen were not able to speak, but submitted comments in favor of the amendment for the record.

"We are writing to ask you to refrain from certifying that the Colombian government meets the human rights conditions included in the foreign operations appropriations act until further progress is demonstrated. The U.S. law requiring certification is vital. In appropriating funds to the Colombian military, we have a responsibility to ensure that the Colombian government upholds the rule of law and will hold those accountable when abuses occur." Read the full letter (PDF).

Click here to view a PDF version of the statement.

Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Members’ Briefing
Statement by Lisa Haugaard, Latin America Working Group Education Fund

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you about this important issue. It is wonderful to have the chance to have the problems affecting Afro-Colombian and indigenous peoples discussed in depth by the caucus. In particular, thanks to Mr. Payne for your leadership on this issue.

It is encouraging to hear from USAID about their efforts to include Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities in our development programs, and about the projects specifically directed to these communities. We are very supportive of such programs.

However, it is also important to consider how overall policies by the US and Colombian governments affect Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities. My colleagues have given a good account of the impact, and I would like to stress three recommendations for improving U.S. policy to Colombia. These are part of our Blueprint for a New Colombia Policy, which was written with input from some thirty humanitarian agencies and nongovernmental groups working on Colombia issues, including two networks of human rights groups within Colombia. (In English: http://www.lawg.org/docs/Blueprint.pdf ; in Spanish: http://www.lawg.org/docs/LAWGColombiaSP.pdf )

1. We need a tougher human rights policy. There has been very little progress in terms of investigating and prosecuting army officials implicated in human rights violations and collusion with abusive paramilitary forces. The Attorney General last year dismissed charges against General Rito Alejo del Río for allegedly aiding and abetting paramilitary groups and in 2005 the Supreme Court dismissed the case against Admiral Rodrigo Quiñonez regarding his leadership during the Chengue massacre—and these are only a couple of the most high-profile cases. There are countless other stalled cases, including ones involving direct violations by the military. Army-paramilitary collusion continues, including in areas like Chocó, with its substantial Afro-Colombian population. We need to be tougher, more willing to criticize. Our embassy must talk about human rights issues publicly, and the State Department must be willing to hold up military aid based on the human rights conditions in the law, and demand real progress on cases and on ending collusion with paramilitary forces. We’re not helping Colombia by pretending that everything’s getting better.

2. We should be emphasizing alternative development programs, not aerial spraying. After the massive spraying campaign in Putumayo province, coca cultivation began spreading to neighboring provinces and increasingly into areas with greater Afro-Colombian and indigenous populations. As frankly cruel as the policy of aerial spraying without alternative development is for all populations of small farm families, it is even more problematic for indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities. Already targeted by all sides in the war and feeling the brunt of internal displacement by violence, if forced into displacement from aerial spraying these populations would lose access to the collective land titles which have allowed their communities a certain cohesion. Indigenous communities are in particular rooted to a given piece of land and geography. We need to ask AID and INL to give small farmers in the areas targeted for fumigation a chance to first eradicate manually, with development assistance. Congress should examine these plans carefully and insist that serious alternative development programs be offered to not just a small subset of farmers but, working with the Colombian government and other international donors, ensure that aid is available for the majority of small farm families willing to eradicate.

3. We need to increase and improve assistance for the internally displaced. We need to be offering more aid, more rapid disbursement, and greater protection to prevent displacement. This is Colombia’s most pervasive human tragedy, and Afro-Colombian and indigenous people are disproportionately affected. This kind of humanitarian aid is our best program in Colombia, but it is still a tiny portion of the overall total aid package and far from serving the needs. The Colombian government must be asked to shoulder its share of the burden – its efforts are inadequate – but we should also increase U.S. funding.

We must encourage greater protection of communities from attack from all armed actors. It is important to understand that protection doesn’t come in any automatic way from arming and equipping the Colombian army. The army itself has to be rid of officials and soldiers who are colluding with paramilitaries or committing direct violations. There has to be far greater attention to civilian state agencies helping communities – the Attorney General’s office, the Inspector General’s office, the Ombudsman’s office. Protection comes not only from armed presence but from investigating crimes and ending impunity. If you have armed presence without an accompanying justice system that functions, you are not protecting communities, and indeed you can be putting them at risk.

There must be space for communities who wish to not to participate in the war, including by rejecting the presence of security forces they see as colluding with paramilitary forces in their communities. This is particularly important with indigenous communities, some of which have a traditional culture of nonviolence. These efforts should be respected where possible and certainly should not be seen as a threat to state authority – they are no threat to the state but rather a desperate means of self-preservation that stems in part from lack of trust in government security forces. Finally, the early warning system, designed to protect communities and funded largely by the U.S., must be improved. One of the areas where this system has worked least is in Chocó, with its Afro-Colombian population. The government agencies dealing with security are playing the lead role in determining when alerts are sent out, rather than the judicial agencies, and as a result threats against communities are being downplayed. Responses to alerts that are sent out can help but are inadequate. The system of alerts needs to be made public and transparent.

Thank you so much for your interest in helping Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities in Colombia.

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
U.S. State Department
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary of State Rice,

We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations, write to express our profound concern and deepest condemnation of the recent massacre of eight civilians, including three children, in the hamlets of Mulatos and Resbalosa, a few miles from the peace community of San José de Apartadó, Colombia. In light of allegations of involvement by members of the Colombian military, it is essential that the U.S. government send a strong signal by insisting that an effective investigation be conducted by civilian authorities. The State Department must include this case in its evaluation of Colombian compliance with U.S. human rights conditions, and must refrain from certification until a credible investigation has been completed.

According to information received from the field, between February 21 and 22 Luis Eduardo Guerra, a well-known leader of the San José de Apartadó Peace Community, his eleven-year-old son and his companion were detained by armed men who identified themselves as belonging to the Colombian military. Alfonso Bolivar Tuberquía, a member of the Peace Council of the hamlet in Mulatos, and his family also disappeared. Several local people later discovered blood and human remains in two sites in the area.

On February 25, the Peace Community organized a fact-finding mission to the hamlets of Mulatos and Resbalosa. At the same time, a governmental judicial commission carried out an exhumation of the grave found on the farm of Mr. Tuberquía and found mutilated bodies (three adults and two children, aged six and two years old). In La Resbalosa, members of the community recognized the bodies of Luis Eduardo Guerra and his family. It is shocking that a community which is the recipient of provisional protection measures from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and for which the Colombian Constitutional Court requested effective protection measures in March 2004, would be subjected to such a brutal and cruel attack.
The judicial commission itself came under attack, resulting in the death of one policeman. Police sources allege that the attack on the commission was carried out by the FARC. We vigorously condemn the attack upon judicial authorities and call for a thorough investigation into this incident as well.

In light of the allegations of military involvement in the killing of members of the San Jose de Apartadó community, we ask that your office not certify Colombian compliance with the human rights conditions, until such time as the Colombian government has conducted a transparent, impartial, effective investigation into the massacre, and is proceeding to prosecute those responsible. Given the nature of the crimes, prosecution must take place within the civilian justice system.

In addition, the Department of State should undertake the following actions:

- Direct the U.S. Embassy to release a public statement condemning the massacre, expressing concern for the safety of the residents of the community and calling on the Colombian government to ensure that civilian judicial authorities conduct a full and impartial investigation into the killings of these eight persons;

--Insist that the Colombian Government take effective measures to ensure the safety of the residents of San José de Apartadó community and the Colombian non-governmental organizations who have denounced the crimes. Protective actions should be fully consulted with the community, as required by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' provisional measures.

-Encourage the U.S. Ambassador to visit the community to express condolences on behalf of the people of the United States for the losses suffered, and to show support for the safety of the community.

Colombian and international human rights organizations have repeatedly opposed the certification of the human rights conditions because of continuing evidence of collaboration between sectors of the armed forces and paramilitaries, and because of evidence of human rights violations directly committed by members of the armed forces. Effective, impartial investigation and prosecution by civilian authorities in this new case is a minimally necessary step, but it should not be considered sufficient to justify compliance. The Department of State should thoroughly review the requirements for vigorous investigation and prosecution, and the severing of ties with paramilitaries, before again certifying compliance.

In closing, we ask that your office inform us as to the actions taken to ensure justice for Luis Eduardo Guerra, his family and colleagues.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,

Alexandra Arriaga
Director for Government Relations
Amnesty International USA

Joy Olson
Executive Director
Washington Office on Latin America

José Miguel Vivanco
Executive Director for the Americas
Human Rights Watch

James R. Stormes SJ
Secretary, Social and International Ministries
Jesuit Conference

Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory
Director, Washington Office
Presbyterian Church (USA)

Pat Clark
Executive Director
Fellowship of Reconciliation

Cristina Espinel and Kelleen Corrigan
Co-Chairs
Colombia Human Rights Committee

Adam Isacson
Program Director
Center for International Policy

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy
Executive Director
Witness for Peace

Mary Ellen McNish
General Secretary
American Friends Service Committee

Todd Howland
Director
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights

Kenneth H. Bacon
President
Refugees International

Patricia Burkhardt
Legislative Officer
Church Women United

Neil Jeffery
Executive Director
U.S. Office on Colombia

Saul Murcia
Co-Director Latin America & Caribbean
Mennonite Central Committee

Shannon Lockhart
Administrator
Sister Parish, Inc.

Barbara Gerlach
Colombia Liaison
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries

Kathryn Wolford
President
Lutheran World Relief

Max L. Gimbel
Director of Research
Guatemala Human Rights Commission

Phil Jones
Director
Church of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office

Gary L. Cozette
Director
Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America

Martha Pierce
Director
Chicago Metropolitan Sanctuary Alliance

Ted Lewis
Human Rights Program Director
Global Exchange

Bob Schwartz
Executive Director
Disarm Education Fund

Tom Bamat
Representative for Colombia
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

Marino Córdoba
Executive Director
Afrodes–USA

Pam Bowman
Legislative Coordinator
School of the Americas Watch

Terry Collingsworth
Executive Director
International Labor Rights Fund

Peter Laarman
Executive Director
Progressive Christians Uniting

Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock
Director
Faith Voices for the Common Good


To reply to this letter, respond to: Lisa Haugaard, Executive Director, Latin America Working Group, 424 C Street NE, Washington, DC 20002.


Cc: Ambassador William Burns, Acting Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs
Roger Noriega, Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs
Ambassador Michael Kozak, Acting Assistant Secretary of State,
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
Danika Walters, Program Officer, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
Lisa Bobby Hughes Schreiber, Director, Office of Andean Affairs
Heather Merritt, Colombia Desk Officer

Blueprint for a New Colombia Policy presents a positive set of recommendations on how to improve U.S. policy towards Colombia. At the expiration of the original six-year Plan Colombia, Blueprint urges the U.S. government to take a tougher stance on human rights, prioritize social aid rather than limitless military assistance, and urge peace negotiations with truth, justice, and reparations for victims.

Read our report Blueprint for a New Colombia Policy (PDF)
Lea neustra publicación Propuesta para una nueva política hacia Colombia (PDF)

"We write to express our strongest condemnation of the murders of Luis Eduardo Guerra, a leader of the San Jose de Apartado community in Antioquia who was personally known to some of us, and seven other people, among them women and children as young as ages two and six. We also wish to express our great concern for the safety of the inhabitants of the San Jose de Apartado Peace Community." Read the full letter (PDF).

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

Dear Secretary Rice,

We the undersigned non-governmental organizations of the United States wish to express our support for the donor conference in Cartagena. We consider the process initiated in London to be an extraordinary opportunity for the international community to support the Colombian people and institutions in their efforts to develop solutions to the country's severe problems, exacerbated by more that 40 years of armed conflict. In particular feel it is important to recognize the critical role of Colombian civil society in shaping the process, and the support that they have received from the G-24 group of international governments.

We welcome the possibility of new economic and social aid for Colombia to address the impact of the internal armed conflict. However we believe strongly that U.S. support to Colombia should be more than just financial aid; rather it should improve the security of all Colombians, strengthen the rule of law, increase respect for human rights and international humanitarian law and assist in the search for a negotiated settlement to the conflict. We feel that support for the recommendations of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as set out in the London declaration is the most appropriate and effective way to achieve these goals.

While we look favorably on any advance in the peace process, we are seriously concerned that without a legal framework in place the present demobilization plans are effectively granting impunity to AUC members responsible for gross human rights violations and failing to dismantle paramilitary structures. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in a recent report confirmed that the "demobilisation mechanisms have not been accompanied by comprehensive measures to provide relief to the victims of the violence or to clarify the many criminal acts that remain in impunity...therefore the factors generating the conflict in large measure persist"

In particular, we urge that the final declaration

1) recognize the process established in London in July 2003;

2) recognize the critical role of civil society in shaping the future of Colombia, and provide mechanisms by which the G-24 group can continue to support dialogue between the Colombian authorities and civil society;

3) recognize the fundamental contribution of the United Nations in developing solutions to the conflict, particularly through the work of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Secretary General's Special Representative;

4) urge the Colombian Government to make demonstrable and timely progress in complying with the recommendations of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights;

5) establish as a fundamental prerequisite to any international funding for the paramilitary demobilization process the inclusion of a legal framework finalized by the Colombian Congress, that satisfies requirements for truth, justice and reparation in compliance with standards and principles of international law, accompanied by an appropriate mechanism for effective implementation and verification;

6) explicitly recognize the existence of an armed conflict in Colombia, requiring full observance of international humanitarian law.

We appreciate your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Neil Jeffery
Executive Director
U.S. Office on Colombia

Joy Olson
Executive Director
Washington Office on Latin America

Adam Isacson
Director of Programs
Center for International Policy

Lisa Haugaard
Executive Director
Latin America Working Group *

Stephen Coats
Executive Director
U.S./Labor Education in the Americas Project

Krisanne Vaillancourt
Executive Director
Witness for Peace

British Robinson
National Director of Social and International Ministries
Jesuit Conference USA

Cristina Espinel and Kelleen Corrigan
Co-Chairs
Colombia Human Rights Committee

Barbara Gerlach
Colombia Liaison
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries

Jacqueline Baker
Legislative Coordinator
School of the Americas Watch

Sr. Marta Inés Toro, OP
Justice and Peace Coordinator
Dominican Sisters of the Presentation


* Organization designated for identification purposes only

Cc
Andrew Natsios, Administrator, United States Agency for International Development
Michael Kozak, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, United States Department of State
Danika Walters, Program Officer, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, United States Department of State
Heather Merritt, Colombia Desk Officer, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, United States Department of State

Senator Christopher Dodd
Senator Russell Feingold
Senator Patrick Leahy
Senator Mitch McConnell

Representative Jim Kolbe
Representative Nita M. Lowey
Representative James P. McGovern

Dear President Bush and Senator Kerry:

As representatives of a broad range of U.S. churches and faith communities we are calling upon you as a presidential candidate to commit to a serious reassessment of current U.S. policy towards Colombia. We believe it is time to envision a new strategy to respond to the needs of both nations and to work for the peace and security of our respective peoples.

Colombia is one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a religious leader, a promoter of peace, or human rights defender. The danger is consistently brought to light as astonishing numbers of religious and civil society leaders are assassinated, threatened and detained. The suffering of the Colombian churches and their call to us for assistance and solidarity compel us to appeal to you to seriously consider recommendations for a new U.S. policy toward Colombia that are outlined below.

We believe it is of great importance for the United States to remain engaged with the government of Colombia and Colombian civil society organizations, but to do so in a manner that will support aspirations for a just and sustainable peace as well as effectively address our shared concerns about drug production and consumption.

In this light, we respectfully urge you to include the following recommendations in a new vision for U.S. policy towards Colombia:

I. A greater commitment to a negotiated, political path towards peace.

After forty years of an ever-escalating armed conflict that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands, Colombian Catholic and Protestant church representatives have been clear that a negotiated political process, though difficult and contentious, is essential to the resolution of the current conflict. Every effort should be made to achieve a politically negotiated peace process inclusive of civil society participation, and based upon verification of ‘truth, justice and the provision of reparations for the victims of war.’

We call upon both Presidential campaigns to make a greater commitment to support Colombian and international efforts towards a negotiated resolution of the conflict in Colombia.

II. Increased attention to social concerns as a preferred long-term strategy to sustainable peace.

The conflict in Colombia and involvement of peasant farmers in coca production is deeply rooted in social and economic exclusion of many of its citizens. Many of the areas most in conflict have little or no social infrastructure or viable economic options. Strategies that rely primarily on military aid or fumigation, and provide only limited social investment in local communities, will not create lasting change.

The United States can make a significant positive contribution to long-term peace and stability in Colombia by shifting the focus of its foreign aid towards a much greater emphasis on effective social development. There are an increasing number of initiatives throughout the country of local governments, churches, and civil society coming together to create lasting alternatives to overt violence and the inequality and poverty that have sustained it. These initiatives, and the communities they serve, could greatly benefit from development funding – with long-term benefit for thousands of people.

The situation of internal displacement in Colombia is a crisis of staggering proportions – and one of the most serious in the world. Almost three million people have been displaced from their homes since 1985. Churches locally and internationally are responding to the great needs of Colombia’s internally displaced, a group that most aptly represents the human face of suffering in the country. We are grateful for the attention provided to refugees and internally displaced persons through U.S. aid, and see this as a positive contribution of U.S. policy toward Colombia. Yet much more remains to be done.

We call for a greater proportion of the U.S. aid to Colombia to be dedicated to investment in sustainable development, humanitarian aid and the defense of human rights.

III. Humane drug policies that meet the needs of those most directly impacted.

We share a deep concern about the consumption and production of illicit drugs. Billions of dollars have been spent on fumigation and interdiction yet, drug consumption continues unabated in our communities, drug offenses have exploded the prison populations, and treatment programs go under funded. This approach is not working.

The churches and faith communities in the U.S. and Colombia are painfully aware of the devastation of drugs in the lives of individuals, families and our communities. We see the end results every day and minister to affected families. It is precisely because we are so well versed in the human costs of the drug crisis that we are well placed to call for effective drug policies that will have lasting impact in all of our communities.

As the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s January 2004 Pulse Check Study of drug abuse in 25 U.S. cities states: powder and crack cocaine remains readily available and there are no clear positive trends on price and purity. As church organizations, we do not claim expertise on the best demand reduction strategies, but we urge you to shift the focus of current drug policy.

We call for increased drug treatment programs and realistic, pragmatic prevention strategies as a much more sustainable and humane way to achieve the goal of reducing drug abuse in the United States.

Thank you for your attention to the great courage and great needs of our Colombian brothers and sisters. We hope to work with you as we seek durable solutions for all affected communities.


Signed,

National Heads of Communion and Faith-Based Organizations

Rev. John L. McCullough
Executive Director and CEO
Church World Service

Rev. Dr. Robert Edgar
General Secretary
National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA

Rev. Ronald D. Witherup, S.S.
President
Conference of Major Superiors of Men

Kathryn Wolford
President
Lutheran World Relief

Bruce Wilkinson
Senior Vice President
International Programs Group
World Vision

Rev. John Thomas
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ

The Reverend Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

James Winkler
General Secretary
General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church

The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church, USA

Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick
Stated Clerk
Presbyterian Church (USA)

Rosanne Rustemeyer, SSND
Executive Director
U.S. Catholic Mission Association

Ken Hackett
President
Catholic Relief Services

Rev. Kenneth Gavin, S.J.
National Director
Jesuit Refugee Service/USA

Gail E. Mengel
National Board Minister
Church Women United

Carolyn Krebs, OP
President
Dominican Leadership

Marie Dennis
Director
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

Joe Volk
Executive Secretary
Friends Committee on National Legislation

Jim Wallis
Editor
Sojourners Magazine

Arlene DiMarco
Vice President
National Council of Catholic Women
Harrisburg, PA

Maureen Fenlon, OP
National Coordinator
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby

Rev. Ron Stief
Minister and Team Leader
Washington Office
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries

J. Daryl Byler
Director
Mennonite Central Committee, Washington Office

Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton
Auxiliary Bishop,
Archdiocese of Detroit
Detroit, MI

Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory
Director
Washington Office
Presbyterian Church, (USA)

US Jesuit Conference

Richard Parkins
Director
Episcopal Migration Ministries

Executive Council, Sisters of St. Francis

Brian Terrell
Executive Director
Catholic Peace Ministry
Des Moines, IA

Krisanne Vaillencourt
Executive Director
Witness for Peace

Patricia Clark
Executive Director
Fellowship of Reconciliation USA

Jim Atwood
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship

Sister Mary M McGlone
Executive Director,
FUVIRESE USA

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
Denver, CO

Dr. Monika K. Hellwig
President
Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
Washington, DC

Phil Reed, M.Afr.
Coordinator, Justice and Peace Office
North American Province
Society of Missionaries of Africa

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