by Katherine Trujillo
on November 22, 2011
 This patchwork quilt, with photos and bits of poems stitched on it, was created by Blanca Nieves from the blue jeans, blouses and dresses of her four murdered daughters, who were disappeared and killed by paramilitary forces in Putumayo, Colombia where the family lived. This quilt is one of the tremendously moving pieces of art in Remember Me: Voices of the Silenced in Colombia exhibit, created by Lutheran World Relief and the Colombian human rights groups MINGA, Agenda Caribe and Fundación Manuel Cepeda.
 Vanessa Kritzer takes the exhibit to Portland with Witness for Peace Northwest organizer Colette Cosner!For the past two years, this powerful exhibit has travelled around the United States, educating communities about our country’s role in Colombia’s conflict. LAWG got involved this past summer, working with Witness for Peace and Lutheran World Relief to display the exhibit and organize panel discussions about U.S.-Colombia policy in Seattle and Portland. Then, on October 4th, 2011, we brought it to Washington, DC, for a reception in the U.S. House of Representatives.
 Art piece about fumigations.The Remember Me exhibit features works of art created and inspired by victims of violence, their friends and families from San Onofre, Sucre and the province of Putumayo. One piece was comprised of a simple plastic box filled with a mosaic of small squares, each with a face of a desaparecido (disappeared) in Colombia who lies somewhere unidentified in a mass grave. Another powerful work used toy planes to illustrate the devastating effects of aerial fumigations, as they indiscriminately dropped herbicides on fertile land and families. A third poignant piece used three hearts connected by a stake, highlighting the faces of a leaders killed or imprisoned because of their commitment to human rights and peace. Representative Jim McGovern speaks about violence in Colombia.
At the opening in the Rayburn House Office Building, Colombian human rights defender Juan David Diaz spoke about his father, who was murdered in February 2003. Tito Diaz, mayor of the small town El Roble in Sucre, had denounced the alliance between deadly paramilitaries and local politicians to then-President Uribe. Within weeks, his bodyguards were removed, and in April of that same year he was found murdered, tortured, shot and left in a crucifix position. Today, his son Juan David continues to endure threats for his own human rights work.
Congressional Human Rights Caucus Co-Chair Representative Jim McGovern also spoke at the reception about his experiences visiting displaced communities in Colombia and many families who are victims of human rights abuse. “This exhibit helps bring those voices to life,” said Rep. McGovern. “It is so important that we not just know, but feel, the violence and loss that they experience.”
 Lisa and Vanessa attend the Remember Me opening in Congress with Annalise Romoser from LWR, Zoraida Castillo, Amaury Padilla, and Juan David Diaz.Zoraida Castillo from Lutheran World Relief’s Colombia office described the process they went through to create the exhibit. Then, Amaury Padilla from MINGA explained that this exhibit comes from a tradition in Colombia used not only to honor the victims, but also to illuminate truths that are too often denied about the country’s decades-long conflict.
This exhibit humanizes Colombia’s humanitarian crisis by providing a forum for understanding outside of the context of policy papers and statistics. Remember Me drives home a powerful lesson by giving a face to the victims and those who struggle for justice.
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by Vanessa Kritzer
on November 21, 2011
CONTACT:
Lisa Haugaard, Latin America Working Group, 202-546-7010
Camilo Ramirez, Center for Constitutional Rights, 212-614-6463
November 21, 2011 – Twenty-seven non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from across Canada, the United States and Mexico have signed statements and sent letters of support for the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective (CCAJAR) and the Inter-American Human Rights System in response to troubling statements questioning the credibility of CCAJAR and the Inter-American system made by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and other high-ranking Colombian officials.
The Colombian government made these statements after a woman recanted her previous testimony that her husband and sons had been killed in the 1997 massacre in the village of Mapiripán. CCAJAR had represented the woman, along with several other victims’ family members, in a case brought before the Inter-American Human Rights Court, which ruled in 2005, based upon evidence provided by the Colombian government, that the Colombian State held responsibility for the massacre and should conduct a thorough investigation to determine the identity of all the victims and pay them reparations. As the Inter-American Court wrote in its decision, “it is the State's obligation to properly investigate the human rights violations that have occurred in Colombia, which have cost the lives of thousands of Colombians and have taken place with the proven acquiescence or participation of agents of the State.”
All of the statements and letters of support from the different North American organizations highlight their extreme concern over the declarations made by Colombian government officials against CCAJAR. For example, in its November 16th letter to President Santos, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) identified problematic statements from the President himself, in which he attempts to discredit the Collective. CCR highlights how these statements are “outrageous to anyone who is familiar with the brave and committed work of CCAJAR for truth and justice on behalf of human rights victims.” Such statements continue to make Colombia a dangerous place for human rights defenders, given regular threats, illegal surveillance and infiltration to which human rights defenders are subject in Colombia.
Equally concerning to North American organizations are Colombian government statements that seek to undermine the Inter-American Human Rights System. As the CCR points out in its letter, the Inter-American System has been an invaluable resource for the many victims of grave human rights abuses. “Indeed,” writes the CCR, “the crisis of impunity for human rights violations in many countries, including Colombia, is often what necessitates victims turning to the Inter-American System.”
The November 21st NGO statement also makes reference to several other emblematic cases of human rights violations allegedly involving the Colombian military that are slated to be presented at the Inter-American System or reviewed by Colombian courts, as well as a proposed law that would remove human rights cases involving members of the military from civilian jurisdiction. The NGOs express their concern that these recent statements by Colombian government officials set a dangerous precedent for due process in these cases.
Letters and Statements from North American NGOs
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by Vanessa Kritzer
on November 21, 2011
CONTACTO:
Lisa Haugaard, Latin America Working Group, 202-546-7010
Camilo Ramirez, Center for Constitutional Rights, 212-614-6463
Veintisiete organizaciones no gubernamentales (ONGs) de Canadá, los Estados Unidos, y México han firmado comunicados y mandado cartas en apoyo al Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo y al Sistema Interamericano de Derechos Humanos con respecto a las declaraciones preocupantes del Presidente colombiano Juan Manuel Santos y otros altos funcionarios colombianos que intentan poner en duda la integridad de CCAJAR y el Sistema Interamericano.
Los oficiales del gobierno colombiano hicieron estas declaraciones después de que una mujer retractó su testimonio anterior de que su marido y sus hijos habían sido asesinados en la masacre de Mapiripán en 1997. CCAJAR había representado a la mujer, junto con varios familiares de otras víctimas, en un caso llevado ante la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, que en 2005, basado en evidencia proporcionado por el gobierno colombiano, responsabilizó al estado colombiano por la masacre y falló que debía llevar a cabo una investigación exhaustiva para identificar a todas las víctimas y pagarles las reparaciones. Como la Corte declaró en su fallo, “es obligación del Estado investigar debidamente las violaciones a los derechos humanos ocurridas en Colombia que han costado la vida a miles de colombianos y que han contado con la comprobada aquiescencia y/o participación de agentes estatales.”
Todos los comunicados y las cartas de apoyo de las ONGs de América del Norte destacan su gran preocupación por las declaraciones hechas por funcionarios del gobierno colombiano en contra de CCAJAR. Por ejemplo, en su carta del 16 de noviembre al Presidente Santos, el Centro de Derechos Constitucionales (CCR) identificó algunas declaraciones problemáticas del propio Presidente, en los que intenta desacreditar el Colectivo. CCR señala que estas declaraciones son “indignantes para cualquiera persona que conozca el trabajo valiente y dedicado de CCAJAR a causa de la verdad y la justicia para las víctimas de violaciones de derechos humanos.” Tales declaraciones ponen en riesgo a los defensores de derechos humanos en Colombia, dado el contexto de amenazas constantes, el seguimiento y la infiltración ilegales a los que los defensores son objetos.
Igualmente preocupante a las ONGs son las declaraciones del gobierno colombiano que intentan socavar el Sistema Interamericano de Derechos Humanos. Como señala el CCR en su carta, el Sistema Interamericana ha sido un recurso inestimable para las víctimas numerosas de graves violaciones de derechos humanos. “De hecho,” escribe el CDC, “es precisamente la crisis de impunidad por las violaciones a los derechos humanos que se han cometido en muchos países, incluyendo Colombia, la cual ha forzado a las víctimas a acudir al Sistema Interamericano.”
La declaración de las ONGs también hace referencia a otros casos emblemáticos de violaciones de derechos humanos con presunto participación las fuerzas colombianas que van a ser vistos por el Sistema Interamericano o por tribunales colombianos, así como un proyecto de ley que extenderá el fuero militar. Expresan su preocupación de que estas declaraciones recientes por los oficiales del Gobierno colombiano establezcan un precedente peligroso para el debido proceso en estos casos.
Cartas y comunicados de NGOs de América del Norte
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by Vanessa Kritzer, LAWG Colombia Team
on November 01, 2011
Great news! Two of the women leaders of the Afro-Colombian community La Toma, which we have told you about in blogs and action alerts, have been featured on a program called Women, War & Peace on PBS!
Please help us spread the word about this show and click here to watch it online!
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by Vanessa Kritzer, LAWG's Colombia Team
on October 21, 2011
Despite more than five years of incredible work by people like you to advocate for fair trade policies, we are disappointed to report that the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
Click here to find out how your members of Congress voted and hold them accountable!
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by Lisa Haugaard and Vanessa Kritzer
on October 12, 2011
The U.S.-Colombia trade agreement was held up for an unprecedented five years over human rights and labor rights concerns. It was passed today, October 12th, but over strong and passionate opposition from many members of Congress, and from a broad range of civil society organizations in the United States and Colombia, including labor unions, human rights groups, faith-based organizations, environmental groups, and Afro-Colombian, indigenous and small-scale farmer associations.
"Why do we care so much about this?" said Lisa Haugaard, Executive Director of the Latin America Working Group (LAWG). "Because we believe that passage of this agreement will make it harder to encourage the Colombian government to protect its trade unionists, who are still murdered with impunity today—23 so far this year. Because we believe the flood of agricultural imports from the United States will undermine Colombia’s small-scale farmers, including Afro-Colombians and indigenous people, who have suffered so much in Colombia’s civil war. And because it will boost the kinds of large-scale investment, such as mining and biofuel, that has helped to fuel the violence in a conflict that still grinds brutally on."
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by LAWG Colombia Team
on October 10, 2011
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by Lisa Haugaard
on September 26, 2011
The State Department on September 15, 2011, certified that Colombia had met the human rights conditions attached to U.S. assistance. No surprise there—the State Department always certifies Colombia meets the conditions, no matter what is happening on the ground. To be fair, this time, with the year-old Santos Administration, there’s somewhat more reason to certify than during countless rounds of certification during the Uribe Administration. The certification document cites the Santos Administration's successful passage of a victims' reparations and land restitution bill; a “disarming of words” initiative in which it abandoned the inflammatory anti-NGO language used by Uribe and his top officials, which had endangered human rights defenders and journalists; progress on some historic human rights cases; and a variety of directives and policy initiatives, at least on paper, to support human rights and labor rights.
But the 118- page document contains a wealth of information that shows why we should still be deeply concerned.
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by Lisa Haugaard and Vanessa Kritzer, LAWG Colombia Team
on September 15, 2011
We’re up against some big forces in our struggle against the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA): major corporations, the Chamber of Commerce, stubborn Republicans, free trade-loving Democrats, and even the President. They have money, power, and connections. But we have conviction.
We have hardworking partners in the United States. We have incredibly brave community leaders and human rights defenders on the ground in Colombia telling us every day about why this trade deal will be so devastating for those already hit hardest by Colombia’s conflict. And we have something better than a slingshot to fight this Goliath—YOU.
Will you chip in $50 or more today to make sure we can do everything in our power to stop this harmful trade agreement?
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by Max Schoening and Sibylla Brodzinsky, Voice of Witness
on September 13, 2011
“And the worst of all is when the things happen to you and you can’t do anything,” said María, a displaced woman in Colombia who has endured abuses by guerrillas, paramilitaries and the army. “And you have to just watch and simply be silent. If you say something, it will happen all the same. That’s when I saw that the only real right we have as people is to be silent. Maybe that’s the real right I’ve exercised here, in Colombia. It’s watch and be silent, if you want to survive.”
LAWGEF is pleased to publish this selection from a book coming out in 2012 from McSweeney’s Voice of Witness, by editors Max Schoening and Sibylla Brodzinsky. This will be a powerful collection of oral histories, compiling the life stories of a selection of Colombia’s over 5 million internally displaced people. In their own words, narrators recount their lives before displacement, the reasons for their flight, their personal tragedies and struggles to rebuild their lives. By amplifying these unheard voices through the intimacy of first person narrative, this Voice of Witness book aims to increase awareness of Colombia’s human rights catastrophe and illuminate the human impact of the country’s ongoing war.
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