Action Alerts

We're hitting the ground running with Human Rights NOW and we need you to join us in a taking an urgent action today.

Our mission? Convince as many congressional representatives as possible before December 7th to sign on to a letter calling for real change in U.S. policy towards Colombia, so that it can be sent out ASAP to Secretary of State Clinton.

Click here to find out how!

As a newcomer to the LAWG team, and inside the beltway advocacy, I have been surprised over the last few months to learn what it actually takes to achieve the change we want. Before I started, I assumed that if we could simply bring the facts about real people who are suffering as a result of U.S. policies in countries like Mexico and Colombia, we could make it happen. But it turns out that there's so much more that goes on in DC every day than I could have anticipated.

They don't get it... yet.

Although we now have new leadership in Washington, they still don't understand what they need to do to stand up for human rights. They think that by saying more about the importance of human rights and democracy than the Bush Administration did, they are making progress. But we know that until they actually change U.S. policies to support victims of violence in places like Mexico and Colombia, they will continue to be a part of the problem, not the solution.

Now, if we can get them to hear what we hear from people in Mexico and Colombia and know what we know, they might change their tune.

So, this month we are launching a "Human Rights NOW" campaign, which will use innovative tactics to get them to make human rights come first in U.S. policy.

Actions speak louder than words.

This seems like a simple concept. But lately, the Obama Administration and the State Department seem to have forgotten it when dealing with Latin America. Despite serious human rights abuses by Colombian and Mexican security forces alike, the State Department just went ahead and declared that both countries were meeting the human rights requirements needed in order to receive more U.S. military aid.

Click here to send a fax to Secretary of State Clinton asking her to stand up for human rights!

$800,000 on hearts.

You heard that right. With a massive humanitarian crisis on their hands, the Colombian government is spending $800,000 on an installation of more than forty, 8-13 ft tall heart sculptures in DC and New York this fall. This campaign, called "Colombia Is Passion," was supposedly designed to educate Americans about the "real" Colombia, a fun and beautiful country in which violence and human rights abuses are a thing of the distant past.

At this point, you might be asking, "Why this? Why now?"

Well, it wasn't the ringing call for respect for human rights and freedom of expression that we longed for --that's for sure.  But when President Obama met with Colombian President Uribe on June 29th, it was clear that he had been listening to our message on Colombia.

So it's going to happen. Colombian President Uribe will make his first visit to the Obama White House next Monday to discuss the future of Plan Colombia and the stalled U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with President Obama. While the two leaders met at the Summit of the Americas in April, this could be the moment when President Obama makes clear his positions on Colombia. It's up to us to use this opportunity to make sure that he sets the right course from the get-go by making human rights a priority in U.S. policy towards Colombia.

We're emailing to say "¡gracias!" for participating in the 2009 Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia. Whether you mailed postcards to President Obama, organized a prayer service for your local congregation, or simply sent good vibes in our direction, you were part of the largest national call for peace in Colombia and change in the United States' approach since 2003. Give yourself a pat on the back—you deserve it!

Earlier this month the Obama Administration submitted its foreign aid budget request to Congress, giving us the first clear indication of where the administration intends to take Colombia policy. The administration has said many good (and needed) things since coming to office, but now that they're showing us the money—and repeating the Bush Administration's military aid request—it's clear that these positive words are not yet being backed up with positive deeds.

Did you know that last year 1,500* Colombians were violently forced to flee their homes each day? At such a staggering rate, it's no wonder that Colombia is now home to more than 4 million internally displaced people (IDPs), more than any country in the world including Sudan.