Current U.S. Policy Towards Colombia and AFSC's Work
The American Friends Service Committee has worked in Colombia since 1995 to oppose the suffering caused by the armed actors and to support human rights and peacebuilding initiatives. AFSC has closely monitored the worsening internal war and the deepening U.S. military intervention in Colombia. We have noted that as U.S. military aid and involvement in Colombia increases so does displacement and human rights violations, including the persecution of peace community leaders (especially union, indigenous and Afro-Colombian leaders), human rights defenders, religious leaders, and peace and social justice activists.
Colombia could benefit from the support of the United States to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict. However, U.S. military training and equipment has thus far only deepened the humanitarian crisis. The election of President Alvaro Uribe has not improved Colombia’s stability and overall situation, as was expected. In fact, for human rights defenders and communities of peace, it has only meant more difficulties, coupled with slow, inadequate, and ineffective support from the Colombian government. Human rights defenders continue to be murdered by experienced killers who often act with impunity. Communities declaring themselves as communities of peace and union leaders supported by the AFSC have seen their efforts at maintaining neutrality greeted by increasingly severe human rights violations, many of them at the hands of paramilitaries in collusion with the Colombian armed forces.
Internal displacement in Colombia, especially that of Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities, has worsened under the Uribe government’s “democratic security policy,” a policy which pursues military solutions to the 40- year conflict. In this context, the heightened struggle between paramilitary and guerrilla forces over economic resources and territory, and the increase in U.S.- led fumigation of coca crops, food crops, and the fragile Amazon, are two main reasons for the exacerbation of the problem of displacement in Colombia and the high degree of human suffering this entails.
The U.S. government can help prevent some of the suffering inflicted on these communities and human rights defenders by stepping back from escalating military involvement, giving more aid to the displaced, and pressing the Colombian government to offer better protection and assistance to the displaced. Increasing alternative development aid would also help communities caught in between the armed actors to survive this critical time. Also the US government’s support for fair and just trade agreements would decrease the impact of unjust economic policies and the already existing economic inequalities. These steps, combined with a phasing out of the aerial fumigation would lead to a more stable Colombia, reduce the suffering, and create the basis for sustainable progress.
Finally, the U.S. government should insist that President Uribe’s security measures not undermine the democracy they seek to protect. The guarantee of basic freedoms and the ensuring of a justice system that protects those committed to civil liberties is essential for Colombia’s long-term health as a nation in which democracy and security are deeply enshrined.
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