Situation of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law in Colombia

7/30/2019 Situation of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law in Colombia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/situation-of-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law-in-colombia 1/16



2



Four years after the United Nations Human Rights Council issued a set o re-

commendations within the ramework o the Universal Periodic Review (UPR),the human rights and advocacy team o Secretariado Nacional de Pastoral So-cial , briey highlight several aspects, dynamics and trends relevant to the na-tional context in the report, which should be considered in together with the

new recommendations issued by UPR in 2013.

This report provides an overview o the country’s human rights situation in re-lation to ve key aspects: Civil and Political Rights ocused on the Right to Lie,Freedom and Integrity; ght against impunity, particularly addressing the issueo access to justice and restitution o rights to the victims o the armed conict;

the situation o the IHL; Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights;and the search or peace, specically ocusing on the dialogues between theColombian Government and the FARC guerrillas (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucio-

narias de Colombia) taking place in Havana, Cuba, and the numerous challen-ges that this situation poses or the country.

Bogotá D.C. – Colombia

March 2013.

Introduction

1. Secretariado Nacional de Pastoral Social – Cáritas Colombia is an organization o the Colombian BishopsConerence and reports to the Episcopal Commission or Social Action and Charity, whose mission is “to assistthe social and charitable work o the Church in Colombia in order to achieve integral human development andthe construction o a new society based on solidarity, justice, peace and the respect or human rights, in the lighto the Word o God and the social teaching o the Church”.

We are part o the “Caritas Internationalis” network, a conederation ormed by 162 Catholic organizations with apresence in 200 countries around the world working since 1950 in the ght against the structures that keep peoplein poverty and oppression, with the aim o achieving a air society based on solidarity and social justice.



4

ContentsI. Civil and Political Rights: life, freedom

and integrity…5

II. Fight against Impunity and the Victims

and Land Restitution Law...7

III. International Humanitarian Law…9

IV. Economic, Social, Cultural and

Environmental Rights - ESCER...11

V. Peace dialogues with the FARC in

Havana: the challenges ahead…15

Photo:

Secretariado Nacional de Pastoral Social.

Caritas Colombiana.



“We view with hope the reorms and legislative initiatives thataim to protect human rights, particularly, the right to guarantee

the reparation o victims and land restitution”

Message from the Catholic Bishops to the Colombian Population2

per 100,000 inhabitants, which nearly representsve times the world’s average rate o 6.9 or thesame year. According to the National Institute o

Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (INMLCF, orits abbreviation in Spanish) 64,564 people were re-ported to have disappeared; o these, 11,215 wereound alive but 2,458 were ound dead and 50,891

are still missing - over two thirds o the total.4

Likewise, there are still risks and obstacles to exer-cise the deence o human rights. Between 2010and 2012, at least 923 people have suered sometype o violation against their lie, reedom or in-

tegrity as a result o this situation, and 142 peoplehave been murdered, while at least six o thesehad previously disappeared. These numbers inclu-

de indigenous leaders, Aro Colombians, lawyersand leaders o victims’ organizations.5

In November 2012, the report issued by the Pro-secutor o the International Criminal Court, FatouBensouda, revealed the alleged participation o

ofcial army members in the homicide o civilianswho were then registered as guerrilla members ki-lled during combat, reerred to as “alse positives”,and stated that “there is strong case to believe that

these incidents occurred to comply with the policyadopted by the armed orces.” 6

The Court also acknowledges the progress made

by the Colombian authorities to put an end to thissituation, as well as the eorts made to investigate

I. Civil and political rights: life,

freedom and integrity.

2. Colombian Bishops Conerence, (2012). 92nd Bishop’s Plenary Assembly. Bogotá D.C.

3. Peace and Justice Law or Law 975 o 2005 in the Colombian Legislationis the legal ramework promoted by the government o Álvaro UribeVélez and duly approved by the Congress o the Republic, to acilitate theparamilitary demobilization process in Colombia, part o the guaranteerights to the truth, justice and reparation o victims. Tis Law may eventually be used as well in the demobilization processes o other illegal

armed groups, such as guerrilla groups.

4. Secretariado Nacional de Pastoral Social, (2013). Análisis de Realidad Nacional presentado a la XCIV Asamblea Plenaria del EpiscopadoColombiano. (Analysis of the National Reality presented to the 94 th Plenary

Assembly of the Colombian Bishops Plenary).pp. 8-11 Bogotá D.C.

5. Ibid

6. Ibid

There are a number of opportunities in Co-lombia to overcome impunity and improve thehuman rights situation in Colombia, including

the ollowing governmental initiatives that wereapproved by the Congress and the ConstitutionalCourt: the declaration by the Colombian govern-ment that an armed conict exists in Colombia;

the reorm o the Justice and Peace Law (975) o 20053; the legal ramework or peace and the Vic-tims and Land Restitution Law; and the proposalto ormulate a human rights public policy.

Within the context o the ongoing armed conict,

human rights violations continue to be commit-ted on a daily basis in the country, aecting thosehuman rights deenders (HRD), organizations re-

presenting victims and land restitution claimants,social and political leaders, as well as women, chil-dren, indigenous and Aro Colombian communi-ties, particularly in rural, border regions, drug tra-

fcking areas and areas rich in natural resources.

Between 2008 and 2012, the humanitarian situa-tion aecting women, children and ethnic andrural communities is highlighted in the constantrecommendations made by the United Nations

Ofce o the High Commissioner or Human Ri-ghts, calling or these groups to be able to accesstheir rights.

With regards to the situation o violence in 2012,the rate o homicide in Colombia was 36 people



6

and sanction the conduct o the armed orces that

may be o relevance, and calls or a better prioriti-zation o serious cases o human rights violations,as a way to efciently tackle impunity.7

To adopt a policy and a national action plan onhuman rights and IHL, the Colombian government

has been leading on the creation and implemen-tation o a National Human Rights Conerence. This is a national orum which brings together re-presentatives rom civil society, the international

community and public institutions and promotesthe participation o diverse social movements,communities, leaders and social organizations,

through regional orums during 2011 and 2013. This culminated in the organization o the Natio-nal Forum on Human Rights, endorsed by the Vi-ce-Presidency o the Republic.

At a continental level, there is a risk o weakening

international guarantees to overcome impunity,in light o the proposal o several members o theOrganization o American States (OAS) to limit the

scope o the Inter-American Human Rights System(IAHRS), modiy the power o the Inter-AmericanCommission on Human Rights (IACHR) to monitorthe human rights situation in the region, issue re-ports regarding the human rights situation, and

issue precautionary measures to protect popula-tions, victims, and human rights deenders andwould also lead to changes in its structure and

unctions, making it less participative and opento civil society. These proposals are supported byseveral countries in the region, such as Colombia,Venezuela and Ecuador.8

7. Ibid

8. Ibid



“Impunity stands as a big threat against democracy and in act it hasundermined it because it aects the credibility o institutions and impairs

the achievement o proper protection or citizens’ rights and reedom.”

Message from the Bishops to the Colombian Population10

In order to ght against impunity and provide

support and reparations to the victims o the ar-med conict, thanks to a government initiative,the Congress passed Law 1448 in 2011. During therst year, the ocus was on developing the crite-

ria and procedures required to ensure an integralreparation strategy, hence enacting Decrees andDecree Laws oriented towards:

• Dening the diferential approach required to

provide integral support and reparations to indi-

genous, Aro Colombian and ROM (Roma) popula-tions that are victims o the armed conict throu-gh the enactment o Decree Laws 4633, 4634 and4635 in 2011.13

• Establishing land restitution mechanisms, inclu-

ding administrative and judicial processes throu-gh the enactment o Decree 4829 in 2011.

II. Fight against Impunity and

Victims and Land Restitution Law 9

The programs of institutional strengthening de-

veloped by the State during the last ew years arecommendable. They aim to improve access to jus-tice or the victims o the armed conict, as well asto oer legislative initiatives, such as the reorm o

the Justice and Peace Law, and the ConstitutionalReorm to incorporate the principles o transitio-nal justice into the Magna Carta.

Several challenges stand in the way o achievinggreater access to justice or human rights abuses

and crimes against humanity, such as the need toimprove the ability to investigate and solve thesetypes o cases and tackle institutional corruptionproblems that hinder progress made to investiga-

te phenomena such as the restructuring o para-

military groups, as expressed in the Human RightsWorld Report 2012, issued by the Department o

State o the United States o America. 11

“Tis is the beginning o a historicprocess serving to acknowledge the

rights o victims - a undamental steptowards reconciliation and peace.

Te enactment o laws passed or thisspecic purpose represents a historic

challenge or the country and it

demands solidarity rom the populationand in particular, commitment romrecently elected local and regional

authorities, to put an end to the historicchain o dispossession o land.”

Message from the Catholic Bishops to

the Colombian Population12

9. Secretariado Nacional de Pastoral Social, (2012). Adversidades y realidades en el camino de la paz: Colombia hoy. (Adversity and reality in the road to peace: Colombia today) pp. 11-22. Bogotá D.C.

10. Colombian Bishops Conerence, (2012). Bishop’s Plenary Assembly (2012). Bogotá D.C.

11. Secretariado Nacional de Pastoral Social, (2012). Adversidades y realidades en el camino de la paz: Colombia hoy. (Adversity and reality in the road to peace: Colombia today). pp. 11-22. Bogotá D.C.


13. Decree Law 4633 o 2011: “By means o which the State establishesseveral measures to provide support, assistance, integral reparationand land restitution to victims belonging to indigenous populations and communities.” Decree Law 4635 o 2011: “By means o which the Stateestablishes several measures to provide support, assistance, integralreparation and land restitution to victims belonging to ROM or Romacommunities.” Decree Law 4635 o 2011: “By means o which the Stateestablishes several measures to provide support, assistance, integralreparation and land restitution to victims belonging to ethnic black, Afro-Colombian, raizales (Afro-Caribbean) and palenquera communities.”



8

• Determining procedural aspects such as theVictims Register and the criteria and amounts oradministrative compensation14 through the enact-

ment o Decree 4800 in 2011.

• Finalising the changes made to the institutions

created by this Law, which include the Special Ad-ministrative Unit or Victim Support and Repara-

tion and the Special Administrative Unit or LandRestitution Management.

This Law reduced the maximum amount o admi-nistrative reparations or displaced victims by decrea-

sing the minimum monthly wage rom $15,300,900Colombian pesos (around US$8,500) to $9,633,900pesos (US$5,350). In comparison, the maximumamount dened by Decree 1290 in 2008 o the Jus-

tice and Peace was 40 minimum wages; however inthe new Victims Law the amount now ranges be-tween 17 to 27 minimum monthly wages.

With regards to the consultation process with Aro

Colombian and indigenous populations made priorto the ormulation o this Law, some difculties aro-se in the Departments o Chocó and Valle del Cauca,

where the organisations and communities participa-ting in meetings, made it clear that there was insu-fcient participation and discussion on the contentand scope o the project, and how the law would be

regulated to avour ethnic communities.

In order to plan the nancial implications o the Law, a document was produced (CONPES

3712/2011) that promotes a policy o scal sustai-nability in order to maintain the nation’s macro-economic principle, hence avoiding increases insocial expenditure as a result o its implementa-

tion, despite the act that the cost o implemen-ting the Law is likely to reach approximately 54billion Colombian Pesos (roughly 30 billion US Do-

llars)15 according to the national Government. Thisindicates that the integral reparation o all victimsis not completely guaranteed thus ar.

With regards to the gaps in the Law, the Constitu-

tional Court has played an important role in deve-loping the jurisprudence that clearly denes whomay have access to land restitution. Furthermore,it has dened the scope o the law as a right that

goes beyond land restitution and calls or com-pensation or the loss o goods and property, aswell as the socio-political and saety guaranteesrequired to return to the dispossessed land.

14. Forty (40) minimum wages is the maximum amount allocatedto victims o homicide, orced disappearance and kidnapping, alsoallocated to victims who have suered permanent lesions or disabilities.Up to 30 times a minimum wage or those who suered lesions that

do not cause permanent disability, and or victims o torture, inhumanetreatment, sexual assault and orced recruitment o minors.

15. In the Colombian legislation, scal sustainability is a constitutionalprinciple recently adopted thanks to a reorm promoted by thegovernment o President Juan Manuel Santos. Te major concernregarding this issue, according to the Comptroller Sandra Morelli, isthat when advocating this principle, it is possible that the Victims andLand Restitution Law misinterprets its core objective: providing armedconict victims with access to their rights, namely to the truth, the justice and the integral reparation.



“Drug trafcking still is a truly “deathly business” within our society,which is greatly aected by micro-trafcking and drug use that beginsat a young age. Te solution to this critical situation demands a deep

reection about the causes and a policy that responds properly toeach o these aspects, oering integral prevention programmes that

oer alternate options and examine the causes o drug-dependency.”


With regards to armed conrontations in 2011

alone, there were 301 conrontations in 127 mu-nicipalities across the country, 1,389 inractions o IHL in 249 municipalities, 334 people killed, and a

worsening o the violence in border Departmentssuch as Norte de Santander, Arauca, Nariño, Cau-ca and Antioquia. Paramilitaries were responsibleor at least 61% o the total inractions o IHL that

occurred in 2011. According to the report issuedby the Ofce or the Coordination o HumanitarianAairs (OCHA) in June 2012, between January and

June, there was a decrease in the number o armedconrontations between armed orces and illegal

armed groups; however, since July, clashes havebeen increasing in Cauca, Putumayo and Arauca.19

Furthermore, there is still evidence o mass displa-

cements per Department, as a result o ghtingand attacks by illegal armed actors in civilian areas.According to OCHA, during the rst hal o 2012,

III. International Humanitarian

Law (IHL)

The Congress o the Republic o Colombia’s report

corresponding to the rst two years in ofce o Presi-dent Santos stated that the Comprehensive Securityand Deence Policy or Prosperity (PISDP, or its ab-breviation in Spanish) had been successul.

However, in Colombia, actions by guerrilla groups

still persist. Furthermore, the reconguration o the paramilitary groups under the new label o cri-minal bands, unded by drug trafcking and illegalmining, has resulted in a surge in the number o

murders, massacres and displacement in severalregions around the country, particularly in border

regions, rural areas and geostrategic economic co-rridors. These criminal bands, in alliance with or-ganised crime networks, also aect urban centres,recruiting children and young people into theirgroups and nancing prostitution networks and

commercial and sexual exploitation in the case o boys and girls.

“We view with deep concern the high cost o lie and theintolerable humanitarian situation caused by terroristattacks rom illegal armed groups that constitute terrible

violations o IHL. We call upon all those who have takenup arms to stop the violence, respect universal norms thatprotect humanity, and with regards to the civil population,ree all people kidnapped and demonstrate genuine interestand desire to start negotiation processes to end the armedconict and bring peace to our country.”


16. Colombian Bishops Conerence,(2012). 92nd Bishop’s Plenary Assembly.Bogotá D.C

17. Secretariado Nacional de PastoralSocial, (2012). Adversidades y realidades

en el camino de la paz: Colombia hoy.(Adversity and reality in the road to peace:Colombia today). pp. 11-22. Bogotá D.C.

18. Colombian Bishops Conerence,(2012). 92nd Bishop’s Plenary Assembly.Bogotá D.C.

19. Secretariado Nacional de PastoralSocial, (2012). Adversidades y realidadesen el camino de la paz: Colombia hoy.(Adversity and reality in the road to peace:Colombia today). pp. 11-22. Bogotá D.C.



0

nearly 16,200 people were displaced in 57 cases o mass displacement. According to this data, there hasbeen a small reduction in cases o 4% in compari-son with the same period in 2011, with 16,200 peo-

ple displaced as a result o 61 incidents. In 2012, thePacic Coast was most aected and Cauca was themost aected Department, ollowed by Nariño, Pu-

tumayo and Chocó. It is important to mention thathostilities and death threats against civilians werethe principal cause o mass displacements. In thecontext o armed conict and threats against human

rights, the situation experienced by leaders o landrestitution processes is equally worrying; they havereceived death threats, suered orced displacementand even killed.20

An additional concern is the situation o deenders

and leaders o land restitution processes. Humanrights platorms, such as the National Movement o Victims o State Crimes (MOVICE) report that least 50land reclamation leaders were assassinated between

2001 and 2012, while the Rural Press Agency indi-cates that since 2005, over 70 assassinations o land

reclamation leaders have been reported, 26 o whichoccurred between 2010 and 2011, and in 2012, 16HRD were assassinated in connection to land restitu-tion processes.21

20. Ibid

21. Ibid

22. Ibid

This scenario is even more worrying when one takesinto account the recent creation o an anti-restitutionarmy ormed by ex-paramilitary members, who arestill active throughout the country. This group has

claimed responsibility or threats made against se-veral deenders, land reclamation leaders, and evenpolitical leaders that strongly deend land restitution,

such as Mr. Iván Cepeda, a member o parliament.Deenders and leaders have been threatened andkilled in regions such as Urabá (Antioquia), Valle delCauca, Córdoba, Sucre, Bolívar and Magdalena, hi-

ghlighting the signicant impact o the armed con-ict on the civilian population.22



“It is recognised that the unequal distribution o resources results ingrowing inequality. We urge all citizens to come orward and reportall types o corruption, to make sure that the resources destined orthe common good are actually used in the proper manner, with ulltransparency, and contribute to the establishment o a airer, more

egalitarian, equitable, raternal and supportive society.”


hal o the municipalities in the country, whichranges rom between 0 and 26.9 o the UBN.28

Despite the act that poverty and unemploymentuel social problems such as the armed conict,drug trafcking, smuggling, the inormal economy

and the illegal culture in Colombia, there has beena growing trend in recent years towards a gradualreduction in unemployment and poverty levels,combined with an increase in education and so-

cial security coverage, and a more avourable en-vironment or oreign investment, thus graduallycontributing towards an improvement in these

gures.29

In Colombia, phenomena like orced displacementas a result o the violence also results in upheaval,extreme poverty and the destruction o the socialabric, contributing not only to the abandonment

o rural areas and the disruption o ood produc-tion, but also to swelling the levels o poverty andinormality in urban centres. This results in greaterdiscrimination and exclusion, creating a larger de-

mand or public services and social welare, suchas healthcare, education, employment and hou-sing. However, the resources and inrastructure avai-

lable in urban centres around the country to respondto this situation have been overwhelmed.30

IV. Economic, Social, Cultural and

Environmental Rights – ESCER

The levels of inequality, social injustice, unem-

ployment and poverty in Colombia have been aconstant concern or the Colombian Bishops Con-

erence. Furthermore, corruption and illegal acti-vities within the context o a worldwide economiccrisis,24 and social problems such as hunger andthe lack o housing or the poorest sectors o so-ciety are also worrying.25

Public spending in Colombia ring enced or ad-

dressing social issues, such as education, healthand nutrition, social security, housing, water andsewerage systems, is still much lower than in coun-tries with lower levels o income and lower Human

Development Index, such as Bolivia. This highli-

ghts the outstanding challenge o overcoming so-cial and economic inequality, and consolidating amore inclusive and egalitarian democracy.26

Colombia continues to have one o the highest

inequality indices in the world, reporting a Gini in-dex o 0.58, over 12% unemployment and 34% o the population living in poverty, which is in strong

contrast with the Latin American average o 28.8%living in poverty, or 11% or countries experiencingsimilar levels o economic growth, such as Chile.27 The situation o inequality is also reected in the

high levels o unsatised basic needs (UBN) in over


24. Colombian Bishops Conerence, (2009). Press Release rom the 86 th Bishop’s Plenary Assembly. Bogotá D.C.

25. Colombian Bishops Conerence (2010). New call or democracy inthe 2010 election process. Bogotá D.C.

26. Colombian Bishops Conerence (2009). A reality that questions us(Vol. 2): A community that walks in hope. pp. 91-96. Bogotá D.C.

27. Secretariado Nacional de Pastoral Social, (2013). Análisis de RealidadNacional presentado a la XCIV Asamblea Plenaria del EpiscopadoColombiano. (Analysis o National Reality presented to the 94th Plenary Assembly o the Colombian Bishops Plenary). pp. 14-17 Bogotá D.C.

28. Ibid

29. Ibid.

30. Ibid



2

Another actor o poverty and inequality that re-sults in orced displacement is the concentrationo land. 78.3% o rural land owners own only 6.1%o the rural land in an agricultural country such asColombia. Meanwhile, there has been an increase

in bio-uel production that requires large levels o capital investment that tends to exclude mediumand small size producers. For example, 213,082

hectares o land have been prioritised or cropssuch as Arican palm, reducing the availability o land or the production o ood such as corn, pota-toes, soybean, bananas, beans and wheat.31

The economic growth strategy o the current po-

licy o democratic prosperity o President JuanManuel Santos, based on ve engines: housing,inrastructure, mining and energy, agriculture andinnovation, aims to drive economic development

orward by attracting oreign investment; gene-rating economic development o the rural sector;and creating employment and improving the li-ving conditions o Colombians, particularly the

poorest people in rural areas across the country.32

The expansion o land or agriculture, livestock arming, mining and oil and the growing urbani-sation and the deindustrialisation o key sectors o

the Colombian economy, such as the manuactu-ring sector, are challenges that the country musttake responsibility or in order to achieve the desi-red results. It is also important to consider the pos-

sible social and economic impact o these changeson rural and vulnerable sectors o society.33

Another source o concern is the presence o bothnational and oreign mining projects in campesi-

no (small scale armers), indigenous and Aro-Co-lombian communities, which are implementedwithout the communities’ undamental right toconsultation, and with little consideration or the

social and environmental impact, thereby des-troying the rainorest - the planet’s lungs, as wellas increasing the disparity, and even opposition,between the development o the mining industry

and agrarian human development. Mining is alsogenerating urther unemployment, poverty and aserious deterioration in health caused by inappro-priate exploitation practices, all o which can trig-

ger environmental and social conicts that even-tually result in new violence.34

“It is believed that we are supporting a

mining extraction model without thesufcient technological and industrialdevelopment, nor the tertiary sectorsin mining areas. Tis model is havinga signicant environmental impact inthe mining regions, with limited socialimpact in terms o human development.We have also ignored the historicreasons that lead to inormal mining andgave birth to illegal and violent orms o

mining.”National Assembly of Bishops – 201235

Colombia boasts 60% o the páramo ecosystemsin the world, with over 300 known páramos, co-

vering, 1,932,000 ha. However, despite the MiningCode, the National Constitution and a ruling issuedby the Constitutional Court ordering special pro-

tection o these ecosystems, at present, 108,972ha o páramos have been granted in mining con-cessions or exploration and exploitation as part o 391 mining titles. The discovery o gold and coal

in these areas represents a serious threat or theseregions that provide 70% o the water consumedin the country.36

31. Ibid.

32. Secretariado Nacional de Pastoral Social, (2013). Análisis deRealidad Nacional presentado a la XCIV Asamblea Plenaria delEpiscopado Colombiano. (Analysis o National Reality presented to the94th Plenary Assembly o the Colombian Bishops Plenary Assembly).pp. 14-17 Bogotá D.C.

33. Ibid.

34. Colombian Bishops Conerence (2012). Una realidad mineroenergética actual, riesgos y posibilidades (Present mining and energy reality, risks and possibilities). Bogotá D.C.

35. Ibid.



The negative impact o the extractive industry isvisible in indigenous land in the Departments o Huila, Guaviare, Antioquia, Chocó, Valle del Cau-ca, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Arauca, La Guajiraand Córdoba; and in ve o these, the industry also

aects collective land o Aro-Colombians, serious-ly impacting on their culture and way o living.37

The extractive industry is having a signicant im-pact on the land, and consequently on the coun-try’s ecosystems, such as the deorestation o large

areas o the country, the construction o a large

number o hydroelectric plants and the acquisi-tion o strategic areas in the south o the country

as “water basins and springs bought by ake com-panies, claiming to be rom the Arab Emirates, toobtain a monopoly over water” and the establish-ment o monocrops to supply ood or citizens. All

these are actors which have contributed to the re-cent heat waves and drying up o rivers in Colom-bia, putting not only the sustainability o the envi-ronment at risk, but also the uture o humanity.38

The Diocese rom Leticia, Istmina-Tadó, Quibdó

and the Apostolic Vicariate rom Puerto Inírida,are acing phenomena such as the “purchase o oxygen” and “patenting o the genetic properties

o ora and auna39” in their territories. These are just two examples o the recent purchasing o natural resources as a commodity. “Several NGOshave come to these regions to advise indigenous

36. Secretariado Nacional de Pastoral Social, (2013). Análisis deRealidad Nacional presentado a la XCIV Asamblea Plenaria delEpiscopado Colombiano. (Analysis o National Reality presented to the

94th Plenary Assembly o the Colombian Bishops Plenary Assembly).pp. 14-17 Bogotá D.C.

37. Ibid.

38. Ibid.

39. ranslated rom the Spanish text “Inormación genética de ora y Fauna”.

40. Ibid

people on the sale o oxygen. This [idea] comesrom the subsidies given by international govern-ments, the national government and some compa-nies to communities so that they can preserve areaso natural and virgin orest, in exchange or about

800,000 Pesos per year, per hectare. Consequently,Foundations have been set up to allegedly advise in-digenous people, but in reality these organisationscharge ees, and indigenous people sometimes only

get paid 10,000 or 15,000 Pesos per hectare.”40

The illegal exploitation o “rare” minerals in areas

historically orgotten by the State is one o themain challenges o the government, particularly

in those departments where there is a strong pre-sence o paramilitaries, guerrilla and even cocai-ne trafckers, who are moving rom drugs to theexploitation o gold and other minerals known as

the “vitamins” o the high tech industry.



4



“Regardless o the difculties that may arise at the negotiating table or elsewhere,we must support the complex steps o this process. We must not remainentrenched in the logic o war or ear o ailure. We can and we must deeat the

lack o hope and the scepticism together.”

Rubén Salazar Gómez - Archbishop of Bogotá President of the Colombian Bishops Conference41

V. Peace Dialogues with the FARC

in Havana: challenges

The peace process is one o the national govern-ment’s political priorities since 2012, and has been

organised into three stages at international andnational level. The rst stage involved prelimi-nary and exploratory talks with the FARC in Oslo,

Norway, to analyse both parties’ willingness to en-gage in talks, work methods and key topics; the se-cond stage involves urther talks in Havana, Cuba,to build common areas o agreement; the third

stage will begin with the signing o a nal agree-ment between the parties, and will then moveonto the implementation o the agreement at aninstitutional level.

In light o the challenges ahead, we make the o-

llowing recommendations:

a. Continue to strengthen and promote opportu-nities or civil society to participate in the nego-tiations and eed in their proposals, or examplevia the national orum or rural development, the

crystal urn and the organisation o regional peaceorums by the Congress o the Republic.

b. Promote and guarantee the eective partici-pation o historically vulnerable groups and po-pulations aected by the armed conict, such as

women, indigenous and Aro Colombian commu-nities and rural communities in general.

c. Monitor the pre-election process that begins in2013, ahead o the 2014 national Presidential andCongressional elections, which could see a possi-

ble second mandate o President Santos.

d. Clariy the Disarming, Demobilisation, Rein-sertion and Reintegration strategy (DDRR) or allcombatants under the agreements, without put-

ting in jeopardy the rights o the victims to truth, justice, reparation and non repetition.

e. Clariy the interests and actual powers o a wareconomy that would be aected by the peaceagreements reached, in order to develop contin-

gency plans to deal with drug trafcking, smug-gling and arms, amongst others.

. Ensure that any agreement reached involvesgrassroots members o the guerrilla and otherguerrilla groups such as the ELN.

g. Understand the implications and care required

when negotiating in the midst o a conict thatcontinues to see people being injured and cap-tured, and which may entail tactical and militaryadvantages o one group over another.

h. Separate the social issues (poverty, inequality,

political model) on the agenda, rom the issue o disarmament in order to reach an agreement inHavana.

i. Incorporate experiences which have been deve-loped over the years in the search or peace and

coexistence, such as the regional peace initiatives,into the implementation o the agreement.

j. Careully monitor the media coverage o the ne-gotiations, to ensure that the media reports on thepeace talks in a responsible manner.

k. Welcome the support oered by other actors,

such as academia, Nobel Prize winners and the in-ternational community.

41. Colombian Bishops Conerence, (2012). Message rom the Presidento the Colombian Bishops Conerence. Bogotá D.C.



6

About Us The Secretariado Nacional de Pastoral Social / Caritas Colombiana is an ecclesial and nonprotbody, under the Episcopal Conerence o Colombia who seeks the truth, reconciliation, justice

and love in relationships and basic structures o our society. Our actions and work are alwaysenlightened by the Gospel and by the social teaching o the Catholic Church.

We are part o the network “Caritas Internationalis” global conederation working since 1950 in

the ght against the structures that cause situations o poverty and oppression, to promote asociety based on solidarity and social justice.

I you would like to be kept inormed o our publications and news, please register at

www.pastoralsocial.org

Cr. 58 N° 80-87. Barrio Entre Ríos.Bogotá, C.P. 111211 - Colombia

Tel: +571 4377150 412Fax: +571 4377171Email: [email protected]

With support from:

Situation of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law in Colombia

Documents