An Open Letter to Colombia’s Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates:
How will you pledge to build a nation where rights are respected and peace is possible?
The next Colombian president will have a historic opportunity to change the lives of millions of Colombians affected in profound and tragic ways by the country’s enduring armed conflict. Any candidate who takes office will have in his or her power the ability to strengthen the rule of law in Colombia and lead the nation in building a more just and inclusive society that promotes and respects the rights of all its citizens.
As U.S. organizations which have worked closely with Colombian civil society partners over the last dozen years, we have seven questions for all the presidential and vice presidential candidates. We thank you for your willingness to consider them.
1. What will you do to promote progress towards a just and lasting peace? Will your government commit to serious efforts to advance negotiations? What could the United States and the international community do to help expand the possibilities for peace in Colombia? How will you fully involve civil society organizations, churches, local governments and other civic organizations in the construction of peace?
2. What will you do to strengthen the rule of law so that those who commit grave human rights violations are brought to justice? In particular, what will you do to ensure that crimes allegedly committed by state actors are prosecuted? How will you ensure that all those officials who ordered and implemented illegal surveillance and even more serious abuses by the DAS and other intelligence agencies are brought to justice? How will you ensure that the well over 2,000 extrajudicial executions allegedly committed by security forces are vigorously investigated and prosecuted in civilian courts, and that such cases are once and for all excluded from military jurisdiction? What will you do to ensure that such crimes are never committed again?
3. What will you do to ensure a climate in which human rights defenders can carry out their important work? How will you carry out the recommendations of the National and International Campaign for the Right to Defend Human Rights, which seek to end impunity for violations against human rights defenders, the misuse of state intelligence, systematic stigmatization, and unfounded criminal proceedings, while also structurally improving the protection program? We ask this question using the broad definition of defenders, from human rights activists, union leaders and journalists reporting on abuses to Afro-Colombian, indigenous and victims’ groups defending their communities.
4. What will you do to support the rights of all victims of violence to truth, justice and meaningful reparations? How will you involve victims in the construction of processes to achieve these aims? How will you protect victims from threats as they advocate for these basic rights? How will you ensure that victims of ex paramilitary leaders extradited to the United States are guaranteed their rights to truth, justice and reparations?
5. How will you address the needs of Colombia’s 4 million internally displaced persons? How will you implement the Constitutional Court’s requirements for government action in order to overcome the current state of unconstitutionality? What steps will you take to change the social stigma that exists in Colombian society in relation to internally displaced citizens?
6. What actions will you take to protect Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities’ human rights and territorial rights? What steps will you take to reverse the physical and cultural extinction of 32 indigenous groups at risk of disappearing? How will you guarantee that transparent, free and informed previous consultation is applied on development projects in ethnic territories? How will you prevent abuses against ethnic minorities from taking place and guarantee justice in such cases?
7. What steps will you take to dismantle paramilitaries and their successor organizations? What will you do to move forward cases involving para-politics? How will you bolster state institutions to prevent the influence of all illegal armed groups?
True security can only be built on a foundation of rule of law and respect for human rights. Ultimately, it can only be permanently achieved through the construction of a just and lasting peace. These goals have been postponed for too long, at great cost in human life. Now is the time to embrace them.
Our organizations are committed to standing with Colombians of all walks of life as they seek to build a society governed by the rule of law, where human rights are respected and peace is possible.
For the Spanish version of the letter please click here or got to our Website
As U.S. organizations which have worked closely with Colombian civil society partners over the last dozen years, we have seven questions for all the presidential and vice presidential candidates. We thank you for your willingness to consider them.
1. What will you do to promote progress towards a just and lasting peace? Will your government commit to serious efforts to advance negotiations? What could the United States and the international community do to help expand the possibilities for peace in Colombia? How will you fully involve civil society organizations, churches, local governments and other civic organizations in the construction of peace?
2. What will you do to strengthen the rule of law so that those who commit grave human rights violations are brought to justice? In particular, what will you do to ensure that crimes allegedly committed by state actors are prosecuted? How will you ensure that all those officials who ordered and implemented illegal surveillance and even more serious abuses by the DAS and other intelligence agencies are brought to justice? How will you ensure that the well over 2,000 extrajudicial executions allegedly committed by security forces are vigorously investigated and prosecuted in civilian courts, and that such cases are once and for all excluded from military jurisdiction? What will you do to ensure that such crimes are never committed again?
3. What will you do to ensure a climate in which human rights defenders can carry out their important work? How will you carry out the recommendations of the National and International Campaign for the Right to Defend Human Rights, which seek to end impunity for violations against human rights defenders, the misuse of state intelligence, systematic stigmatization, and unfounded criminal proceedings, while also structurally improving the protection program? We ask this question using the broad definition of defenders, from human rights activists, union leaders and journalists reporting on abuses to Afro-Colombian, indigenous and victims’ groups defending their communities.
4. What will you do to support the rights of all victims of violence to truth, justice and meaningful reparations? How will you involve victims in the construction of processes to achieve these aims? How will you protect victims from threats as they advocate for these basic rights? How will you ensure that victims of ex paramilitary leaders extradited to the United States are guaranteed their rights to truth, justice and reparations?
5. How will you address the needs of Colombia’s 4 million internally displaced persons? How will you implement the Constitutional Court’s requirements for government action in order to overcome the current state of unconstitutionality? What steps will you take to change the social stigma that exists in Colombian society in relation to internally displaced citizens?
6. What actions will you take to protect Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities’ human rights and territorial rights? What steps will you take to reverse the physical and cultural extinction of 32 indigenous groups at risk of disappearing? How will you guarantee that transparent, free and informed previous consultation is applied on development projects in ethnic territories? How will you prevent abuses against ethnic minorities from taking place and guarantee justice in such cases?
7. What steps will you take to dismantle paramilitaries and their successor organizations? What will you do to move forward cases involving para-politics? How will you bolster state institutions to prevent the influence of all illegal armed groups?
True security can only be built on a foundation of rule of law and respect for human rights. Ultimately, it can only be permanently achieved through the construction of a just and lasting peace. These goals have been postponed for too long, at great cost in human life. Now is the time to embrace them.
Our organizations are committed to standing with Colombians of all walks of life as they seek to build a society governed by the rule of law, where human rights are respected and peace is possible.
For the Spanish version of the letter please click here or got to our Website
