Colombian officers charged with killing innocent civilians freed from jail
Impunity in Colombia prevails as 31 more military officers accused of being involved in the 2008 killing of young men from Soacha are released from jail. This casts serious doubt over the chances of justice for thousands of extrajudicial executions victims throughout the country.
Last week 13 more Colombian military officers accused of killing innocent young men from the impoverished neighborhood of Soacha were freed from jail. This follows the recent release of 17 other officers allegedly involved in this high-profile case. Their release is due to delays in their trials that are reportedly the result of the military defense lawyers’ delay tactics. There have been similar delays in the cases of the majority of the 47 military officers detained in relation to the Soacha extrajudicial executions and it is feared that more will be released shortly.
To read the Complete hill drop by USOC, LAWG and WOLA please click hereCLIMATE OF FEAR: COLOMBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS UNDER THREAT
Click here to download full report
U.S. Congressional Hearing highlights critical situation facing Colombian defenders
A U.S. Congressional hearing on Colombian human rights defenders held on October 20 heard the need for the Colombian government to take concrete action to reduce assassinations, violent attacks, threats, systematic stigmatizations, baseless prosecutions and illegal surveillance against human rights defenders, while also addressing the alarming impunity rates for these cases.
The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) hearing, which the U.S. Office on Colombia (USOC) played a central role in coordinating, was chaired by Congressman McGovern and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and attended by around 100 people.
Witnesses included; Margaret Sekaggya, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Reynaldo Villalba Vargas, President of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyer’s Collective, Principe Gabriel Gonzalez, Coordinator, Political Prisoners Solidarity Committee, Kelly Nicholls, Executive Director, USOC, and Andrew Hudson, Manager of the Human Rights Defenders Program, Human Rights First.
At the hearing Congressman McGovern said he was very concerned that the damage created by the Presidential intelligence scandal was “much more extensive”.
- Read written statements by Kelly Nicholls and Reinaldo Villalba
- Watch the hearing on YouTube
Today a national and international campaign for the protection of Colombia's human rights defenders will be launched in Bogotá. In Colombia, being a human rights defender is a dangerous, often deadly job and the situation is only getting worse. Those working on issues ranging from displacement to the rights of women, Afro-Colombians, the indigenous and other victims of the armed conflict are threatened, attacked, stigmatized, and put under illegal surveillance on a daily basis. In response to this situation and to calls from our Colombian partners to help bring international attention to this troubling situation, USOC has been working with our partners in Colombian, Europe, the UK and the U.S. to help develop an international campaign for the Right to Defend Human Rights. The Campaign will be launched today by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, in Bogotá. Over 200 organizations across the globe have signed onto the Campaign.
To read the Declaration of the Campaign please click here, to read the Recommendations please click here
Para Leer la Declaración de la Campaña en Español por favor pulse aquí, para leer las Recomendaciones haga click aquí
USTR Comment Period about the Pending Free Trade Agreement with Colombia
September 2009
Yesterday the US Office on Colombia and Oxfam America, as well as a broad range of human rights, labor, environmental, development and faith-based organizations submitted written comments to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) calling on the Obama Administration to broaden the debate around the pending free trade agreement between the United States and Colombia. The comments were filed in response to a formal request by USTR for views on the pending trade agreement.
“We welcome the USTR’s willingness to meet with our organizations and to listen to our concerns. We hope that our views will be given full consideration and reflected in the policy decisions that the government makes with regard to the FTA,” said Kelly Nicholls, Executive Director, U.S. Office on Colombia.
To Read the Complete press release please click here
To Read the Comments submitted to USTR please click here
Colombia’s Intelligence Agency: Spying on Democracy” a report by US Office on Colombia, LAWG and WOLA
Following on the heels of the "falsos positivos" scandal involving soldiers killing civilians and dressing them up as guerrillas killed in combat, a scandal far worse than Watergate is unfolding featuring Colombia's presidential intelligence agency, the Administrative Security Department (DAS). Exposed by the Colombian news weekly Semana and the subject of an Attorney General's office incestigation, the DAS is revealed to have been illegally spying on many of the varied forces of Colombian democracy: opposition politicians, human rights groups, journalists, clergy, unions, and Supreme Court justices. The operation went deeper than surveillance, employing a variety of dirty tricks , seeking to "neutralize and restrict" the normal activities of human rights groups and any voices critical of the Uribe administration.
For the Full report please click here.
More than 10 People Killed in New Awa Massacre
The US Office on Colombia is deeply sadden by the massacre of 12 Awá indigenous peoples, including four children on August 26, 2009 in the indigenous reserve Gran Rosario in Tumaco, Nariño. We call on the Colombian Government to immediately investigate this situation, prosecute those responsible and institute an effective protection program for the remaining members of this highly vulnerable community.
USOC, LAWG and WOLA sent a letter to Vice-President Francisco Santos asking him to act on this pressing issue. To Read the letter please click here , and to sign on to the letter please go to Urgent Actions .
"A State of Impunity in Colombia: Extrajudicial Executions Continue, Injustice Prevails." A report by the US Office on Colombia
Extrajudicial executions continue to be reported throughout Colombia, while impunity rates for this deeply troubling crime remain alarmingly high. The US Government has provided considerable funding for the Colombian Attorney-General's office (AG), including for the AG's Human Rights Unit which is in charge of cases of extrajudicial executions. While it is very important to support Colombia's judicial and oversight agencies, it is crucial that this support be subject to careful scrutiny and that it produces concrete results. Results are especially needed in cases of alleged extrajudicial executions, where there is a 98.5 per cent "impunity rate", or cases in which no conviction has resulted between 2002 and April 2009.
To Read the Full Report Please Click Here
Obama Calls For Human Rights Improvements. Colombia Needs to do More before FTA Considered.
Joint Statement of LAWG, USOC and WOLA
Monday's meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe, marks a shift in U.S. foreign policy towards Colombia, with a greater focus on human rights.
"We are pleased that President Obama voiced concerns about the intelligence scandal, the continuing practice of extrajudicial executions and the possibility of President Uribe running for a third term in office," said Kelly Nicholls, Executive Director, U.S. Office on Colombia. "U.S. and Colombian human rights organizations greatly welcome President Obama's public support for labor and civil rights leaders and his focus on the importance of the rule of law and transparency."
President Obama expressed his polite displeasure at the possibility of the Colombian President amending the Colombian Constitution to run for a third term in office when he said: "our experience in the United States is that two terms works for us and that after eight years usually the American people want a change."
To Read the complete statement please click here
To Read the transcript of meeting between Obama and Uribe please click here
Joint Press Release from WOLA, LAWG, CIP and HRF: on Uribe's Visit to the White House
President Obama Must Raise Human Rights Concerns with Colombian President Opportunity to Show Human Rights are Important for US Allies and Adversaries
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's meeting with President Obama on Monday comes at a controversial moment. President Uribe is embroiled in a number of human rights, corruption and abuse of power scandals. The Colombian President is seriously considering amending the Constitution to run for a third term in office. Meanwhile, a Free Trade Agreement remains stalled in the U.S. Congress.
"It is crucial that President Obama send the right message, with the right tone. Colombia is a close partner of the United States, which makes it all the more important that we voice concerns about human rights violations and the rule of law," said Gimena Sánchez Garzoli, Senior Associate for Colombia, Washington Office on Latin America.
To read the entire press release please click hereRecent Attacks against Family Members of Victims of Extrajudicial Executions.
On May 5, 2009 a trial began against army officers from the Third High Mountain “Rodrigo Lloreda Caicedo” Battalion charged with the death of Mr. Jose Orlando Giraldo. Only five days later on May 10, Mr. Jose Wilson Giraldo, Mr. Orlado’s brother and a key witness in the trial, was shot in the head by unidentified men while leaving his house in the company of his wife. Mr. Giraldo survived the attack but remains in hospital.
In another similar case, Mayerli Alejandra Legarda the 12-years-old daughter of Edwin Legarda, who was killed by the army last year, was threatened by armed gunmen, while she was in front of her house located near the Municipality of Popayán in the Department of Cauca. Mayerli ran inside the house and the armed men fled the area after they noticed that the indigenous guard was present in the house.
Please go to our Urgent Action's link and help us address this pressing issue by signing on to a letter to Ambassador William R. Brownfield.Surge of Attacks and Threats against Human Rights Defenders
The US Office on Colombia (USOC) is deeply troubled by a surge of attacks and threats against human rights defenders in recent months. Afro-Colombian and Indigenous leaders, as well as leaders of the internally displaced population and women’s groups have been particularly targeted.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has publicly expressed its concern for human rights defenders in Colombia after these recent attacks and death threats. Its communiqué cited “threats against human-rights workers and social activists, including displaced leaders working to defend their communities’ rights”. It also included indigenous, Afro-Colombian and social group leaders as having been targeted, with acts of intimidation against all of them increasing in recent months. Some have been killed and others forced to flee for safety, with many victims’ friends and families remaining silent for fear of reprisal attacks. .
We ask you to please take a moment and sign on to an automated letter to the Colombian Government asking them to urgently address this issue and to guarantee the safety of all those who are under threat.Hilldrop: Impacts of US-Colombia FTA on Colombia’s rural poor
The Obama Administration and US Congress should not pass the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in its present form as it could have dire consequences for Colombia’s rural poor and may subsequently lead to a growth of illicit crops. The trade deal negotiated between Colombia and the United States during the Bush Administration should be revised to take into account the existing situation of rural poverty and inequality in Colombia and ensure its application does not undermine food security and rural development efforts.
Read the full US Office on Colombia-Oxfam America hilldrop.
Delegation of Colombian human rights leaders.
From March 2-6, the US Office on Colombia - along with CIP, LAWG, and WOLA - hosted a delegation of 6 prominent Colombian activists representing various sectors of Colombia's vibrant civil society. The purpose of the delegation was to promote the recommendations laid out in the Compass for Colombia Policy for a shift in US foreign policy towards Colombia so as to promote human rights, the rule of law and a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The delegates met with a broad array of policymakers and civil society groups, including: the National Security Council, the Department of State, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Congressional offices - including a special event in Congress hosted by Representative Sam Farr (D CA) and Representative Eliot Engel (D NY) - and university students.
Watch two interviews done by Peruanista with Libia Grueso (PCN) and Jorge Rojas (CODHES).
Colombian civil society peace letter to Obama.
On February 26, 2009, Colombian civil society organizations, human rights activists, academics, and Colombian congressmen presented a letter – with 166 signatures – addressed to President Obama to US Ambassador William Brownfield in Bogotá. The letter details recommendations for a negotiated solution to the ongoing internal armed conflict in Colombia.
Read the full letter in Spanish or English.
Lina Malagon Joint Statement
Eight labor and human rights organizations call on the Colombian government to respect the work of trade unionists and human rights defenders in Colombia and to retract statements that put these workers at risk... Download full letter and read more
Colombian NGO letter to the DOS and DOJ regarding possible "HH" extradition
Partial return of Afro-Colombian lands in Curvarado a Step Forward
Hilldrop to Congress chronicles ongoing practice of extrajudicial executions
The US Office on Colombia – along with the Center for International Policy, the Washington Office on Latin America, and the Latin America Working group – published and distributed a memo on extrajudicial executions to the House of Representatives and Senate this week. In this document, we urge the 111th US Congress not to tolerate ongoing extrajudicial executions in Colombia. Despite the Colombian military shake-up following the highly publicized Soacha cases in September 2009, this systematic practice of state agents killing civilians and often presenting them as guerrillas who had died in combat, continues unabated.
Awá Massacre Indicative of Lack of Protection for Colombia’s Indigenous
Download this letter in PDF format
The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the U.S. Office on Colombia (USOC) and the Latin America Working Group Education Fund (LAWGEF) strongly condemn last week’s massacre of 17 members of the indigenous Awá community and call on the Colombian Government to immediately investigate this situation, prosecute those responsible and institute an effective protection program for the remaining members of this community. The murders were reportedly committed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and among the victims were two women and a child. This massacre hits a community that has already been devastated by numerous displacements, murders and constant harassment from armed groups.
Reports received by WOLA indicate that indigenous communities are hard hit by violence, internal displacement and abuses committed by all parties to the conflict. On December 16, 2008, for example, Edwin Legarda, the husband of indigenous leader Aída Quilcué of the Indigenous Regional Council of Cauca (CRIC) was killed at the hands of Colombian soldiers. Shortly after the high profile death of Mr. Legarda, five Kankuamo indigenous persons died and 89 were injured due to a grenade attack in Atanquez.
The critical situation of the indigenous communities throughout Colombia led the National Organization of Indigenous Persons (ONIC) to recently announce that 32 indigenous ethnic groups are at risk of disappearing, with 18 smaller groups at risk of becoming physically and culturally extinct in the near future. WOLA, USOC and LAWGEF urge the U.S. Embassy to support the formation of an emergency program focused on indigenous communities in danger of extinction, created by indigenous organizations and headed by the ONIC. We urge the FARC to respect international humanitarian law and end any and all attacks against the civilian population.
Contact:
Gimena Sánchez
Senior Associate for Colombia
Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
gsanchez@wola.org
wola.org
202-797-2171
Lisa Haugaard
Executive Director
Latin American Working Group Education Fund (LAWGEF)
lisah@lawg.org
lawg.org
202-546-7010
Kelly Nicholls
Executive Director
U.S. Office on Colombia (USOC)
kelly@usofficeoncolombia.org
usofficeoncolombia.org
202-232-8090
Email communication intercepted by Colombian government.
On December 19, 2006, intercepts of the email accounts of over 150 human rights defenders, trade unionists, academics, journalists, and labor organizations were ordered by the police intelligence agency, SIJIN. This request was reiterated by SIJIN in September 2007 and November 2008 – all of which were granted by the 12th Anti-Terrorism Specialized Prosecutor. Some of the human rights organizations being monitored include: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Movement for Victims of States Crimes (MOVICE), the Colombian Network for Action on Free Trade, the Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective, the Yira Castro human rights organization, and the US-based interfaith peace organization, Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR).
In response to this illegal interception, 14 international organizations, including the US Office on Colombia, drafted and sent a letter to Attorney General Mario Iguarán on December 18, 2008 urging him to conduct thorough and prompt investigations and to US Ambassador William Brownfield.
Extrajudicial Killings in Colombia
This video documents the violence of war and contains some explicit language in Spanish. For more information visit Witness For Peace.
Extrajudicial Killing In Colombia from Witness For Peace on Vimeo.
Body Counts and Injustice in Colombia's Armed Conflict: A USOC Publication.
The US Office on Colombia (USOC) recently published - "Body Counts and Injustice in the Colombian Armed Conflict" - a report that details recent trends and modalities in extrajudicial executions, showing cases of this horrendous crime in 27 of Colombia's 32 departments. The publication looks at a number of recent cases and includes an analysis of the Colombian government's steps to address extrajudicial executions. The report concludes with a number of recommendations of concrete actions the US Government can take to help address this crime which the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has described as a "systematic practice" throughout the country. These recommendations include: using the leverage of certification to ensure that there are effective and timely prosecutions in the Colombian civilian justice system, suspending military assistance to all Colombian army units credibly implicated in cases of alleged extrajudicial executions, and ensuring that the Southern Command identify and address causes of extrajudicial executions.
USOC recently distributed the report to all members of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate. Download a copy of the report.
USOC Blog: State Agents Allegedly Kill Edwin Legarda, Activist and Husband of CRIC’s leader
On December 16, 2008, indigenous activist and husband of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC)’s leader Edwin Legarda Vázquez was allegedly killed by members of the national army’s José Hilario López Battalion.
To continue reading, see our blog.
New Report Outlines a Just and Effective Foreign Policy toward Colombia
October 22, 2008
During their final presidential debate, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain expressed markedly different opinions on U.S. policy toward Colombia, an important partner in Latin America. Yet the next U.S. president won’t just be debating policy, he will be making it—and in the case of Colombia, he will need more than minor changes along the margins. He will need a new approach.
The Compass for Colombia Policy, written by some of Washington’s top Colombia experts, offers a better way forward for one of the main foreign policy challenges that the next administration will face. This report makes a detailed, persuasive case for a new U.S. strategy that would achieve our current policy goals while ending impunity and strengthening respect for human rights. Instead of risking all by placing too much faith in a single, charismatic leader, the United States must appeal to the aspirations and needs of all Colombians by strengthening democratic institutions, such as the judiciary. In particular, the United States must stand by and empower the human rights advocates, victims, judges, prosecutors, union leaders, journalists and others who are the driving forces towards a more just and peaceful Colombia.
The Compass details seven sensible steps policymakers can take to create a just and effective Colombia policy.
- Use U.S. Aid and Leverage for Human Rights and the Rule of Law
To address a human rights crisis that continues unabated and a chronic lack of political will to deal with it, the United States must use tougher diplomacy to encourage the Colombian government to strengthen human rights guarantees, protect human rights defenders, and bolster institutions needed to break with a history of impunity for abuses. Colombia’s judicial system is central to the rule of law and must receive strong support.
- Actively Support Overtures for Peace
The United States cannot continue to bankroll a war without end and, as the civilian population in the countryside continues to endure immense suffering, should make peace a priority.
- Support Expansion of the Government’s Civilian Presence in the Countryside
Militarily occupying territory is not the solution to Colombia’s problems. The United States should help Colombia strengthen its civilian government presence in rural zones to address lawlessness, poverty and inequality, the roots of the conflict.
- Protect the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees
The United States can help resolve Colombia’s massive humanitarian crisis by insisting on the dismantlement of paramilitary structures, supporting Colombia’s Constitutional Court rulings on IDPs, and increasing and improving aid to IDPs and refugees.
- Protect the Rights of Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Communities
The United States must pay special attention to promoting ethnic minorities’ land rights and guarantee that U.S. aid projects are not carried out on land obtained by violence.
- Ensure that Trade Policy Supports, Not Undermines, Policy Goals towards Colombia
The United States should insist upon labor rights advances, especially in reducing and prosecuting violence against trade unionists, prior to further consideration of the trade agreement. The United States must ensure that any trade agreement will not undermine U.S. policy goals, such as reducing farmers’ dependence on coca and ending the conflict.
- Get Serious—and Smart—about Drug Policy
The United States is overdue for a major course correction in its drug control strategy, which has failed spectacularly in Colombia and the Andean region. The United States should end the inhumane and counterproductive aerial spraying program and invest seriously in rural development, including alternative development designed with affected communities. Drug enforcement should focus higher up on the distribution chain, disrupt money laundering schemes and apprehend violent traffickers. Access to high-quality drug treatment in the United States, which will cut demand, must be the centerpiece of U.S. drug policy.
“The next administration should use diplomatic pressure to hold Colombia to much higher standards on human rights, labor rights, and protection of the rule of law.” –Lisa Haugaard, Latin America Working Group Education Fund
“The United States must recognize the magnitude of the human rights crisis for Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities in Colombia, in which hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lands and livelihoods to violence.” –Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli, Washington Office on Latin America
“Nine years after the launch of Plan Colombia, the production of cocaine remains virtually unchanged. The United States simply cannot afford to continue to pursue this costly and failed counternarcotics policy. The next President must change course.” –Adam Isacson, Center for International Policy
“In the last decade, Colombia’s conflict has taken 20,000 more lives and displaced more than 2 million citizens. Now is the time to make renewed efforts for peace.” –Kelly Nicholls, U.S. Office on Colombia
For more information:
Lisa Haugaard, Latin America Working Group Education Fund, (202) 546-7010; lisah@lawg.org
Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli, Washington Office on Latin America, (202) 797-2171; gsanchez@wola.org
Adam Isacson, Center for International Policy, (202) 232-3317; isacson@ciponline.org
Kelly Nicholls, US Office on Colombia, (202) 232-8090; kelly@usofficeoncolombia.org
Download information:
FULL REPORTS:
Compass for Colombia Policy
(english, 3.8mb PDF)
Compass Nuevo Rumbo
(español, 3.9mb PDF)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES:
Compass for Colombia Policy Executive Summary
(english, 90k PDF)
Compass Nuevo Rumbo Resumen Ejec
(english, 90k PDF)
Joint letter to Colombian Ambassador Carolina Barco
...regarding the worsening human rights situation in Colombia, presented to the Ambassador on 31 October 2008.
The U.S. Office on Colombia is an independent non-profit organization, not affiliated with any political party, that seeks to educate U.S. policymakers, the media and the U.S. public about the impact of U.S. policy on Colombia.