Interviews Expose Fatal Flaws in Government Approach
Colombia’s demobilization process is strengthening the power of paramilitary groups without furthering a genuine peace, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.
Drawing on interviews with numerous demobilized paramilitaries, the report is the first to document the Colombian government’s mishandling of the recent paramilitary demobilizations.
“The government’s failure to conduct the demobilizations in a serious manner is helping paramilitary commanders launder their wealth and legitimize their political power,” said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas Director for Human Rights Watch. “Having interviewed numerous demobilized paramilitaries, government officials, and other insiders, it is evident this process is rotten to the core.”
Nearly 6,000 people have participated in so-called collective paramilitary demobilizations since 2003. As of April 2005, only twenty-five of them had been detained for the thousands of atrocities committed by their groups, which are considered terrorist organizations by the U.S. government and the European Union.
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/08/01/colomb11547.htmA Bad Plan in ColombiaAfter pouring $3 billion into Plan Colombia, the United States is about to be betrayed by one of its closest allies in the fight against drugs and terror. The Colombian government is putting the final touches on a scheme to launder the criminal records of top paramilitary commanders - including some of the country's most powerful drug lords - while allowing them to keep their wealth and maintain their control over much of the country. Should the plan be approved, it will be an enormous setback for U.S. counternarcotics and counterterror efforts, as well as for human rights in Colombia.
It was the United States, ironically, that set the stage for this scheme by requesting the extradition of these commanders. Not only has the United States deemed Colombia's paramilitaries to be a terrorist group, government prosecutors have indicted a number of paramilitary commanders for bringing tons of cocaine into the country. It was those commanders who initiated demobilization negotiations with the Colombian government, hoping to reach a deal that would allow them to avoid extradition to America.
Handled well, the negotiations could benefit both Colombia and the United States. Paramilitaries and guerrillas have been fighting for control of Colombia's resources for decades. Fueled by money from drugs and extortion, these mafia-like groups have killed thousands of civilians with impunity. The paramilitaries, in particular, are notorious for their atrocities, which include countless massacres, abductions and "disappearances."
A real demobilization, one that dismantles the criminal and financial structures of paramilitary groups and holds their members accountable for crimes, would be an important step toward peace, human rights and the rule of law. It would also be a major victory for the United States in the fight against drug trafficking.
Statement to the 61st Session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights: Human Rights in ColombiaColombia’s forty-year internal armed conflict continues to be accompanied by widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Both guerrillas and right-wing paramilitary groups commit serious violations, including massacres, targeted assassinations, and kidnappings.
As a result of the conflict, Colombia has one of the largest populations of internally displaced persons in the world. It also has one of the world’s highest numbers of child combatants, with over 11,000 children belonging to guerrilla and paramilitary groups. Human rights defenders, journalists, academics, indigenous leaders, and labor union leaders are frequently targeted for their work.
Units of the armed forces have historically maintained close ties to paramilitary groups, and have been implicated in the commission of atrocities in collusion with such groups. However, the government has yet to take credible action to break these ties. Impunity, particularly with respect to high-level military officials, remains the norm. Impunity is also a serious problem in relation to atrocities committed by paramilitary groups. These groups are currently in demobilization negotiations with the Colombian government, but have been blatantly flouting their cease-fire declaration. Notably, the government has yet to put in place an effective legal framework to dismantle the paramilitaries’ complex structures and ensure accountability for paramilitary atrocities. As a result, there is a real risk that the current demobilization process will leave the underlying structures of these violent groups intact, their illegally acquired assets untouched, and their abuses unpunished.
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