International Support Vital for Human Rights in Colombia

  
On May 29 and 30, Colombia will hold its first international forum on the peace process between the government and guerrilla forces. The first items on the agenda are the illicit cultivation of narcotics and environmental issues. President Andrés Pastrana almost suspended the gathering after the May 16 murder of Elvira Cortez, a 55-year-old peasant who refused to pay an armed group protection money. The extortionists hung a string of dynamite around her neck and exploded it. Pastrana worried that in light of these events, "the people of the world would not understand the invitation to participate in a peace process that does not support ending the tragic effects of the fighting on civil society and enforce respect for international human rights standards."

The identity of Cortez's killers is still not known. Although the manner of her death was particularly dramatic, it is unfortunately not an isolated case in Colombia. The statistics on violence reveal a society in which human lives and freedom are violated on a constant basis. According to the country's Public Ombudsman, 403 massacres-defined as the murder of three or more people left defenseless as the result of an armed attack-were perpetrated in Colombia in 1999, or more than one every day. The Fundación País Libre, a foundation formed to oppose kidnappings, reports that 1048 people were abducted in Colombia in the first five months of 2000, an average of nine per day. If this rate continues, the kidnapping toll for this year will be almost double what it was in 1999, when 3100 cases were reported. Ninety percent of kidnappings are attributed to armed groups, with the remainder believed to be carried out by common criminals and drug traffickers.

International bodies have expressed concern over the attacks on basic rights in Colombia. For example, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights' report on the country states that "the human rights situation in Colombia is currently one of the most difficult and serious in the Americas. The gravity of the situation derives from the massive and continuous violations of the most fundamental of human rights." And in a recent session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, High Commissioner Mary Robinson asserted that despite the persistent efforts of the Colombian government, "the human rights situation continues to be grave and deteriorating."

The majority of Colombians believe that this situation represents a serious threat to the survival of the state and democratic government. The perpetrators of the violence-commonly divided into guerrillas, drug traffickers, and ordinary criminals-are among the most difficult to confront. They do not have a well-defined political ideology, and the only goal of their violent acts seems to be anarchy.

The government's convocation of an international forum on the peace process and its professed concern for international human rights principles reflect Colombians' desire for reconciliation. The response of the subversive groups, however, has been more assassinations, more kidnappings, more extortion and more massacres. Colombians' dreams of peace are quickly turning into a nightmare, like that endured by Elvira Cortez. The international community must take a stand on this situation before it is too late.

See www.un.org for more information.