AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
WASHINGTON COLLEGE OF LAW
CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN LAW
4TH HUMAN RIGHTS FILM SERIES
RESOURCE PAGE: WAR TAKES
In Colombia,
leftist guerrillas fight both the Colombian government and the officially outlawed
right-wing paramilitary organizations, which are often allied with the
US-supported Colombian military. In
1999, after more than 40 years of
internal conflict between the military and the country’s largest guerilla
group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP), the
two groups negotiated a cease fire and peace talks began. After almost three years of negotiations,
however, peace talks broke down in February 2002. Colombia continues to face increasing political
violence from guerilla groups and paramilitary forces. Paramilitary forces control approximately 40
percent of the drug trade in Colombia and have considerably increased their
strength since the beginning of the peace negotiations. The AUC (United Self Defense Group of Colombia), the country’s largest counterinsurgency
group, was added to the US list of terrorist organizations in September
2002. As a part of the war on drugs,
however, the US continues to fund the Colombian government, despite its failure to sever
ties with paramilitary groups and prosecute human rights violations. Recently, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe
proposed an amnesty plan for violent paramilitary members, patterned on South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The following is a list of websites
that provide more information about the human rights situation in Colombia
and the current state of US
aid to the country.
Washington Office on Latin America – www.wola.org
š
WOLA regularly provides information and analysis
to the U.S.
executive branch, Congress and U.S.
and Latin American media. WOLA monitors the impact of U.S.
foreign policy on human rights, democracy and equitable development in Latin
America.
Latin American
Working Group – www.lawg.org
š
The LAWG is one of the nation's longest standing
coalitions dedicated to foreign policy. They carry out the coalition's mission
to encourage US policies towards Latin America that
promote human rights, justice, peace and sustainable development. As a
coalition, LAWG represents the interests of over 60 major religious,
humanitarian, grassroots and policy organizations to decision makers in Washington,
DC.
Committee for Social
Justice in Colombia – www.socialjusticecolombia.org
š
The Committee for Social Justice in Colombia is
a coalition of students, workers, social activists and members of the Colombian
immigrant community that educate schools, union locals and communities
throughout New York City to educate U.S.-based activists about the human rights
situation in Colombia.
Colombia Human Rights Network – http://colhrnet.igc.org
š
This bilingual site offers a wide range of media
resources. The Network publishes the
Colombia Update, a quarterly newsletter with the latest information on the
political, environmental and human rights situation in Colombia.
U.S. Office on Colombia – www.usofficeoncolombia.org/index.html
š
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 American public about the impact of U.S.
policy on Colombia.
Witness for Peace
– www.witnessforpeace.org
š
Witness
for Peace is a politically independent, grassroots organization, committed to
nonviolence. Their mission is to support peace, justice and sustainable
economies in the Americas by changing US policies and corporate
practices which contribute to poverty and oppression in Latin America and the Caribbean.