8. For "Peace: Democracy, Justice, and Development"
The
widespreading of the Colombian crisis, manifested in the deepening of
the different forms of violence such as massacres, murders, abductions,
kidnappings, and assassinations due to social intolerance, has in the
last ten years caused the death of one quarter of a million people and
the deterioration of the social and economic conditions of the people.
No real action has been taken to rectify this situation.
In light of these circumstances, the Committee interpreting the desire
for peace of the Colombian people, in hopes of strengthening a democratic
opinion based on solid political proposals for the overcoming of violence
and inequity, organized with the support of several international entities
the 8th National Forum with the slogan of "Peace: Democracy, Justice
and Development". The purpose of this was to study the creation
of a global policy that would neutralize the causes of the violence
and look for a peace based on cultural, political, economic, and social
transformations.
The Forum, after studying a variety of topics such as the political
regime, impunity, national security policy, drug traffic, social inequity,
the agrarian problem, urban violence, youth, Human Rights, and International
Humanitarian Law, came to a series of conclusions that guided the actions
of the Committee for the last few years. They can be summarized as follows:
8.1
The continuation of the defense of the basic rights given in the National
Constitution, by uncovering the complaints of violation and helping
the victims.
We have looked to coordinate concrete actions with other Human Rights
NGOs and those that work with environmental and development issues.
For efficiency purposes, the Committee has integrated the following
spaces:
a. Colombia-Europe-United States Coordination Operative Team: coordinates
all the international actions of denouncing violations and all actions
for the international community for observation and protection projects,
campaign programming and international missions.
b. Never Again Project: keeps a database of all crimes against humanity
and investigates cases.
c. Ad-hoc Group of Human Rights Defenders: created on account of defender's
assassinations and attacks on the seats of organizations.
d. Colombian Platform for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
8.2
In the development of the struggle against paramilitaries we have been
helping its victims, making denunciations, preventing attacks such as
the one in Puerto Elvira in the town of Mapiripan and the town of Paratebueno
in Cundinamarca.
In
other instances we have developed, with other organizations, a campaign
for the dismantling of the CONVIVIR (legalized paramilitary forces).
8.3
On social rights, we have launched an initiative to form a commission
with representatives from labor unions, education, healthcare, housing,
and social security to analyze problems of development. For this purpose
we have organized meetings, nevertheless a stable commission has not
been possible.
8.4
On the Peace Process. For a while now, the Committee has been working
for this cause by launching peace actions and favoring stages of peace
among which the following can be mentioned"
a. Peace Search Committee, formed by sixty popular organizations has
made important proposals and organized events like The Peace Congress,
Ecopetrol's Assembly for Peace, and Civil Society Permanent Assembly
for Peace.
b. The Civil Society Permanent Assembly for Peace brings together the
different manifestations in favor of peace.
c. The National Peace Council, created through Law 434 of 1998, of which
one member of the Committee is part of, was appointed by a group of
Human Rights organizations in recognition for their work for peace.
Even when the new government shows no interest in having this organism
work, it has affirmed the importance of including Human Rights in the
peace agenda.
8.5
The creation of local Human Rights committees and the support to the
work of Human Rights officers has been strengthened by systematization
of work and the launching of proposals from Officers and Committees
who have been presenting initiatives and sharing very important and
diverse experiences depending on the characteristics of their areas.
Officers have been targets of attacks, threats, and other prosecution
acts, because of their quality as Human Rights protectors, cases of
which the Committee has informed the appropriate authorities.