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Visit of Colombian President Andres Pastrana to the US

U.S. Refugee and Humanitarian Organizations Say Pastrana’s Emphasis on Economic Development Is A Better Approach

US Committee for Refugees
Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children
Jesuit Refugee Service/USA
Colombia Human Rights Committee

February 26, 2001 - Tomorrow, February 27, Colombia’s president, Andres Pastrana, will meet with President Bush to request more U.S. assistance to Colombia. The last time Pastrana visited the United States he asked for--and received--more than $1 billion in mostly military aid that many U.S. human rights and humanitarian groups strongly criticized. This time, he will seek development assistance and funds to help improve Colombia’s struggling economy.

According to U.S. nongovernmental organizations concerned with the humanitarian situation of Colombia’s two million internally displaced persons, this is the type of aid the Colombian government should be seeking. "Economic development can promote stability and peace, both of which Colombia sorely needs," said Hiram Ruiz of the U.S. Committee for Refugees. "The military aid Colombia sought and received last year undermines peace efforts and does little to help the country tackle the many social problems at the root of the country’s conflict."

U.S. military assistance has contributed to violence and further large-scale displacement of civilians, including an unprecedented flow of Colombian refugees into Ecuador. In 2000, 317,000 people were forcibly displaced inside Colombia and some 15,000 crossed borders to become refugees. Colombia’s neighbors have become alarmed by the violence that has spilled over into their countries, fearing a regionalization of the Colombian conflict.

U.S. military assistance has not, however, helped curtail widespread human rights abuses. According to the United Nations human rights office in Colombia, 170 people were killed in 26 massacres, most of them by paramilitary groups, since the beginning of the year. Colombian guerrillas continue to kidnap, use weapons indiscriminately, and recruit child soldiers into their ranks.

Mary Diaz, director of the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children added, "We urge President Bush to focus on how the United States can help promote peace and economic stability in Colombia. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Colombians are struggling to survive because, in the face of mass unemployment in Colombia, they cannot find work. Their children are not in school because the local authorities in the towns and cities in which they live cannot provide enough schools and teachers."

President Bush should help the Colombian government improve protection and services to those already displaced and prevent future displacement by dismantling paramilitary groups, which are currently responsible for most forced displacement. The Colombian government must call upon all sides in the conflict to respect international humanitarian law.

Social development and economic stability are vital to Colombia’s achieving and maintaining lasting peace. Military assistance undercuts peace efforts. President Bush should carefully weigh those two simple yet crucial facts as he maps out his Administration’s policy toward Colombia.

For more information contact: Hiram Ruiz, U.S. Committee for Refugees (202) 347-3507 or 202/232-7691, or Rev. Richard Ryscavage, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA (202) 256-3617.