Security Bought at a Terrible Price

Security Bought at a Terrible Price, Report Warns

Marina Litvinsky

WASHINGTON, May 26 (IPS) - Colombia’s government must urgently address human rights abuses to enhance its security policy and bring lasting peace to the country, says a new policy brief by the International Crisis Group (ICG).

‘The Virtuous Twins: Protecting Human Rights and Improving Security in Colombia,’ examines the security gains made by the government of President Álvaro Uribe and warns that immediate steps are needed to address human rights concerns.

Over seven years, the Uribe administration has produced important security gains, but these have been accompanied by serious human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL).

"The Uribe administration promotes an optimistic vision of Colombia on the verge of overcoming its internal conflict, but the conflict is evolving, not ending," Mauricio Angel Morales, ICG senior analyst, said. "It should make a much stronger commitment to protecting human rights, not least to preserve and expand the security gains."

Human rights organisations and international observers have long criticised the negligent or openly abusive actions of the government security forces. Serious violations include extrajudicial executions of civilians by members of the security forces.

Though the two-year-old scandal surrounding the murder and forced disappearance of civilians under the guise that they were combatants by members of the military has long been exposed, "Those cases are moving very slowly and it is not clear that (the perpetrators) will be punished," said Adam Isaacson of the Washington-based Centre for International Policy.

Deep-seated mistrust between the government and human rights defenders has hindered dialogue on integrating human rights protection and IHL observance into security policy. The ICG contends that this must be overcome, starting with an end to officials’ repeated efforts to link human rights organisations with the guerrillas.

"The priorities of the government and human rights defenders are not mutually exclusive, but reinforcing," said Markus Schultze-Kraft, Latin America director at ICG. "Ending the internal armed conflict urgently requires improved security with full respect for Colombians’ fundamental rights."

According to a Human Rights Watch report, in February, Uribe publicly accused those who travel abroad and talk about human rights abuses in Colombia of being part of an "intellectual bloc of the FARC" guerrillas.

This may be seen in the February release of human rights defender Julio Avella, six months after he was put behind bars. A prosecutor reviewing the case threw out the charges against him, which were based on the testimony of former guerrillas and police and army reports, on the grounds that they were "contradictory, incoherent, inconsistent and illogical," according to a report by Human Rights First (HRF).

The prosecutor found that Avella had been arrested merely because of his leftist ideology, without evidence of "rebellion" or any other crime.

In April, a delegation of seven British Labour members of parliament and 10 trade union leaders from the U.S., Canada and Britain on a fact-finding mission to Colombia accused the Uribe government of being an "accomplice of crimes against humanity".

In an effort to curb violations by security forces, especially against the rural and urban poor, the government has issued a human rights policy, increased human rights training for security forces and taken other measures, including holding to account military officers involved in extrajudicial killings of innocent civilians. These are important initial steps, said the ICG, but security forces still have a long way to go regarding accountability, professionalism and full commitment to human rights.

The Uribe administration has focused on the military struggle against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN) and paramilitary and new illegal armed groups (NIAGs) – all responsible for multiple atrocities against civilians. Under a hard-line military approach, the government has been especially effective in countering and eliminating FARC forces.

These gains have been made with the help of substantial international technical and financial support, in particular from the U.S. Washington has funneled nearly six billion dollars in mostly military and anti-drug aid to the Uribe administration for its fight against Marxist rebels and drug cartels.

Earlier this month, U.S. President Barack Obama expressed an interest in continuing Plan Colombia, proposing 268 million dollars in military and police assistance for 2010, according to Isaacson.

Forced displacement and violence against vulnerable sectors, including ethnic minorities and women, remains widespread. NIAGs, at times with acquiescence of security personnel and some government officials, have stepped up intimidation and violence against civilians and the sluggish justice system is an ineffective deterrent, according to the brief.

"If you are going against these kinds of powers, you are just a lonely judge, prosecutor, or witness," said Isaacson, pointing to the high ranks of many of the offenders as reason for the stalling of their cases in court.

The brief comes on the heels of an investigation, announced in mid-May, by the inspector general of three of Uribe’s closest advisers and three former officials of the Department of Administrative Security (DAS), the intelligence service that answers to the president, for spying on Supreme Court judges, opposition politicians, activists and journalists.

There is suspicion that the surveillance was ordered by the president, which the Casa Nariño (the presidential palace) denies.

"The president is in denial about this," said Isaacson. "Most of his statements seek to minimise the problem" or say it "is something made up by his enemies."

Despite the multitude of scandals which have plagued Uribe’s time in office, he remains popular for bringing order to a once chaotic country, and is considering running for a third term. The Colombian Senate approved a proposed referendum to allow him to run for re-election. A special legislative commission and the constitutional court must still approve the proposal before a ballot can be held this year.

The brief states that the U.S., Canada and the EU should actively promote rapprochement between the security forces and human rights advocates.

ICG calls on the government, the human rights community and international partners to strengthen security force professionalism; continue conditioning of international aid to the armed forces on full respect for human rights; strengthen the investigative ability of the human rights and justice and peace units of the attorney general’s office; and improve protection programs so as to encourage victims and witnesses to participate in investigations and prosecutions.

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