Colombia continues to struggle with human rights amid a rebounding economy…

By Lauren Kronmiller

International criticism of Colombia’s dismal human rights record has continued in recent months, even amidst, and perhaps in part due to, an economy experiencing increased foreign direct investment (FDI) and a falling unemployment rate. For its part, American Ammunition, Inc. was recently awarded a contract with the Colombian government to provide the military with 23,700 parts. Discovery of new oil fields has also boosted economic hopes, as they would ease Colombia’s current oil crunch. Furthermore, Colombia did not have to extend its International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan as expected. Yet while Colombia’s economy is enjoying its fastest expansion in a decade, 4.5% this year, for which a growth spurt in the industrial sector is primarily responsible, this economic recovery offers little for the advancement of the rights of the Colombian people.

Particularly troubling are the implications of this growth on the country’s workers. Amnesty International this year cited Colombia as the “most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist.” The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) recently filed a complaint with the International Labor Organization (ILO) about the treatment of Colombia’s trade unions and campesinos by both the state military and the paramilitaries. Two seemingly encouraging developments, however, are the upcoming conference, “International Trade Union SOS in Colombia”, which will focus energy on resolving these conflicts, and a successful protest by the oil workers union (USO) to keep the country’s oil company, National Ecopetrol, nationalized and 100% Colombian at a time when the government was sabotaging its earnings to justify privatization.

Further aggravating Colombia’s struggle with human rights is its relationship with the US. Perhaps most alarming is the new “Democratic Security Act”, which was modeled after the US Patriot Act and allows the indefinite detention of suspected terrorists. This act has thus far been exploited to target trade unions and campesinos. Also, the “Airbridge Denial Program” allowing interdiction of any aircraft suspected of drug trafficking has been reinstated through President Bush’s support after being suspended for accidentally targeting a missionary plane and killing two Americans. This program is yet another element of the US War on Drugs in the Americas that is being internationally condemned as a failure. Contributing to its lack of credibility is the discovery of documents within the US that cite its most prominent ally, Colombian President Uribe, as a leading member of the country’s drug trade in the 1980’s. US officials continue to downplay these implications.

Little progress has also been made internally between the government and the country’s paramilitaries. President Uribe, in a significant policy shift, recently attempted to prompt negotiations with FARC through a “prisoner swap” plan. Such a plan would trade government-held rebel prisoners for FARC hostages and has been enthusiastically received by the families of these hostages who have long sought negotiations. FARC later rejected the plan on the basis that released rebels would be forced to leave the country or reenter society through a government rehabilitation program. So while the opening of communications between the two groups has given many hope, efforts have yet to produce any kind of positive results.

During the recent months, Colombia has continued to experience trends of violence, impunity, and gross human rights violations. International criticism continues unabated as Kofi Annan calls for an end to the violence against Colombia’s indigenous peoples and human rights advocates by both the state military as well as the paramilitaries in the countryside. The few positive developments within 2004 would further require a genuine and as yet unrealized commitment to progress by all sides.