Femicides

Since 2000, Guatemalan women have been targeted in gender-based killings. According to Guatemalan officials, the women range in age from 18 to 30 and most have been abducted in broad daylight in well-populated areas. Though some NGOs are hesitant to use the term ‘Femicide' as they see the killings in a broader context of a rising murder rate for the population as a whole, these killings are an extreme form of violence against women, often including sexual assault, mutilation, and torture.

More than 3,000 women have been murdered in Guatemala since 2000 and, according to police statistics, the number of murders has steadily risen from 213 deaths in 2000 to an estimated 589 murders in 2006. While the number and brutality of the killings is distressing, most worrisome is the lack of political will to resolve the murders and prosecute the perpetrators. Few arrests and fewer convictions have taken place and on ten separate occasions police officers have been implicated in the murders. The government's inaction sets a public policy of tolerance for gender-based violence.

However, there is movement in Congress to push Guatemala into taking action against the femicides. House Resolution 100, introduced on January 24 th by Rep Hilda Solis (Ca – D), condemns the abductions and murders and expresses condolences to families of the victims. It also recommends specific actions to President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala to help stop the femicides. As of this writing Diana DeGette has been the only member of the Colorado delegation to co-sponsor the resolution.

Plan Colombia & Colombian Free Trade Agreement

Civil war has been raging in Colombia for 55 years. Second only to the Sudan, Colombia has the highest number of internally displaced persons. Approximately 3 million people have been forced from their land since 1985. Despite a recent pardoning of some paramilitary groups, 30,000 people still die every year due to military violence. Plan Colombia was an initiative presented by former Colombian President Andres Pastrana to promote peace and stability in Colombia . While adopted as a peace plan in 2000 by the out-going Clinton administration, U.S. policymakers encouraged the Colombians to shift the majority of aid toward military and police training to fight drugs. This realignment of aid has not proven successful in combating an increasing drug trade.

In Plan Colombia, only 22% of the $735 million in aid goes towards projects such as sustainable development, displaced persons, and judicial reform. The other 78% of the aid goes directly to the military. Of this, 75% is unconditional and 25% (18.75% of the total aid package) is distributed only if Colombia passes human rights standards. Colombia, notorious for human rights violations, has continually failed to receive this portion of the aid. In addition, millions of dollars every year are spent on aerial fumigation of coca fields, which has failed to reduce coca cultivation but has succeeded in destroying subsistence crops and damaging Colombia 's biodiversity and natural environment. Colombian President Álvaro Uribe recently released “Plan Colombia II” which calls for 86% of the money to be economic (i.e. non-military) aid and only 14% to be slotted for the military and police.

The Colombian Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is currently being debated in subcommittees in the House and the Senate. The proposed FTA will have the undesired effects of increasing poverty and the income gap, increasing human rights violations, and increasing the production of narcotics. Workers' rights in the proposed FTA are a huge step backwards, with standards and enforcement mechanisms inferior to U.S. law and the International Labor Organization standards. Almost a quarter of the Colombian population is employed in agriculture and will be severely and negatively affected if Colombian trade barriers are removed. According to agricultural experts and farmers, damage to the agriculture sector will force workers, who lack other economic opportunities, to turn to coca production as an alternative form of income. In addition to agricultural concerns, the FTA has been rejected by the indigenous population due to property rights favoring U.S. companies over indigenous claims to land and traditional knowledge.

Currently, there is a nation-wide movement lead by the Latin American Working Group in Washington, D.C. to educate Congressional Representatives on Plan Colombia's failings, promote a revised version of the policy similar to Plan Colombia II, and warn against the dangers of the Colombian Free Trade Agreement. Recently, a DJPC delegation had a successful meeting with Representative Udall's office and plans on holding similar meetings with Representative Perlmutter and Senator Salazar in the near future.

Action Taken Since December 2006

Signed on to an American Friends Service Committee letter that called for an end to Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE) raids against immigrants in the work place and called for investigations into ICE violations of civil liberties.

Urged Senators to reject the nomination of John Negroponte as Deputy Secretary of State. During his service as U.S. Ambassador to Honduras from 1981-1985 and as Deputy National Security Advisor from 1987-1989, Negroponte was heavily involved in the “Dirty Wars” in Central America as well as the Iran-Contra scandal. Despite these efforts, Negroponte was confirmed February 13, 2007.

Urged Colorado Representatives to become signatories on House Resolution 100 condemning the femicides in Guatemala , which have been occurring since 2000 (see update above).

Contacted Colorado Representatives requesting that they co-sponsor HR 654, allowing freedom of travel between the U.S. and Cuba .

Held a meeting with Representative Udall's office and sent letters informing the Colorado delegation of the flaws with Plan Colombia II and urging reform (See update above). Plan Colombia II is part of the Foreign Aid appropriations bill and is currently being debated in the Foreign Operations Sub-Committee.