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Last Updated:2/15/01
Speech by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), January 22, 2001

PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN COLOMBIA -- (Senate - January 22, 2001)

[Page: S82]
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Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I would like to call my colleagues' attention to the brave and persistent efforts of the Association of the Families of the Detained and Disappeared on behalf of human rights in Colombia.

One of the most pressing human rights emergencies in our hemisphere has been taking place in Colombia, where the government, paramilitary groups, and guerrillas remain locked in fierce struggles. Thousands of innocent civilians have been caught in the crossfire, and human rights abuses have been rampant. Throughout Colombia, members of ASFADDES have responded to this crisis by seeking justice for their relatives who have been killed or disappeared.

Members of ASFADDES ask that cases of forced disappearances be properly investigated and prosecuted. They have worked for the last twelve years to make forced disappearances an official crime in Colombia, and a law was finally passed last year to do so, because of their work and dedication.

Because of their calls for justice, members of ASFADDES are at tremendous personal risk. Since 1993, their members have received numerous threats. According to ASFADDES, members have been harassed, and have been the subject of intelligence-gathering by Colombian police and military personnel.

The members are under particular threat, because they are one of the few organizations to bring cases against members of Colombia's security forces at the local, national, and international levels--including the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights--often raising the issue of collusion between Colombia's security forces and the paramilitary. ASFADDES is the only nation-wide organization in Colombia that represents families of human rights victims. Attacks are carried out against the staff of the organization and against the family members who seek the organization's help.

Regrettably, serious acts of violence against members increased in 2000.

[Page: S83]
Elizabeth Can 6as of Barrancabermeja chapter was murdered on July 11; one day after the forced disappearance law was passed. On October 6, two members of the Medellin chapter, Angel Quintero and Claudia Patricia Monsalve, were disappeared. Members of the Popayan and Bogota chapters were harassed and followed, and escalating death threats were received by ASFADDES members throughout the country. The severity of the threats and attacks led the organization to temporarily close its offices last year. Sadly, a systematic campaign of terror against the organization appears to be underway.
The Interamerican Commission on Human Rights has ordered the Colombian government to provide special protective measures to ASFADDES members to ensure their safety. While certain measures have been taken by the government, ASFADDES asserts that they are not always carried out expeditiously. Moreover, the organization is extremely concerned that the Colombian government has not taken adequate measures to investigate and prosecute the multiple cases of threats, harassment, murder and disappearance directed against its members.

I commend the courageous members of ASFADDES, and all of the other men and women in Colombia who have shown great bravery in risking their careers, and their very lives, for the cause of human rights. I urge the Colombian Government to ensure that ASFADDES members and offices receive full protection, and to keep the organization informed about progress on cases it raises. I also urge the government to ensure the effectiveness of the new commission established to search for disappeared persons, under the new law against forced disappearances, and to prosecute such cases vigorously.

END

As of February 15, 2001, this document was also available online at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r107:@FIELD(FLD003+s)+@FIELD(DDATE+20010122)

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