Testimony
of Sandro Calvani, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Representative
in Colombia, Hearing of the House International Relations Western
Hemisphere Subcommittee, November 18, 2004
UNODC briefing on
Foreign aid to Colombia
and the European role in the fight against narco-terrorism
Washington DC, 14 October 2004
Summary statement by Dr. Sandro Calvani,
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime1, Representative in Colombia
Executive
summary.
The two major determinants of the poor human security situation
in Colombia are the production and trafficking of illicit drugs
and the internal conflict sustained by the Colombian outlaw armed
groups. Both scenarios are intimately linked to the global threats
caused by narcotrafficking and terrorism. UNODC believes that—together
with Afghanistan—the Colombian nexus must remain among the
two top priorities of the security related international aid policies,
based on the globally recognised principles of multilateral co-responsibility.
UNODC advocates and offers its support in order to continue to
build better consistency and more transparency of foreign aid
in partnership with the Colombian Government, the United States
and the European Union to fight and overcome the various expressions
of narco-terrorism in Colombia. UNODC stresses that building trust
and peace conditions are both tools and welcome side effects of
agreed multilateral human security policies. Rather than the representing
a threat to the neighbouring countries, a safer Colombia where
poverty and narco-terrorism are being progressively eliminated
will be a harbinger of common security for the Andean and Central
American regions. Perceived strengths and weaknesses of present
foreign aid policies, including those of the European Union are
discussed and a few recommendations are proposed.
The
two major determinants of the poor human security situation in
Colombia are the production and trafficking of illicit drugs and
the internal conflict sustained by the Colombian outlaw armed
groups. Both scenarios are intimately linked to the global threats
caused by narcotrafficking and terrorism. Thus UNODC believes
that—together with Afghanistan—the Colombian nexus must
remain among the two top priorities of the security related international
aid policies, based on the globally recognised principles of multilateral
co-responsibility. Beyond the United Nations, such principles
have been recently reiterated by the G8 group of most industrialised
countries, the Organization of American States and by the European
Union and its Member States.
As a resident in Bogotà and a frequent visitor of the most
remote areas of the country, I must state also that to target
the nexus between violence, poverty and isolation, narcotrafficking
and terrorism represents an absolute priority for the Colombian
people. For the Colombian citizens of all walks of life—those
most affected in the areas under the direct control of narco-terrorism
as well as those who suffer the national effects—the state
of insecurity and violence, wherever it prevails, is unacceptable.
In the recent past it has resulted in a poor quality of life;
it has created a poor investment climate; it represents a serious
obstacle to economic growth and employment generation. Many opinion
makers and independent observers have also argued that narco-terrorism
is an historical threat to the very foundations of the Colombian
social fabric and to the very survival of Colombia as a nation.
In a recent poll 92 % of Colombians ranked violence as the problem
with the most perverse effect on them and their families, far
above any other social and economic issue.2
I will focus my witness on the major challenges the international
community faces in Colombia to confront the narco-terrorism nexus,
with special attention to the main characteristic of foreign aid
and the European role in the fight. I will provide a few recommendations
which UNODC thinks might enhance the result of our common efforts.
In order to provide a complete briefing on these subject I have
provided also an extended written text and a set of updated statistics
to support my statements.
1. The European Union and illicit drugs in Colombia
At global level the EU drug control policies are currently laid
down in the "European Union Drugs Strategy 2000-2004".
The strategy is characterized by being balanced, multidisciplinary
and integrated. It is fully in line with the policies established
by the UN
General
Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) in 1998. The Vienna
European Council of December 1998 declared Latin America and the
Caribbean as priority regions.
Foreign aid to Colombia in the area of drug control is more than
twenty years old. From 1985 to 2004, the international cooperation
to UNODC’s activities in Colombia were funded mainly by European
countries, and the US. The total UNODC programme 1985 – 2004
amounted to 65.5 mill.
The analysis of grants to UNODC in Colombia clearly show that
European countries helped Colombia in social and human development,
such as drug abuse prevention, rehabilitation, and alternative
development programmes, as well as support to justice. The US
grants supported law enforcement activities and more recently
alternative development and monitoring of illicit crops.
In
the past five years the US contribution to multilateral fight
against narcotics in Colombia has reached US$ 5.4 million. The
US bilateral effort in the same area has reached US$ 2.3 billion.
The
major characteristic of the EU anti-drugs policy in Colombia are:
The EU designs, funds and implements a large range of activities
especially in the area of social and human development, but also
in complementary areas of what might be called "soft law
enforcement". Such activities are executed through United
Nations’ bodies, or through the EU Members’ bilateral
programmes or through the European Commission.
Both the UN and some European countries support activities aiming
at strengthening the institutional capacities of the Colombian
institutions to face precursor control, interdiction (aerial,
rivers, maritime and air interdiction) of drug trafficking. UNODC
supported and financed mostly with European funds the establishment
of five forensic laboratories to control chemical precursors and
illicit drugs.
In the past years, the EU priorities in Colombia have shifted
away from prevention and demand reduction, to pay instead more
attention to law enforcement plans.
Illicit crops, their location, their magnitude and dynamics are
identified and interpreted through the world’s most advanced
and transparent methodology with satellite images, called SIMCI
(Sistema Integrado de Monitoreo de los Cultivos Illicitos), a
UNODC project, mostly funded by Europeans. In 2003 the same project
has received for the first time a grant of US$ 800.000 from USAID
with US/INL funds..
UNODC and EU devote equal attention to support the Colombian criminal
justice system and its transition to the adversarial system, as
complementary areas to the fight against drugs and crime.
UNODC, other UN bodies, US and most European countries have devoted
large funds to alternative development.
However Alternative Development schemes in Colombia have never
reached the scale required to make a big impact at national level.
Contrary to UN and US led alternative development schemes, the
EU funded rural development programmes in areas where illicit
crops are present are not tied to the certified and enforceable
elimination of illicit crops.
The
Colombian anti-drug policy was initially discussed on bilateral
basis between the US and Colombia, leaving the European partners
and Canada aside. In the 2002 issue the EU strategy paper states:
"The war against drugs has been fought with the support of
the USA" [Page 8]. Plan Colombia is seen as a truly US bilateral
assistance package, focused on elimination of illicit crops, with
some social components, in particular in the area of alternative
development. This might explain why, for quite a long time, the
EU countries and Canada were reluctant to provide support and
cooperate in the existing anti-drug policy, and to complement
the Plan Colombia with additional social programmes and alternative
development. Plan Colombia’s social and human development
concerns are relatively recent additions with some early results
that are now attracting the interest of some European Governments,
including the Govt. led Family Forest Warden Programme.
The EU is placing special emphasis on a regional Andean approach
to drug control policies that is reflected in the Union’s
trade relations and a specialized dialogue on drugs. Financed
from the budget lines for financial and technical cooperation,
drug-control related projects in execution or about to start amount
to more than €. 140 million [EU data, June 2004].
2.. The EU policy on armed groups.
Restoring peace has been identified as the most significant development
priority for Colombia. The EU’s top objective is to help
Colombia in its search for peace that is regarded as a pre-requisite
to any form of sustainable development. Over the period 2000-2006
an amount of to €145.0 million was devoted to such goal.
One of its main programmes is called Peace Laboratories (€.67.8
million). The programme includes four components: peace culture
and integral right, productive and social infrastructures, productive
activities, and institutional strengthening.
The EU funded "peace laboratories" in the Magdalena
Medio and other regions, the anti-landmines programme, as well
as support to administrative and judicial reform are prominent
components of the EU aid in this sector. In 2002-03 Italy, Belgium,
Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and
Sweden also participated with similar or linked programmes which
amount to more than €. 50 million. (EU Colombia Country Strategy
paper, Annex 8)
3.
Topics where foreign aid and technical assistance are still needed
Research that led to hard facts on narco-terrorism: transparent,.
more detailed and reliable figures on drug production, yield,
prices, drug consumption etc. and its links to other driving factors,
such as the impact of the drug economy on the armed conflict,
smuggling of arms, support to foreign groups.
National drug data systems. Colombia is not a participant of the
Global UNODC NDS data collection and analysis methodology.
Integrated control of chemical precursors with participation of
the bordering and the chemical producing countries.
Prevention and control of money laundering.
Judicial, police and customs cooperation, including fight against
corruption.
5.
A stronger cooperation could be achieved between the EU, the UN
and the US
Boost the international control of chemical precursors: help identifying
the origin of the seized precursor and join forces in the prevention
and combat of precursor smuggling. A joint task force following
the example of operations in Afghanistan, could be a path to follow.
A programme to control small arms and automatic weapons could
be established. While weaknesses in this sector have been identified
and good practices are established by the Organization of American
States and by the UN, the national action plans are still weak.
Significant quantities of official firearms end up in the wrong
hands.
Alternative development should be enhanced. So far the AD activities
are not sufficiently coordinated among foreign and national partners
and the amounts of funds devoted only allows for pilot experiences.
All recent evaluations and international independent reports have
stressed that AD should: apply at large scale; be part of a wider
integrated rural programme; benefit from a strong linkage with
the plans on forfeited lands and with a land reform; become a
part of a wider alliance linked to the existing forms of general
preferences and the trade agreements.
All concerned partners should make a serious effort to achieve
an effective coordination of all foreign aid against narco-terrorism
in Colombia. As ACCORD in South East Asia, the recent experience
in Afghanistan, the Caribbean anti-narcotics Barbados Plan of
Action have demonstrated, impressive results can be achieved through
a transparent, smart, lean and computer based co-ordination effort.
UNODC has the experience and the know-how to make it happen, using
the expertise of some UN Member Countries. Previous experiences
in other countries have shown that approximately US$ 1 million
per year spent on co-ordination may provide invaluable outputs
of efficiency, international trust and transparency.
I
thank you for your kind attention.
1UNODC
websites: www.unodc.org www.unodc.org.co
2The
previous paragraph is adapted from: Elsie Garfield and Jairo Arboleda,
Violence, Sustainability, Peace and Development, in: World Bank,
Colombia, the Economic Foundation of Peace, Bogotà, 2003,
page 35.
As
of November 19, 2004, this document was also available online
at http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/108/cal111804.htm
