International NGO Declaration in advance of the Group of Friendly Nations 3rd Meeting on the Peace Process, Brussels, April 30, 2001

International NGO Declaration in advance of the Group of Friendly Nations 3rd Meeting on the Peace Process, Brussels, April 30, 2001
International NGO Declaration in advance of the Group of Friendly Nations 3rd Meeting on the Peace Process in Colombia.

WORKING TOWARDS PEACE WITH SOCIAL JUSTICE

30 April 2001

We, the undersigned international non-governmental organisations, both secular and church-based, unions and solidarity networks, working on development, human rights and environmental issues, have supported the efforts of Colombian civil society to define the real needs of Colombian people within a framework of international co-operation committed to building a peace process with social justice:

1.We support the public forum "Colombia in the Centre of Europe", organised by Paz Colombia, a coalition of Colombian organisations and social movements that seeks to promote space for meetings with European Union institutions and with social, political and solidarity organisations and NGOs to discuss proposals for the Support Group for the Peace Process in the context of the implementation of the military component of Plan Colombia

2. We welcome the declaration from the Presidency of the European Union on the European support programme for the peace process in Colombia, made in October 2000. We also welcome the declaration made by Council of Ministers on 9 April 2001 and the resolution on plan Colombia passed by European Parliament in February 2001 in favour of peace with social justice.

3. We believe that the intentions of the European Union to create a "far- reaching European programme to support peace efforts in Colombia", expressed in the declaration mentioned above, are extremely positive. We therefore encourage you to maintain the spirit of this declaration in the forthcoming meeting on 30 April, and urge you to incorporate the recommendations made in the aforementioned European Parliament Resolution. In particular, we would like to emphasise the following:

The insistence that action taken by the European Union follows its own non-military strategy that combines neutrality, transparency, civil society participation and commitment from the members of the negotiation table.
The need to focus initial actions on the promotion of human rights, humanitarian law, basic liberties and living conditions of the local population.
The need to favour agrarian reform and to promote negotiated and concerted solutions to the problem of illicit crops, strengthening co-operation mechanisms and regional harmony.
The pertinence of six-monthly programmes to monitor the peace process, programme implementation and the fulfilment of commitments made by all sides.

4. Additionally, we believe it necessary to consider the recommendations made in the recent report produced by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, particularly in relation to:

The recommendation of the High Commissioner that all parties involved in the conflict adhere strictly and unconditionally to the rules and principals of International Humanitarian Law and that they abstain from any act that may endanger the persons protected by the said law.
The intention of the government, other armed actors and Colombian society to continue efforts leading to a negotiated solution to the armed conflict. At the same time, the urgent consideration of adopting a Global Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.
The adoption by the Colombian government of all necessary measures to ensure respect for and guarantee of human rights, prioritising the full enforcement of these rights and implementing an integral policy with these objectives. The creation and implementation of a National Action Plan for Human Rights, in the framework of the Vienna Declaration and Action Programme
The urgent responsibility of the Colombian State to effectively combat and definitively dismantle paramilitarism, by arresting, trying and sanctioning all those who inspire, organise, command, integrate, support and finance such groups. This should include public servants linked to such groups.
The responsibility of the Colombian State to prevent impunity favouring those responsible of human rights violations and infractions of international humanitarian law, either by direct action or by implicit involvement. In this sense, the High Commissioner urges the authorities to double their efforts to arrest, try in civil courts and sanction the authors of these serious acts, and ensure that victims receive an appropriate and adequate compensation.

The repeated failure of the Colombian government to fulfil international recommendations and the armed actors' lack of respect for International Humanitarian Law are situations which severely affect the negotiation process and the possibilities of a solid and irreversible peace process. We therefore think it necessary that the States committed to a programme of co-operation towards peace should insist on receiving results such as a budget necessary for viability and sustainability of the aid.

5. We also urge the participating States to consider the various studies on the impact of aerial-spraying and the implications of Plan Colombia for the Andean region, because the situation has become a great hindrance to the viability of crop substitution policies and biodiversity protection. We therefore think it opportune to consider the Paz Colombia proposal to create an International Commission to evaluate the Fight Against Drugs

Before concluding, we would like to express our deep concern about the profile, the work methods on the ground and the results of the Technical Mission that visited Colombia under the auspices of the European Commission with the aim of developing and defining the priorities of the European co-operation programme for peace.

6.We believe that the Group of Friendly Nations once again has the opportunity in Brussels to:

make international co-operation possible to effectively contribute towards the search for peace with social justice in Colombia. Such a commitment means a total rejection of any military solution and even of initiatives that seek only to ignore the effects of increasing militarisation.
achieve a continuous and inclusive dialogue with all social sectors and local and regional authorities in support of building a solid and lasting peace process.
adopt a programme of support for the peace process that includes an integral understanding of human rights, with a participative policy of sustainable development in which the need to strengthen democratic institutions is closely linked to the need to strengthen civil society participation in negotiation and dialogue.

Signatures

Asociacion para la Defensa de los Pueblos Amenazados - Alemania; Asociación de Refugiados Latinoamericanos et des Caraibes- Bélgica; 11.11.11- Coalicion flamenca para la Cooperación Norte-Sur; Broederlijk Delen; Social Alert; Commission Justice et Paix de Belgique Francophone; Comision Justicia y Paz Flamenca; Intermón Oxfam; Paz y Tercer Mundo; Globalitaria; COOPERACCIO; SODEPAZ; Federación de Asociaciones de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos - España Asociación para las Naciones Unidas en España Asociación pro Derechos Humanos de España Caritas Española Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado, Institut de Drets Humans de Catalunya, Instituto de Estudios Politicos para América Latina y Africa, Justicia y Paz, Liga Española Pro Derechos Humanos, Movimiento por Ia Paz, el Desarme y Ia Libertad, Paz y Cooperación Terre des Hommes - Francia; Comite Griego de Solidaridad Democratica Internacional (EEDDA); NOVIB; Transnational Institute; Wietske Langedijk - Saskia ten Holt - Wil Tolsma, Organisatie Latijns Amerika Activiteiten; Both ENDS, Environment and Development Service for NGOs; Cordaid; Michele Ciricillo, Fundacion Internacional Lelio Basso - Grupo Colombia; ARCI, Asociacion de Recreacion y Cultura Italiana; ARCS, ARCI Cultura y desarrollo; Observatorio Eurolatinoamericano del Tercer Sector; CISP; Oxfam; Christian Aid; CAFOD; Civis, Diakonia de Suecia; SWISSAID; Grupo de Trabajo Suiza-Colombia; Bolivia Centro - Bélgica European NGO Council on Drugs and Development ENCOD; Instituto de Estudio sobre Conflictos y Acción Humanitaria- Madrid; Coordinación Justicia y Paz - Europa Central; Coordinación Alemana por los Derechos Humanos en Colombia; Pax Christi Paises Bajos; Cooperazione Internazionale Sud-Sud, CISS; Secours Catholique - Caritas Francia