Speech by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), June 30, 2000

Speech by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), June 30, 2000

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, the bill before us provides over $1 billion in assistance to Colombia and represents a major increase in our political and financial commitment to the Colombian Government and the Colombian Armed Forces.

Many of us have been deeply concerned about the potential impact of this substantial increase in U.S. military assistance on human rights in Colombia . We have worked with the Senate Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee to include human rights conditions on the aid. I commend Senators McConnell and Leahy for their leadership on this issue and for preserving the human rights conditions in the final version of the bill. The conditions are fully consistent with the laws and stated policies of the Colombian Government. They are also vital to ensuring that U.S. military aid does not contribute to human rights abuses in Colombia . We look forward to working with the Administration to achieve the Colombian Government's compliance with them.

The first condition requires that armed forces personnel alleged to have committed gross violations of human rights be suspended from duty and brought to justice in the civilian courts, in accordance with the 1997 ruling of Colombia's Constitutional Court. The Colombian Ministry of National Defense has stated that, `the Commander General of the Military Forces will separate from active service, by discretionary decision, members of the various Military Forces for inefficiency or for unsatisfactory performance in the fight against illegal armed groups.' Unfortunately, this policy has not been implemented, and there is no automatic process for suspending a member of the Colombian Armed Forces alleged to have violated human rights.

The Colombian Ministry of National Defense has expressed its support for the 1997 ruling of the Constitutional Court. In its March 2000 publication entitled `Public Force and Human Rights in Colombia ,' the Colombian Ministry of National Defense stated that, `Colombia has taken very important steps in limiting the jurisdiction of the military justice system. In effect, in 1997 the Constitutional Court concluded that crimes against humanity do not fall under its jurisdiction because it does not relate to the service provided by the Public Force. Such crimes constitute a serious violation of human rights and transgress the duties of armed services. Consequently, the Constitutional Court decided that such crimes be heard by the Ordinary Criminal Courts.'

Unfortunately, the Colombian Armed Forces have grossly misrepresented their record of compliance with this Constitutional Court ruling. They have claimed that 576 human rights cases involving Armed Forces personnel were transferred to civilian courts when, in fact, only 39 cases of human rights violations were transferred--and those cases involved low level officials.

The human rights conditions contained in the bill also require the Colombian Government to prosecute in the civilian courts the leaders and members of paramilitary groups and armed forces personnel who aid or abet them. This provision is also fully consistent with the stated policies of the Colombian Government. In its publication entitled `Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Policies,' the Colombian Ministry of National Defense stated that illegal self-defense groups `are one of the main offenders of human rights and international humanitarian law.' In its publication entitled `Public Force and Human Rights in Colombia ,' the Ministry further stated that the Public Force confronts and combats guerrilla and illegal self-defense groups `with the same rigor.' President Pastrana's `Plan Colombia' is quite clear on this issue, stating that `the Government will not tolerate ties of any kind between any member of the military forces or the police and any illegal armed group or force.'

Regrettably, the State Department, the United Nations, and human rights groups have documented continuing links between the Colombian Armed Forces and paramilitary groups. The State Department Human Rights Report for 1999 stated that the Armed Forces and National Police sometimes `tacitly tolerated' or `aided and abetted' the activities of paramilitary groups. According to the report, `in some instances, individual members of the security forces actively collaborated with members of paramilitary groups by passing them through roadblocks, sharing intelligence, and providing them with ammunition. Paramilitary forces find a ready support base within the military and police.' The report also concluded that `security forces regularly failed to confront paramilitary groups.' Human Rights Watch has documented links between military and paramilitary groups, not only in isolated, rural areas but in Colombia's principal cities, and these links involve half of Colombia's 18 brigade-level units.

The Colombian Armed Forces have resisted investigating these links. Instead of investigating a credible allegation of military collaboration with paramilitary groups in a civilian massacre that occurred in the town of San Jose de Apartado on February 19, the Commander of the 17th Brigade filed suit against the non-governmental organization that made these allegations, charging that it had `impugned' the honor of the military.

The human rights conditions contained in the bill reflect the Colombian Government's laws and policies and underscore the importance of human rights as a fundamental principle of U.S. foreign policy. Compliance with these conditions is essential if we are to ensure that U.S. military aid does not contribute to human rights abuses in Colombia .

I am disappointed that the conference agreement permits the President to waive the conditions in the interest of national security. However, the inclusion of this waiver authority does not exempt the Administration from responsibility for seeking the Colombian Government's compliance with these human rights conditions. Nor is the waiver an excuse for the Colombian Government not to address the continuing human rights problems in Colombia . I look forward to the good faith application of these important human rights provisions in the implementation of this legislation.

As of July 18, 2000, this document was also available online at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r106:S30JN0-436: