EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Session document
11 January 2001
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
further to Oral Questions O-0123/2000 and O-0124/2000 pursuant to Rule
42(5) of the Rules of Procedure
by Joaquim Miranda
on behalf of the Committee on Development
and Cooperation
on Plan Colombia and support for the peace
process in Colombia
B5-0000/2000
European Parliament resolution on Plan Colombia and support for the
peace process in Colombia
The European Parliament
– having regard to its previous resolutions
on Colombia,
– having regard to the conclusions of the
General Affairs Council of 9 October 2000,
– having regard to the statement by the EU
Presidency of 25 October 2000,
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whereas, in spite of concerted efforts at dialogue with the guerrillas
and the peace talks under way, the parties have hitherto not yet succeeded
in bringing an end to a conflict which has lasted for over three decades,
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recalling the undertaking given by the Clinton administration and President
Pastrana in September 1999 on the joint implementation of a ‘plan for peace,
prosperity and the strengthening of the state’, otherwise known as Plan
Colombia, which includes a package of predominantly military aid from the
United States amounting to USD 1.3 billion,
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whereas Plan Colombia is not the product of a process of dialogue amongst
the various social partners or of progress in the negotiations with the
guerrillas, has not been approved by the Colombian Congress and has provoked
widespread opposition from many sectors of civil society in the United
States, Europe, Latin America and particularly Colombia itself,
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whereas one of the key objectives of Plan Colombia lies in stamping out
drug trafficking and the spread of illegal crops by means of a strategy
which targets the peasant farmers producing these crops and which favours
aerial crop-spraying and the use of biological agents, methods which are
leading to the forced displacement of families and communities and are
seriously affecting Colombia’s rich biodiversity,
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having regard to the declaration by the Support Group for the Peace Process
in Colombia (Madrid, 7 July 2000), in which the participants expressed
their full political support for the peace process under way, and the declaration
by the EU delegation calling for greater efforts by the Colombian Government
with a view to breaking up paramilitary groups,
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having regard to the statement by the General Affairs Council of 9 October
2000, in which the European Union reaffirmed its support for the ongoing
peace efforts and its willingness to play an active role in the negotiating
process, which should involve consulting civil society and obtaining the
agreement of all parties with a view to achieving peace which is founded
on respect for human rights, humanitarian law and fundamental freedoms,
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whereas the problem of drug trafficking and related offences calls for
a global approach based on the principles of shared responsibility and
international cooperation between drug-producing and drug-consuming countries,
with a particular view to further repressing the laundering of money derived
from drug trafficking,
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having regard to the dialogue established at the meeting held in Costa
Rica in mid-October and the growth in dialogue between civil society and
armed groups; having regard to the meeting of the Support Group for the
Peace Process in Colombia (Bogota, 24/25 October 2000) attended by representatives
of the Commission and the EU Presidency,
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having regard to the wiping out of the rural civilian population by paramilitary
groups, the increase in the number of political murders over the last two
years and the almost total impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of such
crimes and, in particular, by those who order the crimes to be carried
out,
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having regard to the recent visit by Mrs Mary Robinson to Colombia and
the attention which she drew to the inadequate repression of paramilitary
groups and to impunity in general; whereas not only tens of thousands of
Colombians but also Europeans have been the victims of crimes which have
gone unpunished, such as the Spanish co-worker Iñigo Eguiluz, the
Belgian Daniel Gillard, the Italian Giacomo Turra, the Swiss Hildegard
Feldmann and many others,
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Reiterates its firm support for the peace process initiated by President
Pastrana and urges the parties to pursue their efforts in this regard,
in spite of the difficulties involved; calls on the FARC to return to the
table and to continue the peace negotiations;
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Takes the view that, in addition to their military dimension, the prevailing
situation and conflict in Colombia have a social and political dimension
whose roots lie in economic, political, cultural and social exclusion;
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Believes that stepping up military involvement in the fight against drugs
risks sparking off an escalation of the conflict in the region, and that
military solutions cannot bring about lasting peace;
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Warns that Plan Colombia contains aspects that run counter to the cooperation
strategies and projects to which the EU has already committed itself and
jeopardise its cooperation programmes; expresses particular concern at
the current situation in the Putumayo region;
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Considers that the European Union must support the aspects of the peace
process which involve the strengthening of institutions, alternative development,
humanitarian aid and social development, since these are the ones which
are most in accordance with its cooperation strategy;
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Believes that the social movement, which has been severely affected by
repression, NGOs and local communities must play an active role in the
ongoing peace process; welcomes the factthat their role has been affirmed
(in particular at the meeting in Costa Rica) and believes that it must
be coordinated with the efforts being made at the negotiating table;
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Believes that lasting peace cannot be achieved in Colombia without deep-seated
changes to the means by which wealth is distributed, since many of the
problems confronting the country stem from the fact that peasant farmers
do not own land;
Highlights the importance of encouraging genuine agrarian reform, using
notably land confiscated from drug barons, which presents peasant farmers
with economic alternatives; therefore urges the Colombian Government to
implement ambitious reform policies designed to curb the increasing concentration
of land and improve social conditions;
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Stresses that, in response to the large-scale US military plan, European
Union action should pursue its own, non-military strategy combining neutrality,
transparency, the participation of civil society and undertakings from
the parties involved in the negotiations;
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Welcomes the conclusions of the 9 October 2000 Council meeting, which contain
announcements concerning the implementation of a 'substantial European
programme of socio-economic and institutional support for the peace process
in Colombia, aimed at promoting and protecting respect for human rights,
humanitarian law and fundamental freedoms, improving the living conditions
of the local populations, encouraging the cultivation of alternative crops
and the protection of bio-diversity and supporting the introduction of
structural reforms in all fields which fuel armed conflict;
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Expresses its outrage at the large-scale massacres of country dwellers
which have recently been carried out by paramilitary groups in the regions
of Magdalena, Magdalena Medio, Cauca and Putumayo, and the threats which
have been made to country dwellers in Tumaco region and elsewhere;takes
the view that securing significant results in the fight against impunity
and against armed groups which violate human rights and contravene international
humanitarian law is essential to the credibility of the constitutional
state; urges the Colombian Government to continue its fight against paramilitary
groups and its efforts to strengthen the foundations of the constitutional
state, and to implement immediately and in their entirety the United Nations
recommendations on human rights;
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Considers that the European Union must play a more determined role in the
political protection and the funding of organisations (in particular organisations
for the families of victims) which campaign to have crimes against humanity
investigated, to preserve the memory of the victims of such crimes and
to ensure that the perpetrators thereof do not go unpunished;
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Welcomes the proposal by Commissioners Patten and Nielson to grant substantial
support for the peace efforts in Colombia amounting to EUR 105 million
for the period 2000-2006; stresses that, so as to give credibility to the
Union’s action, initial measures contributing to the peace process should
be introduced without delay and be aimed at promoting respect for human
rights, humanitarian law and fundamental freedoms, improving the living
conditions of the local populations, using organisations from civil society
and social movements as channels and bearing in mind the forced displacement
of a section of the rural population, of which women and children form
the vast majority;
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Welcomes the decision by the Council of Ministers to undertake a six-monthly
appraisal of the state of the peace process, the progress in implementing
programmes and compliance with the respective undertakings and obligations
of the Colombian Government and the groups involved in the negotiations
to strengthen peace;
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Is convinced that, in the fight against illegal crops, negotiated and agreed
solutions, agrarian reform and alternative crops, together with criminal
proceedings against traffickers and money launderers, should take precedence
over crop-spraying campaigns targeting the peasant farmers producing these
crops; believes in this regard that the Union must take the necessary steps
to secure an end to the large-scale use of Fusarium oxysporum, a
genetically modified organism unknown to Colombian ecosystems, given the
dangers of its use to human health and the environment alike;
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Highlights the importance of strengthening regional cooperation and dialogue,
given that past experience in the fight against illegal crops has shown
that tackling this problem in one country alone merely serves to transfer
it to neighbouring countries;
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Stresses the need to step up inter-regional cooperation to curb and stamp
out drug trafficking and combat money laundering; in this respect the European
Union ought to support Colombia’s request to sign the Strasbourg Convention;
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Calls on the Venezuelan Government to cooperate with the Colombian Government
in jointly establishing mechanisms which will make it possible to resolv
the border problems relating to the fight against drug production and trafficking;
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Urges the Colombian Government to follow the approach used in the talks
with the FARC in establishing dialogue with the other guerrilla groups
with a view to promoting the principles of neutrality and transparency
and thus earning the support of the various armed groups for planned programmes
and projects;
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Urges all the armed groups to support a humanitarian agreement under which
they would cease kidnapping, release their hostages, refrain from committing
terrorist acts, from recruiting under-age supporters and from carrying
out attacks on the civilian population, and conclude a serious ceasefire
agreement;
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Reiterates its support for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights and its efforts to secure a humanitarian agreement in Colombia;
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Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the
Commission and the Government of Colombia.