archivos de los protestos globales

Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2001
European Parliament resolution on Plan Colombia

Ci dessous la resolution qui vient d'etre adoptée par le Parlement
europeen...au risque de déplaire à l'oncle Bush, cà me parait franchement 
pas mal de tout, non?

Alain

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12. 	Plan Colombia
B5-0087/2001

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,

A.	whereas, in spite of concerted efforts at dialogue with the guerillas 
and the peace talks under way, the parties have not yet succeeded in 
bringing an end to a conflict which has lasted for over three decades,

B.	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,

C.	whereas Plan Colombia is not the product of a process of dialogue amongst 
the various partners in society and whereas acceptance of the strategy for 
peace by all of the country's institutions would be a most welcome 
development which should involve not only action to combat drugs production 
and trafficking but also a strategy for social and economic recovery, the 
strengthening of institutions and social development, all of which need to 
be supported,

D.	whereas one of the objectives of Plan Colombia lies in stamping out drug 
trafficking and the spread of illegal crops by means of a strategy 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,

E.	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,

F.	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,

G.	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 action to stamp out the 
laundering of money derived from drug trafficking,

H.	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,

I.	whereas acts of violence and terrorism, assassinations, kidnappings and 
massacres, aimed at the civilian population in particular, have increased 
while the peace talks have been taking place and considering the impunity 
enjoyed by the perpetrators of such crimes and, in particular, by those who
order the crimes to be carried out,

J.	having regard to the recent visit by Mrs Mary Robinson to Colombia and 
the attention which she drew to the inadequacy of the measures taken against
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 volunteer Iñigo Eguiluz, the 
Belgian Daniel Gillard, the Italian Giacomo Turra, the Swiss Hildegard 
Feldmann and many others,

1.	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;

2.	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;

3.	Believes that stepping up military involvement in the fight against drugs 
involves the risk of sparking off an escalation of the conflict in the 
region, and that military solutions cannot bring about lasting peace;

4.	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;

5.	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;

6.	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 fact that 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;
7.	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;

8.	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;

9.	Stresses that 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;

10.	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 biodiversity and supporting the 
introduction of structural reforms in all fields which fuel armed conflict';

11.	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 the 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 rule of law; urges 
the Colombian government to continue its fight against paramilitary groups 
and its efforts to strengthen the foundations of the rule of law, and to 
implement immediately and in their entirety the United Nations 
recommendations on human rights;

12.	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;

13.	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 civil society 
organisations 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;

14.	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, and asks the Council and Commission to 
inform Parliament at the same time;

15.	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; believes in this regard that the 
Union must take the necessary steps to secure an end to the large-scale use 
of chemical herbicides and prevent the introduction of biological agents 
such as Fusarium oxysporum, given the dangers of their use to human health 
and the environment alike;

16.	Highlights the importance of strengthening regional cooperation and 
dialogue on the basis of the principle of international coresponsibility, 
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;

17.	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;

18.	Calls on the Venezuelan government to cooperate with the Colombian 
government in jointly establishing mechanisms which will make it possible to 
resolve the border problems relating to the fight against drug production 
and trafficking;

19.	Urges the Colombian government to follow the approach used in the talks 
with the FARC in establishing dialogue with the other guerilla 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;

20.	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;

21.	Reiterates its support for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for 
Human Rights and its efforts to secure a humanitarian agreement in Colombia;

22.	Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the 
Commission, the governments of Colombia, Venezuela and of the mediating 
countries.

---------------------------------
Paul-Emile  Dupret
Adviser on Development and Cooperation, and External Trade.
Unided European Left (GUE/NGL), European Parliament
Brussels:      PHS    5C19  Tél: 32 (0)2-28 42067     Fax: 32 (0)2-2841774
Strasbourg:  LOW T4028   Tél: 33 (0)3 881 73558   Fax: 33 (0)3-88242527
pdupret@europarl.eu.int

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