[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 618 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 618

Recognizing the importance of addressing the plight of Afro-Colombians.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 3, 2007

Mr. Payne (for himself, Ms. Lee, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Conyers, Mr. 
 Rush, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Honda, and Ms. Solis) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing the importance of addressing the plight of Afro-Colombians.

Whereas Afro-Colombians have experienced economic, social, and political 
        injustices, as a result of their skin color and ancestry and have been 
        targets of violence and intimidation;
Whereas Afro-Colombians today compromise over 25 percent of Colombia's 
        population--the second largest Afro-descendant population in Latin 
        America and the third largest outside of Africa;
Whereas the vast majority of Afro-Colombians live on the Pacific and Atlantic 
        Coasts and the Valley of Magdalena and Cauca Rivers of Colombia within 
        the departments of Choco, Valle del Cauca, Cauca, Narino, Bolivar, 
        Magdalena, Sucre, and Cesar and endure extreme humanitarian conditions, 
        as a result of marginalization, neglect, and the country's 40-year armed 
        conflict and violence;
Whereas the internal armed conflict fueled by drug trafficking has generated 
        violence against Afro-Colombian civilians and has led to the 
        appropriation of Afro-Colombian territories and internal displacement 
        creating huge obstacles for social and economic progress of the Afro-
        Colombian population;
Whereas the Government of Colombia has maintained close ties with the United 
        States and is the largest recipient of bilateral United States foreign 
        aid outside of the Middle East and South Asia;
Whereas the Government of Colombia has received an estimated $6,000,000,000 in 
        military, counter-narcotics, and other aid since 2000, primarily through 
        congressionally-legislated Plan Colombia;
Whereas, although a major beneficiary of United States foreign assistance, the 
        Government of Colombia has not effectively addressed racial 
        discrimination, violence, and social and political marginalization 
        facing Afro-Colombians;
Whereas Colombia has the second largest population of internally displaced 
        people in the world, and Afro-Colombians are the most affected, 
        compromising an estimated 40 percent of Colombia's 3,800,000 internally 
        displaced persons;
Whereas an estimated 76 percent of Afro-Colombians live in conditions of extreme 
        poverty, 42 percent are unemployed, and only 2 percent are able to 
        attend college;
Whereas the life expectancy for Afro-Colombians is two decades shorter than the 
        national average, with an estimated 82 percent of Afro-Colombians 
        lacking access to basic public services;
Whereas Afro-Colombians are underrepresented in positions of leadership, power, 
        and authority within the social, political, and economic spheres of the 
        country, yet in recent years, Afro-Colombian representation in 
        government has increased: currently there are 2 Afro-Colombian senators 
        and 7 Afro-Colombian members of the House of Representatives;
Whereas the department of Choco, a region that has the largest percentage of 
        Afro-Colombians with an estimated 70 percent of the total population of 
        the state, also suffers from the lowest per-capita level of government 
        investment in health, education, and infrastructure, with a significant 
        proportion of the population facing an increase in illiteracy;
Whereas the Colombian healthcare system covers only 10 percent of Afro-Colombian 
        communities, compared to 40 percent of non-black communities;
Whereas the 1991 Colombian Constitution and Law 70 of 1993 granted Afro-
        Colombians the legal titles to their ancestral land and the ownership of 
        the tropical rainforest;
Whereas, however, Afro-Colombians have been forcibly and violently displaced 
        from their lands;
Whereas the aerial herbicide spraying and fumigation of coca crops has also 
        resulted in the destruction of the legitimate subsistence crops of Afro-
        Colombian communities and a corresponding increase in food instability 
        and internal displacement amongst Afro-Colombians in territories where 
        fumigation occurs;
Whereas although Articles 6 and 7 of the International Labor Convention mandates 
        that United States assistance to Colombia is contingent upon human 
        rights standards for indigenous communities, Afro-Colombians are not 
        included in the language for human rights certification conditions;
Whereas the spread of oil palm cultivation is linked to grave human rights 
        violations, internal displacement, and the killings of Afro-Colombian 
        leaders and results in the weakening of territorial and environmental 
        rights of Afro-Colombian communities;
Whereas human rights violations against Afro-Colombians, including bombings, 
        massacres, and kidnappings go uninvestigated and unaddressed by the 
        judicial system;
Whereas the deaths and disappearances of Afro-Colombian community activists and 
        human rights defenders are uninvestigated and leaders within the Afro-
        Colombian communities continue to endure death threats and are 
        specifically targeted by left-wing guerillas and right-wing 
        paramilitaries;
Whereas Colombia's paramilitary demobilization process has led to continued 
        displacement, human rights violations, and armed territorial disputes in 
        Afro-Colombian communities;
Whereas Afro-Colombians suffer disproportionately from extrajudicial executions, 
        massacres, death threats, disappearances, displacements, and forced 
        conscription;
Whereas violent terrorist attacks continue to occur at an alarming rate in 
        Buenaventura, a city with a majority Afro-Colombian population, 
        resulting in the frequent loss of innocent civilians and making that 
        city one of the most dangerous in Colombia;
Whereas in 2002 in Bojaya, Choco, 119 unarmed Afro-Colombian civilians--
        including 45 children--who had taken refuge in a church were massacred, 
        as they were caught in the crossfire between the Revolutionary Armed 
        Forces of Colombia (FARC) and United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia 
        (AUC) paramilitaries;
Whereas following the massacre in 2002, civilians suffer greatly due to 
        terrorist attacks in Buenaventura, as the FARC continues to commit 
        violent acts against Afro-Colombians; and
Whereas, although persons of African descent have made significant achievements 
        in education, employment, economic, political, and social spheres in 
        Latin America, the vast majority are marginalized: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes and honors Afro-Colombians for their 
        contributions to the economic, social, and cultural fabric of 
        Colombia;
            (2) calls upon the Government of Colombia to take measures 
        to combat racial discrimination, human rights violations, and 
        condemn all attacks and forms of racial discrimination against 
        Afro-Colombians;
            (3) urges the Government of Colombia to demand politicians 
        linked to para-politics scandals are investigated and brought 
        to justice;
            (4) urges the Government of Colombia to develop and 
        implement a policy that ensures the proper execution of 
        assistance programs designated for Afro-Colombians and 
        internally displaced communities; and
            (5) encourages the United States Government to ensure that 
        the previous consultation mechanism with Afro-Colombians and 
        marginalized groups is applied in the negotiation for a free 
        trade agreement and the implementation of Plan Colombia.
                                 <all>