[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 7 (Monday, January 22, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S82-S83]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN COLOMBIA

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I would like to call my colleagues' 
attention to the brave and persistent efforts of the Association of the 
Families of the Detained and Disappeared on behalf of human rights in 
Colombia.
  One of the most pressing human rights emergencies in our hemisphere 
has been taking place in Colombia, where the government, paramilitary 
groups, and guerrillas remain locked in fierce struggles. Thousands of 
innocent civilians have been caught in the crossfire, and human rights 
abuses have been rampant. Throughout Colombia, members of ASFADDES have 
responded to this crisis by seeking justice for their relatives who 
have been killed or disappeared.
  Members of ASFADDES ask that cases of forced disappearances be 
properly investigated and prosecuted. They have worked for the last 
twelve years to make forced disappearances an official crime in 
Colombia, and a law was finally passed last year to do so, because of 
their work and dedication.
  Because of their calls for justice, members of ASFADDES are at 
tremendous personal risk. Since 1993, their members have received 
numerous threats. According to ASFADDES, members have been harassed, 
and have been the subject of intelligence-gathering by Colombian police 
and military personnel.
  The members are under particular threat, because they are one of the 
few organizations to bring cases against members of Colombia's security 
forces at the local, national, and international levels--including the 
Interamerican Commission on Human Rights--often raising the issue of 
collusion between Colombia's security forces and the paramilitary. 
ASFADDES is the only nation-wide organization in Colombia that 
represents families of human rights victims. Attacks are carried out 
against the staff of the organization and against the family members 
who seek the organization's help.
  Regrettably, serious acts of violence against members increased in 
2000.

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Elizabeth Canas of Barrancabermeja chapter was murdered on July 11; one 
day after the forced disappearance law was passed. On October 6, two 
members of the Medellin chapter, Angel Quintero and Claudia Patricia 
Monsalve, were disappeared. Members of the Popayan and Bogota chapters 
were harassed and followed, and escalating death threats were received 
by ASFADDES members throughout the country. The severity of the threats 
and attacks led the organization to temporarily close its offices last 
year. Sadly, a systematic campaign of terror against the organization 
appears to be underway.
  The Interamerican Commission on Human Rights has ordered the 
Colombian government to provide special protective measures to ASFADDES 
members to ensure their safety. While certain measures have been taken 
by the government, ASFADDES asserts that they are not always carried 
out expeditiously. Moreover, the organization is extremely concerned 
that the Colombian government has not taken adequate measures to 
investigate and prosecute the multiple cases of threats, harassment, 
murder and disappearance directed against its members.
  I commend the courageous members of ASFADDES, and all of the other 
men and women in Colombia who have shown great bravery in risking their 
careers, and their very lives, for the cause of human rights. I urge 
the Colombian Government to ensure that ASFADDES members and offices 
receive full protection, and to keep the organization informed about 
progress on cases it raises. I also urge the government to ensure the 
effectiveness of the new commission established to search for 
disappeared persons, under the new law against forced disappearances, 
and to prosecute such cases vigorously.

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