[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 112 (Friday, July 13, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1522-E1523]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING 2007 AS THE YEAR OF THE RIGHTS OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED 
                          PERSONS IN COLOMBIA

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 11, 2007

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, I am glad to rise in support of House 
Resolution 426, recognizing 2007 as the Year of the Rights of 
Internally Displaced Persons in Colombia.
  Internal displacement is a massive problem in Colombia. As noted in 
this resolution, the number of displaced over the past 20 years is 
roughly equivalent to eight percent of the Colombian population. If we 
applied this ration to the population of the United Sates, this would 
equal twenty-four million displaced persons roughly the population of 
the State of Texas.
  Unfortunately, this tragically large number continues to grow by 
about 200,000 every year.
  The civil conflict, of course, is at the root of the problem, but 
this explanation is worth a closer look. There is a guerrilla war being 
waged by the group calling itself the Revolutionary Armed Forces of 
Colombia, or FARC, in conflict with the Colombian government and their 
paramilitary allies and surrogates, and combat has displaced many 
Colombians. Also, resorting to violence as a means of resolving 
conflicts over land and other resources has become commonplace and 
exacerbates the problem.
  Afro-Colombians, whose rights to communal land holdings were not 
properly recognized until 1991, have been hit particularly hard by 
deliberate displacement aimed at securing valuable or strategic land 
areas, principally by paramilitaries and the Colombian state. The FARC 
has also been known to engage in this reprehensible practice. Often the 
land at issue is stolen from its residents because it is favorable to 
agriculture, has sub-surface resources, or is needed for the completion 
of large construction projects.
  Due to economically motivated displacement and other factors, 
including their general political marginalization in Colombian society, 
Afro-Colombians are disproportionately over-represented in the 
displaced population, as noted in the resolution.

[[Page E1523]]

  Because of their marginal position, Afro-Colombians, therefore, find 
it even more difficult than other Colombians to access the resources 
and assistance they need to rebuild their lives. In this dismal 
context, a return to their land, to their proper home, may be a deeply 
held hope, but it is difficult to imagine.
  The plight of the displaced deserves our immediate attention. Not 
only have we involved ourselves in the Colombian civil conflict and 
armed the Colombian state--a government which our own State Department 
has stated cooperates with the pararmilitaries, but this nation's 
appetite for cocaine has inflamed the situation by generating income 
for all sides in the conflict.
  I wholeheartedly support this resolution and hope for an overwhelming 
vote in favor of its adoption. I call on my colleagues to support this 
resolution and to pay sustained attention to the plight of the 
displaced throughout this year and beyond, as we work to redirect our 
policies toward building a just peace for the people of Colombia.