US embassy cable - 04BOGOTA4507

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 004507 
 
SIPDIS 
 
GENEVA FOF JEFF DELAURENTIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, PINR, PTER, KJUS, CO 
SUBJECT: U/S GROSSMAN'S MEETING WITH HUMAN RIGHTS NGOS 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (U) April 29, 2004, 1:45-2:30pm, U.S. Embassy Bogota 
 
2.  (U) Participants: 
 
U.S. 
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U/S Marc Grossman 
Ambassador William B. Wood 
General James T. Hill, SouthCom 
Ambassador Daniel A. Johnson, POLAD 
Col. Napoli, Southcom 
Stewart Tuttle, Deputy Political Counselor 
Charles Barclay, WHA/AND 
Kiersten Stiansen, Notetaker 
 
Colombia 
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Mario Gomez, Restrepo Barco Foundation 
Carlos Rodriguez, Colombian Commission of Jurists (CCJ) 
Catalina Diaz, Colombian Commission of Jurists (CCJ) 
Marco Romero, Consultancy for Human Rights and 
Displacement (CODHES) 
Patricia Villaveces, Free Country Foundation 
Monsignor Hector Fabio Henao, Roman Catholic Church's 
Social Pastoral Association 
 
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Summary 
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3.   (C) Summary: On April 29, Under Secretary Grossman met 
representatives of five human rights organizations to discuss 
the human rights and humanitarian situation in Colombia.  U/S 
Grossman emphasized the importance of advancing democracy and 
human rights and the USG's commitment to helping the GOC in 
these areas.  All five organizations agreed that democracy 
and human rights go hand in hand and expressed their concerns 
regarding military collusion with paramilitaries, impunity, 
and continued violations, by all actors, of international 
humanitarian law.  End Summary. 
 
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Strong Democracy Key to Success in Colombia 
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4.  (C) During his April 29 visit to Bogota, U/S Grossman 
told human rights representatives that the USG considers the 
advancement of human rights and democracy to be a fundamental 
aspect of its policy in Colombia.  Carlos Rodriguez of the 
CCJ said democracy can only exist in unison with the rule of 
law and a complete separation of powers in government.  He 
expressed concern about granting "judicial" powers to the 
Armed Forces because it could aggravate the problem of 
impunity.  U/S Grossman agreed that impunity for human rights 
violations is a problem and added that a strong judicial 
system is needed to ensure a strong democracy.  U/S Grossman 
also explained that he and General Hill were in the meeting 
together to show that improving the security situation and 
strengthening the Colombian military go hand-in-hand with 
fostering democracy and respect for human rights. 
 
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Concerns Over GOC-NGO Polarization 
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5.  (C) All NGO representatives agreed that relations between 
the GOC and domestic human rights groups are not ideal. 
Romero said he is concerned about the lack of diversity in 
the political arena.  Rodriguez echoed this concern, 
asserting that President Uribe had increased polarization in 
the country with speeches in September 2003 and February 2004 
in which he criticized some human rights activists as 
terrorist sympathizers.  Romero and Monsignor Henao expressed 
concerns that the Government's policy of large-scale 
detentions was only applied against alleged guerrilla -- 
rather than paramilitary -- sympathizers. 
 
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Violence Down, but Concerns Remain Over Paramilitaries 
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6.  (C) The Restrepo Barco Foundation's Gomez noted 
improvements in the overall human rights and security 
situation and said that many criticisms of Government 
security policy are inconsistent and depend on ideological 
predispositions.  Monsignor Henao said it is important to 
acknowledge improvements but also look closely at remaining 
problems to determine if they affect certain groups 
disproportionately.  U/S Grossman agreed.  The organizations 
also pointed out that there continue to be ties between 
illegal paramilitaries and some elements of the security 
forces.  U/S Grossman said the GOC must break "forever" any 
relationship between the Armed Forces and the paramilitaries. 
 Regarding the paramilitary peace process, Diaz of the CCJ 
said negotiations must be conducted in a way that guarantees 
victims' rights and provides adequate reparations.  She added 
that bringing real democracy to regions historically 
controlled by paramilitaries should be a priority. 
 
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U.S. Committed to Helping Improve Human Rights Situation 
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7.  (C) U/S Grossman emphasized the USG's respect for 
Colombian human rights organizations and said the USG will 
continue to work with the GOC on improving the human rights 
situation.  He added that he had raised the importance of 
human rights in his earlier meetings with the President and 
Vice-President.  Success in Colombia will ultimately be 
measured not just by victories against narco-terrorism, but 
also by an increased Government commitment to human rights 
and the rule of law.  Diaz complemented the Department for 
its 2003 Human Rights Report on Colombia and for its 
decisions in support of human rights, including the 
suspension of assistance to military units with questionable 
human rights records.  U/S Grossman said he is proud of 
actions the Embassy has taken in support of human rights in 
Colombia. 
WOOD