US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA10990

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 010990 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2015 
TAGS: KJUS, PGOV, PREL, PTER, CO 
SUBJECT: NATIONAL RECONCILIATION AND REPARATIONS 
COMMISSION'S SLOW BUT STEADY PROGRESS 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood. 
Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C) National Reconciliation and Reparations Commission 
(CNRR) President Eduardo Pizarro Leongomez briefed Ambassador 
on November 10 on the commission's positive progress to date. 
 Pizarro was highly encouraged by the support CNNR has 
received from the international community and the Catholic 
and Protestant Churches.  The commission is meeting every 15 
days and has had two major meetings since its official launch 
on October 4.  The Ambassador recognized the challenge of 
leading a commission of this nature before the conflict has 
ended, but recommended that it focus on collecting 
information that will accurately reflect the history of 
paramilitarism in Colombia and resist the temptation to hide 
elements of the truth.  Besides the many challenges that the 
CNRR must overcome, it has begun to embark upon the most 
difficult issues such as defining the criteria for victims 
and individual and collective reparations.  End Summary. 
 
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PIZARRO OPTIMISTIC ON CNRR'S PROGRESS 
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2. (C) CNRR President Pizarro briefed the Ambassador on 
November 10 on the commission's positive progress to date. 
Pizarro was highly encouraged by the international 
community's support for the CNNR, in particular, from Canada, 
Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands, Ireland, and Great Britain. 
 He said compared to commissions from other countries that 
have lasted between nine months and 3 years, the CNRR's 
eight-year statute does not imply that they will need eight 
years to get the job done.  The commission is meeting every 
15 days and it has had two main closed-door meetings since 
its official launch on October 4. 
 
3. (C) Pizarro underscored, however, that they still needed 
to define clearly the commission's short-term, medium-term, 
and long-term "flight plan".  He explained that for the first 
phase, the commission would have to identify who are the 
victims )- besides the ones identified by the Prosecutor 
General's Office (Fiscalia) -- and what is considered 
appropriate reparations.  He said the Catholic and Protestant 
Churches have approached the commission and expressed their 
willingness to work with victims and assist in reparation 
efforts.  In the second phase, the commission will have to 
focus on community reconciliation.  He explained that the 
commission is responsible for producing a report on 
reinserted former combatants and organizing regional 
reparation committees.  In the third phase, the commission 
will have to decide whether it evolves into a truth 
commission or helps establish one. 
 
4. (C) The Ambassador said he hoped the commission would 
complement the justice side of the Justice and Peace (J&P) 
law.  He understands the commission cannot and should not be 
everything for everyone, but it is up to the commission, not 
the Fiscalia, to tell the story of the paramilitary 
phenomenon and to be the voice of the victims.  The 
commission should try to find a faster and more effective way 
to assist victims through the restitution of properties or 
monetary compensation.  The Ambassador recognized the 
challenge of leading a commission of this nature before the 
conflict has ended, but recommended the commission focus on 
collecting information that will accurately reflect the 
history of paramilitarism in Colombia and resist the 
temptation to hide elements of the truth. 
 
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OBSERVATIONS FROM OTHER CNRR MEMBERS 
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5. (C) In poloff's separate meetings with commission civil 
society members Patricia Buritaca and Ana Bernal, both agreed 
that the overall consensus within the commission is to 
prioritize issues such as victims and defining the criteria 
 
for individual and collective reparations.  They said the 
Organization for American States Mission in Colombia must be 
strengthened to enhance its verification capability. 
Buritaca was most concerned with possible frictions that may 
arise within the commission between government and civil 
society members, since government representatives were in 
search of immediate results to satisfy their electorate. 
 
6. (C) Buritica and Bernal highlighted the following items 
from the commission's two closed-door meetings on October 
19-20 and November 17: 
 
-- A priority is to create a strategic vision and internal 
regulations for the commission; an initial draft is in 
circulation.  Moreover, the commission must agree on 
short-term, medium-term, and long-term work plans. 
 
-- For the selection of the two remaining commission victims' 
representatives, the CNRR has agreed that the requirements 
for their selection must be included within the J&P 
implementing regulations decree.  After this decree becomes 
public, the commission will host a public hearing for all 
victims' organizations to explain the prerequisites and 
accept applications. 
 
-- For the complete verification of the demobilizations and 
dismantling of illegal armed groups, commission members 
agreed that the most they can do is ask for reports from the 
corresponding governmental agencies. Based on this 
information, they will evaluate and formulate 
recommendations. 
 
-- Since it is the Fiscalia and not the commission that 
should ensure reparations for individual victims, the members 
concluded that the commission should focus on collective 
reparations and more specifically, symbolic reparations for 
communities. 
 
-- The commission should help organize victims; recommend the 
adoption of reparation policies; verify and evaluate 
reparation programs; and supervise the effective functioning 
of regional commissions for the restitution of property. 
 
-- The commission should guarantee victims' participation in 
judicial processes and assist them to vindicate their rights. 
 
 
-- It would be important to work on ending the violence cycle 
through the help of healing processes between victims and 
perpetrators. 
 
-- All commission members strongly believe in strengthening 
institutions. 
 
-- The commission should contribute to the reconstruction of 
historical memory. 
 
-- Several commission members consider necessary the creation 
of a type of extrajudicial commission in the medium to 
long-term for the search for the truth of this conflict. 
 
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COMMENTS FROM VICE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE 
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7. (C) During a November 18 meeting with poloff, Vice 
Presidential CNRR adviser Alexandra Parra stated that Vice 
President Santos' commitment and involvement in this 
commission is helping solidify its support and legitimacy. 
Under the law, Parra explained that the Vice President could 
delegate his participation to someone else within his office, 
but he chose not to.  Parra said this "genuine commitment" 
does not extend to other participating governmental agencies 
and could hinder the commission if there is not consistent 
high-level representation from the other agencies.  She is 
also concerned with the disparate level of commitment from 
the five civil society members; the only two of whom are 
dedicating full-time work being Patricia Buritaca and Ana 
Bernal. 
 
8. (C) Parra said that another challenge is coordination 
among the members.  Individual commission members are meeting 
with donors and not communicating with the rest of the 
commission.  For example, it came to her attention that 
Pizarro had met with the Canadians and obtained verbal 
support from them for the CNRR, but he failed to communicate 
this to the rest of the commission.  She was also concerned 
with the Electoral Guarantees Law that was recently passed by 
Congress and upheld by the Constitutional Court, which 
prohibits the naming of any government official past 28 
November.  This payroll freeze came as a surprise since the 
commission still has many positions to fill and they are 
unable to name the necessary individuals in less than a 
week's time.  Consequently, this will also delay their 
opening of offices, which was scheduled for January.  (This 
payroll freeze extends until after the presidential election 
in May 2006.)  Nevertheless, Parra compared the commission's 
work in its almost two months of operations with that of 
commissions from other countries, and characterized CNRR 
efforts as more than satisfactory. 
DRUCKER