Civil Society, Human Rights and Stability in Colombia

 
International civil society, allied with its Colombian counterparts, attempted to play a decisive role in the Colombian peace process through an international conference in Costa Rica the week of October 16. The aim of the conference was to get all the parties around a neutral table and facilitate improved conditions to negotiate peace. The most important condition sought by the civil society organizers was respect for human rights. Since the beginning of the year, rebel and paramilitary massacres have left a reported 1,400 people dead, including women and children. Thousands of other innocent people have been kidnapped.

Unfortunately, the conference unraveled before the discussions began. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had given signs of attending, but later denounced the meeting. The paramilitaries were not even invited. The National Liberation Army (ELN)-billed by the press as the second largest guerrilla group but really much smaller and less of a factor in the current situation-did attend, as did representatives of the Pastrana government and the United Nations.

The majority of the 300 participants represented humanitarian groups. Absent the key players in the fighting, the major focus of the conference was the growing US role in militarizing the conflict. At a series of press conferences, the civil society representatives made it clear that they regard the so-called Plan Colombia-a US scheme to knock out the war's underpinnings by eradicating cocaine and heroin production-as a disaster in the making.

"Plan Colombia has endangered the whole peace process," said Ana Teresa Bernal, an official from the coalition of humanitarian and human rights groups sponsoring the three days of talks. "No good will come of this."

Despite this criticism, organizers worked hard to project optimism. "This is a first step-who knows what might happen," said Jorge Rojas of Colombia Peace, an umbrella group of human rights and other organizations.

In fact, the strength of civil society and, specifically, non-governmental organizations is growing as the public and international community grow tired of inadequate government responses to the expanding conflict. In a statement wrapping up the conference, the ELN joined the government and human rights activists in backing peace talks and calling urgently for "humanitarian accords" to stem the brutality.