U.S. Jesuit Conference and Jesuit Refugee Service/USA 
Statement on Colombia
 

Colombia is our hemisphere’s most troubled country, beset by widespread violence and terror.  When official peace negotiations broke down in February 2002, violence by leftist guerrillas, rightist paramilitaries, drug traffickers and the Colombian military dramatically increased.  Dozens of priests and nuns, including the Archbishop of Cali, Isaias Duarte Cancino, have been assassinated.  More than two million people have been internally displaced; thousands of other Colombians have fled the country.  

In 1997, the Colombian Province of the Society of Jesus - the Jesuits - appealed to the Jesuit Provinces in the United States to make Colombia an international priority issue.  The U.S. Jesuit Conference and the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA responded by raising consciousness of the Colombian situation and its implications for U.S. policy through advocacy, education and direct support.  In 2000, the Jesuit Provinces of Colombia and Oregon entered into a twinning agreement designed to build bridges and solidarity between both cultures. 
 
Colombia’s current President, Alvaro Uribe, took office in August and increased military action in an effort to end the armed conflict in the country.  Many of President Uribe’s new policies, such as the creation of a citizens’ network of informants, threaten to further involve the civilian population in the conflict and promote a culture and environment of distrust and suspicion rather than foster the solidarity Colombia so desperately needs. 

The U.S. Jesuit Conference stands with Colombian Jesuits and their lay colleagues in search of ways to protect and foster human rights, curb violence, assist displaced people and refugees, and promote social and economic development and education.  

Therefore, we believe that:
 

• Respect for human life is fundamental.
  
  
• An intensification of the war is not the answer to Colombia’s woes.
  
  
• Lasting peace should be achieved through a politically negotiated solution that is flexible, clear and realistic.
  
  
• Indeed, the primary work of Jesuits is to build a culture of peace.  The involvement of civil society is crucial in this, as every Colombian must have a voice in the search for peace.
   
• International participation in the peace process is vital.  The international community can help to facilitate peace negotiations and assist with the necessary rebuilding of Colombian society. 
  
  
• The U.S. should take a leadership role in facilitating a politically negotiated end to the violent conflict.
  
  
• U.S. aid should not contribute to the escalation of war and violence in Colombia. 
  
  
• U.S. financial and technical assistance to Colombia should focus on strengthening government and judicial integrity, helping the internally displaced, protecting the civilian population, and addressing economic and social inequities.  
  
  
• Serious questions exist regarding the health and environmental consequences of drug fumigation policies. Instead of fumigation, drug eradication strategies that promote alternative development opportunities and enable poor farmers to forgo cultivation of coca and poppies should be implemented. 
  
  
• The U.S. should press neighboring countries that receive Colombian refugees to meet their protection obligations under international law.