The Honorable Colin Powell
Secretary of State
Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520

Dear Mr. Secretary:

Section 567 of the fiscal year 2002 Foreign Operations Act (P.L. 107-115) specifies human rights conditions under which assistance may be made available to the Colombian Armed Forces. As required by law, the State Department has held two consultations with international human rights groups regarding their evaluation of Colombia's compliance with these conditions, the most recent of which took place on August 26 and August 29.

In previous consultations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) presented solid evidence to show that Colombia has not met the applicable human rights conditions. When conditions were first made law in 2000, President Clinton signed a national security interest waiver that allowed aid to go forward despite the fact that Colombia had failed to comply. This waiver authority seriously damaged U.S. advocacy on human rights, since it allowed funds to be spent despite clear evidence of continuing ties between the Colombian armed forces and illegal paramilitary groups. The U.S. Congress removed the waiver authority effective in FY 2002.

During the first 2002 consultation, the State Department informed the human rights groups that it was exerting significant pressure on the Colombian government to show improvements in line with the requirements of the human rights conditions. Although we contested the eventual decision to certify Colombia given the U.S. government's ultimate failure to obtain significant advances, we welcomed that effort, since it reflected not only the intent of the law, but also its spirit. The defense of human rights must be a central goal of U.S. policy, particularly when the situation is as dire as it is in Colombia.

Unfortunately, we do not believe the same seriousness has been brought to this latest review, which applies to the 40 percent of FY 2002 aid that remains unspent. It is our shared view that despite a radically deteriorated human rights situation in Colombia - and, once again, a failure on the government's part to satisfy the human rights conditions - the State Department had already made the decision to certify prior to the consultation.

As we noted in our presentation, there is no evidence that any of the conditions have been satisfied. Indeed, we described a worsening situation, including a failure on the part of the Colombian military to suspend military officers credibly alleged to have committed gross violations of human rights or to have aided and abetted paramilitary groups; cooperate with civilian prosecutors and judicial authorities; or break ties with paramilitary groups and execute outstanding arrest warrants for paramilitary leaders.

In addition, we listed a number of serious setbacks since May 2002, among them the changes in the office of the Attorney General that have harmed key human rights investigations. That institution's leadership has demonstrated a pronounced hostility to human rights cases and has purged the institution of dedicated prosecutors and investigators working on human rights cases. In a recent article published in the Wall Street Journal, Attorney General Osorio was even quoted accusing members of the U.S. Congress of engaging in a "war" to discredit the Colombian authorities, stemming from their signatures on a letter expressing concern about human rights.

Our conclusion is stark. Not only has Colombia, once again, failed to meet even the minimum standard necessary to satisfy the human rights conditions, but its level of compliance has deteriorated markedly. We urge you to deny the human rights certification to Colombia and instead insist that it make convincing and demonstrable reforms before receiving any additional funds.

Alexandra Arriaga Amnesty International

José Miguel Vivanco Human Rights Watch

Bill Spencer WOLA