III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 148 

Supporting efforts by the Government of Colombia to pursue peace and 

regional stability. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 9, 2019 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. BLUNT) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting efforts by the Government of Colombia to pursue 

peace and regional stability. 

Whereas, in 2016, the Government of Colombia concluded a 

historic peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed 

Forces of Colombia (FARC), aimed at addressing the 

root causes of the half-a-century conflict, including stark 

economic inequalities, the rural-urban divide, and the historical exclusion of Afro-Colombians, indigenous people, 

women, and poor farmers, and is currently working to 

implement these accords; 

Whereas the Governments and people of the United States 

and Colombia have forged a resolute bond through a 

shared commitment to support peace, human rights, democracy, the rule of law, and security throughout the 

hemisphere and the world, which has been bolstered by 


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•SRES 148 IS 

the support of hundreds of thousands of ColombianAmericans and their contributions to American life; 

Whereas, in 2000, the Government of Colombia achieved an 

impressive national consensus to build state capacity, and 

the United States committed to combat organized crime, 

drugs, and violence through its foreign assistance package in support of Plan Colombia; 

Whereas Plan Colombia and its successor, Peace Colombia, 

have received steadfast commitments from the administrations of Presidents William Clinton, George W. Bush, 

Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, and continuously 

has been strengthened by broad bipartisan support in the 

United States Congress; 

Whereas, while the Government of Colombia contributed 

more than 95 percent of funds over the life of Plan Colombia, the political leadership, technical advice, military 

assistance, and intelligence-sharing role of the United 

States, along with the $11,000,000,000 appropriated by 

the United States Congress through Plan Colombia and 

Peace Colombia to combat the illicit narcotics trade and 

transnational organized crime, advance democratic governance, promote economic growth, and defend human 

rights, played a key role in transforming a nation on the 

brink to an increasingly peaceful and prosperous democracy, while also safeguarding vital United States interests; 

Whereas the Government of Colombia, throughout the administrations of Presidents Andres Pastrana, Alvaro Uribe, 

Juan Manuel Santos, and Ivan Duque, has made investments and shown remarkable courageous leadership, 

often at great cost and sacrifice, to consolidate domestic 

security, socioeconomic development, and the rule of law 


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•SRES 148 IS 

that far exceed those contributions made by the United 

States in Colombia; 

Whereas, over the past 20 years, levels of crime and violence 

have subsided sharply in Colombia, with annual per capita homicide rates declining from 62 per 100,000 people 

in 1999 to a record low of 23 per 100,000 people in 

2017; 

Whereas the alignment of improved security and sound economic policies has translated into steady growth in Colombia’s Gross Domestic Product, which increased from 

$86,000,000,000 in 1999 to more than 

$309,000,000,000 in 2017, and led to greater Foreign 

Direct Investment, which grew from $1,500,000,000 in 

1999 to one of the highest in Latin America at an estimated $14,000,000,000 in 2017; 

Whereas the United States and Colombia enjoy a robust economic relationship with United States goods and services 

trade with Colombia totaling an estimated 

$36,100,000,000 in 2016, supporting over 100,000 jobs 

in the United States; 

Whereas the Government of Colombia has made impressive 

strides in reducing poverty during the last 15 years, with 

the poverty rate decreasing from 64 percent in 1999 to 

27 percent in 2017, according to the World Bank; 

Whereas, since 1999, the Government of Colombia has expanded the presence of the state across all 32 territorial 

departments, has contributed to the professionalism of 

the Colombian judiciary, and has improved the capacity 

of the Colombian Army, Navy, Air Force, and National 

Police; 


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•SRES 148 IS 

Whereas Colombia is one of the United States most consistent and strategic partners through its support of 

United States diplomatic objectives at the United Nations 

and critical efforts made in the fight against transnational organized crime and increased security and rule of law 

overseas, including in Central America’s Northern Triangle, Afghanistan, and several countries in Africa; 

Whereas Colombia signed a Memorandum of Understanding 

with NATO in 2017 and is the first NATO partner nation in Latin America; 

Whereas these gains are challenged by an escalating crisis in 

Venezuela, which has seen an influx of more than 

1,200,000 Venezuelans into Colombia and the need for 

continued financial support to implement the peace accord over the next 8 years; 

Whereas the internal armed conflict has victimized all Colombians, including women, children, and Afro-descendant 

and indigenous peoples, and has led to the repeated targeting of leading representatives of civil society, including 

trade unionists, journalists, human rights defenders, and 

other community activists who remain at grave risk from 

guerrilla groups, paramilitary successor organizations, organized criminal groups, and corrupt local officials; 

Whereas efforts to achieve lasting peace in Colombia must 

address the hardships faced by victims of the armed conflict, as exemplified by the Government of Colombia’s 

Law on Victims and Restitution of Land of 2011; 

Whereas the prospects for national reconciliation and sustainable peace in Colombia rely on the effective delivery of 

justice for victims of the conflict and the ability to hold 

accountable and appropriately punish perpetrators of seVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR148.IS SR148

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rious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law; and 

Whereas the work of Special Jurisdiction for Peace—the 

transitional justice mechanism created with the purpose 

of ensuring accountability in the context of Colombia’s 

internal armed conflict—is fundamental to the implementation of the accords and the consolidation of peace in 

the country: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) reaffirms the unwavering support of the 

3 Government and people of the United States for the 

4 people of Colombia in their pursuit of peace and sta5 bilization of territories previously in conflict so they 

6 can achieve their aspiration to live in a country free 

7 of violence and organized crime; 

8 (2) lauds efforts to bring an end to Colombia’s 

9 enduring internal armed conflict; 

10 (3) commends the work of the United Nations 

11 Verification Mission in overseeing the implementa12 tion of the 2016 peace accord and the disarmament 

13 and reintegration of combatants; 

14 (4) maintains its commitment to the more than 

15 7,000,000 victims of Colombia’s armed conflict and 

16 urges the government and FARC to hold account17 able perpetrators of serious violations of human 

18 rights and international humanitarian law and en19 sure that they are appropriately punished; 


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1 (5) encourages the Government of Colombia to 

2 protect vulnerable populations who remain at risk in 

3 that country, including defenders of human rights, 

4 those facing threats due to crop substitution from 

5 the illicit crop market, and Afro-descendant and in6 digenous communities; 

7 (6) encourages the Secretary of State to develop 

8 a comprehensive strategy to assist the Government 

9 of Colombia in managing the effects of the Ven10 ezuela crisis without endangering or detracting from 

11 the successful implementation and sustainability of 

12 the peace accord and stabilization of territories pre13 viously in conflict in Colombia, and to further 

14 strengthen the close bilateral partnership shared by 

15 the Governments of the United States and Colombia; 

16 (7) reaffirms its commitment to continued part17 nership between the Governments of the United 

18 States and Colombia on issues of mutual interest, 

19 including security, counternarcotics cooperation, 

20 combating transnational organized crime, ensuring 

21 justice for those who have caused indelible harm to 

22 our populations, reintegration of FARC members, 

23 economic growth and investment with a focus on dis24 advantaged communities, and educational and cul25 tural exchanges that strengthen diplomatic relations; 


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1 (8) supports the Special Jurisdiction for Peace 

2 as an important transitional justice mechanism and 

3 encourages the continuation of its work as an impor4 tant institution in charge of guaranteeing truth, jus5 tice, and victim’s reparations in the aftermath of the 

6 country’s internal armed conflict; and 

7 (9) commits to furthering the bilateral relation8 ship between the United States and Colombia by 

9 working with leaders in the public and private sec10 tors, as well as civil society from both countries, to 

11 ensure that the United States-Colombia relationship 

12 remains at the forefront of United States foreign 

13 policy. 

Æ 


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