IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 618 

Recognizing the importance of addressing the plight of Afro-Colombians. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 3, 2007 

Mr. PAYNE (for himself, Ms. LEE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. 

RUSH, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. HONDA, and Ms. SOLIS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the importance of addressing the plight of AfroColombians. 

Whereas Afro-Colombians have experienced economic, social, 

and political injustices, as a result of their skin color and 

ancestry and have been targets of violence and intimidation; 

Whereas Afro-Colombians today compromise over 25 percent 

of Colombia’s population—the second largest Afro-descendant population in Latin America and the third largest outside of Africa; 

Whereas the vast majority of Afro-Colombians live on the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts and the Valley of Magdalena 

and Cauca Rivers of Colombia within the departments of 

Choco, Valle del Cauca, Cauca, Narin ̃o, Bolivar, 


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Magdalena, Sucre, and Cesar and endure extreme humanitarian conditions, as a result of marginalization, neglect, and the country’s 40-year armed conflict and violence; 

Whereas the internal armed conflict fueled by drug trafficking has generated violence against Afro-Colombian civilians and has led to the appropriation of Afro-Colombian territories and internal displacement creating huge 

obstacles for social and economic progress of the Afro-Colombian population; 

Whereas the Government of Colombia has maintained close 

ties with the United States and is the largest recipient 

of bilateral United States foreign aid outside of the Middle East and South Asia; 

Whereas the Government of Colombia has received an estimated $6,000,000,000 in military, counter-narcotics, and 

other aid since 2000, primarily through congressionallylegislated Plan Colombia; 

Whereas, although a major beneficiary of United States foreign assistance, the Government of Colombia has not effectively addressed racial discrimination, violence, and social and political marginalization facing Afro-Colombians; 

Whereas Colombia has the second largest population of internally displaced people in the world, and Afro-Colombians 

are the most affected, compromising an estimated 40 percent of Colombia’s 3,800,000 internally displaced persons; 

Whereas an estimated 76 percent of Afro-Colombians live in 

conditions of extreme poverty, 42 percent are unemployed, and only 2 percent are able to attend college; 


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Whereas the life expectancy for Afro-Colombians is two decades shorter than the national average, with an estimated 

82 percent of Afro-Colombians lacking access to basic 

public services; 

Whereas Afro-Colombians are underrepresented in positions 

of leadership, power, and authority within the social, political, and economic spheres of the country, yet in recent 

years, Afro-Colombian representation in government has 

increased: currently there are 2 Afro-Colombian senators 

and 7 Afro-Colombian members of the House of Representatives; 

Whereas the department of Choco, a region that has the largest percentage of Afro-Colombians with an estimated 70 

percent of the total population of the state, also suffers 

from the lowest per-capita level of government investment 

in health, education, and infrastructure, with a significant proportion of the population facing an increase in illiteracy; 

Whereas the Colombian healthcare system covers only 10 percent of Afro-Colombian communities, compared to 40 

percent of non-black communities; 

Whereas the 1991 Colombian Constitution and Law 70 of 

1993 granted Afro-Colombians the legal titles to their ancestral land and the ownership of the tropical rainforest; 

Whereas, however, Afro-Colombians have been forcibly and 

violently displaced from their lands; 

Whereas the aerial herbicide spraying and fumigation of coca 

crops has also resulted in the destruction of the legitimate subsistence crops of Afro-Colombian communities 

and a corresponding increase in food instability and inVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:22 Aug 05, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR618.IH HR618

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ternal displacement amongst Afro-Colombians in territories where fumigation occurs; 

Whereas although Articles 6 and 7 of the International Labor 

Convention mandates that United States assistance to 

Colombia is contingent upon human rights standards for 

indigenous communities, Afro-Colombians are not included in the language for human rights certification conditions; 

Whereas the spread of oil palm cultivation is linked to grave 

human rights violations, internal displacement, and the 

killings of Afro-Colombian leaders and results in the 

weakening of territorial and environmental rights of AfroColombian communities; 

Whereas human rights violations against Afro-Colombians, 

including bombings, massacres, and kidnappings go 

uninvestigated and unaddressed by the judicial system; 

Whereas the deaths and disappearances of Afro-Colombian 

community activists and human rights defenders are 

uninvestigated and leaders within the Afro-Colombian 

communities continue to endure death threats and are 

specifically targeted by left-wing guerillas and right-wing 

paramilitaries; 

Whereas Colombia’s paramilitary demobilization process has 

led to continued displacement, human rights violations, 

and armed territorial disputes in Afro-Colombian communities; 

Whereas Afro-Colombians suffer disproportionately from 

extrajudicial executions, massacres, death threats, disappearances, displacements, and forced conscription; 

Whereas violent terrorist attacks continue to occur at an 

alarming rate in Buenaventura, a city with a majority 


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Afro-Colombian population, resulting in the frequent loss 

of innocent civilians and making that city one of the most 

dangerous in Colombia; 

Whereas in 2002 in Bojaya, Choco, 119 unarmed Afro-Colombian civilians—including 45 children—who had taken 

refuge in a church were massacred, as they were caught 

in the crossfire between the Revolutionary Armed Forces 

of Colombia (FARC) and United Self-Defense Forces of 

Colombia (AUC) paramilitaries; 

Whereas following the massacre in 2002, civilians suffer 

greatly due to terrorist attacks in Buenaventura, as the 

FARC continues to commit violent acts against Afro-Colombians; and 

Whereas, although persons of African descent have made significant achievements in education, employment, economic, political, and social spheres in Latin America, the 

vast majority are marginalized: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes and honors Afro-Colombians for 

3 their contributions to the economic, social, and cul4 tural fabric of Colombia; 

5 (2) calls upon the Government of Colombia to 

6 take measures to combat racial discrimination, 

7 human rights violations, and condemn all attacks 

8 and forms of racial discrimination against Afro-Co9 lombians; 


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1 (3) urges the Government of Colombia to de2 mand politicians linked to para-politics scandals are 

3 investigated and brought to justice; 

4 (4) urges the Government of Colombia to de5 velop and implement a policy that ensures the prop6 er execution of assistance programs designated for 

7 Afro-Colombians and internally displaced commu8 nities; and 

9 (5) encourages the United States Government 

10 to ensure that the previous consultation mechanism 

11 with Afro-Colombians and marginalized groups is 

12 applied in the negotiation for a free trade agreement 

13 and the implementation of Plan Colombia. 

Æ 


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