European Parliament resolution on Plan Colombia and support for the peace process in Colombia
Date: 2001-02-01
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Colombia, cooperation policy, drug traffic, fight against crime, human rights

21.9.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 267/75

Thursday 1 February 2001

67.
Calls on the Commission, in view of the difficulties encountered to date in trying to ensure that the
programmes are well managed, to institute the specific checks necessary to ensure that the associations or
organisations which receive aid are solidly anchored within the social security system and meet their obli-
gations;

68.
Calls on the Commission, when implementing the aid programmes, particularly the MEDA pro-
gramme, to use the universities, museums and cultural centres of the countries themselves as support,
since these are bodies where civil society operates, and are therefore strongly linked with the fabric of
society and the system of production, and can collaborate closely in disseminating technologies and man-
agement and innovation models;

69.
Hopes that the Euro-Mediterranean Forum will be a genuine contact point for Members of Parlia-
ment from the EU and the Mediterranean countries, thereby helping to revitalise and expand the Euro-
Mediterranean partnership;

Calls in addition for a standing body to be set up to bring together Members of the European

70.
Parliament and Members of the parliaments of partner countries;

71.
Calls on the Council and Commission, as part of the reforms now taking place in the external
service, to increase the volume of human resources allocated to the partnership, to set up a structure
which is specific to the Commission and to take further steps to devolve the management of aid, by
transferring responsibilities from the seat of authority to the delegations, and also to decentralise it, by
transferring responsibilities from the Commission to the recipient countries (as the Commission has under-
taken to do in general terms in its communication to the Council and Parliament concerning the develop-
ment of the external service, COM(2000) 456);

72. Welcomes the Union’s proposed action plan for Morocco and notes that its aim is development
cooperation and that practical solutions to outstanding issues must therefore be found quickly; calls on
the Council and Commission, therefore, to ensure that the programme abides by that aim;

Calls on the Council to exert the pressure needed to bring about a change in policy and on Com-

73.
mission to ensure that the Union assumes a more ambitious political role in the Mediterranean region;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission and to the
74.
governments and parliaments of the Member States and the Mediterranean partner states which are signa-
tory to the Barcelona Declaration.

12. ‘Plan Colombia’

B5-0087/2001

European Parliament resolution on Plan Colombia and support for the peace process in Colombia

The European Parliament,

8 having regard to its previous resolutions on Colombia,

8 having regard to the conclusions of the General Affairs Council of 9 October 2000,

8 having regard to the statement by the EU Presidency of 25 October 2000,

A. whereas, in spite of concerted efforts at dialogue with the guerrillas and the peace talks under way, the
parties have not yet succeeded in bringing an end to a conflict which has lasted for over three decades,

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B.

recalling the undertaking given by the Clinton administration and President Pastrana in September
1999 on the joint implementation of a ‘plan for peace, prosperity and the strengthening of the
state’, otherwise known as Plan Colombia,

C. whereas Plan Colombia is not the product of a process of dialogue amongst the various partners in
society and whereas acceptance of the strategy for peace by all of the country’s institutions would be a
most welcome development which should involve not only action to combat drugs production and
trafficking but also a strategy for social and economic recovery, the strengthening of institutions and
social development, all of which need to be supported,

D. whereas one of the objectives of Plan Colombia lies in stamping out drug trafficking and the spread of
illegal crops by means of a strategy which favours aerial crop-spraying and the use of biological
agents, methods which are leading to the forced displacement of families and communities and are
seriously affecting Colombia’s rich biodiversity,

E.

F.

having regard to the declaration by the Support Group for the Peace Process in Colombia (Madrid,
7 July 2000), in which the participants expressed their full political support for the peace process
under way, and the declaration by the EU delegation calling for greater efforts by the Colombian
government with a view to breaking up paramilitary groups,

having regard to the statement by the General Affairs Council of 9 October 2000, in which the Euro-
pean Union reaffirmed its support for the ongoing peace efforts and its willingness to play an active
role in the negotiating process, which should involve consulting civil society and obtaining the agree-
ment of all parties with a view to achieving peace which is founded on respect for human rights,
humanitarian law and fundamental freedoms,

G. whereas the problem of drug trafficking and related offences calls for a global approach based on the
principles of shared responsibility and international cooperation between drug-producing and drug-
consuming countries, with a particular view to further action to stamp out the laundering of money
derived from drug trafficking,

H. having regard to the dialogue established at the meeting held in Costa Rica in mid-October and the
growth in dialogue between civil society and armed groups; having regard to the meeting of the Sup-
port Group for the Peace Process in Colombia (Bogota, 24/25 October 2000) attended by representa-
tives of the Commission and the EU Presidency,

I. whereas acts of violence and terrorism, assassinations, kidnappings and massacres, aimed at the civi-
lian population in particular, have increased while the peace talks have been taking place and consid-
ering the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of such crimes and, in particular, by those who order
the crimes to be carried out,

J.

having regard to the recent visit by Mrs Mary Robinson to Colombia and the attention which she
drew to the inadequacy of the measures taken against paramilitary groups and to impunity in general;
whereas not only tens of thousands of Colombians but also Europeans have been the victims of crimes
which have gone unpunished, such as the Spanish volunteer Iñigo Eguiluz, the Belgian Daniel Gillard,
the Italian Giacomo Turra, the Swiss Hildegard Feldmann and many others,

1.
Reiterates its firm support for the peace process initiated by President Pastrana and urges the parties
to pursue their efforts in this regard, in spite of the difficulties involved; calls on the FARC to return to the
table and to continue the peace negotiations;

2.
Takes the view that, in addition to their military dimension, the prevailing situation and conflict in
Colombia have a social and political dimension whose roots lie in economic, political, cultural and social
exclusion;

3.
Believes that stepping up military involvement in the fight against drugs involves the risk of sparking
off an escalation of the conflict in the region, and that military solutions cannot bring about lasting peace;

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4. Warns that Plan Colombia contains aspects that run counter to the cooperation strategies and pro-
jects to which the EU has already committed itself and jeopardise its cooperation programmes; expresses
particular concern at the current situation in the Putumayo region;

5.
Considers that the European Union must support the aspects of the peace process which involve the
strengthening of institutions, alternative development, humanitarian aid and social development, since
these are the ones which are most in accordance with its cooperation strategy;

6.
Believes that the social movement, which has been severely affected by repression, NGOs and local
communities must play an active role in the ongoing peace process; welcomes the fact that their role has
been affirmed (in particular at the meeting in Costa Rica) and believes that it must be coordinated with the
efforts being made at the negotiating table;

7.
Believes that lasting peace cannot be achieved in Colombia without deep-seated changes to the
means by which wealth is distributed, since many of the problems confronting the country stem from
the fact that peasant farmers do not own land;

8.
Highlights the importance of encouraging genuine agrarian reform, using notably land confiscated
from drug barons, which presents peasant farmers with economic alternatives; therefore urges the Colom-
bian government to implement ambitious reform policies designed to curb the increasing concentration of
land and improve social conditions;

9.
Stresses that European Union action should pursue its own, non-military strategy combining neutral-
ity, transparency, the participation of civil society and undertakings from the parties involved in the nego-
tiations;

10. Welcomes the conclusions of the 9 October 2000 Council meeting, which contain announcements
concerning the implementation of a ‘substantial European programme of socio-economic and institutional
support for the peace process in Colombia, aimed at promoting and protecting respect for human rights,
humanitarian law and fundamental freedoms, improving the living conditions of the local populations,
encouraging the cultivation of alternative crops and the protection of biodiversity and supporting the
introduction of structural reforms in all fields which fuel armed conflict’;

11.
Expresses its outrage at the large-scale massacres of country dwellers which have recently been
carried out by paramilitary groups in the regions of Magdalena, Magdalena Medio, Cauca and Putumayo,
and the threats which have been made to country dwellers in the Tumaco region and elsewhere; takes the
view that securing significant results in the fight against impunity and against armed groups which violate
human rights and contravene international humanitarian law is essential to the credibility of the rule of
law; urges the Colombian government to continue its fight against paramilitary groups and its efforts to
strengthen the foundations of the rule of law, and to implement immediately and in their entirety the
United Nations recommendations on human rights;

12.
Considers that the European Union must play a more determined role in the political protection
and the funding of organisations (in particular organisations for the families of victims) which campaign to
have crimes against humanity investigated, to preserve the memory of the victims of such crimes and to
ensure that the perpetrators thereof do not go unpunished;

13. Welcomes the proposal by Commissioners Patten and Nielson to grant substantial support for the
peace efforts in Colombia amounting to € 105 million for the period 2000-2006; stresses that, so as to
give credibility to the Union’s action, initial measures contributing to the peace process should be intro-
duced without delay and be aimed at promoting respect for human rights, humanitarian law and funda-
mental freedoms, improving the living conditions of the local populations, using civil society organisations
and social movements as channels and bearing in mind the forced displacement of a section of the rural
population, of which women and children form the vast majority;

14. Welcomes the decision by the Council of Ministers to undertake a six-monthly appraisal of the state
of the peace process, the progress in implementing programmes and compliance with the respective
undertakings and obligations of the Colombian government and the groups involved in the negotiations
to strengthen peace, and asks the Council and Commission to inform Parliament at the same time;

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15.
Is convinced that, in the fight against illegal crops, negotiated and agreed solutions, agrarian reform
and alternative crops, together with criminal proceedings against traffickers and money launderers, should
take precedence over crop-spraying campaigns; believes in this regard that the Union must take the necess-
ary steps to secure an end to the large-scale use of chemical herbicides and prevent the introduction of
biological agents such as Fusarium oxysporum, given the dangers of their use to human health and the
environment alike;

16.
Highlights the importance of strengthening regional cooperation and dialogue on the basis of the
principle of international coresponsibility, given that past experience in the fight against illegal crops has
shown that tackling this problem in one country alone merely serves to transfer it to neighbouring coun-
tries;

Stresses the need to step up inter-regional cooperation to curb and stamp out drug trafficking and
17.
combat money laundering; in this respect, the European Union ought to support Colombia’s request to
sign the Strasbourg Convention;

Calls on the Venezuelan government to cooperate with the Colombian government in jointly estab-
18.
lishing mechanisms which will make it possible to resolve the border problems relating to the fight against
drug production and trafficking;

19.
Urges the Colombian government to follow the approach used in the talks with the FARC in estab-
lishing dialogue with the other guerrilla groups with a view to promoting the principles of neutrality and
transparency and thus earning the support of the various armed groups for planned programmes and
projects;

Urges all the armed groups to support a humanitarian agreement under which they would cease
20.
kidnapping, release their hostages, refrain from committing terrorist acts, from recruiting under-age sup-
porters and from carrying out attacks on the civilian population, and conclude a serious ceasefire agree-
ment;

Reiterates its support for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and its efforts

21.
to secure a humanitarian agreement in Colombia;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments

22.
of Colombia, Venezuela and of the mediating countries.

13. Multidisciplinary Group on Organised Crime (MDG)

A5-0398/2000

European Parliament resolution on the report of the Multidisciplinary Group on Organised Crime
(10972/2/1999 . C5-0039/2000 . 1999/0916(COS))

The European Parliament,

8 having regard to the report of the Multidisciplinary Group on Organised Crime (10972/2/1999 8

C5-0039/2000),

8 having regard to the Joint Action of 5 December 1997, adopted by the Council on the basis of Arti-
cle K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, establishing a mechanism for evaluating the application and
implementation at national level of international undertakings in the fight against organised crime (1),

8 having regard Articles 29, 31, 32, 35, 36 and 39 of the Treaty on European Union,

(1) OJ L 344, 15.12.1997, p. 7.