| Ask your representative to co-sponsor H. Res 618 |
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| Written by Gerald L. Rudolph | |||||||
| Tuesday, 09 October 2007 | |||||||
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Please ask your representative to co-sponsor H. Res. 618, a resolution that acknowledges the grave humanitarian conditions that many Afro-Colombian civilians live in. Express your concern regarding the violations of the human, territorial and cultural rights of Afro-Colombians, and the hope that this resolution will serve as an educational tool to bring attention to this critical situation.
To: Foreign Policy Aides, U.S. House of Representatives Date: October 4, 2007 We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, ask that you co-sponsor H. Res. 618, a resolution that acknowledges the grave humanitarian conditions that many Afro-Colombian civilians live in. We wish to express our continued concern regarding the violations of the human, territorial and cultural rights of Afro-Colombians, and we hope that this resolution will serve as an educational tool to bring attention to this critical situation. The humanitarian, human rights and internal displacement crisis that Afro-Colombian communities face has long been a concern of many organizations and individuals in our network. Despite the collective territorial rights granted to Afro-Colombians along the Pacific coast under Law 70 of 1993, Afro-Colombian communities in this region have become internally displaced due to the internal armed conflict, threats of violence and fighting related to territorial disputes between guerrillas, paramilitaries, and the Colombian army. There exists a long list of examples of how the violence and internal displacement perpetrated by all of the armed groups has taken its toll on Afro-descendant communities. In the municipality of Buenaventura (Valle del Cauca), the situation of Afro-Colombians civilians has significantly deteriorated in the past few years. In 2006, Buenaventura city experienced some 38 terrorist attacks including car bombs and the like. Since January 2007, over 200 persons, mainly Afro-Colombian youths, have been assassinated due to fighting and violence among all of the warring parties. In the department of Chocó, combat between the armed groups has internally displaced hundreds of thousands of Afro-Colombians over the past ten years. Those who wish to return find that their territories have been unlawfully appropriated by illegal armed groups and third parties. In the northwestern part of this department, palm oil companies that allegedly operate in collusion with paramilitary groups have appropriated lands belonging to Afro-Colombians. In April 2007, in response to the recent internal displacement of 7,000 people in the department of Nariño, twenty-five NGOs and individuals sent a letter to the Colombian Vice-President Francisco Santos appealing the government to respond to the humanitarian crisis, protect the rights of Afro-Colombians internally displaced by the violence, and ensure the displaced have access to humanitarian assistance, such as food, medicine, shelter and protection. It is our belief, as members of diverse U.S. organizations as well as concerned individuals, that vulnerable Colombians must be supported and protected, and that their rights to a dignified life must be respected. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you co-sponsor H. Res. 618, which will help bring attention to this dire situation and set the stage for more balanced and informed policy towards Colombia. Thank you very much for your attention to these important matters. We hope that we can count on your continued support for the promotion of human rights and socio-economic justice in Colombia. Sincerely, Adam Isacson Center for International Policy Heather Hanson U.S. Office on Colombia Gimena Sanchez-Garzoli Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) Angela Berryman American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Peacebuilding Unit Renata Rendon Amnesty International USA Marino Cordoba, Charo Mina Rojas and Otoniel Paz Association of Internally Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES USA) Julio César y Marta Montaño ECOS DEL PACIFICO AFROCOLOMBIA "EPA!" – PCN (Black Communities Process), Illinois Nicole Lee TransAfrica Forum Dr. Joseph Jordan TransAfrica Forum Scholars Council James Early TransAfrica Forum Board Member Sanho Tree Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) Gary Cozette Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America Carlos Quesada Global Rights Rev. John L. McCullough Church World Service James R. Stormes SJ Jesuit Conference Shaina Aber, Esq. Jesuit Refugee Service/USA Andrea Lari Refugees International Barbara Gerlach United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries C. Richard Parkins Episcopal Migration Ministries Marselha Gonçalves Margerin Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights Melinda St. Louis Witness for Peace Susana Pimiento Chamorro and John Lindsay-Poland Fellowship of Reconciliation Task Force on Latin America and the Caribbean T. Michael McNulty, SJ Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM) Theo Sitther Mennonite Central Committee, U.S. Washington Office Rev. Whit Hutchinson and Humberto Garces Manuel Zapata Olivella Center for Education and Human Development Carlos A. Quiroz Manuel Zapata Olivella Center for Education and Human Development Group of Andean Immigrants in DC Dr. Norma Jackson Office of International Programs, Benedict College Monica Rizo Member of the Network for Advocacy in Solidarity with Grassroots Afro-Colombian Communities (NASGACC) Roland Roebuck Member of the Network for Advocacy in Solidarity with Grassroots Afro-Colombian Communities (NASGACC) Wilder Peña Grupo Folklórico Afro-Colombiano Tangaré John Jairo Garces Organización Un Día de Esperanza Marcos Bellamy Cimarrones President (2005-2007), Howard University Fatimah Williams Castro Rutgers University Kiran Asher Clark University, Author of forthcoming book Black Social Movements and Development in the Making in the Pacific Lowlands of Colombia Pamela Bowman School of the Americas Watch Tianna S. Paschel Department of Sociology, University of California - Berkeley Jim Oldham Las Lianas Resource Center Parish W. Jones, PhD Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Patricia Forner Colombia Accompaniment Program, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Cristina Espinel and Catalina Talero Colombia Human Rights Committee Gail S. Phares Carolina Interfaith Task Force on Central America Aris White Rooted Afrikans-Serving the Afro Colombian Communities-Chicago-Chocó-Cartagena Eunice Mina Escobar Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America Ann Farnsworth Latin American and Latino Studies, University of Pennsylvania Tukufu Zuberi Center for Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania Rick Axtell Academic, Danville, Kentucky Arturo Escobar Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Marian Douglas-Ungaro Writer and Human Rights Consultant Miriam Jiménez Román Afrolatin@ Forum Martha Pierce Chicago Metropolitan Sanctuary Alliance For further information please contact Jessica Eby at the Washington Office on Latin America, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or (202) 797-2171 ext. 202 www.wola.org
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