BUDGET INCREASE FOR PROSECUTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE

UNCLAS BOGOTA 006106 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KJUS PGOV PINR PREL PTER CO SUBJECT: BUDGET INCREASE FOR PROSECUTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE RENEWS COMMITTMENT TO JUSTICE AND PEACE LAW ¶1. Minister of Interior and Justice Carlos Holguin said in an August 13 interview in Semana magazine the GOC would provide an additional 80 billion pesos (40 million USD) to the Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia) in the 2008 budget. This would enable the Fiscalia to add 497 new personnel to the Justice and Peace Unit, including 199 investigators, 85 prosecutors and 223 staff. Presidential Legal Adviser Mauricio Gonzalez told us the budget increase complements the National Development Plan which gives the President extraordinary power for six months to restructure the Fiscalia. He added that the GOC is conducting study of the Fiscalia's need which will be completed by November. ¶2. The budget increase reflects the GOC's recognition that the Fiscalia lacks the resources to implement fully the Justice and Peace Law, investigate past human rights violations--including priority labor cases, and to prosecute former legislators linked to the parapolitical scandal. MAPP/OAS chief Sergio Caramagna said July 25 greater political support and additional resources were neede to strengthen the Fiscalia's capacity to manage the Justice and Peace law. An August 14 editorial in the Colombian daily El Tiempo echoed these concerns and urged the GOC to inject renewed investment into the Fiscalia. President Uribe reiterated his commitment to helping the Fiscalia at an August 8 meeting with the Charge. Nichols