COLOMBIAN MILITARY REACHES OUT TO INDIGENOUS AND

UNCLAS BOGOTA 006536 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI CO SUBJECT: COLOMBIAN MILITARY REACHES OUT TO INDIGENOUS AND AFRO-COLOMBIAN COMMUNITIES REF: BOGOTA 1401 ¶1. Summary: The Ministry of Defense issued directives instructing military and police to respect the integrity of indigenous and Afro-Colombians. The directives educate commanders on the rights of indigenous and Afro-Colombians and provide guidance on how such communities should be treated. Accion Integral ("AI"),the Colombian military's civil affairs unit, is also implementing a program to improve the military's relations with indigenous. AI held seminars for local military commanders on indigenous issues, and is developing a reference book on indigenous rights, customs groups. If AI's program is successful, it could be expanded to Afro-Colombian communities. End Summary. -------------- -------------- Minister of Defense Calls for Respect for Indigenous and Afro-Colombian Rights -------------- -------------- ¶2. The Ministry of Defense (MOD) issued directives on indigenous and Afro-Colombian rights. The directives strengthen the understanding of the military and police regarding the rights of indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities. The directives cite a number of legal sources for such rights, including international treaties, the Constitution and national laws. The directives outline the nature and organizational structure of the communities. Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos signed the directives on October, 2006 (indigenous directive) and May, 2007 (Afro-Colombian directive). ¶3. The directives instruct military and police forces to respect the integrity of indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, particularly during military and police operations. This includes "strictly applying" international human rights standards and protecting the communities from illegal armed groups. Military and police forces are directed to coordinate with other GOC agencies to strengthen indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities. They are also to designate points of contact between their forces and the communities in each region so that information, including complaints, can be exchanged in "mutual confidence." ¶4. Sorelly Paredes, director of the indigenous office of Ethnic Affairs Bureau, helped draft the indigenous directive and is familiar with the Afro-Colombian directive. She said the directives create few new obligations for the military and police, and are intended to educate local military and police commanders about existing rights of indigenous and Afro-Colombians. Many commanders are unfamiliar with indigenous and Afro-Colombian rights. The directives are also designed to provide guidance on how such communities should be treated. Paredes said the directives are helping educate public forces, but admitted it has been a slow process. ¶5. Pastor Murillo, director of the Afro-Colombian office of Ethnic Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of the Interior and Justice, worked on the Afro-Colombian directive. A key provision is the requirement that public forces designate specific points of contact with the communities. Murillo thinks this will facilitate new relationships between public forces and the communities. Constanza Ussa, an anthropologist working with indigenous and Afro-Colombian groups, said many military forces, especially in rural areas, are not yet familiar with the directives. Still, she agreed with Murillo that they will encourage the military to proactively reach out to communities and develop relationships. -------------- -- Civil Affairs Unit Focuses on Indigenous Groups -------------- -- ¶6. Accion Integral ("AI") is implementing a program to improve the military's relations with indigenous groups. AI commander Captain Alberto Bejarano said AI's main goal is to strengthen state institutions and protect the public by coordinating military, political and social activities (reftel). Bejarano noted many military operations take place in or near lands owned by indigenous communities ("resguardos"),but few local commanders have a good grasp of the rights of such communities. Colombia's 1,400,000 indigenous control approximately 30 percent of the country's land (31 million hectares),mostly in rural areas, which makes them vulnerable to pressure from illegal armed groups. ¶7. AI's new program is intended to sensitize the military about indigenous rights. An outside expert on indigenous issues, Fanny Romero Henao, was hired in May 2007 to develop the program. Romero has held seminars for local military commanders and troops throughout the country. She is also developing a reference book that includes information on the rights, customs and organizational structures of each of Colombia's 85 different indigenous groups. The reference book will include maps with the boundaries of all resguardos and contact points for indigenous leaders. The book should be finished by the end of the year and will be distributed to all military commanders. ¶8. Romero also started a pilot "Dialogue Table" for monthly meetings between the military and indigenous in the 3rd division (covering the southwest Pacific coast). Bejarano said if the pilot proves successful it will be replicated throughout the country. He added that the AI program was not developed in response to the indigenous directive, but it dovetails neatly with it. The program could eventually be extended to Afro-Colombian communities as well. Still, Bejarano cautioned that Afro-Colombian communal territories are smaller (approximately 5 million hectares) and have fewer military operations on or near them. Moreover, Afro-Colombian communities are generally less organized than the indigenous, making it more difficult to coordinate activities with them. Brownfield