HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS CONDITION TALKS ON IMPROVED

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 004305

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL CO
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS CONDITION TALKS ON IMPROVED
PROTECTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS ON URIBE APOLOGY

Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer
Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

Summary
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1. (C) Interior and Justice Minister Fabio Valencia met
November 10 with civil society, the international community,
and Defense Ministry representatives to discuss the GOC's
protection program for human rights defenders. Human rights
groups challenged the GOC's commitment to protect their
workers and called for rigorous action. They proposed a
joint GOC-civil society project to develop a more effective
program, but conditioned negotiations on a formal apology by
President Uribe. Rafael Bustamante, Director of the Ministry
of Interior and Justice's (MOIJ) Social Protection Program,
told us the GOC believed Valencia had met the demands for
high-level assurances of GOC support with a November 11 press
release.

Civil Society Calls for Presidential Apology
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2. (U) On November 10, Interior and Justice Minister Fabio
Valencia met with members of civil society, the international
community, and the Defense Ministry to discuss the GOC's
protection program for human rights defenders. Valencia
reiterated the GOC's commitment to protect all citizens and
guarantee human rights, citing security provided to 1510
human rights workers in the first nine months of 2008. Human
rights representatives disputed the GOC's political will,
claiming GOC officials -- including President Uribe -- had
publicly linked their work to terrorism. They detailed
threats and incidents against their staff, and said no
agreement on improving the protection program could be
reached without a prior apology by Uribe.


3. (U) In an open letter addressed to Valencia on November
13, the human rights platform Coordination
Colombia-Europe-United States (CCEEU) called for a project to
develop and implement broader security for human rights
defenders. The letter reiterated that negotiations on an
improved protection program were contingent on an official
apology. The human rights groups also claimed GOC comments
had incited a climate of hate which led to the targeting of
human rights defenders.


4. (C) Rafael Bustamante, Director of the MOIJ's Social
Protection Program, told us the GOC met the human rights
groups' demands for high-level assurances of with the MOIJ's
November 11 press release. The press release praised the
work of groups dedicated to the legitimate work of protecting
individual and collective rights, and affirmed the GOC's
commitment to investigate any threats against human rights
defenders. Bustamante said an additional intervention on the
part of the President would be unlikely.


5. (SBU) A United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(UNHCHR) representative told us some human rights groups
contend they are receiving increased threats as a direct
result of GOC denunciations of certain human rights groups.
She said the groups are justified in calling for the highest
levels of the GOC to publicly acknowledge its responsibility
and intention to defend their workers. Still, she said the
insistence on an Uribe apology prior to negotiating new
protection measures was designed to humiliate the president
and was politically motivated.

Purging Intelligence Files
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6. (C) CCEEU also called for the implementation of the
UNHCHR recommendation to review and purge military
intelligence files of hits on human rights defenders. In the
same press release, the MOIJ said the Inspector General
(Procuraduria) had signaled its intention to continue to work
with the MOD to eliminate references to human rights groups
in intelligence files based solely on their human rights
work..


7. (C) The UNHCHR representative told us the UNHCHR had seen
little visible progress on the issue since the UNHCHR reached
agreement with the GOC in April 2007, but that it appeared
the project was proceeding within the GOC. Bustamante told
us the work was moving forward, but it had not yet concluded.
Local UNHCHR director Javier Hernandez told us he suspects
military intelligence continues to harass some human rights
groups, including sending them threatening emails, but said
he has no hard proof.
BROWNFIELD