Colombia - the Old and Modern Issues - Case Study Example

COLOMBIA Background Together with Ecuador and Venezuela, Colombia was part of the early Latin American country called Gran Colombia until the union collapsed back in 1830. Today, it is a republican state in the northern tip of Latin America, covering 440,831 square mile-area, with more than 46 million inhabitants third only to those of Brazil and Mexico. Recent statistics show that it is the fourth largest economy in South America, posting about $435 billion gross domestic product. Colombia has been pursuing a foreign policy that is part of national objective of solving the illegal drug trade, combating terrorism and advancing its economic interests. To this end, Colombia has forged alliances with other countries and has sent permanent missions to various world bodies that are significant to such policy. In recent years, it had a thorny diplomatic relations with neighboring Venezuela over the latter’s alleged support for Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército del Pueblo or more popularly known as FARC. Issues and Policies The modern history of Colombia is quite chaotic and is characterized by bouts of violence and conflict. The most important of which was the four decades of conflict between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. From the 1960s to the 1990s, the struggle raged and was responsible for the rise of drug cartels, which became source of funding for the rebels. This development, in addition to the political conflict, has brought about uncontrolled violence all over Colombia, creating an unstable society in the process. This aggravated traditional problems such as inequality, corruption and poverty that most observers started to fear that the country was on the brink of collapse especially during the 80s and the 90s. The collective problems have weakened the ability of the state to impose control and develop the country. The situation could be considered as a consistent downward spiral, sped up by the political and economic problems that beset the country. The US National Defense Institute cited that: In 1983, the country experienced an annual homicide rate of 24 for every 100,000 people. In 1993, the rate increased to 88 for every 100,000 people. Currently, 30,000 people are murdered in Colombia each year in addition to those killed in the political conflict.1 The above fact points to the grim trend in security in Colombia, with the ever increasing criminality that remains unchecked. The dynamics is simple to understand. Colombians are constantly being threatened and harassed by organized crime groups and even the state. For this reason, people started arming themselves. Cragin and Hoffman explained that this phenomenon has contributed to the increase in the incidence of violence as more than 165,000 Colombians are now in possession of guns.2 This is now the problem that requires global attention and assistance. The United Nations, particularly, must do its part in order to help Colombia address the FARC problem, once and for all. This is not merely a Colombian internal problem. FARC has undertaken terrorist activities and were promptly considered as such by the international community. It has committed numerous violations of human rights, affecting not only Colombians but also foreign nationals. Four important human rights issues emerge from such violations: the case of child soldiers, extrajudicial executions, the use of gas cylinders mortars and landmines and the FARC’s record of violence against indigenous people. The implication of the FARC menace is quite serious for the international community. Besides the kidnapping of several foreign nationals, FARC has already proven that it could cooperate with several international terrorist and rebel organizations such as Sein Finn and the IRA for more enhanced capacity for violence and terroristic attacks. This also aggravates the capacity of the violence to spill over neighboring countries. Another important problem that results as consequence of the ongoing conflict is the proliferation of drug cartels. As a primary source of funding for the rebels, it has been protected and cultivated, making Colombia one of the major players in the global drug trade. Experts believe that if the Colombian drug trafficking will be eliminated, the impact on the global drug use will be positive. Currently, Colombia prioritizes security in its national policies. The three successive administrations – from the administrations of Alfredo Pastrana, Alvaro Uribe, to the incumbent Juan Manuel Santos - they have all followed their respective security agenda, all bent on addressing the threat posed by FARC. Uribe, for example, have intensified military operations against the rebel group, placing the position of FARC on the defensive. The series of national development plans drafted by the government under different regimes have all indicated that economic growth could only be achieved through sustainable social cohesion that can only be realized through peaceful and just society. This is the reason why Colombian government emphasizes human rights in its policies. A component of the state’s strategy in this area is the so-called National Plan of Action. It forms part of the Colombian foreign policy that contains and covers all the necessary actions and measures to improve the promotion, protection, respect and guaranteeing of Human Rights as well as the recommendations of the Vienna Declaration of 1993. The action plan has several objectives and three of the most important are: the elimination or reduction of human rights violations; cooperation with other countries and global organizations to achieve such purpose; and, the promotion of dialogue with armed groups in order to avoid conflict as much as possible. (your reference) SOLUTIONS Engaging FARC An important strategy to finally end the protracted conflict in Colombia rests on how to best engage FARC. This can be reflected in the way different administrations have dealt with the rebels. For example, Pastrana has adopted a more peaceful approach, preferring dialogues and giving concessions to the rebels. He was, in fact, elected based on the platform of peacefully dealing with FARC. A white paper released during his administration explained that with the peace process, “the government structured its action, on the one hand, on seeking dialogue and a negotiated political solution to the armed conflict and, on the other hand, on increasing social investments and improving infrastructures.”3 But this policy did not work. Back in 1998, Pastrana – in a show of goodwill to bring FARC in the negotiating table – conceded and withdrew his troops in southern Colombia. For the next, two years, noted Kushner, FARC attacks continued while negotiations went nowhere, and the Colombian people lost faith in the process and the rebels took control of 40 percent of the country’s territory.4 The succeeding administration took a different tack. Uribe followed a military approach, declaring all out war. He mobilized all of Colombia’s resources for war and used the US security cooperation in order to engage FARC. This strategy has gained achievements in the conflict than many have imagined. Security indicators became positive as murder and kidnappings decreased while cocaine production continued to fall.5 The United Nations has already condemned FARC in a statement in 2004 when it killed several farmers in San Carlos, Antioquia. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights declared that the rebels violated the Protocol II of the Geneva Convention. This measure is a positive development in the UN’s involvement in the conflict. It cannot, presently, involve itself through humanitarian intervention because Colombia itself – consistent with the Latin American extreme concern for intervention – will not permit such action. In the case of armed conflict, which the government of Santos is likely to pursue being the defense minister of the Uribe regime, the UN can assist in brokering peace and assisting those that will be affected by the conflict. Although there is no need to send peace-keeping missions, the UN can send military observers to monitor the process. If a truce can be reached, the UN should be prepared to send in peacekeeping forces to maintain security. Funding Issues An important aspect in the FARC problem in Colombia is funding. As mentioned by this paper, the financial resource comes mainly from drug trade and suspected Venezuelan support. The involvement of another country in the Colombian conflict is relevant in specific UN policies about terrorism. For example, the world body urges all member states to sign all 12 international terrorism conventions, one of the most important of which was that covering money-laundering.6 The Venezuelan support, or that of other countries, can be uncovered under this legal framework. Proper actions can be taken once the details of this measure can be threshed out. The extension of the authority of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate to act as a clearing house for State-to-State provision of military, police and border control assistance for developing domestic counter terrorism capacities should also be considered.7 This measure can be swiftly adopted if it can secure interstate support. There is a huge possibility for this to happen as many countries are experiencing the same dilemma and would, hence be favorable to any measure that would cripple terrorism in their own territories. Drug Cartels Helping to solve the Colombian drug trade can also assist the Colombian government’s efforts to achieve an end to its conflict with FARC. There are several measures and mechanisms that the UN can use to do this. An action or strategy can be launched according to the mandate and mechanisms provided by UN agencies such as the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the International Narcotics Control Board and the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control. Other organizations and international partnerships should also be initiated. For instance, the United States has been very much involved in eradicating the drug cartels in Colombia. For example, through this cooperation, the Medellin and Cali cartels were brought down.8 Through this development, it has been proven that intergovernmental and interagency cooperation can be crucial in eradicating the drug menace that has been deeply entrenched and deeply secured in a community. The US-Colombia cooperation, however, is not enough. There is a need to involve other countries as the transit of drugs from one country to another can involve a number of other states as transit points or as manufacturing points. The United Nations should lead a multilateral initiative because the strategy can have a more credible and stronger authority. Such initiative should augment the current job and mandate of the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. This agency only coordinates with all the related organizations within the United Nations such as the International Labor Organization, World Health Organization and the World Bank. It lacks the ability to cooperate with concerned agencies of member states. So this initiative should be able to strengthen the UN’s capability to help Colombia and other states with the same drug problem. References Cragin, Kim and Hoffman, Bruce. Arms trafficking and Colombia, Issue 1468. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation, 2003. "Colombia: Country Strategy Paper". European Union. 27 October 2011. Web. GAO. Drug control U.S. counternarcotics efforts in Colombia face continuing challenges : report to congressional requesters. Washington, DC: DIANE Publishing. 1998. Kushner, Harvey. Encyclopedia of terrorism. London: Sage Publications, 2003. Teicher, Dario. The Decisive Phase of Colombias War on Narco0Terrorism. Washington, DC: DIANE Publishing, 2005. United Nations. Yearbook of the United Nations, Volume 58. New York: United Nations Publications, 2006. Read More