COLOMBIA
Fourth periodic report
dated 28 August 1997
Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano calls countries like Colombia1 a "democra-torship" as, despite the existence
of some democratic forms, they also exhibit classic features
of a dictatorship.2 While
Colombia has been hailed as one of the most stable Latin American
democracies,3 the extent of political violence in the country,
in which an estimated 35,000 people have lost their lives in
the past ten years, far exceeds the violence experienced under
Latin American authoritarian systems in the past.4
Colombia has been consumed by protracted internal conflict
and violence perpetuated by government security forces, right-wing
paramilitary groups and left-wing guerrillas, in varying degrees,
since the 1940s. In the struggle for territory, civilians have
been the principal victims. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported
that in 1997, while 1,250 people died in combat, 2,183 noncombatants
were also killed for political reasons, most often accused of
sympathizing with one of the sides in the conflict.5
According to HRW, most of the murders were committed by the
paramilitary forces with the support of the Colombian Army.
6 At the same time, it is
clear that the government has not dealt with the paramilitaries
as forcefully as with the guerrillas. In 1997, for instance,
546 attacks were made on guerrillas, while only seven were staged
against paramilitary groups.7
Although women in Colombia have not been the main targets of
human rights violations, they have been victims of the conflict
if they were politically active, because of the political activities
of their partners or relatives, or because they reside in guerrilla-controlled
areas. According to a 1995 Amnesty International (AI) report,
political violence against Colombian women has been on the rise
in recent years and has taken the form of rape, torture and
extrajudicial executions.8
In addition, an estimated 600,000 people have been internally
displaced as a result of escalating violence, which makes Colombia's
the fourth largest population of displaced people after Sudan,
Angola and Afghanistan.9
Displacement is the result of terror caused by selective killings,
torture and threats, as well as by the forced expulsion of poor
peasants from their land by paramilitary groups. According to
reports, women - often recently widowed - and their children
are the principal victims of internal displacement. They not
only face the sole responsibility for their family, but also
remain vulnerable as a result of physical and psychological
trauma of their recent experience.10
The Civil War
Guerrillas
Many analysts trace the roots of the conflict to Colombia's
widespread poverty and deep social inequalities and to the lack
of alternative means of political expression. Until 1979, only
two parties, Liberal and Conservative, occupied the political
space, and any other political forces were illegal. As a response
to the impossibility of open dissent and conditions of poverty
and inequality, since the 1960s eight large and several smaller
guerrilla groups formed.
In 1979-80, based on the principles of the Doctrine of National
Security, the government "turned [the country] over to the armed
forces for management"11
and allowed the military to carry out arbitrary arrests, torture
and "disappearances" of the guerrillas. The policy to fight
"the enemy from within" resulted in rationalization of governance
by decree and the suspension of individual rights.12
With time, this principle was extended to anyone who was considered
a "guerrilla collaborator," especially inhabitants of areas
of guerrilla activity, mainly indigenous people and peasants.
Since the late 1980s, guerrilla organizations have stepped
up their activities and linked with narco-traffickers for support
in exchange for protection of the fields and laboratories. Today,
the two major rebel groups, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) with
a combined force of about 20,000 combatants, control almost
half the territory of Colombia.13
Paramilitarism
Paramilitarism resulted from the 1960s government authorization
to involve civilians in "self-defense" activities aimed at the
"re-establishment of normalcy." Although the Supreme Court has
declared the paramilitary civilian armed groups to exist only
"at the margin of the Constitution and of the laws," 14 they have continued to enjoy tolerance and even outright
support from the government. The Executive Branch has publicly
condemned the groups, but its policy as to promotions indicates
support for those in the highest command of the military who
favor alliance with the paramilitaries.
The real problem, according to many observers, lies not in
the laws, but in continued human rights abuses and impunity.
In this regard, the judiciary has served as the greatest protector
of paramilitarism. For example, only three percent of the reported
crimes committed by civilian groups resulted in convictions
in 1994.15
Although the military stopped defending the paramilitaries
in 1989, it has continued to strengthen relationships and networks
with civilian armed groups all over the country. In fact, the
paramilitary troops have often worked in close partnership with
the military. HRW gathered evidence pointing to the deliberate
effort since 1991 on the part of the military to involve civilians
in its intelligence-gathering operations. Paramilitary forces
have worked under direct orders of the military high command
either through the intelligence networks by participating in
military attacks on specific targets.16
In a recent interview with the Madrid-based El País Internacional,
Carlos Castaño, the commander of the paramilitary forces
in Colombia, admitted only that in the past the paramilitaries
committed "errors" by conducting "unjustifiable massacres" of
the peasants. Castaño confirmed that in an effort to "self-finance,"
the troops pressure people living in the combat zones to pay
special quotas. "If this is called extortion, I'm sorry," he
said. "We provide them with protection."17
The paramilitaries have been demanding a role in the peace talks
with the guerrillas that the government of Andrés Pastrana
pledged to restart (see below under "The Government).18
The Government
The new, Conservative Party President Andrés Pastrana,
a Harvard-educated former TV anchor and former mayor of Bogotá,
was inaugurated in August 1998 after a victory by the largest
margin in the country's history. Pastrana had lost a bid for
the presidency in 1994 and was the first to accuse his predecessor,
Ernesto Samper, of accepting US $ 6 million from the Cali drug
cartel for his 1994 presidential campaign.19
Pastrana made ending the civil conflict the highest priority
of his presidency and pledged to restart peace negotiations
with the rebels, who had expressed a willingness to hold talks
for the first time in six years.20
In October 1998, in a decision that aroused controversy at
home and abroad, Pastrana ordered government troops' withdrawal
by 7 November 1998 from part of southeastern Colombia dominated
by the rebels in an effort to open peace talks with the guerrillas.21 But observers have cautioned that despite these attempts,
the peace process could take months or years. For instance,
so far none of the rebel groups have agreed to a cease-fire.22 In fact, both the paramilitaries and the
guerrillas have continued staging military attacks.23
Narco-trafficking
Eighty percent of Colombia's cocaine exports end up in the
United States.24 Because
of the amount of money involved in the drug trade, corruption
of public officials by narcotics operations is a serious problem.
25 At the same time, the rebel groups have maintained that the
farmers who grow coca have no other choice, and that not enough
is being done to provide alternative development - crop substitution
payments to peasants to encourage them to switch from coca leaf
production. The government policy to eliminate coca cultivation
has amounted to little more than attempts to wipe out the fields
with aerial spraying and interdiction of shipments of cocaine
and heroin, and it has failed to address the root causes of
the situation.26
Human rights activist Olga Gutierrez of Coordinacion-Europa,
also accuses the military and the right-wing paramilitary groups
of links with cocaine traffickers.27
There is evidence that official Colombian aircraft have been
used for smuggling drugs out of the country. In 1996, 8.8 pounds
of heroin was found in the nose of an official presidential
(Samper) jet. In November 1998, U.S. customs officials in Florida
found 1,600 pounds of cocaine in 700 packages on a Colombian
military plane.28
In October 1998, US President Bill Clinton and Andrés
Pastrana met in Washington, DC and announced that the struggle
against narco-trafficking is "a common responsibility." In November
1998, the US Congress authorized an increase of the amount of
aid to Colombia from US $ 80 million to US $ 289 million for
fighting drug-trafficking and for economic development, which
is more than double the amount given last year.29
This made Colombia the top recipient of US foreign assistance.30
The results of the new approach have yet to be seen. In the
past, the US has been accused by both international and Colombian
human rights activists of militarizing and politicizing the
war against the drug trade.31
Critics claim that much of the equipment that will be provided
to the Colombian government under the new assistance program
for use against coca growers and traffickers, can be used against
the guerillas.32
Freedom of Expression and Human Rights
Media
Colombia is the most dangerous country in the Western Hemisphere
in which to practice journalism. Since 1986, more than forty
-five journalists have been murdered. Despite incredible risks,
journalists have continued to cover the drug trade and corruption.33 Some, however, have admitted in private
that the recent new dangers posed by increasing hostilities
and the government's effort to control coverage have led them
to self-censor.34
Under the Samper administration, the government attempted
to eliminate negative coverage through government regulation
and the distribution of media outlets to friends and political
supporters. In August 1997, two cabinet ministers resigned after
the weekly Semana published the transcript of a recorded cellular
phone conversation in which they discussed Samper's plan to
award radio frequencies to president's political allies.
In 1996, a new law gave the National Television Commission
authority to cancel television licenses that do not conform
to the standards of "objectivity, impartiality or balance."35 Under this law, in October 1997, two TV stations that had
broadcast stories critical of the government, were denied license
renewal. To protest these actions, Nobel Prize winning author
Gabriel García Márquez withdrew his request to renew
the license for the TV station that he co-owned with journalist
Enrique Santos Calderón.36
Human Rights Movement
Colombian human rights organizations have collected and transmitted
internationally information on rights violations by all sides,
and have worked to provide aid to the war victims. They have
operated under tremendously dangerous conditions. Military and
paramilitary groups repeatedly have targeted activists; scores
of human rights workers have been harassed, threatened and killed.37 Since 1997, more than twenty human rights activists have
been murdered38 In 1997,
Amnesty International had to close its office in Colombia after
repeated death threats against its members.39
In recognition of work under these extraordinarily dangerous
conditions, four Colombian NGO activists, working with Peace
Brigades International (PBI), the only international human rights
group functioning in Colombia, were presented with the 1998
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. One of the winners, Mario
Humberto Calixto, president of the Sabana de Torres Human Rights
Committee, had narrowly escaped an attempt on his life in December
1997.40
"Faceless" Justice
According to some witness accounts, the system of "faceless
justices" that has been set up in Colombia has been a vehicle
for various types of legal abuses. According to some accounts,
the system in which clandestine witnesses, secret judges, evidence
and testimony and "accusations" made and paid for with large
amounts of money. According to critics, the army has been granted
wide-ranging powers to manipulate evidence.41
Economy
Colombia has enjoyed one of the most consistent growth rates
in Latin America, with GDP averaging a four-percent increase
in the 1990s. The economy is expected to grow 2.5 percent in
1998. The lower rate this year is a result of the impact of
climatic changes brought by "El Niño" on Colombia's agriculture42
and the aftershock of the Asian crisis. Petroleum became the
country's leading export in 1996, but coffee, coal and cut flowers
have remained important trade goods. Economists expect the unemployment
rate to increase to twenty percent by the end of 1998 (from
15.8 percent in June 1998).43
Labor
Trade union leaders have continued to be among the main victims
of violence. According to the International Confederation of
Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) annual report, in 1997, at least 156
union leaders were murdered and scores had to move from their
homes because of death threats. The ICFTU report blamed the
paramilitaries for most of the atrocities, although the security
forces and the guerrillas were responsible for some as well.
In October 1998, the vice-president of the Unified Workers'
Central, Jorge Ortega was murdered in the midst of negotiations
between labor unions and the government. 44
Colombia's labor law was revised in 1990-1991 as part of the
country's structural adjustment program. The labor market was
deregulated by making the firing of workers easier, and by institutionalizing
temporary work contracts. At the same time, the new provisions
made it difficult for many workers to join unions and to be
covered by collective agreements. 45
Although the right to strike is guaranteed under the constitution,
the new labor law severely restricts the right in many industries
and gives the government a great deal of authority to end a
strike "when it affects the economy."46
The government attempted to use the law in October 1998 by declaring
illegal a strike of tens of thousands of public employees in
protest of a government austerity package aimed at cutting public
spending and reducing wage increases to amounts much below inflation.
The unions, however, refused to end the protest, and the government
was pressed to negotiate with their leaders.47
STATUS OF WOMEN IN COLOMBIA UNDER SPECIFIC CEDAW ARTICLES:
The following material on the status of women under specific
CEDAW articles was compiled based on several reports received
by IWRAW. The primary source was a commentary on the fourth
periodic report of Colombia to CEDAW prepared by Attorneys of
the Servicio Juridico de PROFAMILIA, Red Nacional de Mujeres
- Regional Bogotá (Legal Services Project of Profamilia,
National Women's Network - Bogotá). The Attorneys indicated
in their report that la Dirección Nacional para la Equidad
(DINEM; National Office for Equality of Women) made the official
report available to NGOs only on 5 November 1998 which gave
them little time to work with the document. The Attorneys stated
that the government uses old statistics even though new data
is available. In addition, in some cases the statistics were
not disaggregated by sex. According to the NGO, the official
report contains very little information regarding women from
non-white ethnic groups (particularly indigenous and black women),
and the ones who are in a situation of the greatest vulnerability,
such as displaced and disabled women. In addition, despite the
creation of DINEM in order to coordinate work of various agencies
and monitor progress on gender equality, the government has
not apportioned the resources necessary to implement programs
for women. Moreover, DINEM has not provided strong leadership
in efforts to achieve a substantive change.48
IWRAW also received a report the New York-based non-governmental
organization, Equality Now. It was originally submitted for
the 59th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Committee
which was held in March 1997.
ARTICLE 2 - POLICY MEASURES TAKEN TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION
The 1991 Constitution guarantees extensive civil rights for
women, such as the right to equal opportunities and the right
not to be subjected to any form of discrimination. It stipulates
that the authorities will guarantee the appropriate and effective
participation of women at decision-making levels of public administration.
It provides for punishment of those who commit abuse and ill-treatment
of women.49 Yet, despite these provisions, discrimination
and violence against Colombian women persists and women's participation
in national political structures and institutions remains low.
ARTICLE 3 - BASIC
HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS ON AN EQUAL BASIS WITH
MEN
Women in Prison
Women serving time
in prison, especially those who are pregnant or are nursing
children, do not receive adequate medical and social services.
According to Servicio Colombiano de Comunicación and Profamilia,
about forty percent do not receive prenatal care, and 86.5 percent
receive no care al all in preparation for childbirth. Additionally
sixty-five percent of these prisons have deficient nutritional
programs for mothers and young children.
Nine departments
in Colombia have no women's prisons and women are locked in
small cells with men. Conjugal visits, infant care, gynecological
care and opportunities to work and study are denied to them.
In Arauca, women are denied outdoor recreation.50
ARTICLE 5 - SEX
ROLES AND STEREOTYPING
According to the
Profamilia report, traditional sex roles and stereotyping persist
in many spheres of society. School textbooks on every level
continue to portray gender stereotypes, and mass media promote
the traditional gender roles.51
ARTICLE 6 - PROSTITUTION
AND TRAFFICKING
A study of female
prostitutes in Bogotá demonstrated that women most often
entered prostitution because of violence in the home Other reasons
include poverty, lack of skills, and lack of other employment
opportunities.52
ARTICLE 7 - POLITICAL
AND PUBLIC LIFE
Despite women's
gains in the 1998 parliamentary elections (an increase from
16 to 19 seats in the 167-seat of the House of Representatives,
and an increase from 7 to 14 in the 102-seat Senate), women's
participation in politics remains low. In addition, very few
women in power incorporate gender issues in their public work
since it is still a political risk in male-dominated politics.
Women in politics also face stereotypical and sexist depiction
in the mass media, which tend to comment on their "ability to
seduce and call attention to their image" instead of other substantive
capabilities.53
ARTICLE 11 - EMPLOYMENT
Although Art. 25
and Art. 26 of the Constitution protect the right to employment
and guarantee the freedom to choose professions, women of all
ages and males under 18 are prohibited from working underground
in mining. Women are also prohibited from working in paint factories
and any other job classified as dangerous, unhealthy, or which
requires considerable physical strength. In addition, women
regardless of age are not allowed to work at night in any industry,
unless the business is owned by members of her family. These
protectionist laws eliminate profitable employment opportunities
for women. Although mining and other professions from which
women are excluded are often described as rigorous and difficult,
these work environments should be regulated to create safety,
equal opportunity and equal protection for both men and women.
Also, despite narrowing of the gap, there is still a thirty
percent difference between the salaries of men and women.54
Under Colombian
law there is still no legal recourse for women who are subjected
to sexual harassment in the workplace.
ARTICLE 12 - HEALTH
CARE AND SOCIAL BENEFITS
Abortion
Abortion has been
common and is on the rise. Abortion rates in Colombia and the
rates in 1967-1971 among 20 to 24-year old have increased eight-fold
from the 1967-1971 rate. According to 1994 research results
by the Universidad Externado de Colombia, at least one-third
of Colombian women between 15 and 55 years old have had one
induced abortion (this is considered to be a minimal estimate).
Estimates indicate that four abortions are performed for every
ten live births (women from 15 to 49 years of age).55
Abortion is still
a criminal offense in Colombia, punishable by one to three years
imprisonment for both the woman seeking the abortion and the
practitioner who performs it. The law provides for no exceptions,
even in instances of rape, to save the life of the mother, or
to avoid serious and permanent damage to her health.56
In January 1997,
Colombia's Constitutional Court upheld the imprisonment of women
for abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. Abortion is
the second cause of maternal mortality in Colombia according
to Servicio Colombiano de Comunicación and Profamilia.
The criminalization of abortion has a discriminatory effect
on impoverished women: while women of higher socio-economic
classes are able to obtain safe, though illegal, abortions,
women of lower incomes are forced to seek dangerous backroom
abortions. In addition, poor women are at a higher risk of pregnancy
as a result of inadequate access to sex education and contraceptives.
Although the Social Security system commits the government to
the creation of special informational programs on reproductive
health and family planning in less developed areas of the country,
according to the information received from NGOs, these programs
were suspended in 1997.57
Observers point out that in abortion cases, opinions of the
court are often colored by Catholic religion arguments and cannot
be said to be impartial.58
ARTICLE 15 - EQUALITY
BEFORE THE LAW
According to studies
undertaken by Universidad Nacional, women continue to suffer
inequalities in the legal system. The majority of women who
bring cases related to labor law lose them, while majority of
men win theirs. In cases involving family law, such as custody
and care of children, women win more often than men. In general,
however, in non-family cases a woman is less likely to prevail
than a man.59
ARTICLE 16 - MARRIAGE
AND FAMILY LAW
Marriage Laws
Article 140 of Colombia's
Civil Code states that the minimum age for marriage, with parental
consent, is at least 14 years old for males and at least 12
years old for females. Articles 5 and 6 of Law 28 of 1932 state
that a married woman below the age of 18 is denied legal self-representation
and is to be represented by her husband.60
GENERAL RECOMMENDATION
No. 19 (ARTICLES 2,5,11,12 AND 16) - VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Domestic Violence
The Constitution
declares domestic violence to be destructive and subject to
penalty. Law 294 of 1996 provides for programs to prevent and
eliminate domestic violence. While the law represents a positive
development, the practical effects have been negligible. NGOs
report that violence and its consequences are the main cause
of deaths of women 15-44 years old. They charge that the government
has not followed through on its commitments to address the problem.
According to Profamilia, this is a result of the lack of free
or low-cost legal assistance, as well as the lack of government-sponsored
shelters for battered women.61
Rape
Colombian law contains
a narrow definition of rape which excludes sexual violence not
involving penetration. It also provides different penalties
for rape outside the marriage relationship (1-3 years imprisonment)
and within marriage (6 months-2 years imprisonment). Since 1996,
cases of conjugal rape can only be prosecuted at the request
of the rape survivor. Education programs for rape prevention
and services for the support of rape victims are apparently
nonexistent.62
PREVIOUS REVIEW
BY CEDAW:
Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
Against Women (31 May 1995) . The Committee on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women considered Colombia's
combined second and third periodic report (CEDAW/C/SR.250) on
31 January 1994.
Recommendations:
- Disseminate information
on the rights of women in the workplace (by Presidential Council
and Ministry of Labor ) and seek ways of supporting them and
protecting them more effectively against abuses in enterprises
in sectors such as flower-growing, the clothes and food industries
and particularly the informal sector. Train officials responsible
for monitoring the correct application of labor legislation,
for example labor inspectors, with regard to the rights of
working women.
- Supplement the
submitted information on violence against women and female
prostitutes, with new data and analyses and, above all, information
on new measures to eliminate violence against women in all
its forms. Take steps to ensure that in cases of domestic
violence, the aggressor was the one who left the residence,
instead of the woman attacked, as occurred in many places
in the world.
- Amend the legislation
in force and continue to promote the spread of family planning,
particularly in rural areas.
- Step up policies
to promote equality with regard to the most impoverished women
and the low level of training and make efforts to eliminate
the differences which still existed between urban women and
rural women.
- Support progress
in the participation by women in decision-making, for example,
through government support for specific programs for female
electoral candidates.
- Strengthen the
government mechanism responsible for policies on equality
- currently the Presidential Council for Youth, Women and
the Family - by providing it, under the law, with sufficient
authority to propose, promote, coordinate and carry out measures
on behalf of women at a higher level within the Administration,
greater autonomy and more human and economic resources.
ACTIONS BY OTHER
HUMAN RIGHTS TREATY BODIES PERTAINING TO WOMEN'S HUMAN RIGHTS:
International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (1 April 1998). The Human Rights
Committee considered the fourth periodic report of Colombia
(CCPR/C/103/Add.3 and HRI/CORE/1/Add.56) on 31 March and 1 April
1997.
Suggestions and
Recommendations:
- Review laws and
take measures to ensure full legal and de facto equality for
women in all aspects of social, economic and public life,
including with respect to their status within the family.
In this regard, priority should be given to protecting women's
right to life by taking effective measures against violence
and by ensuring access to safe contraception. Measures should
be taken to prevent and eliminate persisting discriminatory
attitudes and prejudices against women, notably through education
and information campaigns.
- Adopt effective
measures to ensure the full implementation of article 24 of
the Covenant, including preventive and punitive measures in
respect of all acts of child murder and assault and protective,
preventive and punitive measures in respect of children caught
up in the activities of guerrilla and paramilitary groups.
The Committee also specifically recommends that effective
measures be taken to eliminate employment of children and
that inspection mechanisms be established to this effect.
- Confer Colombian
nationality on stateless children born in Colombia.
International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (12 December 1996).
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights considered
the third periodic report of Colombia on 21 and 22 November
1995, and on 6 December 1995.
Concluding Observations:
- The Committee
welcomes the Government's determination to respond to the
problem of violence against women by reviewing relevant provisions
of the criminal law and by improving its programs on behalf
of women. It also notes with satisfaction that Colombia intends
shortly to ratify the 1994 Inter-American Convention on the
Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against
Women (Convention of Belém do Pará).
Subjects of Concern:
- The extensive
discrimination against women. For example, it is noted that
the wages of women are on average thirty per cent lower than
those of men.
Suggestions and
Recommendations:
- Give greater attention
to the problem of discrimination against women and implement
programs for the eradication of inequalities between men and
women. Such programs should, at the same time, aim to raise
public awareness and interest in the economic, social and
cultural rights of women.
- Improve the training
of "community mothers" and regularize their work situation,
treating them for all purposes as workers in the employ of
a third party; combat the practice of non-utilization of budget
items earmarked for social expenditure in the State's overall
budget and ensure that such appropriations are used for the
purposes for which they were budgeted; improve the supply
of housing, especially low-cost housing for the benefit of
the poorest sectors, in urban areas and also in rural areas,
and allocate resources to provide the entire population with
drinking-water and sewerage services.
Endnotes:
1
Colombia is located in the northern part of South America
and borders the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and
the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama. Its 37.7
million population is fifty eight percent mestizo, twenty percent
white, fourteen percent mulatto, four percent black, three percent
mixed black-indigenous, and one percent indigenous. back 2
Javier Giraldo S.J., Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy
(Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1996) 57. back
3
Colombia, unlike Argentina, Brazil, Chile and other countries
in the region, avoided the horrors of era of the "Doctrine of
National Security" dictatorships of the 1960s and 1970s, and
has only had one brief period of the military rule ( 1953-1957).
back
4
Renwick McLean, "EEUU duplica su ayuda a la 'nueva' Colombia
de Pastrana," El Pais Internacional (Madrid), on-line, 29 October
1998. back
5
Laura Brooks, "Civilians are Chief Victims in Colombia
War. Human Rights Group Blames Leftist Guerrillas and Rightist
Paramilitary," Washington Post, on-line, 9 October 1998.
back
6
Ibid. back
7
Noticias, The Latin American Program, Woodrow Wilson Center,
Washington, DC (Fall 1998): 5. back
8
Amnesty International, Women in Colombia: Breaking the
Silence (New York: Amnesty International, 1995), 1-3. back
9
Laura Brooks, "Civilians are Chief Victims in Colombia
War. Human Rights Group Blames Leftist Guerrillas and Rightist
Paramilitary." back
10
Amnesty International, Women in Colombia: Breaking the
Silence , 6. back
11
Javier Giraldo S.J., 58. back
12
Ibid., 58. back
13
Bradley Graham, "US Hopeful About Colombia's Anti-Drug
Efforts Under New Leader," Washington Post, on-line, 30 October
1998. back
14
Quoted in Javier Giraldo S.J., Colombia: The Genocidal
Democracy, 80. back
15
Javier Giraldo S.J., 109-111. back
16
Human Rights Watch, Colombia's Killer Networks (Human Rights
Watch, November 1996), on-line, available from: http://www.hrw.org,
accessed on 1 November 1998. back
17
M.Á. Bastenier, "La paz sólo la haremos los que
libramos la guerra," El Pais Internacional (Madrid), on-line,
16 October 1998. back
18
Diana Jean Schemo, "Colombian President's Accuser Handily
Wins Presidency," New York Times, 22 June 1998, page A3.
back
19
Philip Shenon, "US Expects Ties to Improve Under Colombia's
New President," New York Times, 11 August 1998, on-line.
back
20
Ibid. back
21
Bradley Graham, "US Hopeful About Colombia's Anti-Drug
Efforts Under New Leader," Washington Post, on-line, 30 October
1998. back
22
Laura Brooks, "Colombian Army Move Called Peace Gesture,"
Washington Post, on-line, 16 October 1998. back
23
"Colombia Rebels Attack Remote Police Garrison," New York
Times, on-line, 2 November 1998. back
24
Diana Jean Schemo, "Andres Pastrana: From 'Stool Pigeon'
to Colombia's President," New York Times, 23 June 1998, on-line.
back
25
Dennis M. Hanriatty and Sandra W. Meditz, eds., "Colombia:
Internal Security Problems," in Colombia, a Country Study (Federal
Research Division, Library of Congress, December 1988), on-line,
available from: http://kweb2.loc.gov, accessed on 15 October
1998. back
26
Bradley Graham, "US Hopeful About Colombia's Anti-Drug
Efforts Under New Leader." back
27
Eric Brazil, "Colombian Activist Points out Rights Crisis,"
San Francisco Examiner, 17 October 1998, Nexis, 20 November
1998. back
28
Jeremy McDermott, "Pounds 8m Cocaine Find on Military Plane,"
Daily Telegraph (London), 12 November 1998, back
29
Diana Jean Schemo, "Congress Steps Up Aid for Colombians
to Combat Drugs," New York Times, on-line, 1 December 1998.
back
30
Renwick McLean, "EEUU duplica su ayuda a la 'nueva' Colombia
de Pastrana," El Pais Internacional (Madrid), on-line, 29 October
1998. back
31
Eric Brazil, "Colombian Activist Points out Rights Crisis."
back
32
Diana Jean Schemo, "Congress Steps Up Aid for Colombians
to Combat Drugs." back
33
Committee to Protect Journalists, Regional and Country
Reports: Colombia, available from: http://www.cpj.org, accessed
on 23 October 1998. back
34
Ibid. back
35
Ibid. back
36
Ibid. back
37
"Rights-Colombia: Colombians Win Major US Human Rights
Award," Inter Press Service, 15 October 1998, on-line, Nexis,
2 November 1998. back
38
Paul Paz y Mino, "Victims of Colombia's Dirty War," Washington
Times, 16 November 1998, Nexis, 20 November 1998. back
39
Ibid. back
40
Ibid. back
41
Javier Giraldo S.J., 48. back
42
"Colombia: Country Update," Economist Intelligence Unit,
6 October 1998, on-line, Nexis, 2 November 1998. back
43
James C. Cooper and Kathleen Madigan, with Suzanne Timmons,
"Reform May Still Rescue this Economy," Business Week, 12 October
1998, on-line, Nexis, 1 November 1998. back
44
Jared Kotler, "Colombia Labor Chief Assassinated," Associated
Press, 21 October 1998, on-line, Nexis, 2 November 1998.
back
45
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 1998
Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Right: Colombia (Brussels:
ICFTU, 1998): 46-51. back
46
Ibid., 46-51. back
47
"Colombia Declares Strike Illegal," New York Times, on-line,
9 October 1998. back
48
Abogadas del Servicio Jurídico de PROFAMILIA Red Nacional
de Mujeres -- Regional Bogota, Preguntas Relacionadas Con el
IV Informe de Colombia Al CEDAW (Bogota, 13 November 1998):
2. back
49
Amnesty International, Women in Colombia: Breaking the
Silence , 3. back
50
Equality Now, United Nations Human Rights Committee: Colombia
, 59th Session, March 1997 (New York: Equality Now, 1997).
back
51
Abogadas del Servicio Jurídico de PROFAMILIA Red Nacional
de Mujeres -- Regional Bogota. back
52
Harvey F. Kline, Colombia: Democracy Under Assault, 2nd
ed. (Boulder: Westview Press), 18. back
53
"Casi Casi la Hora de las Mujeres," Mujer/Fempress no.
199 (Mayo 98): 16. back
54
Equality Now. back
55
"Half of All Colombian Pregnancies Unwanted," Women's Health
Journal (3/97): 55. back
56
Equality Now. back
57
Equality Now. back
58
Carmen Posada, 56. back
59
"Mujeres Examinan Como Les Aplican La Ley," Mujer/Fempress
(Abril 98): 16. back
60
Equality Now, United Nations Human Rights Committee: Colombia
, 59th Session, March 1997 (New York: Equality Now, 1997).
back
61
Ibid. back
62
Ibid. back
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