Only through education in human rights and international humanitarian standards will it be possible to encourage a less barbarous and more humane war, one with respect for the civilian population and its property, observance of minimum standards that limit violent acts, and a war that,  in spite of its essence, takes less of a psychological toll on combatants and civilians alike.  All parties to the conflict must learn these precepts and apply them.  This is not a question of  sides or an ideological issue, but a commitment to non-combatants.   Last year in Colombia,  1,643 people alien to the conflict were assassinated, 1,800 were kidnapped and a even greater number suffered serious bodily injury and damage to their property.

In an effort to aid in the ongoing debate on peace in Colombia,  CIDEC will publish two reports on how the parties to the conflict educate their members on this subject.  The first report concerns the Armed Forces; the second, the country’s two strongest subversive organizations: the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN),  and the self-defense groups.

The information collected for this study has been provided, to the extent possible, by the parties themselves. A request was sent by e-mail to each of the groups operating outside the law, and CIDEC is still waiting for a reply.  If there is no answer, we will attempt to arrive at an approximation of the situation on the basis of historical events.

THE ARMED FORCES OF COLOMBIA

According to a report by the Deputy Attorney General for Human Rights, 2,227 complaints were filed against members of the Armed Forces in 1995 for supposed violations of human rights¹. 

FUENTE: Procuraduría General de la Nación. IV Informe de Derechos Humanos.1995 

In the chart above, injuries are understood as bodily harm inflicted on another person or damage to their health;  “others” are understood as all complaints filed for minor human rights violations, such as violation of the victim’s freedom or sexual morality,   property damages and the like. 

At that time, a number of human rights groups were calling for decisive action to help end violations of this kind.  Reports by the US State Department, the European Parliament and a variety of NGOs demanded a revision of policies to promote and human rights and prevent their violation.

Four years later, the same report by the Attorney General’s Office showed  a 98% decline in complaints.  In other words, the 1990 report shows only 40 complaints against members of the Armed Forces for human rights violations.  A firm institutional policy to promote human rights and international humanitarian standards, based on education, resulted in substantially fewer complaints filed by the civilian population concerning excesses committed by members of the Armed Forces.
 

  The policy applied by the Armed Forces to promote and defend human rights and international humanitarian standards is based on three specific components: establishment of human rights offices, mandatory courses to educate members of the Armed Forces on these rights and standards, and a practical component to help them apply what they have learned.

Human Rights Offices

The Colombian Army has 24 brigades throughout the country. Each brigade, in turn, has three battalions.  Eight-five (85) human rights offices have been established in the last few years; that is, one per battalion.

The creation of these offices fulfills three important functions in terms of promoting fundamental human rights. They are a constant reminder of the existence of these rights and the obligation to promote them. They also are a source of regular information, which appears on bulletin boards or is made available through posters and other graphic media.   At  each battalion, these offices convey the message that violations are subject to sanction and  that an entity exists to make sure sanctions are applied.  These offices fulfill a third function, which is just as important, or perhaps even more so: they give civilians a place to file a complaint when their rights have been violated.  This fulfills two other functions as well:  it makes notification and rectification of the error more effective and gives members of the military the impression that their actions are being monitored permanently by society.

Mandatory Courses on Human Rights

The 600 officers who took last year’s course at the School of Weapons and Service for promotion from the rank of lieutenant to captain  or major spent a good portion of their time preparing to earn a diploma in human rights.  These are the same officers who direct civilian and military operations throughout most of Colombia, having been  equipped with the tools to demand proper conduct from the men and women under their command. 

Every three months, volunteer and professional soldiers; that is, those who confront the various armed groups on  regular basis,  must undergo a retraining period, 20% of which is dedicated to reinforcing their knowledge and understanding of human rights and international humanitarian standards.

The workshops and courses are given by representatives of the different public defense offices  and branches of the International Red Cross.  The support of these organizations has been fundamental to accomplishing the goals of this educational process.

Practical Component

Each brigade has a retraining route where soldiers up-date their know-how.   In each of these, there is a Human Rights Route where soldiers are required to apply their knowledge in practice.

The first Human Rights Route was built at Tolemaida, which is the main base for training anti-guerrilla battalions. Acceptance on the part of the members and soldiers who were required to complete the route led to the construction of similar routes for each brigade. 

Public Opinion

The way education in human rights has been approached within the Armed Forces has led to improved acceptance on the part of the public.   In a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Financial Institutions (ANIF), Gallup and the Porvenir Pensions Fund²,   the public responded as follows to the question: Is your opinion of the following individual or institution favorable or unfavorable?

 

 

 

Fuente: Encuesta Revista Cambio y Gallup. Edición de Octubre 25 de 1999

In addition to greater acceptance, there has been a substantial decline in the proportion of people who believe the Armed Forces violate human rights.  This is also reflected in studies by international organizations.  For example, the latest report by Human Rights Watch indicates only 2% of all human rights violations committed in Colombia during 1999 were attributed to government forces³. 

Governmental Support Agencies

The Action Plan for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Standards was established by the government, in conjunction with the Colombian Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as provided for in the Cooperation Agreement signed on May 21, 1999  between that office and the Vice President of Colombia.  The plan is designed to:

a) build a culture of respect for human rights;
 
b) consolidate institutional mechanisms for the protection of human rights and international humanitarian standards, and help make them known to the public;
 
c) continue and provide for more in-depth action to do away with impunity in matters concerning human rights and international humanitarian standards;
 
d) reduce the number of violations involving human rights and international humanitarian standards.
 

The Permanent National Commission on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Standards was created, by executive order, to draft policy on these matters and to give final approval, coherence and encouragement to the National Action Plan.  This is a commission at the highest level and is chaired by the Vice President of Colombia, in his capacity as Senior Human Rights Adviser. It has the power to decide policy, provide the impetus required to apply it, and ensure the necessary inter-institutional commitments.   The commission will be comprised  of the government ministers who have direct jurisdictional competence in matters of human rights and international humanitarian standards and by the High Commissioner for Peace.  It is required to meet at least once a month and the duties of its members may not be delegated. The commission may summon government agencies responsible for investigation and control, such as the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Public Defender,  acquiring government status in doing so. It will have a technical committee to address matters related to civil and political rights, as well as economic, social and cultural rights.  The technical committee will consist of the representatives of agencies with competence and responsibility in these matters.  The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner  for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross will be invited to take part in the committee as observers or advisers.  The purpose of this unprecedented mechanism to design and implement policy and the Action Plan is to enable the initiatives, proposals and recommendations developed by the technical committee to result in a clear course for all government actions  and programs.  Participation in the technical committee by representatives of international organizations will encourage the necessary attention, follow-up and adoption of recommendations made by international agencies and organizations..

Additional Insights and Observations

1. The statistics compiled by the Attorney General’s Office, which is a disciplinary rather than judicial authority, refer to complaints filed.  Under Colombian law, there is no penalty for filing unfounded complaints.
 
2. In the Colombian conflict, the subversives use every available means of struggle, including the “legal war”, which consists of filing false accusations against members of the Armed Forces.  There is overwhelming evidence of this practice, which will be the subject of another report.  It is important to keep the “legal war” in mind when gathering statistics on human rights violations.   Besides demoralizing members of the Armed Forces and conveying an inaccurate impression, the flood of false complaints often hides valid accusations  and  fails to elicit  contempt  within the Armed Forces for those who violate human rights. This is because there is always the suspicion they are being framed.  By echoing false accusations and failing to conduct an unbiased analysis or to publish retractions when accusations are proven false, human-rights NGOs have lost credibility.  This, in turn, has jeopardized their capacity to exert a positive influence on members of the military.  A few NGOs, such as the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross), are conscious of the situation and have adopted a more moderate approach.
 
3. By force of circumstance, there is an urban bias to opinion polls on violations of human rights and international humanitarian standards. Surveys are difficult to conduct in the countryside, where the full impact of the conflict is being felt.  Public opinion in rural areas is based on direct observation of the behavior of the military and that of organizations operating outside the law.  In these areas, the press, or indirect observation, has little impact on the way people think.   While it is impossible to speak of surveys with a limited margin of error, rural Colombia regards the the Army as a benefactor, even though it is critical of the military for not being everywhere at once and for sometimes being ineffective.
   

Complaints filed against the Armed Forces for human rights violations have decline by 98% in the last four years.  Education and the establishment of offices to promote human rights have proven to be effective in this respect.  While the public has yet to assimilate the progress fully,  there have been improvements, which should be  even more conclusive in the near future.

It is important to strengthen and continue the work that has been accomplished and the structure established in education on human rights and international humanitarian standards.  The military inducts new members every day, all of whom are required to dedicate a considerable portion of their training to instruction on this subject. Hopefully, the Action Plan for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Standards will offer genuine support to this effort.  The participation of justice and law enforcement agencies is essential if they want to generalize the progress made by the Armed Forces.

1 Procuraduría General de la Nación. IV Informe de Derechos Humanos.1995
2 ANIF-GALLUP-PORVENIR, Informe semanala. 2-7 de febrero. www.anif.com.co
3 Human Rights Watch, Informe Anual Sobre La Situación de los Derechos Humanos en el Mundo 2000. Sección de las Americas. Pg21

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