Plan Colombia

EDM number 965 in 1999-00, proposed by Rudi Vis on 12/07/2000.

That this House is concerned about the Government's plans to make a substantial financial contribution to Plan Colombia; notes that Plan Colombia will use most of the aid to increase military strength in Colombia; further notes that the funds will not be used solely to combat drugs trafficking, but to eliminate insurgency groups, that the Plan makes little provision for dismantling the real perpetrators of terror in Colombia, the paramilitary groups, and that the Plan will escalate the internal war and bring to an end the Colombian Government's peace negotiations with the FARC and the ELN; further notes that, as one of the conditions for receiving aid, Colombia will be obliged to use untested chemicals to indiscriminately spray areas of drugs cultivation with unpredictable effects on people and Amazonian biodiversity; notes that only a minor part of the aid will be spent on tackling poverty, land conversion and redistribution, healthcare, education, housing, social justice and democracy which are at the root of Colombia's difficulties and 40-year civil war; notes that ending Colombia's drugs trade can only be achieved by rebuilding the country's social infrastructure on fair and democratic foundations through investment in social projects and dialogue with all actors in Colombian society, including the opposition and that taking a military approach will simply increase the violence, human rights violations, displacements of civilians and cause massive environmental damage; and believes that Colombia will be left with a vastly increased international debt, the consequent imposition of structural adjustment programmes and exacerbated social hardships.

This motion has been signed by a total of 36 MPs.