MRS > Office of Migration & Refugee Policy > Mission to Ecuador and Colombia
Statement of Most Reverend Thomas Wenski
Auxiliary Bishop of Miami
Chairman, United States Conference of Catholic Bishop's Committee on Migration
June 3, 2003
Between May 4 and May 11, Bishop John Manz, auxiliary bishop of Chicago and member of the USCCB Committee on Migration, and I traveled to Ecuador and Colombia to better understand the plight of Colombians displaced from their homes in recent years because of the ongoing violent conflict in Colombia. Our purpose was to ascertain the conditions under which Colombian refugees and the internally displaced live, the level and focus of humanitarian and development assistance they are receiving, and options for providing them durable solutions to their situations.
On our mission we found the most dire humanitarian crisis in the Western hemisphere, a crisis which has been ongoing for decades and which has caused unspeakable suffering, pain, and even death to an untold number of innocent Colombians.
Since 1985, nearly three million Colombians have been displaced by the civil war. More recently, the rate of displacement has increased, primarily due to increased and widespread violence against civilians by paramilitary, guerilla, and to a lesser degree, State security forces. This situation has been exacerbated under the U.S.-supported Plan Colombia initiated in 2000 and followed by the U.S. Andean Regional Initiative (ARI). Plan Colombia and the ARI have a strong emphasis on anti-narcotic efforts, with funding primarily dedicated to military aid and coca eradication through widespread fumigation efforts. Recent U.S. legislation expanded the use of military aid in Colombia beyond anti-drug activities to include anti-insurgency efforts and seriously undermined the human rights certification process on U.S. military aid. Military assistance to Colombia has increased dramatically, while efforts to eliminate coca production through the use of intensive fumigation in rural regions has driven increasing numbers of Colombian farmers and others from their homes.
According to estimates by non-governmental organizations in country, over 400,000 persons were displaced from their homes in 2002. From July 2002 to October 2002, nearly 150,000 people were displaced, a 67 percent increase since the first three months of 2002. In nations surrounding Colombia, more and more Colombians are seeking refuge from the conflict. During the first half of 2002, more than 37,000 Columbians fled to Ecuador alone.
In order to more adequately respond to the plight of the displaced in both Colombia and surrounding regions, we offer the following recommendations:
- Resettlement should be made a more viable option for Colombians.
The United Nations and the U.S. government should make more available resettlement in the United States as a viable option for Colombians in Ecuador and Costa Rica. The United Nations and the United States should call upon the governments of Venezuela and Panama to provide safe haven to Colombians fleeing fighting in border regions.
- Vulnerable groups should be considered for resettlement.
The U.S. government should consider for resettlement vulnerable Colombian groups in Ecuador, including women-at-risk (especially head of households), unaccompanied minors, and religious workers (including ministers).
- Individualized security assessments of Colombian refugees should be made.
Heretofore, the United States would not consider the resettlement of any refugee who may have aided or abetted, in the assessment of the U.S. government, possible terrorist organizations. This policy has not taken into account the situation of Colombian refugees, who have in many cases been coerced by guerilla and paramilitary groups, at the risk of their lives, to make payments to support their efforts. (known as "vacuna" i.e. coerced protection money) Many of these individuals are not a threat to U.S. security and should be considered for the U.S. program. We urge a change in this blanket policy and, once such a change has been made, reassessments of cases denied because of it.
- Better use of local NGOs should be made to identify and refer Colombian refugees.
The United Nations and the United States should build the infrastructure for the consideration of their cases, including the consideration of NGO referrals and the use of such groups to facilitate processing of refugees. The Catholic Church in both Colombia and Ecuador is appropriately positioned to identify cases for resettlement.
- In-country processing should be considered for special groups within Colombia.
Emergency cases of Colombians who are at risk in Colombia should be considered within Colombia. A program which is discreet and considers those cases which require immediate evacuation would provide a necessary avenue for Colombians in danger within Colombia.
- Temporary Protected Status should be granted Colombians in the United States.
Colombians in the United States should be granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) until such time as the conflict in Colombia is over. With an increase in the intensity of the conflict, it would further destabilize conditions in the country to return Colombians home at this time.
- U.S. assistance to the internally displaced and refugees should be increased.
Only 20 percent of U.S. assistance to Colombia is targeted for the humanitarian crisis, the remainder earmarked for military assistance. Of the 20 percent, the majority of the funds are directed toward alternative development, leaving little for direct emergency aid, such as food, clothing, and shelter of large numbers of displaced Colombians. The Colombian government provides a minimum of three months of assistance to displaced families which, under special circumstances, can be extended three additional months. Recent changes in the Colombian government's approach to displacement emphasizes return of displaced communities to their former homes. However, there are increasing reports of families and communities being pressured to return to areas which are not safe and/or do not have the infrastructure, jobs, or basic necessities to support them.
These recommendations focus upon the plight of the displaced and refugees. We reaffirm the call made by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in earlier statements that the United States should renew efforts to support a negotiated peace process in Colombia and end aerial fumigation, one of the additional causes of the most recent displacement throughout the nation.
The armed conflict in Colombia has lasted 40 years, with millions displaced from their homes and an untold number killed. Until peace is achieved, we ask the U.S. government to increase efforts to provide protection to Colombian refugees and internally displaced.