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Photo by Anton Darius on Unsplash

 

International Civil Society Organizations Call for the Colombian Government to Investigate Killing of Marco Rivadeneira and to Protect Human Rights Defenders March 25, 2020

 

We are grieved to learn of the death of Marco Rivadeneira, a community leader in Putumayo, Colombia. Rivadeneira was killed on March 19, 2020 by three armed men who entered a meeting where Rivadeneira and other community members were discussing voluntary eradication agreements between farmers and the Colombian government.

Rivadeneira was a human rights defender, a promoter of the peace accords, and a proponent of voluntary coca eradication efforts in his rural community. He was a leader of the Puerto Asis Campesino Association and a representative to the Guarantees Roundtable (a process intended to protect human rights defenders). Rivadeneira was also the representative of his region for the national network of 275 Colombian human rights groups known as the Coordinación Colombia Europa Estados Unidos. Coordinación and its members are close partners of many of our organizations.

This killing “underscores once again the lack of security guarantees for the work of human rights defenders and the lack of political will on the part of the Colombian government to dismantle the criminal structures and paramilitary organizations that continue to attack social leaders and those who defend peace in the countryside,” as Coordinación asserts. The Coordinación urges the government to act decisively to ensure that “enemies of peace” do not use the emergency situation created by the COVID-19 virus to continue to exterminate social leaders.

107 social leaders were assassinated in 2019, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights office in Colombia. One out of three human rights defenders killed in 2019 (documented by Frontline Defenders) was from Colombia. 2020 has started off with a wave of violence against them.

We urge the Colombian government to ensure this crime is effectively investigated and prosecuted and to communicate what steps are being taken to bring the perpetrators to justice. We also urge the Colombian government to provide effective guarantees for human rights defenders, social leaders, and those working to build peace in Colombia. This starts with the vigorous implementation of the 2016 peace accords in Colombia, including convoking the National Commission of Security Guarantees to create and implement a plan to protect communities and social leaders at risk.

We urge the U.S. government to vigorously support peace accord implementation in Colombia. This includes adhering to the drug policy chapter of the accord which mandates working closely with farming communities to voluntarily eradicate and replace coca with government assistance, rather than returning to ineffective and inhumane aerial spraying programs.

Colombia must not lose more leaders like Marco Rivadeneira who have worked so valiantly to bring human rights protections and peace to their communities.

Signed by:

AFL-CIO                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Amazon Watch                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Amnesty International U.S.A.
Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)                                                                                                                                                                                                  Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)                                                                                                                                                                                                                Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America                                                                                                                                                                                      Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Church World Service                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Colombia Grassroots Support                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        New Jersey Colombia Human Rights Committee                                                                                                                                                                                                              Institute for Policy Studies                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Drug Policy Project International                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Latin America Working Group (LAWG)                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office                                                                                                                                                                                                Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Movement for Peace in Colombia, New York                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Oxfam                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Presbyterian Peace Fellowship                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights                                                                                                                                                                                                                              United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries                                                                                                                                                                                              Washington Office on Latin America                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Witness for Peace Solidarity Collective

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Call on Congress to Reduce Military Aid to Colombia & Support Victims of Violence

As you will recall, last year the Congress made many positive changes in U.S. policy towards Colombia – changes that couldn’t have been made without committed activists like you.

Picking up the phone, demanding your voice be heard. With the foreign aid subcommittees in the House and Senate set to “mark up” their respective bills in mid-July, it’s time to call your representative and senators and urge them to stand by Colombia’s victims of violence.

Call your Representative and Senators today and ask them to support the continued reduction of military aid to Colombia in this year’s foreign aid bill. See below for a list of Illinois Representatives & Senators, foreign policy staffers, and their contact information. Also, if you don’t know who your members of Congress are go to:

http://www.congress.org/

and type in your zip code to find out.


When you call, ask to speak with the foreign policy aide

. If he or she is unavailable, please leave the following message on his or her


voicemail:


“I am a constituent calling to encourage Rep./Senator  ____________ to ensure that this year’s foreign aid bill stands by Colombia’s victims of violence. Last year, the Congress moved U.S. policy in the right direction by reducing military aid. Now, with credible reports linking the Colombian military to extrajudicial killings of civilians, Congress must continue to cut aid to Colombia. Instead of fueling war, the U.S. should be supporting Colombia’s victims of violence – small farmers trying to turn away from coca, refugees and the internally displaced, and Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities – in addition to the courageous efforts of human rights defenders.

 I urge you to share my concerns on U.S. aid to Colombia directly with the chair of the foreign operations subcommittee before the foreign aid bill goes to mark up.


Can I count on Rep/Senator ________ to communicate these concerns?

Please let me know. My phone number is ___________. Thank you.”

 

When

you

decide to take positive actions on behalf Colombia’s victims of violence, send us an email to let us know what you did.

We’ve already achieved some momentous changes in U.S. policy towards Colombia, but we’ve got to keep building on our successes – we must keep pushing that ball up the hill!

Your calls make a difference!  For more information, contact Danielle Wegman at

dwegman@crln.org

or 773-293-3680.


Illinois


Representatives



Bobby Rush (D-



1

st


)



– John Marshall,

202-225-4372



Jesse Jackson (D-



2

nd


) ­



– Charles Dujon

, 202-225-0773



Dan Lipinski (D-



3

rd)



– Keith Devereaux,

202-225-5701



Luis Gutierrez (D-4

th

)




Greg Staff

, 202-225-8203



Rahm Emanuel (D –



5

th


)



– Luis Jimenez,

202-225-4061



Peter Roskam (R



-6

th


)




Vicky Sanville,

202-225-4561



Danny Davis (D



-7

th


)



– Charles Brown,

202-225-5006



Melissa Bean (D-8

th

)



– J.D. Grom,

202-225-3711



Jan Schakowsky (D-9

th

)



– Nina Besser,

202-225-2111



Mark Kirk (R-10

th

)



– Rich Goldberg,

202-225-4835



Jerry Weller (R-11

th

)



– Alan Tennille,

202-225-3635



Jerry Costello (D-12

th

)



– Dan McCarthy,

202-225-5661



Judy Biggert (R-13

th

)



– Brian Petersen

, 202-225-3515



Bill Foster (D-14

th

)



– Peter Judge,

202-225-2976



Timothy Johnson (R-15

th

)



– Jennifer Mascho,

202-225-2371



Donald Manzullo (R-16

th

)



–  Nien Su,

202-225-5676



Phil Hare (D-17

th

)



– Kemi Jemilohun,





202-225-5905



Ray LaHood (R-18

th

)



– Diane Liesman,

202-225-6201

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Desde el 16 de mayo al 6 de junio del 2017, 89 sociedades civiles en el puerto de la ciudad de Buenaventua llamaron a una huelga, demandando que el gobierno colombiano les provee infraestructura básica (como sanitación, vivienda y agua limpia), servicios públicos (como la educación y servicios médicos) y la creación de trabajos estables. 80% de los residentes son de descendencia afro-colombiana quienes vive en pobreza sin ninguno de estos servicios públicos a pesar que el puerto de Buenaventura es el más importante de Colombia y genera billones de dólares en redito. Sin embargo, la privatización neoliberal del puerto ha causado una baja en los salarios y lo ha puesto en las manos de dueños privados. También la expansión del puerto a destruido manglares costales donde están los sitios de pesca. Esta huelga refleja los años de abandono del gobierno, falta de inversión y el racismo estructural.


La huelga estuvo muy organizada, disciplinada y pacífica. Los manifestantes también utilizaron bloqueos para parar el tráfico de camionetas hacia el puerto hasta que el gobierno negociara de buena fe con ellos. En vez de negociar, el gobierno mando la Unidad Antidisturbios de la Policía Nacional (ESMAD), la cual el 19 de mayo, utilizo gases, helipcopteros, bombas aturdidoras, tanques y armas de fuego contra el bloqueo pacifico que incluía niños, mujeres embarazadas, jóvenes y ancianos. En los siguientes días, ESMAD empezó a disparar gases lacrimógenos hacia las áreas residenciales de la población vulnerable cual viven en casas de madera sobre pilotes. Desafortunadamente, el gas entro fácilmente y asfixió a bebés y niños pequeños.

En una conferencia de prensa el 1 de junio, defensora de derechos humanos y miembro del Proceso de Comunidades Negras, Danelly Estupiñan afirmo, “nosotros rechazamos la respuesta militarizada del estado a un problema que puede ser resuelto por términos políticos, es como si una protesta social fuera un crimen.”


La población afrocolombiana siguió con su huelga y el gobierno finalmente tuvo que negociar con el comite de la huelga llegando a un acuerdo el 6 de junio. El miembro de consejo de CRLN, Eunice Escobar, quien es de Buenaventura, informó a CRLN sobre las negociaciones y reporto que el acuerdo tiene cuatro importantes componentes:

1. La creación de fondos especiales con recursos que son considerados patrimonio de la gente de Buenaventura, los cuales vienen del 50% de impuestos recaudados de compañias que se benefician de actividades relacionadas con el puerto mas $76 milliones de dólares que el gobierno recaudo de los créditos de bancos internacionales serán reguladas por una ley que pasara en julio.

2. una inicial inversión de COP de $1.500 millones de dólares será incorporada para la necesidad inmediata de infraestructura básica de agua limpia, atención médica, servicios de sanitación en áreas rurales y urbanas.

3. Un plan integral para la ciudad que incluye políticas, programas, reformas institucionales y participación comunitaria para hacer de Buenaventura un puerto para la gente y no solo para ganancias monetarias.

4. Una investigación, persecución y sentencia en contra de la policía antidisturbios que utilizo tácticas violentas para romper la protesta pacífica. Cargos criminales contra los participantes de la huelga han sido retirados y han asegurado la seguridad y protección de muchos lideres que guiaron los 22 días de huelga pacifica.

CRLN los mantendrá al tanto de como el gobierno colombiano mantiene sus promesas. Abajo se encuentran unos artículos sobre la huelga:


https://afrocolombian.org/2017/05/31/peaceful-strikers-are-still-being-a…

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I recently returned from a CRLN – Witness for Peace delegation to Colombia.  We spent ten days there, primarily in the City of Cali, but also traveling to Buenaventura, the major port on the Pacific Ocean, and to Trujillo, where a notorious massacre (actually a series of massacres) took place between 1986 and 1994, and to an indigenous farm in the North Cauca region of the country.  We met with Community representatives and labor organizations.  We toured the docks of Buenaventura and talked to the laborers there.  We visited a marginal community living in shacks sitting on poles over swampland.  It was an eye-opening experience.
There are a number of things to know about Colombia which I, and probably some of you, did not know or really appreciate.  For example, I was not aware of the size of the Afro-Colombian population.  Estimates of Afro-Colombians range from 10.5% to 18% to 20-30% of the approximately 44 million people in Colombia.  The Afro-Colombians, despite their numbers, are even more marginalized than the indigenous population.  Afro-Colombians are concentrated in the western and northern coasts of Colombia.  They live in the worst housing and do the hardest physical labor.  They have never really been given a fair share of the Country’s wealth.
The second matter of note is the pervasive impunity which exists in the country.  Murder is common and almost never punished.  The military and the paramilitary forces are responsible for a majority of the killings and forced disappearances, but the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the major guerilla group, also contributes its share.  Enemies are kidnapped, tortured and murdered.  Often the offenses are imaginary — such as attending a rally, signing a petition or even making the wrong comment (or no comment) to the wrong person.  It is hard to overstate the fact of forced disappearances.  Examples:  in Trujillo, a popular priest spoke up for the people; he was kidnapped, and when his body was subsequently recovered, it was without its hands, feet, head and testicles.  It is believed that the members were cut off while the priest was still alive.  In Trujillo also, village authorities who opposed Army murders were themselves kidnapped and taken to the Army’s local center of operations, where their bodies were allegedly cut up with a chainsaw by Army Major Alirio Antonio Urueña, a graduate of the School of the Americas.  Again, people organized a rally on March 6, 2008, against military and paramilitary violence.  Colombian President Uribe denounced the demonstrators as guerilla sympathizers.  A new paramilitary group, the

Aguilas Negras

(Black Eagles), announced threats against the organizers, several of whom were subsequently tortured and murdered.  Jesus Caballero Ariza, an instructor of human rights for his teachers union, disappeared on April 16, 2008.  His body was found in a mass grave two days later, with signs of torture, machete wounds and a shot to the head.  Of all labor union murders, three-quarters of them occur in Colombia.
We also saw the bad effects of Free Trade on Colombia.  In Buenaventura, the port facilities have been privatized.  The laborers work longer and receive less.  For example, sugar arrives on huge semi trucks and is unloaded by Afro-Colombian laborers, who load the sacks weighing about 120 pounds each onto pallets, which are then taken into a nearby warehouse.  It takes 6-8 laborers about an hour to unload the truck, for which they each receive about $1.00.  The are paid only while unloading, meaning that if there is not another truck, they must wait (unpaid) until there is another truck to unload.  We spoke to some of the laborers, and their anger and rage were obvious.   There may well be a civil disorder in Buenaventura during the next month or two.  Incidentally, even for a country noted for violence, Buenaventura was especially dangerous.  Outside our hotel, two men had an argument during the overnight, and one shot the other.  Police then came and clubbed some people and took away four men.  The fate of the four was unknown to us.
Cali itself was a scene of violence while we were there.  On Sunday just before midnight a car bomb went off in front of the Palace of Justice, destroying the front of the building and damaging several nearby structures.  Five people were killed, and another 26 were wounded.  At the time, we were at our hotel, which was a mile  or two away from the blast (but I still heard it).  The government immediately blamed FARC, but it was also reported that the public prosecutors were closing in on a drug conspiracy.  I am not aware that anyone has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Colombia is the largest recipient of U.S. aid, after Israel and Egypt.  Most of the money has gone for military aid to suppress the insurgency, because the Colombian government says, and our government apparently believes, that the insurgents are really narcotraffickers and terrorists.  The real conditions are extreme wealth amidst grinding poverty and government lawlessness against its own citizens.   It seems perverse, but all too typical, that where our government helps another country militarily and economically, the violence and lawlessness in that country increase.
Complicating all of this is the narcotics problem.  Coca production and eradication, and the enormous sums of money to be made by the traffickers, are corrupting influences throughout the country.  The FARC taxes and controls the narcotics traffic, as do the military and paramilitary forces, each within the areas of their influence.  Because the cocaine trade is illegal, it is difficult to determine its precise size, but many people have become very wealthy.  Also, because of the illegality, the acts of the traffickers are also unlawful.  Human rights activists charge that the former paramilitary forces, which have been officially disbanded, have become narcotics protectors and enforcers, albeit in a different guise, such as the Black Eagles noted above.  FARC also is involved in the trade, although apparently in a lesser quantity.
In Africa there is an old proverb that when elephants fight, it is the grass which gets trampled.  Say a prayer or two for the people, the grass of Colombia.  The situation is intractable, and probably will not change unless the United States changes its drug policy and until some sense of justice can come to the people of that poor unfortunate country.

Frank Schneider
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Today a national and international campaign for the protection of Colombia’s human rights defenders will be launched in Bogotá. In Colombia, being a human rights defender is a dangerous, often deadly job and the situation is only getting worse. Those working on issues ranging from displacement to the rights of women, Afro-Colombians, the indigenous and other victims of the armed conflict are threatened, attacked, stigmatized, and put under illegal surveillance on a daily basis. In response to this situation over 200 organizations across the globe, including CRLN, have joined the United States Office on Colombia to help develop an international campaign for the Right to Defend Human Rights.

The Campaign will be launched today by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, in Bogotá. Click “Read More” for more details.

The Campaign has five policy goals it will be urging the Colombian government to enact over the next year. These are:



  1. End impunity for violations against human rights defenders



  2. End the misuse of state intelligence



  3. End systematic stigmatization



  4. End unfounded criminal proceedings



  5. Structurally improve the protection programs for people at risk

To read more about the Campaign, it’s declaration and recommendations please go to

http://www.usofficeoncolombia.com/

.

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General Assembly Council100 Witherspoon St

Louisville KY 40202

Tel 502-569-5315

Fax 502-569-8039

www.pcusa.org

The 218th General Assembly approved Item 11-18:


Report on Human Rights in Colombia

From the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy and the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program

The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) and the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program (PPP) recommend that the 218th General Assembly (2008) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) do the following:

1. Call on the members and congregations of the PC(USA) to study the situation in Colombia, diligently pray for the work of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, and advocate with senators, representatives, and the president of the United States to lay down the weapons of violence and support the nonviolent struggle of the churches and civil society of Colombia and those in the U.S. who stand beside Colombians to end the violence by:

  • Withdrawing military support to the government of Colombia.

 

  • Reorienting U.S. policies toward Colombia in such a way as to encourage a more equitable distribution of that country’s immense wealth, and to protect the rights of groups threatened by the interests of large corporations, including indigenous people, Afro-Colombians, labor leaders, human rights workers, and many campesinos.

 

  • Ending the aerial fumigation for coca crops and focusing on programs that provide higher levels of  support for farmers to convert to alternative crops and that reduce demand for drugs in the United States.

 

  • Transferring U.S. support to the growing civil society committed to democracy and nonviolence.

 

  •  Providing aid to strengthen health care, education, and nutrition, especially among the displaced.

 

  •  Increasing aid for resettlement of displaced persons in their homelands.

 

  •  Channeling aid through nongovernmental organizations.

 

  • Supporting the commendable work of the United Nations in Colombia, especially the work of the high commissioner of refugees with internal refuges, displaced women, and threatened indigenous communities.

 

  •  Ratifying and urging Colombia to also ratify, the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.

 

2.  Direct the World Mission’s ministry area, in consultation with the appropriate entities of the General Assembly Council (GAC) and the Office of the General Assembly (OGA), to continue to monitor the situation in Colombia, and to keep the whole church abreast of these findings; and to offer advice and counsel, as needed, about how this denomination can continue to support the peacekeeping efforts of our partners in Colombia.

3.  Direct the Presbyterian Washington Office (PWO) to continue to educate the members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and their representatives in the Congress of the United States of America about the effect of American legislation on the lives of individual Colombian citizens with particular emphasis on Plan Colombia and the Free Trade Agreement.

4.  Direct the Presbyterian United Nations Office (PUNO) to continue to represent the concerns of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to the committees and delegates of the United Nations.

5.  Affirm and further encourage the work of the Accompaniment Program of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that watches over and shadows vulnerable and threatened Colombia citizens as they seek justice for their most threatened and needy population.

6. Direct the appropriate entities of the General Assembly Council (GAC), in consultation with the Office of the General Assembly (OGA), to continue to monitor and address human rights violations in the United States, and in other nations brought to their attention by the members of this denomination and/or the partner churches.


7. Direct the Stated Clerk to write to the members of Congress of the United States of America, urging them not to ratify the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia, which would have grave consequences for workers, indigenous and Afro-Colombian populations, and the environment.

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While there is not currently a specific bill on Colombia currently in Congress, CRLN and our partners continue to educate Members of Congress about the issues facing the country. See below for some good resources that you too can use when talking to your representatives.


Recent Congressional Dear Colleague Letter on Colombia Policy


PC(USA) General Assembly Report on Human Rights in Colombia


United States Office on Colombia


Center for International Policy’s Colombia Program


International Campaign for the Right to Defend Human Rights


US and Colombia Sign Military Base Agreement

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Face the Displaced

Colombia: Our Hemisphere’s Hidden Humanitarian Crisis

With over four million Colombians forcibly displaced from their homes by a debilitating war, Colombia is now the second worst internal displacement crisis in the world.

We would like to invite you, to help CRLN and people across the country do something about it.

On April 16-19, tens of thousands across the U.S. and Colombia will participate in this year’s Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia to call for a much-needed shift in U.S. policies toward the war-torn country.  Please join us.  Find out what you can do to by clicking “Read More.”

As you know,

the U.S. has for too long been part of Colombia’s problem, not the solution.

U.S. policy towards Colombia has been dominated by massive military aid, futile fumigations, and now a proposed NAFTA-style free trade agreement.  In this moment of changing the way things are done in Washington, it’s our chance to call on President Obama to chart a new path with Colombia–one that halts the displacement, supports victims of violence, and opens avenues to peace.

To boost awareness of Colombia’s crisis and amplify the call for policy change, we are joining a dozen other national organizations in launching the fifth annual

Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia.

In March, hundreds of universities, faith communities, and organizations will be assembling thousands of printed faces of Colombia’s displaced people to be later displayed in poignant, eye-catching displays.  While displaced people’s faces make appearances in numerous cities and towns in April, congregations across the country will be praying for peace in Colombia-focused worship services.  The anticipated tens of thousands of participants will have the opportunity to send messages to the Obama Administration asking for policy changes needed to make peace in Colombia possible.

Here’s how you can get involved:


1.

Dedicate a worship service to Colombia in April.

On the weekend of

April 16-19,

hundreds of faith communities in the U.S. and Colombia will incorporate Colombia into the weekly worship service to raise awareness of the spiraling displacement and pray for peace.  Please suggest to your faith community leaders this week that a worship service focuses on Colombia.  We will provide you with a packet of sample sermons, prayers, background info, bulletin inserts, and other materials to help bring this critical Colombia focus.

 


 

2.

Host a “Face the Displaced” party in March.

Throughout the month, student, church, and community groups will be gathering to print and assemble thousands of faces of those currently displaced in Colombia.  Through their portraits and accompanying statements, featured Colombians will tell participants the oft-tragic and oft-inspiring stories of their struggles to cope with displacement.  Please ask your student club, church group, or community organization to consider doing a “Face the Displaced” party in March.  We will provide you with a packet of faces, stories, instructions, factsheets, and other helpful materials.

Host your own event in March

or join CRLN and our Chicago partners for a workshop on

April 16th, 4-6pm at 8th Day Center for Justice.


3.

Display the displaced in a public demonstration in April.

Thousands of faces of Colombia’s displaced, upon being assembled in “Face the Displaced” parties, will be displayed in moving public demonstrations across the country in April.  Please ask your student group, congregation, or community organization to consider setting up a public display.  We will provide faces assembled in your area, in addition to tips on pulling off an effective display/demonstration.  After April, the faces of the displaced will all be sent to Washington, D.C. for one final, massive display and to be presented in person to representatives of the Obama Administration.  Join us at

Federal Plaza

on

April 19th, 11:30am-2pm

to raise awareness here in Chicago!


4.     National Call in Day, April 19th.

Join people all over the country in calling Congress to demand a new direction in US-Colombia foreign policy. We are especially asking our Members of Congress to co-sponsor

HRes 1224

, which protects the rights of Afro-Colombians and Indigenous peoples.

Click

here

for Witness for Peace’s Packet of instructions and resources for Days of Prayer and Action.

I hope you’ll consider standing with millions of displaced Colombians in this growing effort to bring meaningful U.S. policy change.  Please let me know your thoughts.  I am happy to provide the materials mentioned above and answer any questions you may have.  Email me at

earmstrong@crln.org

for more information.

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Introduced on March 25 by Hank Johnson (GA), this resolution recognizes the work that the Colombian Constitutional Court has done for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Colombia, specifically Afro-Colombians, Indigenous peoples, and women.

The Resolution succinctly sums up the situation of Colombia’s nearly 4 million displaced people, and recognizes that Afro-Colombians, indigenous, and women are disproportionately displaced and often face unique challenges. The Constitutional Court in Colombia has called on the government multiple times to offer protection to displaced communities and continues to be at the forefront of advocating for these communities. The Resolution supports those Court decisions and calls on the Colombian government to fulfill its role in protecting displaced communities.


Current Illinois Co-sponsors

Danny K Davis (D-7)

Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-2)

Bobby Rush (D-1)

Jan Schakowsky (D-9)

Phil Hare (D-17)

Mike Quigley (D-5)


For More Information

For the full text of the resolution and a full list of co-sponsors,

click here

Latin America Working Group’s Alert on HRes 1224

Support IDPs in Colombia by participating in

Days of Prayer and Action.

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CRLN is pleased to support the work of partner organizations with funds we will raise through our annual bike-a-thon, Pedal for Peace, which will take place on Sunday, Sept. 22, 1:30 – 4:30.  This week we focus on Concern America.

Concern America believes that the transformation of impoverished communities comes from engaging local members in the solutions to their problems.  Concern America’s Field Team Members not only train local people to become health promoter practitioners in their own communities, they also visit the villagesto assist in providing health consults.  In addition, they meet with community members to discuss the mutual support between the communities and their health promoter practitioners and to develop solutions to improve the health conditions in the community. For more information on Pedal for Peace Visit our Upcoming Events Section.

Here is a field report from a Concern America Field Team Member:


“When we visited Juana’s village, I was impressed to see the amazing support from the rest of the community. When we arrived, people immediately came to the boat to unload all of the equipment, medicines, etc. In the meeting with the community, the president was very supportive and very appreciative of Juana’s work, and also expressed interest in having another member to be trained to work alongside her.


This support was also evident during the consult and made a huge difference in the effectiveness of the work. First, the clinic days had a really high turnout, which shows not only the strong organization that was done beforehand but also the faith that people have in the Practitioner’s work. In addition to the general consult, we did a dental campaign and a deworming campaign, with over 120 children participating in each (which actually tapped us out of some supplies!) Another reason we were able to 
accomplish so much was Luzmila, the treasurer of Juana’s health committee, who really helped with the flow of things. It was a very positive experience and I was particularly excited to see how the community valued the health program and Practitioners and the importance of including women in this work.”

For more information about Pedal for Peace, click on Pedal for Peace bike-a-thon under “Upcoming events” on CRLN’s home page.

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