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Over the past 12 years, I have traveled 8 times to Colombia. Most recently, Congressman George Miller and I spent a week in Colombia at the end of August reviewing the status of labor rights and key human rights issues as part of a delegation sponsored by the Washington Office on Latin America.  Because of my long involvement with Colombia, I have come to love and admire its people, whose courage and compassion can only inspire hope in Colombia’s future.  Every time I go to Colombia, I return excited by Colombia’s incredible potential for greatness and change, and deeply disturbed by the continuing violence and hardship that characterize daily life for too many Colombians, especially those who live in rural Colombia or marginalized urban settings, or who advocate for human rights and social justice.

We all know the statistics because Colombians themselves have documented their reality so well. A half-century of conflict has claimed more than 220,000 lives, and even while the country struggles to negotiate an end to the war, the number of victims continues to climb. Human rights activists in Colombia experience grave danger from a variety of sources: rebels, paramilitaries, powerful vested interests, and even state powers.  People trying to return to their land under President Santos’ landmark Victims and Land Restitution Law face threats, abuse, violence and even death. And, against the backdrop of on-going peace negotiations, Colombia struggles to create a system of transitional justice that would allow the war to end and help heal society’s deep wounds.  It seems to me that we have plenty to talk about today. 

Under the Santos government, we have seen Colombia unveil several initiatives, which, if fully and faithfully implemented, could address some of its most difficult problems. First is President Santos’ historic Victims and Land Restitution Law, signed in 2011.   Another is the U.S.-Colombia Labor Action Plan, signed by Presidents Obama and Santos in April 2011, which was needed for the successful passage of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.  In addition, the Santos Administration sponsored and the Colombian Congress approved two major but problematic laws that affect how Colombia will address justice and human rights, now and in the future, namely Framework for Peace, and the changes to the jurisdiction of military justice, known as the fuero militar. Last night, the Colombian Constitutional Court struck down this law on procedural grounds, and we will have to watch over the coming days what path the government chooses to follow regarding this controversial matter. And finally, this leads me to one of the most important and courageous initiatives underway in Colombia: the on-going negotiations between the Government and the FARC to end 50 years of conflict and secure a just and lasting peace. 

Each of these initiatives seeks to address historic wrongs that have resulted in violence, major human rights crimes and humanitarian crises.  Each faces daunting challenges.  And each raises new questions about how Colombia will address peace, justice, respect for human rights, reparations for victims of violence, development, equity, and reconciliation.  Many promises have been made or implied; but the proof is in how these initiatives move forward, how they are implemented, and whether they change for the better the reality on the ground, especially for those who have been the victims of violence, historic prejudice and discrimination. Having just returned from a fact-finding trip looking at labor rights, I can say with some confidence that there is a great distance between the promises made under the Labor Action Plan, the rhetoric employed by both the U.S. and Colombian governments, and the difficult and often violent reality that daily confronts so many Colombian workers. 

The same can be said for land rights advocates and victims’ rights leaders, who face increased threats and violence as the Victims and Land Restitution Law is applied over the next decade. And the same is true for Colombia’s most vulnerable populations, in particular its diverse indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian communities. 

I would also like to announce that last night the Government of Colombia and the thousands of indigenous peoples who have been protesting over the past week also reached a historic agreement.  I want to express my appreciation to the indigenous leaders and the Minister of Interior for reaching this agreement.  I especially want to mention the important roles played by the Colombian Human Rights Ombudsman and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Representative in Colombia for their role in helping reduce tensions and mediate and facilitate these negotiations that resulted in these accords.  For those who have been following this situation, it’s my understanding that the seven law enforcement officers held by the “Minga” and the 34 indigenous protesters who were held by the police have all been released.

I’ve never met a Colombian who doesn’t long for peace.  But peace – let alone a just and lasting peace – is never easy. Reconciliation is not easy.  And its success will rely on the very individuals and communities that have been most victimized by the war and its violence. Quite frankly, war and violence are easy.  Ending them – with the FARC and ultimately with the ELN – are essential to Colombia’s prosperity and development.  But development, prosperity and yes, peace, will remain elusive as long as the neo-paramilitaries, criminal networks and the vested local and regional interests they benefit continue to flourish and exert de facto control over large areas of Colombia through violence and the threat of violence. 

I believe that one day we will see a more peaceful, socially just, strong Colombia. But I caution that now is not the time for half-measures, for symbolic laws, and unfulfilled promises. Now is the time to come together, to think creatively and act affirmatively – so that day arrives sooner rather than later.