International Crisis Group - Colombia

http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/latin-america-caribbean/andes/colombia/034-colombia-president-santoss-conflict-resolution-opportunity.aspx

Colombia: President Santos’s Conflict Resolution Opportunity

Latin America Report N°34 13 Oct 2010

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

President Juan Manuel Santos, in office since 7 August 2010, has an opportunity to end Colombia’s generations of armed conflict by building on but adjusting and substantially broadening the strategy followed for eight years by his predecessor. Alvaro Uribe’s predominantly military approach – the “democratic security policy” – did produce important security gains, but Colombia remains plagued by new illegal armed groups (NIAGs) and other criminal actors. By concentrating mainly on fighting the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), it neglected other sources of violence and, most importantly, failed to address underlying causes of the conflict. Santos, who was elected with the largest majority in history, should use his political capital to implement a more integrated conflict resolution strategy that advances institutional and structural reforms needed to address illegality and impunity, expand access to services and tackle issues of land and victims’ rights.

FARC and ELN have been weakened significantly but are not defeated. FARC, which still has some 8,000 to 10,000 combatants, has partly adapted to the heavy military pressure and has forged alliances with NIAGs, exposing unprotected civilians – mainly indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities – to mounting violence. The armed forces have been tainted by allegations of thousands of extrajudicial executions and other violations of human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL), due in part to the single-minded pursuit of battlefield successes. With diplomatic ties at a nadir with Venezuela, the Uribe government was unable to control cross-border movements of illegal armed groups, weapons and drugs. Despite costly counter-drug efforts, Colombia has the largest number of hectares under coca cultivation in the world and is the origin of a significant share of global cocaine production.