VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHZP #1042 1701848
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191848Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY PANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0653
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 2597
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0286
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0654
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS PANAMA 001042 

SIPDIS 

SENSITIVE 

SIPDIS 

E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV PM CO
SUBJECT: PANAMA:  WHITE PAPER LAYS OUT POLICY ON COLOMBIAN 
REFUGEES 

------- 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
¶1. (U)  Panama's MFA and Council for Public Security and 
National Defense (CSPDN) separately provided Embassy Panama a 
copy of the GOP's white paper on "Displaced Colombians on the 
Border" in March.  Regarding Colombian refugees, this paper 
states: 

-- Panama has an obligation to guard its border from illegal 
intruders; 
-- The primary responsibility for Colombian refugees lies 
with the GOC; 
-- Colombian refugees will not be granted legal refugee 
status in accordance with   international conventions because 
persecution is perpetuated by guerillas, not the GOC; 
-- The GOP has an obligation to grant displaced populations 
temporary humanitarian protection; 
-- Repatriation of Colombian citizens is the preferred 
solution (when it is safe to do so). 

Post will provide WHA/CEN and WHA/AND with a Spanish language 
copy of this white paper. 

¶2. (U)  Panama recognizes the need for temporary humanitarian 
assistance for Colombian refugees.  However, the GOP 
maintains a position that the Refugee Treaty of 1951 and its 
1967 protocol cannot be applied to the current Colombian 
refugee situation because these refugees are fleeing from 
persecution at the hands of guerilla fighters-- not the 
Colombian government.  The GOP says that the GOC is a 
legitimate democracy, and were it to characterize the 
guerilla groups as "armed actors," Panama would be conferring 
legitimacy and granting belligerent status to these groups. 

¶3. (U) Panama, against the wishes of the UN High Commission 
on Refugees (UNHCR), is unwilling to grant Colombian refugees 
automatic and indiscriminate legal refugee status.   The GOP 
complains that it lacks the resources to indefinitely provide 
for these people and that more multilateral action should be 
taken to confront this problem.  Since these refugees are the 
product of a "temporary and localized problem" according to 
the GOP, the GOP should not be obligated to do more than 
provide temporary humanitarian assistance.  They maintain the 
stance that the UN should emphasize the "principle of 
prevention" in dealing with this situation.  They also view 
repatriation of Colombian refugees as the preferred solution. 

¶4. (SBU) Comment: The GOP's decision to not grant refugee 
status based on guerilla warfare is incorrect, unfounded, and 
is out of line with the 1951 Refugee Convention.  It does not 
matter that the violence is perpetuated by guerillas; what 
matters is that these refugees have a legitimate fear of 
persecution and the Government of Colombia is unable to 
provide adequate protection.  Panama's legalistic maneuvering 
and wordplay have already chilled its relationship with 
UNHCR.  Embassy, with the assistance of the Regional Refugee 
Coordinator resident in Bogota, has strived to bring together 
the GOP, UNHCR, and IOM for a meeting of the minds.  This 
white paper indicates, however, that a gap between Panamanian 
practices and international norms will persist.  Embassy and 
the Regional Refugee Coordinator will continue to raise our 
concerns with the GOP. 
EATON 

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