VZCZCXYZ0005
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #3982/01 3052157
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 312157Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5352
INFO RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1256
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ OCT 9751
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 6703
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA PRIORITY 2581
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 7396
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 4670
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCNDTA/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1953

UNCLAS BOGOTA 003982 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PTER PHUM EAID SNAR CO
SUBJECT: PEACE LABS: THE BOTTOM-UP APPROACH TO GOVERNANCE, 
PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT 
 
REF: A. BOGOTA 3582 B. 07 BOGOTA 8068 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (U)  The European Commission (EC), along with the GOC 
Accion Social's Peace and Development Program (PDP), helped 
found and support three "Peace Laboratories" in six different 
regions.  The "Peace Laboratories" focus on three key areas: 
supporting human rights and local peace initiatives, 
strengthening local institutions, and promoting sustainable 
development.  Total funding for the Peace Laboratories from 
2002-present is 113.8 million Euros (approximately $145 
million dollars), with 81%  from the EU and 19% from the GOC. 
 Implementation challenges include disconnects between local 
communities and GOC objectives, lack of security in conflict 
areas, and weak coordination between the Peace Laboratories 
and other GOC initiatives.  We have not provided any funding 
to the Peace Laboratories, but coordinate our activities in 
specific regions such as Medio Magdalena.  End Summary. 
 
Origins of Peace Laboratories 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) In 1995, ECOPETROL, the Petroleum Workers Union (USO), 
the Economic Society of Friends of the Country (SEAP), the 
Jesuit Center for Investigation and Education (CINEP) and the 
Catholic church set up the first "Peace Laboratory" in the 
Medio Magdalena region in response to the widespread violence 
that had plagued the area since the 1980s.  Peace Laboratory 
I was established to address the lack of state presence, 
protect human rights, broaden political space, and promote 
social and development programs.  Ana-Maria Mojica, European 
Commission Coordinator for the Peace Laboratories Program, 
told us the basic purpose was to help the local communities 
survive in the face of FARC, ELN and paramilitary disputes 
over control of territory and coca production.  Peace 
Laboratory I covers 30 municipalities in four 
departments--Cesar, Santander, Bolivar and Antioquia. 
 
¶3. (U)  Since the creation of the initial Peace Laboratory, 
the European Commission (EC) has started three new phases of 
"Peace Laboratories" in six different regions.  Peace 
Laboratory I (est. 2002) is a continuation of the initial 
Peace Laboratory in the Medio Magdalena.  Peace Laboratory II 
(est. 2004) operates in eastern Antioquia, Cauca/Narino 
border, and Norte de Santander.  Peace Laboratory III (est. 
2006) operates in Meta and Montes de Maria.  Project 
oversight falls mainly to the Peace and Development Program 
(PDP) of Accion Social and the European Commission. 
 
Peace Laboratories Focus, Themes and Regions 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The Peace Laboratories focus on three key areas: 1) 
supporting human rights and peace initiatives, 2) 
strengthening social services and institutions, and 3) 
promoting sustainable development.  They work with local 
institutions, specifically with PDP subsidiaries in each 
region, as well as the church.  In addition to the three 
priority areas, Peace Laboratory III also aims to support 
vulnerable groups, especially those disproportionately 
affected by the conflict such as indigenous, Afro-colombians, 
women, and youth.  Politically, Peace Laboratories III funds 
local and regional initiatives to enhance civil society 
participation in peace and development processes.  Working 
through implementing agents in each region--CORDEPAZ in Meta 
and Fundacion Red Desarrollo y Paz de los Montes de 
Maria--they also hold monthly meetings with civil society, 
the GOC and local governments, and non-governmental groups. 
 
 
Peace Laboratory Achievements 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Each of the three Peace Laboratories is at different 
stages of implementation.  Peace Laboratory I is in the final 
stages of handing over its programs to local implementers 
Peace Laboratory I has helped create eight humanitarian 
spaces--staffed with local human rights ombudsman--in the 30 
 
municipalities of Medio Magdalena.  The ombudsmen have 
attended to 1188 human rights petitions.  Peace Laboratory I 
also reports that it has helped 43,557 families in the 
region, planted 9085 hectares of land with alternative crops 
such as cocao, palma, cafe, fruits, and beans, created 4623 
new jobs, and provided microcredit to 1292 families.  It has 
also helped title 791 plots of land and is in the process of 
titling 4623 additional plots,  Through other small projects, 
Peace Laboratory I has also supported 119 community groups, 
provided infrastructure grants to 23 schools, and improved 
100 kilometers of roads.  Peace Laboratory II reports similar 
results; Peace Laboratory III is only now awarding contracts 
for its projects. 
 
Funding Sources 
--------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The majority of funding for the Peace Laboratories has 
come from the European Commission, but the GOC also provides 
funding via a World Bank loan.  To date, Mojica said, the 
Peace Laboratories projects have received and obligated 113.8 
million Euros ($145 million dollars), with the EC providing 
92 million Euros ($117 million dollars) and the GOC/World 
Bank providing 21.8 million Euros ($28 million dollars). 
Peace Laboratory I received 42.22 million Euros ($54 million 
dollars) of funding, and Peace Laboratory II has received 
41.4 million Euros ($53 million dollars). Peace Laboratory 
III began in 2006 with a handful of pilot programs, and is 
now selecting additional projects worth 30.2 million Euros 
($38.5 million dollars).  The Laboratories received 26 
million Euros ($33 million dollars) this year from the EC to 
continue the project and hopes to be awarded another 40 
million Euros ($51 million dollars) over the next two years. 
 
¶7. (U) These funds support individual projects and 
administrative costs.  Eighty percent of program funds have 
gone to sustainable development programs, with the remaining 
20 percent split between human rights/peace initiatives and 
governance/institution building.  UNDP also funded thematic 
advisors for Montes de Maria, while ECOPETROL funds an 
anti-youth recruitment program in conjunction with Peace 
Laboratory III in Meta. 
 
Obstacles to Implementation 
--------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) European Commission Director of Peace Laboratory III 
Johny Ariza told us the programs face implementation 
challenges in all regions, with conflicts between local, 
regional, and national priorities a constant issue.  Civil 
society and local government leaders often push for 
sustainable development projects and programs focused on the 
resolution of past conflicts.  These projects frequently 
clash with national policies.  Ariza told us that some of the 
most problematic disconnects are with the Ministries of 
Agriculture, Interior, and Mines over resource allocation 
and program prioritization.  The Agricultural Ministry 
frequently favors large, corporate investments over projects 
to assist peasant farmers.  Ariza said that since the Peace 
Laboratories are not part of a national strategy, it is 
difficult for Accion Social or the EC to exert much influence 
over the ministries. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Security also remains an ongoing concern in the six 
regions where the Peace Laboratories operate.  Libarado 
Valderrama, Director of Peace Laboratory I in Medio 
Magdalena, told us security remains a major problem in some 
areas, especially in southern Bolivar and Cesar Departments. 
In early 2008, a USAID Colombian contractor working on 
alternative development programs was killed by members of a 
criminal group in southern Bolivar.  Similar security 
challenges have hampered implementation in other regions, 
with threats coming mainly from the FARC and criminal groups. 
 
Coordination a Problem 
---------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) There is little cooperation between the Peace 
Laboratories and other Accion Social programs, such as the 
Center for Coordinated and Integrated Action (CCAI), 
 
explained Everardo Murillo Sanchez, Director of the Peace and 
Development Program (PDP) of Accion Social.  The Peace 
Laboratories and CCAI work in some of the same areas, but 
CCAI takes a top-down approach, while PDP is bottom-up.  The 
programs also have different mandates, with CCAI focused on 
establishing a state presence in conflictive areas, and PDP 
centered on development, human rights and reconciliation. 
Murillo said that due to the "militarization" of CCAI 
programs, he wants to keep a distance from the program.  He 
also rejected making coca eradication a requirement for 
participation in Peace Laboratory activities as it is done in 
other Accion Social programs, and sharply criticized USG and 
GOC coca spray programs. 
 
¶11. (U) Still, the Peace Laboratories have attempted limited, 
informal coordination with Accion Social and the USG in 
specific areas.  In Meta and Montes de Maria, CCAI and the 
Peace Laboratories are attempting some informal coordination. 
 Murillo said Father Rafael Castillo in Montes de Maria works 
closely with CCAI to help focus their programs.  Alvaro 
Balcazas, the civilian director of CCAI's main effort 
consolidation effort in Meta, told us he has met with the PDP 
coordinators for Meta to learn about each other's programs. 
The USG has not provided funding directly to the Peace 
Laboratories, but USAID is working to coordinate alternative 
development programs in the six regions, including the Medio 
Magdalena.  GOC Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo, told 
us that there is discussion within the GOC about 
consolidating the different consolidation, peace, 
development, and reconciliation programs into a cohesive 
national strategy, but that this remains in the early stages. 
BROWNFIELD