VZCZCXYZ0009
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #2526/01 2232339
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 112339Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0127
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 9072
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 2585
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ AUG LIMA 7886
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 4010
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 8583
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4947
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUCNFB/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS BOGOTA 002526 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PTER KJUS PREL CO
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA MOVES TO EXPEDITE IDENTIFICATION OF 
VICTIMS OF DISAPPEARANCES 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (U) Summary.  The GOC presented on August 5 a new state 
policy aimed at improving efforts to identify the remains of 
victims of forced disappearances.  The policy will dedicate 
$48.3 million in investment and operations over five years, 
which is projected to increase the GOC's capacity for genetic 
identification by 253 percent.  GOC officials hope this new 
push at inter-agency cooperation will resolve more than 
24,000 cases by 2014.  Officials admitted difficulty in 
assessing the scope of the problem, noting that half of the 
cadavers identified are of persons not previously reported 
missing.  Queried by the diplomatic corps about Colombia's 
adhesion to the UN Convention on Forced Disappearances, the 
GOC stated its intention to seek congressional ratification 
next year.  End summary. 
 
A NEW STATE POLICY ON DISAPPEARANCES 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) On August 6, Vice Foreign Minister for Multilateral 
Affairs Adriana Mejia and Presidential Human Rights Program 
Director Carlos Franco unveiled a new document issued by the 
National Council for Economic and Social Policy (CONPES), the 
Executive's highest body for issuing formal economic and 
social policy.  Franco called forced disappearances "the most 
barbaric human rights abuse" that in Colombia has many 
causes:  paramilitary violence, competition among drug 
traffickers, political intrigue, silencing of witnesses, 
property disputes, and actions by state security forces. 
Franco lauded a sound legal and institutional foundation for 
Colombia's efforts to identify victims, but admitted that 
poor coordination among agencies has resulted in sluggish 
results--for example, just 2,400 identifications despite more 
24,000 reports of missing persons.  Franco also noted the 
difficulty in estimating the total number of victims, as half 
of those identified did not appear in the National Registry 
of Disappeared Persons. 
 
¶3. (U) Known as CONPES No. 3590, the policy seeks to 
strengthen and consolidate existing databases and mechanisms 
across seven government entities with operational 
responsibilities for preventing forced disappearances and 
identifying the remains of victims.  The policy's objective 
is to reduce the processing time of cases and increase the 
number of cases in which the facts of the murder and possible 
suspects are established.  The plan calls for an immediate 
increase in funding for operations ($2 million) and 
investment in infrastructure ($3.7 million) in 2009. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Privately, GOC officials told us that, despite the 
commitment to fund the effort, there remained a substantial 
need for international funding.  One official lamented cuts 
by some donors to these programs in recent years.  (Note: 
The Department of Justice technical assistance programs to 
the Prosecutor General's Office include assistance in the 
areas of forced disappearance investigations, exhumation, and 
identification of victims remains.) 
 
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS (EJEs) 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) In response to the presentation, a European ambassador 
queried about the tendency of murders at the hands of state 
security forces, citing NGO reports of increased 
disappearances and EJEs.  Franco said the available credible 
data suggested that such cases were going down and that NGO 
reports to the contrary failed to supply convincing evidence. 
 
UN CONVENTION ON MISSING PERSONS 
-------------------------------- 
¶6. (U) Queried by the GOC's willingness to ratify the UN's 
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons 
from Enforced Disappearance (signed by Colombia in September 
2007), Franco said the Executive planned to submit the 
 
necessary legislation for ratification to the Colombian 
Congress in 2010.  He added, however, that Colombia was 
already in full compliance with the treaty. 
Brownfield