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SECRETARY GENERAL RATIFIES SUPPORT FOR OAS MISSION
TO SUPPORT COLOMBIAN PEACE PROCESS

MEDELLIN, Colombia—The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, today ratified the hemispheric body’s decision to maintain and strengthen its Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia, following a visit to two neighborhoods in northeastern Medellín that have felt the impact of armed violence in past decades.

Responding to an invitation by Mayor Sergio Fajardo Valderrama, Insulza visited this city, the capital of the department of Antioquia, to get a firsthand look at some results of the OAS-backed plan to reintegrate former members of armed groups into society. Secretary General Insulza met with some of those who had returned to a life of legal citizenship, thanks to this city’s Peace and Reconciliation Program.

“The OAS has made the right decision in supporting this process,” Insulza said, adding that “we need to put more resources toward its development, without losing sight of the obstacles and problems that exist in this type of a process. Our mandate has to do with disarmament, with human rights and with reintegration. I was particularly interested in getting an on-site look at what happens in this environment, and I leave without any doubt that we are on the right path in deciding to move ahead with support for this program.”

After a walk through the streets of Medellín, Insulza and Mayor Fajardo, accompanied by high-level OAS officials, traveled by train and cable car from the Santo Domingo neighborhood to the Botanical Garden, where they met with more than 100 young people who had left armed paramilitary groups at the urging of the current city administration, which intensified reintegration plans with OAS support.

Insulza listened to testimonials of several former paramilitary fighters who talked about the change in their lives once they abandoned armed violence, under the protection of reintegration policies. All those who spoke said they were convinced that violence was not the way to bring about change, talked about the value of being able to return to their families and communities, and asked the OAS Secretary General to continue the policy of supporting peace and reconciliation programs. Insulza said the continuation of the OAS Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia had never been in doubt, adding that his visit reaffirmed the determination of the OAS to continue its efforts in this regard.

Insulza cited Medellín as “an example, a paradigm, due to its history of overcoming violence and to the intense cooperation the municipal authority has had with the peace effort, and the results of that effort carried out in conjunction with the community.” He added that “the international community’s evaluation of this is very positive,” adding that when the issue of assigning resources to the Colombia mission came up in Washington, “the positive way in which the Medellín case was presented was a key factor in continuing the support.”

The Secretary General urged the reintegrated youth to remain faithful to the trust that has been placed in them, reminding them that they bear a great responsibility in the success of these plans and cautioning that recidivism discourages those who are driving the process of demobilization.

The Secretary General – accompanied by the OAS Assistant Secretary for Political Affairs, Dante Caputo, and the head of the OAS mission in Colombia, Sergio Caramagna – leaves tomorrow for Bogotá, where he will be received by President Alvaro Uribe. On Friday, he will travel to Cartagena to speak at an international seminar on Transparency against Corruption, at the invitation of Colombia’s Office of the General Comptroller.

Reference: E-145/06