Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy
On
Internally Displaced Persons In Colombia 

Mr. LEAHY.   At a time when we are focused on the chaos in Iraq and the flood of Iraqis who have fled their homes and are living either as displaced persons in Iraq or as refugees in Jordan, Syria and elsewhere, I want to call attention to a humanitarian crisis in our own hemisphere. 

In Colombia, a country of roughly 44 million people, over 3 million have been internally displaced as a result of political and drug-related violence and the aerial spraying of chemical herbicides to eradicate coca.  They are the second largest displaced population in the world after Darfur, Sudan.  An average of 18,000 Colombians are uprooted every month, with more than 1 million forced to flee in the past five years alone, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 

To put that in perspective, if the same ratio were applied to the United States, a country of roughly 300 million people, there would be over 20 million internally displaced Americans.  That is a staggering number when you consider the burden they would place on public services and the environment.  Colombia by comparison is a relatively poor country, and many of these people, the majority of whom are women and children, lack access to basic health care, sanitation, education, adequate shelter, or employment. 

It is my understanding that Colombia has suitable laws for addressing the needs of the internally displaced, but the laws are too often ignored or poorly implemented.  Insecurity and inadequate public services in isolated areas, where many of the displaced are located, hinder return to their homes and contribute to further displacement. 

Recently, the House of Representatives passed a resolution calling on the Colombian Government and the international community to prioritize the needs of displaced persons, and recommending that the United States increase funding for emergency and long-term assistance. 

The Senate version of the fiscal year 2008 State, Foreign Operations bill provides $40 million for assistance for displaced persons in Colombia.  This is a $5 million increase above the President’s budget request, which was woefully inadequate.  As the White House urges Congress to continue funding aerial eradication programs which, despite billions of dollars, have failed to make an appreciable dent in the amount of coca under cultivation, one would like to think that at some point they will exhibit the same zeal for meeting the basic needs of Colombia’s most vulnerable people.

# # # # #