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1.
The governments of donor countries should withhold all supportpolitical
and financialfor the demobilization process, unless the Colombian Congress
passes a comprehensive demobilization law that meets the following conditions:
a. The
law must create the necessary tools for the dismantling of paramilitary
groups. At a minimum, the law must:
Condition benefits on the groups disclosure of information about
its structure, illegal assets, and financing streams.
Condition benefits on each individuals cooperation with the
authorities in investigations, confession of his crimes, and turnover of
illegal assets.
Condition benefits to paramilitary leaders on the groups
complete cessation of hostilities and abuses of civilians.
Provide for investigations of the structure, illegal assets,
sources of financing, and past crimes of these groups.
b. The
law must create the necessary mechanisms so that paramilitaries responsible for
violations of international human rights and humanitarian law are held
accountable for their crimes. At a minimum, the law must:
Require a thorough check of each demobilizing individuals
background against existing government records to determine not only whether he
is already the subject of a conviction or prosecution for atrocities, but also
whether he might be implicated in such crimes and should be investigated
further.
Provide for punishment of perpetrators of atrocities in a manner
proportional to the severity of their crimes.
Provide that sentences for atrocities include actual
incarceration.
c. The
law must take into account victims rights to truth and reparation for the
violations of human rights and humanitarian law committed by paramilitary
groups. At a minimum, the law must:
Establish mechanisms that will allow the government to uncover
the truth about paramilitary crimes, including the location of bodies of the
disappeared.
Establish procedures that will allow victims of paramilitary
crimes to obtain information about and participate in the proceedings involving
them.
Condition benefits for demobilization on each individuals
payment of reparations to the victims of his crimes.
2.
Assuming that the above requirements are met, donor governments
should condition any aid for the paramilitary demobilization process on the
Colombian governments vigorous implementation of these legal requirements.
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