§ Clare ShortTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the military assistance provided to Colombia is funded from the conflict resolution fund. [141509]
§ Mr. RammellAlthough Colombia does not have its own programme under the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP), the Security Sector Reform (SSR) strand of GCPP is used for military assistance projects for Colombia when they meet SSR criteria. Examples include the counter-terrorism seminar in Colombia in March 2003 (in which MOD personnel participated to give advice to Colombian security force units and civic officials on dealing with terrorist incidents in Colombia), and funding Colombian MOD personnel attending training and education courses in the UK.
§ Clare ShortTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the proposed new emergency powers before the Colombian parliament meet the pledges given at the consultative group meeting in London in July 2003. [141511]
§ Mr. RammellThe Colombian Government did not make any pledges at the London Meeting on International Support on Colombia about specific legislation, but they did pledge to implement recommendations made by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR). There are legitimate concerns about the proposal to grant judicial police powers to the Colombian armed forces in the proposed Constitutional Reform Bill 223 of 2003. In July the EU made a demarche to the Colombian Government about this, reiterating the concerns of UNHCHR in Bogota, in particular where proposed articles were incompatible with Colombia's human rights and international humanitarian obligations. We shall continue to urge the Colombian Government to adopt the practice of adjusting all anti-terrorist legislation in line with Colombia's international obligations.