NR-128/00

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 7, 2000

INTERNATIONAL DONOR COMMUNITY OFFERS SUPPORT FOR COLOMBIAN PEACE PROCESS

Madrid meeting chaired by IDB pledges $871 million for economic and humanitarian programs, establishes monitoring committee

Madrid - The international community expressed its strong political, financial and humanitarian support for the initiatives presented by the Government of Colombia at the first meeting of the Support Group for the Peace Process in Colombia, held in Madrid today under the auspices of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Spanish government. Participants in the meeting included European Union and other European countries, Latin American countries, the United States, Canada, Japan, a number of international institutions, and prominent NGOs.

Initial financial support announced at the Madrid meeting totaled $871 million, which included the following contributions: donations came from Spain with $100 million, the United States with $250 million, Norway with $20 million and the United Nations with $131 million; Japan contributed soft loans of $70 million, and the international organizations (the IDB, the World Bank and the Andean Development Corporation) contributed $300 million in loans.

Other donors, including the EU, indicated that they would make their pledges at a follow-up meeting to be held in Bogotá in September. The Government of Japan announced its intention to increase its support once the technical analysis of some additional projects is completed. A number of participating countries expressed their strong commitment to assist in the design and implementation of various initiatives and to provide technical cooperation in different areas – such as alternative development, rural education, water and sanitation and other social programs. The multilateral financial institutions also reiterated their financial commitments to other programs. In particular, they expressed their continuing support for Colombia’s social safety net with a contribution of $900 million to help alleviate poverty over the next three years.

The meeting was seen as the first step in an initiative to link the international community to the ongoing peace process, launched by President Andrés Pastrana of Colombia – whose government has made peace its first priority. The process is wedded to attempts to forge a firm and lasting peace agreement. Participants agreed that a window of opportunity now exists to pursue these efforts.

The key factor in the Colombian government's strategy aimed at building a durable peace is the intention to increase significantly the presence of the state in areas of the country where its former activities were limited – which made them fertile ground for the development of the guerilla movements. The state will now put in social and economic investment, including programs aimed at institutional strengthening, paying particular attention to the protection of human rights, the reinforcement of the judicial system, and the provision of assistance to persons displaced by the conflict. Alternative development programs designed to reduce illicit crops and protect the environment are also high on the agenda. The local communities and the NGOs will play a key role in the design and implementation of these programs. The Colombian government representatives in Madrid stressed the need to continue working with civil society in the implementation of social development and institutional strengthening projects.

The representatives of the international community and those of the Colombian government agreed in Madrid on the need to instigate a flexible and inclusive follow-up process in which the international community will play a leading role. To this end, they proposed the creation of a Support and Follow-up Committee comprised of the representatives of several countries together with those of the United Nations and the Inter-American Development Bank. They agreed to inform the IDB, in its capacity as technical secretariat, of their intentions to take part in this committee.

This committee will make the participation of the international community more effective through its support for the government’s efforts in the preparation and execution of the investment projects included in the peace program.

The Committee, in agreement with the Colombian government, will call for follow-up meetings of the international community when the occasion demands. The first meeting will be called by the Committee at the request of the Colombian government, and will be held in Bogotá in September.