(courtesy translation)

Caracas, November 23^rd 2009

Mister Ambassador:

         I have the honour to address Your Excellency on behalf of the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on the occasion of transmitting, for due consideration by the Members of the Security Council of the United Nations, the deep concern of the Venezuelan Government about the Colombian armed conflict, which constitutes, in our opinion, a serious threat to international peace and security; and I allow myself to ask you that it be included in the work agenda of the Security Council.  

         There are clear demonstrations in favour of peace and international legality from the people and Government of Venezuela, whose conduct is based on a clear pacifist and solidarity vocation, founded on the respect to the rules and principles of public international law established on the United Nations Charter and other relevant international legal instruments.

         Venezuela has repeatedly expressed its concern about the impact that the armed conflict in Colombia has on peace and stability in the region. Such atmosphere of confrontation in the Colombian territory has been aggravated by the establishment by the authorities of that country of a policy that privileges, from the perspective of the force, the military way to solve a situation of armed violence between different sectors of their society that has lasted several decades and that has its origins on a strong framework of economic and social inequalities still persisting.  

His Excellency

THOMAS MAYR-HARTING

President of the Security Council

Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations

United Nations Organization

New York

The Government of President Hugo Chávez Frías has repeatedly expressed the need that the parties involved in the Colombian armed conflict achieve a negotiated political solution. In that regard, Venezuela participated, after a request from Colombia, as a mediator in the process leading to the release of Colombian citizens held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army last year. This mediation effort undertaken by President Hugo Chávez Frías received recognition in a Special Statement by the Non Aligned Movement during the Ministerial Meeting on Cultural Diversity and Human Rights, celebrated in Teheran, Islamic Republic of Iran, in September 2007.     

         The intensification of hostilities between the Colombian military forces and the irregular armed groups in that country has had a negative impact on neighbouring countries, with the after-effect of paramilitarism, drug trafficking and other kinds of crime such as kidnapping and the sicarii, amongst other problems. It has been a constant concern for Venezuela to see how for several decades our sister nation has been affected by an armed conflict where there has been a permanent violation of human rights as well as the inability of the Colombian governments to exert their authority on the areas of their soil controlled by irregular groups, which has originated innumerable incidents at the common border with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, showing the evident inability of the Colombian State either to comply with its duty to protect the citizens living in those areas or to exert control over their territory.

Venezuela, as other Colombia’s neighbouring countries, has been a victim of the Colombian conflict, which throughout last years has deteriorated as a result of a militaristic policy fostered by the Government of President Álvaro Uribe Velez which, far from bringing peace to the whole Colombian territory, has flagrantly violated the rules of international law and international humanitarian law.

It must be emphasized that in the armed conflict taking place in Colombia, there have been systematic, flagrant and widespread violations of applicable international law and human rights, which considerably exceed the situations of armed conflicts that unfortunately face other member States of the United Nations Organizations, and which do make part of the Security Council agenda.

Only in the internal displaced matter by 2007, in paragraph 6, page 2, of Document “Report of the Secretary-General on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts” dated 28/10/07 (Document S/2007/643), submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization, by His Excellency Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of this Organization, the number of internal displaced was especially mentioned as a result of the different global conflicts, which amounted by then some 24,5 million displaced.

Of this figure, it is interesting to observe how the Republic of Colombia was exceeded in 2007 only by Iraq and Sudan/Darfur, when it reached 2,1 million internal displaced, above Somalia, Central African Republic, Chad and Afghanistan, as regards the total amount of displaced people obtained from the sum of internal displaced from these four countries, which was 1,714,000. (See enclosed 01).

By 2009, in Paragraph 14 of the “Report of the Secretary General on children and armed conflict in Colombia”, (Document S/2009/434) of 28/08/09, the Secretary General indicated that his Representative on the Human Rights of Internal Displaced persons had warned that “the situation in Colombia is one of the most serious, with the country having the second largest population of internally displaced persons in the world. According to the Presidential Senior Adviser for Social Action of Colombia, from 1997 to December 2008, 2,935,832 persons were internally displaced, more than 1 million of them children”.

Additionally, it is important to mention that the production and trade of illicit drugs in Colombia has worsened in the recent years to the extent that it has become a clear threat to the security and stability for the region. In fact, as it is stated by Paragraph 4 of the “Report of the General Secretary on Children and the Armed Conflict in Colombia” (Document S/2009/434) of 28/08//09, “60 per cent of global cocaine production originates in Colombia”.

Drug Trafficking has penetrated the deepest sectors of the Colombian State. Thus, the political links and influence that the drug cartels have in Colombia reach unsuspected magnitudes. In fact, as it has been indicated in Paragraph 03 of the Document S/2009/434 of 28/08/09, “almost 50 years of continuous conflict and the existence of powerful drug cartels represent a considerable challenge to governance and the respect of human rights. There has been an acute impact on the security of the population and the overall humanitarian situation.”

The Attorney General’s office in Colombia has been carrying out an investigation that questions the legitimacy of that country’s Congress due to the increasing number of congressmen directly related to the paramilitary and drug trafficking. By 2005, just before the parliamentary elections of 2006, information on the presence of personalities close to the paramilitary was revealed within the lists of parties supporting President Uribe. Once the new Congress was installed, Salvatore Mancuso himself, one of the most powerful leaders of the paramilitary, affirmed, after being moved, that 35% of congressmen “were friends” of his criminal organization.

The Director of the Administrative Department of Security (DAS) by the time, Jorge Noguera, was accused of putting this Department at the service of the paramilitary. Noguera had been the campaign chief of current President Alvaro Uribe in Magdalena. Forced to quit due to compromising information, Noguera was appointed Council in Milan, but accusations against him continued. Ex Director of DAS returned to Bogotá and was captured in February 2007, accused of arrangement to offend, collaborate and supply information to the paramilitary. The paramilitary have infiltrated the Colombian political system. Colombian Institutions face a deep legitimacy crisis.

Contrary to what happens in Colombia, the achievements of Venezuela in the fight against drug trafficking are internationally recognized. Venezuela has anti-drug programmes of cooperation with 37 countries, including France, Spain and Portugal. The success of the fight against drugs in Venezuela has been acknowledged by the Organization of American States (OAS) and by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). According to the Report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime of 2009, Venezuela is the second country in South America with the most seizure of drugs, increasing by 35% its seizure of cocaine. As it is known, Colombia is the main producer of cocaine in the world, a trade from which military and political sectors of Colombia also benefit.

From January to September 2009, the Venezuelan Government detained 4,490 individuals for crimes connected to drug trafficking, including 4,219 Venezuelan citizens, and 271 foreign citizens. Given the wide cooperation exiting between Venezuela and other countries on drug fighting, 20 foreign citizens have been extradited this year up to August 13, 10 of which are Colombian.

In contrast, the effectiveness of Plan Colombia in the fight against drugs has been strongly questioned. The Accountability Office of the United Sates has observed that “the goal of Plan Colombia of reducing the illegal cultivation, processing and distribution of narcotics, attacking the coca plantations has not been reached”. Plan Colombia has not generated a reduction in the coca plantation, nor of the production of cocaine. On the contrary, it has increased them.

Last 19 November 2009, Colombia desperately accused Venezuela for downing two alleged pedestrian border bridges. Our Government rejects these unfounded affirmations by the Government of Colombia. Venezuela proceeded to the destruction of illegal footbridges mainly used for drug trafficking, smuggling, especially of fuel, and other illicit activities. They were not binational bridges, nor were they structures of formal building authorized by both countries, and they were eliminated from the Venezuelan side without violating the Colombian territory.

This kind of measures is common in the strategy against drug trafficking, implemented by all countries of the world. Only governments who do not have the capacity to exert the rule of law enforcement on part of their soil, and who have been penetrated by drug trafficking, can publicly criticize legitimate actions which, in due compliance with their attributions as States and against illicit activities in their borders, are taken by other countries.

Through these twisted denunciations, the Government of Colombia intends to hide and put out of context the real fact of the establishment of the American military bases in its territory. The strategy of disinformation and alarming only seeks to divert the attention over the actual problem of the clear transfer of competences proper to the Colombian State to the United States by the Government of President Álvaro Uribe, thereby transforming Colombia into the operations base of the American regional strategy of domination and control over South American countries.

South American Governments have expressed, for the first time in history, their concern about the signature of a bilateral military Agreement. During the Union of South American Nations Summit (UNASUR), held in Bariloche, on 28 August 2009, the Heads of State and Government expressed, referring to the Agreement between Colombia and the United States: “the presence of foreign military forces cannot, with its means and resources connected to favouring goals, threat the sovereignty and integrity of any South American nation and therefore the peace and security in the region”.

Venezuela wishes to remind that the provisions of international humanitarian law and the rules of human rights establish that children affected by an armed conflict have the right to be treated with special respect and to receive care and protection, including against all forms of sexual violence and exploitation. According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, violations and other forms of sexual violence also constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity when they are committed as part of generalized or systematic attacks against the population.

Resolution 1894 (2009) of the UN Security Council dated 11/11/09 establishes in its third operational paragraph that “ the deliberate targeting of civilians as such and other protected persons, and the commission of systematic, flagrant and widespread violations of applicable international humanitarian and human rights law in situations of armed conflict may constitute a threat to international peace and security, and reaffirms in this regard its readiness to consider such situations and, where necessary, to adopt appropriate steps”.

This resolution leads the Security Council to examine the existing situations and, when necessary, adopt the appropriate measures, emphasizing that it does not seek to make any legal determination as to whether the situation in Colombia is or is not an armed conflict within the context of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto, which is equivalent to say that the Security Council must engage in studying the grave situation posed by the armed conflict faced by Colombia since nearly 50 years ago, as well its impact on regional security and international peace and security.

We can find evidence of the grave humanitarian crisis affecting Colombia as a consequence of its armed conflict, in official documents from the United Nations Organization, amongst them:

1. “Children and Armed Conflicts: Report of the Secretary-General (Document A/63/785 – S/2009/158): (the underlined parts are ours)

This report was prepared by the Secretary-General, after a request from the Security Council, in accordance with the provision of the Declaration of the Presidency of the Council S/PRST/2008/6, where he was asked to present a report on the application of its resolutions 1612 (2005), 1261 (1999), 1314 (2000), 1379 (2001), 1460 (2003) and 1539 (2004). (The underlined parts are ours)

Paragraph 114. “The United Nations received credible information regarding the use of children by some members of the security forces for intelligence purposes despite Government policy to the contrary. Three directives have been issued by the Ministry of Defence prohibiting this practice, in accordance with the national law on childhood and adolescence. It was reported in February 2008 that a 12-year-old boy was used by the police as an informant in Valle del Cauca department. As a consequence, the boy received death threats by FARC-EP and was later killed in December 2008. Also in February, it was reported that members of the army and national police solicited information from children in rural communities in Carmen de Atrato and Quibdo, in Choco department, on the locations of guerrilla groups and the identities of their members”.

Paragraph 116. “Credible information on cases of extrajudicial executions of children was gathered by the United Nations. In January 2008, a 17-year-old boy disappeared from Soacha municipality near Bogotá, and was presented as “killed in combat” a day later by the Armed Forces in Norte de Santander, a department on the border with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. A similar case involved a child from Gamarra municipality, Cesar department, in August 2008.”

Paragraph 117. “According to Constitutional Court order No. 092 of April 2008, the impact of sexual violence against girls has increased. Perpetrators include illegal armed groups and members of the Armed Forces. The Attorney General’s office has initiated investigations, and there have been a number of convictions as of December 2008”.

2. “Children and Armed Conflicts: Report of the Secretary-General (Document S/2009/434): (the underlined parts are ours)

      This report refers to the period going from January to December 2008. It offers information about grave violations inflicted on children, such as death, mutilation, recruitment, use by the armed forces and armed groups, kidnappings, sexual violence acts, attacks against schools and hospitals, and refusing humanitarian access and it emphasizes that it is a priority to fight against impunity of these serious violations.

Paragraph 12. “Grave violations against children have been attributed to all parties, but mainly to illegal armed groups. Those groups continue to recruit children and commit crimes of sexual violence against women and girls, kill civilians, plant anti-personnel mines and carry out abductions. Violations by individual officials of the Colombian armed forces have also been reported, in clear contravention of Government policy”.

Paragraph 23. “In 2006, the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed its concern regarding the use of children for intelligence purposes by the national armed forces. The Ministry of Defence has issued three directives prohibiting all members of the national armed forces from using children for intelligence purposes; however, some incidents continue to be documented. In February 2008, it was reported that the National Police had used a 12-year-old boy as an informant in the department of Valle del Cauca. Later, the boy received death threats from FARC-EP and was eventually killed by an unidentified assailant in December 2008”.

Paragraph 33. “Anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnance have had serious consequences on the civilian population, including children. According to the Landmine Monitor Report of 2007, the number of casualties resulting from explosive remnants of war in Colombia was the highest in the world from 2005 to 2007. The Presidential Programme for Integrated Mine Action reports a cumulative total of 7,515 victims from 1990 to 2008, including 722 children. According to the same source, in 2008, 14 children (4 girls and 10 boys) were killed and 32 (5 girls and 27 boys) were wounded by such devices. In January, in the municipality of Palmira, department of Valle del Cauca, a woman and her 9-month-old daughter died when they stepped on an anti-personnel mine. The woman was five months pregnant. In June, in the municipality of Samaniego, department of Nariño, three boys aged 12, 14 and 16 died when they accidentally activated an anti-personnel mine. In July, in the department of Bolívar, three children were seriously injured, including a 9-year-old girl, who lost her leg”.

Paragraph 39. “According to information provided by the Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses, 5 girls and 3 boys were the victims of sexual violence allegedly perpetrated by the national military forces, and 18 girls and 1 boy were allegedly victimized by the national police during the reporting period. Information has also been gathered on a case in which two soldiers allegedly raped a woman and her 13-year-old niece in the department of Antioquia in November 2008”.

Paragraph 42. “Children also continue to be victims of enforced disappearances. Since 2006, the Attorney-General’s Office located in clandestine graves the bodies of 109 children, mainly victims of paramilitary groups. In addition, the Attorney- General’s Office is investigating 1,636 cases of children who have disappeared since 2000, 187 of which took place in 2008”.

Paragraph 48. “Restrictions of humanitarian access owing to the actions of parties to the conflict jeopardize the delivery of humanitarian assistance, thus affecting children. The presence of anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnance seriously hampers not only the movement of populations but also the access of humanitarian actors to those populations”.

Paragraph 49. “Attacks against humanitarian personnel also took place during the reporting period. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, attacks on medical missions increased from 23 cases in 2007 to 35 cases in 2008”.

Paragraph 50. “Clashes between illegal armed groups and the national armed forces also restrict humanitarian access and the supply of essential goods”.

Paragraph 51. “Information was also received on access restrictions imposed by the national armed forces to certain villages or municipalities, including for the movement of persons and goods, such as food, medicine and fuel, as part of a strategy to combat illegal armed groups. For example, since January 2008, the national armed forces have limited the passage of essential goods to various villages in the municipality of El Dovio, department of Valle del Cauca. Similar restrictions were confirmed by the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman in the department of Vaupés in May 2008”.

      The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela wishes to remind the Members of the Security Council that the Government of the Republic of Colombia has been the one to flagrantly materialize threats to international peace and security, openly contravening the principle of international law of paragraph 4, article 2, of the United Nations Charter, according to which all members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations. This occurred in March 2008 when it executed an armed incursion in the territory of the Republic of Ecuador, violating the territorial integrity of that sister nation.

      This illegal action highlighted the militaristic policy promoted by the government of President Álvaro Uribe, which has made of the notion of preventive attack – fostered by ex President George W. Bush –, an essential part of its security and defence doctrine.

      The Colombian military aggression against the Republic of Ecuador was condemned by all countries of the region, including the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, since the flagrant violation of norms and principles of international law was confirmed, as well as of Resolution 2625 (XXV) of the United Nations General Assembly: “Declaration on principles of international law concerning friendly relations and cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations”. The Ecuadorian denunciation about the violation of the territorial sovereignty and integrity was registered in Document S/2008/146 of the Security Council.

      The unanimous rejection to that military incursion obliged President Uribe, in an act of public and official contrition during the XX Rio Group Summit, held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on 7 March 2008, to commit himself that his country would not repeat a military action against any country of the American continent, and the members of this mechanism took note of the absolute apologies offered by the Colombian Head of State to the Government and people of Ecuador for the violation of the soil and sovereignty of that sister nation perpetrated by the military forces of Colombia.  

      The atmosphere of confidence in the region which had been re-establishing after the arrangements achieved in the XX Summit of the Rio Group has been affected by the announcements and subsequent signature of the “Complementary Agreement for cooperation and technical assistance in defence and security” between Colombia and the United States, about the installation of seven American military bases in the Colombian territory. The announced deployment of American forces in Colombia under that cooperation agreement has raised concern amongst members of UNASUR, who have legitimately warned of the risks and threats that they pose to peace, stability and military balance in the region.

      On the basis of a wicked logic, President Álvaro Uribe and his government team intend to transfer their responsibilities of handling the armed conflict to other neighbouring States such as Venezuela, who, as it has been stated, is a victim of the activities of drug trafficking, paramilitarism, sicarii and kidnapping, arising from the intensification of hostilities with armed groups inside the Colombian soil.

      As it is well known, by privileging the security of their urban areas, particularly large cities, the Colombian State abandoned the custody and protection of its borders, situation of which the armed forces took advantage to exert control over those sites, and therefore the development of criminal activities with an impact on third countries.

      Such extended and out of proportion American military deployment in Colombian soil tries to be justified under an alleged bilateral effort to combat drug trafficking and terrorism. These arguments are false and do not dissipate doubts and concerns of the countries in the South American region about these military bases, seen as a threat due to the magnitude of the programme that will take place with the installation of equipments for electronic war, soldiers, and staff from contractor security companies. Strengthening the military presence of the United States is aimed at projecting their global power to dissuade, under the threat of military interventions, countries that have a critical position towards their imperialist policy.  

      These strategic guidelines are reiterated in the US Air Force Department justification document for financing to the project of the Palanquero Military Base, where 46 million US dollars were required and approved in May 2009 to build what is called Site of Security Cooperation and to improve the installations in Palanquero. The budget is included in Chapter of: Global Defence Positioning, where the US strategy to position staff and military bases abroad is explained.

      The Document of the Military Construction Program of the US Air Force Department of May 2009 refers to the following as justification data submitted to the Congress of that country:

“...it will improve the US ability to respond rapidly to crisis, and assure regional access and presence at minimum cost. A presence will also increase our capability to conduct Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), improve global reach, support logistics requirements, improve partnerships, improve theatre security cooperation and expand expeditionary warfare capability.”

“The strong relationship of cooperation in the field of security also offers an opportunity to conduct widespread operations throughout South America (...) The intent is to leverage existing infrastructure to the maximum extent possible,   improve the US ability to respond rapidly to crisis, and assure regional access and presence at minimum cost. Palanquero supports the mobility mission by providing access to the entire South American continent with the exception of Cape Horn”.

      Contrary to the speech promoted by Colombia that the military way – including unrestricted access to bases by American soldiers – will undoubtedly lead to the end of the armed conflict, the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela considers that the intensification of military operations will raise a situation of more armed violence, which will increase the Colombian diaspora of displaced persons to many countries of the world, particularly to neighbouring countries.

      Accusations of arms race against Venezuela cannot be but fake. Only 1,1 per cent of Venezuela’s GDP is allocated to the modernization of military equipments, under the regional average of 1,7 per cent, and considerable under the 5,7 per cent of Colombia. In contrast, the Venezuelan Government will allocate 45,7 per cent of the nation’s budget for 2010 to social investment, to poverty reduction and to the improvement of the quality of life of Venezuelans. Venezuela has already surpassed the Millennium Goal of extreme poverty alleviation, and, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), it is the country in the region that has advanced the most in reducing inequality.

      Aware that the peace in Colombia is the peace for Latin America, as it has been expressed by President Hugo Chávez Frías, the Venezuelan Government has reiterated the need to achieve a negotiated political solution leading to overcoming this armed conflict that has caused for more than four decades a high number of victims.

      Within the framework of its militaristic speech, the Government of President Álvaro Uribe conceives the security of its country in absolute terms, thereby generating insecurity on neighbouring countries. The establishment of US military bases in Colombian soil and the continuous military assistance that the United States has been offering Colombia since 2001 has reinforced the dilemmas on security in the South American region and created imbalances in forces correlation at the sub regional level as a result of the arms race initiated by the authorities of Nariño Palace authorities, with the support of the American Government.

      For that reason, the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, reiterating once again its pacifist vocation and unrestricted respect to the principles and norms of international law ruling the friendship and cooperation relations between States, manifested in the United Nations Charter and other instruments thereto, wishes to declare that it will continue to be attentive to the development of the armed conflict taking place in the Republic of Colombia and to the possible consequences that the establishment of foreign military bases in that country may cause for the security of Venezuela and the region, taking the necessary measures to safeguard, within the legal order legitimately established, and in absolute fulfilment of the Constitution of he Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the security of the nation, the peace and well-being of the Venezuelan people.

      In this respect, Mister President, in view of the exposed arguments, considering that the Colombian armed conflict constitutes a serious threat to international peace and security, I allow myself to request to that it be part of the work agenda of the Security Council. Likewise, I would be much grateful that this letter be circulated as a document of the Security Council.

      I avail myself of this opportunity to reiterate to Your Excellency the assurances of my highest esteem and consideration.

NICOLÁS MADURO MOROS

Minister of the People’s Power for Foreign Affairs

ATTACHMENT 01

Source: Own chart based on the figures presented in Document S/2007/643 of the Security Council.