American Friends Service Committee
Peace Mobilization Team for Colombia

 Background

 The people of Colombia have been severely affected by a 40-year conflict -the longest, bloodiest civil war in Latin America.  Massacres and displacement are used as military tactics; civilian non-combatants account for at least two-thirds of casualties and 1.6 million people are internal refugees.

 Under the guise of fighting a war on drugs, the United States government is actually escalating the civil war in Colombia.  The $1.3 billion US aid package to Colombia draws the U.S. deeper into Colombia’s conflict, intensifying the war and making the U.S. complicit in wide-scale violations of human rights.

 As long as the US military can define the issues to the US public, the prospects for peace are dim.  As the U.S. increases military involvement in Colombia, an active and informed US constituency is needed to work with Colombian civil society to advocate effectively for alternatives to current policies.

 Peace Mobilization Team

 The American Friends Service Committee Peace Mobilization Team for Colombia (PMTC) has been organized in 15 offices around the U.S. to maximize the ability of AFSC to activate an informed and diverse US constituency through public education, networking and policy impact work.

 Activities:

        �        develop clear and concise educational packets for activists

        �        organize speaking tours to the United States of Colombians, particularly from Afro-Latino and Indigenous communities

        �        support peace efforts of the Colombian people through AFSC staff based in Colombia

        �        develop educational materials that highlight the links between   certain economic and military policies

        �        maintain close coordination with Washington, DC based groups working on Colombia in order to inform and guide our grassroots strategies on US policy issues

        �        work with the Quaker United Nations Offices in New York and Geneva on international human rights issues pertaining to Colombia.

For more information contact

 Natalia Cardona or Angela Berryman

AFSC                             

1501 Cherry Street

Philadelphia, PA 19102

(215) 241-7162

[email protected] or [email protected]