colombia

colombiaSec. 649. (a) Assistance for Colombia.—Of the funds appropriated in titles III and IV of this Act, not more than $545,608,000 shall be available for assistance for Colombia.(b) Funding Amounts and Notification.—Funds appropriated by this Act that are available for assistance for Colombia shall be made available in the amounts indicated in the table in the accompanying explanatory statement described in section 4 (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act) and any proposed increases or decreases to the amounts contained in such table shall be subject to the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations.(c) Assistance for the Colombian Armed Forces.—(1) Funding.—Funds appropriated by this Act that are available for assistance for the Colombian Armed Forces, may be made available as follows:(A) Up to 70 percent of such funds may be obligated prior to the certification and report by the Secretary of State pursuant to subparagraph (B).(B) Up to 15 percent of such funds may be obligated only after the Secretary of State consults with, and subsequently certifies and submits a written report to, the Committees on Appropriations that the Government of Colombia is meeting the requirements described in paragraph (2).121 STAT. 2338(2) Requirements.—The requirements referred to in paragraph (1) are as follows:(A) The Commander General of the Colombian Armed Forces is suspending or placing on administrative duty, if requested by the prosecutor, those members of the Armed Forces, of whatever rank, who, according to the Minister of Defense, the Attorney General or the Procuraduria General de la Nacion, have been credibly alleged to have committed gross violations of human rights, including extra-judicial killings, or to have aided or abetted paramilitary organizations or successor armed groups.(B) The Government of Colombia is investigating and prosecuting, in the civilian justice system, those members of the Colombian Armed Forces, of whatever rank, who have been credibly alleged to have committed gross violations of human rights, including extra-judicial killings, or to have aided or abetted paramilitary organizations or successor armed groups.(C) The Colombian Armed Forces are cooperating fully with civilian prosecutors and judicial authorities in such cases (including providing requested information, such as the identity of persons suspended from the Armed Forces and the nature and cause of the suspension, and access to witnesses, relevant military documents, and other requested information).(D) The Colombian Armed Forces have taken all necessary steps to sever links (including denying access to military intelligence, vehicles, and other equipment or supplies, and ceasing other forms of active or tacit cooperation) at all levels, with paramilitary organizations or successor armed groups, especially in regions where such organizations have a significant presence.(E) The Government of Colombia is dismantling paramilitary leadership and financial networks by arresting and prosecuting under civilian criminal law individuals who have provided financial, planning, or logistical support, or have otherwise aided or abetted paramilitary organizations or successor armed groups; by identifying and seizing land and other assets illegally acquired by such organizations or their associates and returning such land or assets to their rightful occupants or owners; by revoking reduced sentences for demobilized paramilitaries who engage in new criminal activity; and by arresting and prosecuting under civilian criminal law, and when requested, promptly extraditing to the United States members of successor armed groups.(F) The Government of Colombia is ensuring that the Colombian Armed Forces are not violating the land and property rights of Colombia’s indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, and that the Colombian Armed Forces are implementing procedures to distinguish between civilians, including displaced persons, and combatants in their operations.(3) The balance of such funds may be obligated after July 31, 2008, if, before such date, the Secretary of State consults with, and submits a written certification to, the Committees 121 STAT. 2339 on Appropriations that the Colombian Armed Forces are continuing to meet the requirements described in paragraph (2) and are conducting vigorous operations to restore civilian government authority and respect for human rights in areas under the effective control of paramilitary organizations or successor armed groups and guerrilla organizations.(4) Certain funds exempted.—The requirement to withhold funds from obligation shall not apply with respect to funds made available under the heading “Andean Counterdrug Programs” for continued support for the Critical Flight Safety Program or for any alternative development programs in Colombia administered by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the Department of State.(5) Report.—At the time the Secretary of State submits certifications pursuant to paragraphs (1)(B) and (3) of this subsection, the Secretary shall also submit to the Committees on Appropriations a report that contains, with respect to each such paragraph, a detailed description of the specific actions taken by both the Colombian Government and Colombian Armed Forces which support each requirement of the certification, and the cases or issues brought to the attention of the Secretary, including through the Department of State’s annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, for which the actions taken by the Colombian Government or Armed Forces have been determined by the Secretary of State to be inadequate.(d) Consultative Process.—Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter until September 30, 2008, the Secretary of State shall consult with Colombian and internationally recognized human rights organizations regarding progress in meeting the requirements contained in subsection (c)(2).(e) Assistance for Demobilization and Disarmament of Former Combatants in Colombia.—(1) Availability of funds.—Of the funds appropriated in this Act under the heading “Economic Support Fund”, up to $11,442,000 may be made available in fiscal year 2008 for assistance for the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of former members of foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) in Colombia, if the Secretary of State consults with and makes a certification described in paragraph (2) to the Committees on Appropriations prior to the initial obligation of amounts for such assistance for the fiscal year involved.(2) Certification.—A certification described in this subsection is a certification that—(A) assistance for the fiscal year will be provided only for individuals who have: (i) verifiably renounced and terminated any affiliation or involvement with FTOs or other illegal armed groups; (ii) are meeting all the requirements of the Colombia demobilization program, including having disclosed their involvement in past crimes and their knowledge of the FTO’s structure, financing sources, illegal assets, and the location of kidnapping victims and bodies of the disappeared; and (iii) are not involved in acts of intimidation or violence;(B) the Government of Colombia is providing full cooperation to the Government of the United States to 121 STAT. 2340 extradite the leaders and members of the FTOs who have been indicted in the United States for murder, kidnapping, narcotics trafficking, or other violations of United States law, and is extraditing to the United States those commanders, leaders and members indicted in the United States who have breached the terms of the Colombian demobilization program, including by failing to fully confess their crimes, failing to disclose their illegal assets, or committing new crimes since the approval of the Justice and Peace Law;(C) the Government of Colombia is not knowingly taking any steps to legalize the titles of land or other assets illegally obtained and held by FTOs, their associates, or successors, has established effective procedures to identify such land and other assets, and is seizing and returning such land and other assets to their rightful occupants or owners;(D) the Government of Colombia is implementing a concrete and workable framework for dismantling the organizational structures of foreign terrorist organizations; and(E) funds shall not be made available as cash payments to individuals and are available only for activities under the following categories: verification, reintegration (including training and education), vetting, recovery of assets for reparations for victims, and investigations and prosecutions.(f) Illegal Armed Groups.—(1) Denial of visas to supporters of colombian illegal armed groups.—Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of State shall not issue a visa to any alien who the Secretary determines, based on credible evidence—(A) has willfully provided any support to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), or successor armed groups, including taking actions or failing to take actions which allow, facilitate, or otherwise foster the activities of such groups; or(B) has committed, ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the commission of a gross violation of human rights, including extra-judicial killings, in Colombia.(2) Waiver.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply if the Secretary of State certifies to the Committees on Appropriations, on a case-by-case basis, that the issuance of a visa to the alien is necessary to support the peace process in Colombia or for urgent humanitarian reasons.(g) Definitions.—In this section:(1) Aided or abetted.—The term “aided or abetted” means to provide any support to paramilitary or successor armed groups, including taking actions which allow, facilitate, or otherwise foster the activities of such groups.(2) Paramilitary groups.—The term “paramilitary groups” means illegal self-defense groups and illegal security cooperatives, including those groups and cooperatives that have formerly demobilized but continue illegal operations, as well as parts thereof.121 STAT. 2341(3) Foreign terrorist organization.—The term “foreign terrorist organization” means an organization designated as a terrorist organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.