Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli
A dozen humanitarian, faith-based, human rights, and other U.S. civil society organizations, including the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), signed on to a joint letter to members of the House and Senate conference committee for the FY24 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill on the future of Congressional aid for Colombia.
Our organizations emphasize the importance of U.S. support for Colombia’s efforts toward achieving lasting peace, strengthening human rights, and addressing regional issues of mutual interest to the U.S. and Colombia, such as immigration, drug trafficking, and climate change. We urge Congress to back the Senate provisions of the FY24 appropriations bill, which include:
- Funding for USAID’s human rights program, supporting human rights defenders and peace accord implementation.
- Assistance for Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities and organizations.
- Programs for demining, transitioning farmers from illicit crops, formalizing land titles, and returning land to displaced persons.
- Support for Colombia’s transitional justice system established by the 2016 peace accords.
- Programs promoting labor rights and implementing the U.S.-Colombia Labor Action Plan.
- Assistance for Venezuelans and other migrants and refugees, including host communities.
To read the letter and view signing organizations, please click here.