INTERNATIONAL ETHICS COMMISSION FOR COLOMBIA

On Friday March 2, 2007, with the presence of U.S. congressmember James P. McGovern

Press Release, Bogotá, D.C., March 1, 2007. In order to publicly launch the International Ethics Commission for Colombia, which is part of the Eight Strategies against Impunity proposed by the National Movement of Victims of State-Sponsored Crimes, Movimiento Nacional de Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado, a press conference will carried out at the Hotel de la Opera in the city of Bogotá (Calle 10 No. 5-72, La Candelaria) at 2 in the afternoon on March 2, 2007.



The following commission members will be present: Mirta Baravalle from the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo – Founding Line (Argentina), Francine Damasceno Piñeiro from the Landless Rural Workers' Movement – MST (Brazil), Libertad Sánchez Gil from the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory of Mérida and Comarca (Spain), Enrique Nuñez from the Ethics Commission Against Torture (Chile).



The commission will also be accompanied by Democratic Party congressmember James P. McGovern, one of the congressmembers most committed to the issue of human rights in Latin America and who has been directly involved with the situation in Colombia. In this regard, McGovern presented an amendment last year to remove 30 million dollars from the aerial spraying budget and designate it to assistance for internally displaced persons. He will also participate in the debates to be held by the U.S. congress on the Free Trade Agreement and in the human rights report on compliance with conditionality of the members of the Colombian military and police forces.



The visit by congressman McGovern arises out of his interest to learn more about the human rights situation in Colombia and alternative proposals to guarantee the rights of the victims. In keeping with this interest, McGovern will be spending time learning first-hand about the progress of the International Ethics Commission, which is a part of the eight initiatives agreed upon last year by the National Movement of Victims of State-Sponsored Crimes at its Third Encounter.