OEA/Ser.G
CP/INF.4934/04
4 February 2004
Original: Spanish
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF
COLOMBIA AND THE GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
ON MONITORING
THE PEACE PROCESS IN COLOMBIA
On the twenty-third day of January, 2004, in Bogotá,
Colombia, the PARTIES, the Government of the Republic of Colombia
(hereinafter the GOVERNMENT), represented by His Excellency, the President of
the Republic, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, and the General Secretariat of the
Organization of American States (hereinafter GS/OAS), represented by its
Secretary General, César Gaviria Trujillo,
CONSIDERING:
That Article 2 (a) of the OAS Charter establishes that the
Organization of American States, “in order to put into practice the
principles on which it is founded and to fulfill its regional obligations
under the Charter of the United Nations, proclaims the following essential
purposes....To strengthen the peace and security of the continent...”;
That the GOVERNMENT, represented by President Álvaro Uribe
Vélez, has established a policy of peace in which “...the doors for a
negotiation are open to all those illegal armed groups that may wish to
return to democratic life in the country, on condition that they first
declare a ‘cessation of hostilities,’ for the sole purpose of achieving a
reduction of violence and safeguarding respect for human rights throughout
the national territory”;
That the aforementioned policy of peace “affords an
opportunity to the illegal armed groups to engage in a dialogue and achieve
the reincorporation of their members in civilian live with all the guarantees
required to enable them to voice their ideas and fight without arms to defend
their convictions, [and] should be construed as complementary to the policy
on democratic security”;
That the GOVERNMENT has on several occasions requested the
support of the hemispheric community with regard to Colombia’s domestic
conflict and has received it, in the framework of the OAS, in the form of the
Declaration on the Situation in Colombia adopted at the fourth plenary
session of the General Assembly in June 2003, which is contained in document
AG/DEC. 34 (XXXIII-O/03) and in Permanent Council resolution CP/RES. 837 corr.
1;
That in the Declaration on the Situation in Colombia of
the Special Conference on Security on October 28, 2003, the countries of the
Hemisphere supported the GOVERNMENT “in its quest for negotiated peaceful
solutions to overcome internal conflict, following a cessation of
hostilities… and [called upon] the international community to support a
prompt start to negotiations, and the demobilization, reconciliation,
disarmament, and reintegration programs needed to achieve, in a just and
transparent manner, the reincorporation into civilian life of members of
illegal armed groups”;
That the GOVERNMENT has asked the General Secretariat of
the Organization of American States for support in terms of verification and
advice based on the experience that this Organization has accumulated,
AGREE UPON THE FOLLOWING:
ARTICLE I
OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE
1.1 The general objective of this Agreement is to support
the GOVERNMENT in its efforts to achieve its Peace Policy goals, by providing
the cooperation that the GOVERNMENT has requested of the GS/OAS and receiving
the assistance provided by OAS member states, permanent observers to the OAS,
and other states.
1.2 The specific objective is to establish a Mission to
support the Peace Process in Colombia (hereinafter MAPP/OEA or the Mission)
and to verify the ceasefire and cessation of hostilities, demobilization,
disarmament, and reintegration initiatives undertaken by the GOVERNMENT in
connection with the Peace Process.
1.3 The scope of the Mission is to verify the ceasefire
and cessation of hostilities, demobilization and disarmament, and the
reintegration into society of the members of illegally organized armed groups
that the GOVERNMENT, in the exercise of its constitutional and legal
prerogatives, agrees upon with those irregular forces. The Mission shall not
interfere in the internal affairs of Colombia. Nor shall it issue opinions
regarding the juridical or political decisions that pertain to the
sovereignty of the Colombian state.
ARTICLE II
MANDATES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE MISSION
2.1 The Mission’s mandate is to conduct extensive and
flexible monitoring of the Peace Policy in respect of illegal armed groups,
including:
a. Verification of the peace process, especially with
regard to the ceasefire and cessation of hostilities, disarmament,
demobilization, and reintegration.
b. Support for initiatives taken by the National
Government, civil society organizations, and other bodies, by helping to
channel funds toward those political initiatives, programs, and activities.
c. Verification that weapons are surrendered in accordance
with agreements reached, monitoring of strict compliance with those
agreements, and establishment of programs for destruction of the weapons.
d. Support for local initiatives in conflict zones, by
promoting confidence-building measures and reconciliation, aimed at
developing a culture of democracy, peace, and an end to violence, and by
identifying, drafting, and forging social initiatives and projects in those
areas.
2.2 To fulfill its objectives and mandates, the Mission
may perform the following functions:
a. Verify compliance with the agreements on a ceasefire
and cessation of hostilities, demobilization, disarmament, and the
reintegration of the illegal armed groups that the GOVERNMENT may reach with
the illegally organized armed groups;
b. Propose, monitor, and evaluate implementation of
confidence- and security-building measures between the GOVERNMENT and the
illegally organized armed groups, in order to prevent incidents that might
disrupt normal progress toward a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities,
demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration.
c. Propose to the GOVERNMENT and the illegal armed groups
further recommendations to facilitate the negotiation process. However, the
Mission may not participate in or express an opinion on the process, unless
its collaboration is specifically and in each case requested by common
agreement of the Parties.
2.3. In the exercise of its functions, the MAPP/OEA shall
abide by the general principles of the OAS Charter and other pertinent
treaties and international agreements; it shall respect the Constitution and
laws of the Republic of Colombia; and it shall operate in accordance with the
following code of conduct:
a. Autonomy: The Mission’s work shall be carried out with
complete independence vis-à-vis the GOVERNMENT and the illegal armed groups,
with full respect for the sovereignty and initiatives of the Colombian
political authorities.
b. Neutrality: The Mission’s job is to attend, within the
framework of its scope and mandate, to all sectors affected by the conflict,
without discrimination of any kind.
c. Flexibility: The dynamics of the peace process, the
timing of its stages, and its priorities need to be addressed with a flexible
approach capable of adapting to changing circumstances within the process,
without prejudice to the maintenance of hierarchical structures and vertical
chain of command.
ARTICLE III
OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE MISSION’S
MODUS OPERANDI
3.1 The GS/OAS pledges to:
a. Establish the MAPP/OEA as a dependency of the OAS
General Secretariat, with a Head of Mission and other members of the Mission,
in accordance with the provisions of Article V, below.
b. Establish a headquarters for the MAPP/OEA at a place to
be determined by common agreement of the Parties and, if necessary, open
alternative offices where they may be needed to comply with the purposes of
this Agreement.
c. Familiarize its organs with the contents of this
Agreement and to harmonize the activities of the different dependencies of
the SG/OAS in such a way as to achieve the aforementioned objectives.
d. Approach third-party entities with a view to eliciting
support for the activities of the MAPP/OEA and the initiatives and projects
that may be established within the framework of the mandate conferred under
this Agreement.
e. Present an annual report of the MAPP/OEA to the
Permanent Council of the Organization.
3.2 The GOVERNMENT pledges to:
a. Provide the best possible security to the members of
the Mission and the MAPP/OEA headquarters, which shall be established by
common agreement;
b. Provide the MAPP/OEA, its members, its property,
premises, and records with the privileges and immunity specified in Article
VI of this Agreement;
c. Familiarize entities of the State and its civilian and
military officials with the contents of this Agreement for the purpose of
facilitating their activities and coordinating them with those of the
Mission;
d. Provide the Mission with the facilities and means
required for its functioning and operations;
e. Respond promptly to GS/OAS requests for acceptance and
accreditation of the members of the Mission, as provided for in paragraph 6.1
of this Agreement.
3.3 The Parties pledge to:
a. Urge the OAS member countries and third parties from
the international community to continue to lend support to the peace process;
b. Invite the international community to support the
Mission and to contribute resources to it.
ARTICLE IV
REPRESENTATIVES AND NOTIFICATIONS
4.1 For the purposes of this Agreement, the
representatives of the Parties shall be as follows:
a. The GOVERNMENT designates the High Commissioner for
Peace, Dr. Luis Carlos Restrepo, as its representative;
b. The GS/OAS designates Mr. Sergio Caramagna as Head of
Mission.
4.2 Communications and notifications arising from this
Agreement shall be valid only if sent by mail or fax and addressed to the
coordinator representatives at the address of their respective offices. When
communications and notifications are sent by e-mail, they shall be valid only
if sent directly from the electronic address of the representative of one of
the Parties to the electronic address of the representative of the other.
4.3 Either of the Parties may change its designated
representative, address, fax number, or electronic address by notifying the
other Party in writing.
ARTICLE V
MEMBERS OF THE MISSION
5.1 The members of the Mission shall be those persons who,
subject to prior acceptance by the GOVERNMENT, have been duly accredited with
government officials by the OAS Secretary General.
5.2 The members of the Mission shall include international
and local staff of the GS/OAS and independent contractors hired locally or
internationally pursuant to GS/OAS rules. The members of the Mission shall
perform supervisory, advisory, technical-professional, and general service
functions.
5.3 The GS/OAS shall supply each member of the Mission
with a numbered identification card, which shall show the full name, date of
birth, position or rank, and a photograph. Members of the Mission shall not
be obliged to surrender that card but rather to present it when government
officials so request.
ARTICLE VI
PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITES
6.1 The MAPP/OEA, all its members, their property and
assets, their premises, and their records shall enjoy the same privileges and
immunities granted to the Organization of American States, its organs, their
staff members, and their property and assets, premises, and records, in
accordance with the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the
Organization of American States, with regard to which the GOVERNMENT
deposited its instrument of accession on April 21, 1974.
6.2 International members of the MAPP/OEA shall also enjoy
the privileges and immunities granted to diplomatic agents in accordance with
the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961. For the
purposes of this provision, the international members of the Mission are:
a. Members of the Mission who are international civil
servants appointed pursuant to the Staff Rules of the GS/OAS; and
b. Members of the Mission who are contracted for the
Mission who are neither staff members of the GS/OAS pursuant to its rules or
citizens of the Republic of Colombia.
6.3 Members of the Mission shall work with the competent
government officials to prevent any occurrence of abuse in respect of the
privileges and immunities granted. Likewise, the competent government
officials shall do their utmost to provide the cooperation requested of them
by the members of the Mission.
6.4 Without prejudice to the privileges and immunities
accorded, the members of the Mission shall abide by the laws and regulations
in force in Colombia. The GOVERNMENT may declare persona non grata and
arrange for the expulsion of a foreigner protected by the immunities
recognized under this Agreement, subject to prior notification of such action
to the GS/OAS through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
6.5 The GOVERNMENT and the GS/OAS shall take any measures
necessary to procure an amicable arrangement in the proper settlement of:
a. Any disputes that arise in contracts or other questions
of private law; and
b. Any disputes to which members of the Mission may be
party in respect of matters in which they enjoy immunity.
6.6 The privileges and immunities are granted to members
of the Mission in order to safeguard their independence in the exercise of
their official functions and not for personal benefit. Therefore, the OAS
Secretary General shall waive their privileges and immunities in the event
that, in his judgment, the exercise thereof obstructs the course of justice
and when they may be waived without harming the interests of the OAS.
6.7 The GOVERNMENT recognizes the “official travel
document” issued by the GS/OAS as a valid and sufficient document for
purposes of travel by the members of the Mission. Said document requires an
official visa for members of the Mission to enter the country and remain
there until the Mission’s conclusion.
6.8 The Mission may set up and operate in Colombian
territory an autonomous radiocommunications system for the purpose of
providing a permanent connection between its members and the vehicles used by
the Mission and the regional offices and headquarters and between the latter
and OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C. To that end, the GOVERNMENT shall
provide all necessary technical and administrative collaboration.
6.9 No provision of this Agreement constitutes an express
or implicit waiver of the privileges and immunities of the Parties or their
staff.
ARTICLE VII
GENERAL PROVISIONS
7.1 This Agreement may be amended by mutual consent by the
Parties.
7.2 This Agreement shall enter into force upon signature
by the Parties.
7.3 This Agreement shall be in effect for three years,
renewable for the same period or for a term decided on by the Parties through
an exchange of notes between their representatives.
7.4 The Parties may denounce the Agreement before the
aforementioned dates by common agreement or each of the Parties may do so
independently, without giving cause, by informing the other Party in writing
at least one month prior to the date the denunciation is requested.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the representatives of the Parties
sign two equal copies, in the city of Bogotá, Colombia, on
For the GOVERNMENT
FOR THE GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
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