Press Releases
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Bush Values Weapons over People – Pushes for Military Aid to Colombia on the Anniversary of Ignored Human Rights Treaty
July 18, 2001

For immediate release

Contact: Marianne Mollmann, NISGUA: 202-518-7638

Tomorrow when the Foreign Operations Appropriation Bill hits the floor, the House of Representatives will be voting to expand U.S. military aid to several countries, including Colombia and the Andean region, requested by the Bush Administration. Independent studies show that U.S. military aid to Latin America over the last decade has led to increased human rights abuses, including torture of civilians. Yet the Bush Administration is also opposing international legislation that will curb human rights violations by military personnel.

Yesterday marked the third anniversary of the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), an international tribunal that - when established - will hold perpetrators of the gravest human rights violations responsible. Clinton signed the Statute on December 31st, 2000, leaving it up to the Bush Administration to decide when or if to submit the treaty for ratification in the Senate. Instead of allowing the Senate open discussion on the treaty text, the Bush administration has asked the United Nations for legal advice on how to withdraw the United States' signature.

"It is interesting that the Bush Administration asks for increased U.S. military presence in foreign countries, virtually on the anniversary of this historic treaty," says Heather B. Hamilton, Program Director at the World Federalist Association. "The promotion of human rights in Latin America is an important U.S. foreign policy goal, and the Bush Administration's statements on the ICC send the wrong message to human rights supporters in the region."

All other NATO members are committed to the establishment of the International Criminal Court. In this Saturday's New York Times, Ambassador Pierre Schori of Sweden was quoted for noting that "our military is taught to respect universal humanitarian law, universal human rights and so on and we prosecute those who do not do so." This position is echoed by civil society actors in the United States, who see a connection between Bush' unwillingness to commit to human rights obligations and his desire to expand military presence.

"Our NATO partners have a point: any responsible government would cut military aid to foreign countries riddled with human rights abuses, and sign the Statute of the ICC," says Marianne Mollmann, Executive Director of the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA). "We know from declassified documents that the United States not only paid for, but actually taught Central American genocidal militaries to torture and kill. The American officials responsible for this shameful policy have never been prosecuted. Now, the Bush Administration wants to repeat these mistakes in the Andean region - and refuses to be bound by international legislation that would ensure justice in cases of future abuse. These policies speak for themselves: Bush values weapons over people."

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