THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                         (Cartagena, Colombia)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                    August 30, 2000


                               FACT SHEET

           Human Rights and U.S. Assistance for Plan Colombia

A central goal of U.S. assistance to Colombia is to promote and protect
human rights.  The Government of Colombia is committed to improving
human rights conditions in Colombia, and President Pastrana has taken
important steps to address his country's legacy of human rights abuses.
The United States is working with the Pastrana administration to bring
an end to impunity for those who violate human rights and to eliminate
collaboration between members of the government security forces and
paramilitary groups.

Programs to enhance respect for human rights and promote the rule of law
are an essential component of President Pastrana's Plan Colombia.
Through its assistance package, the United States is supporting the
efforts of the Pastrana administration to strengthen the justice system,
hold human rights abusers accountable, and address the conditions that
breed human rights violations, whether by paramilitaries, insurgents,
drug traffickers, or elements of the security forces.

U.S. human rights initiatives in Colombia include:

--   Human rights screening.  In accordance with U.S. law and policy,
assistance to the Colombian security forces is contingent upon screening
on a unit basis for credible evidence of gross violations of human
rights.  Although unit-level screening is sufficient to meet U.S. legal
requirements, in the case of the three counter-drug battalions being
equipped and trained with U.S. support in Colombia, the United States
has gone further to screen all officers and noncommissioned officers on
an individual basis.

--   $48.5 million for support for human rights programs and security
for human rights workers.  This funding will provide training and
support for human rights non-governmental organizations as well as
government investigators and prosecutors, including a specialized human
rights task force.  With this assistance, the Colombian National Police
and the Prosecutor General's Office will establish additional human
rights units dedicated to investigating and prosecuting human rights
abuses. The United States also is working with the Colombian Vice
President's office to promote the implementation of its national human
rights policy.  The United States is providing human rights-related
training for security force members and judges, increased assistance to
the human rights ombudsman, support for witness protection and judicial
security in human rights cases, and support for enhanced protection for
human rights defenders in Colombia.

--   $65.5 million for administration of justice programs.  This will
include training for police, prosecutors, defense lawyers and judges;
expansion of USAID's Casas de Justicia program that creates
community-based centers to facilitate citizen access to justice;
security protection for witnesses, judges and prosecutors; help in
prison design and security; support for the development of a Colombian
Armed Forces Judge Advocate General corps; and support for procedural
and legislative reforms to ensure that the justice system functions
fairly, transparently and effectively.

--   Supporting President Pastrana's efforts to stamp out collaboration
between security force members and paramilitaries.  The United States
will continue to press the Colombian Government to eliminate any
remaining links between members of the security forces and the
paramilitaries.  The United States has also repeatedly called on the
paramilitaries, the FARC guerrilla group, and the ELN guerrilla group to
respect international human rights norms and international humanitarian
law and to cease the practice of kidnapping and the recruitment of child
soldiers.

--   Promoting peace.  U.S. support for the Colombian peace process is
in part premised on the principle that a negotiated peace settlement
will be a key step in eliminating human rights violations.

                                30-30-30