Report from international solidarity mission to Casanare, Colombia

bristol | corporations | opinion/analysis Friday September 28, 2007 14:39 by solidarity - espacio bristol-colombia espaciobristol at redcolombia dot org

Between 29 July and the 1 August 2007 Colombian and international organisations including people from Espacio Bristol-Colombia took part in an international solidarity mission to visit Casanare, one of the major oil rich regions in Colombia. There they visited communities to hear first hand accounts of the reality of living in a oil producing region and to offer their solidarity.

The grave humanitarian crisis in Casanare and it’s relationship to the oil industry - in particular BP - were the principal reasons for bringing together Colombian and international social organisations.

The attached report summarises the results of the investigation done by the delegation. It includes an initial section on the historical context of Casanare and BP’s role there, then discusses the Mission’s main findings, before going on to present their conclusions.

We hope that the report will serve as tool for raising awareness about the situation, as well as for denouncing these cases to national and international authorities, and generating mobilization and proposals in solidarity with the communities in Casanare.



Note:

Espacio Bristol-Colombia is an autonomous collective of people working in solidarity with communities and organisations fighting for peace with social justice in Colombia. We are based in and around the city of Bristol, England and are part of the European Network of Friendship and Solidarity with Colombia.(RedHer)

We aim to:

* Support Colombian communities and organisations through political solidarity based on reciprocal relationships between peoples.

* Provide physical accompaniment, working alongside communities and organisations in Colombia.

* Highlight and denounce the social, political and human rights crisis in Colombia and the fact that the majority of human rights violations are carried out by the armed forces and state-linked paramilitaries.

* Highlight and denounce the nature of the conflict in Colombia as part of a broader, global conflict resulting from an unjust model of capitalist development and accumulation.

* Highlight and denounce the impact of transnational corporations operating in Colombia.

In our internal workings we aim to provide a horizontally-organized, mutually supportive space in which we can learn from one another's knowledge, skills and experiences. We operate along a principle of active listening and oppose all forms of domination based around gender, race and so on.

We invite people with skills in translation, organising and fundraising and artists of all abilities to get involved.

Report in English 0.54 Mb Informe en espanol 0.53 Mb