Tell Secretary Clinton: Support Human Rights in Colombia!

This summer, the State Department will decide whether or not to certify that the Colombian government is doing enough on human rights to meet the conditions tied to a portion of U.S. aid to Colombia. If they say no, then the Colombian government will not receive that funding until it cleans up its act on human rights—meaning taking steps to support not stigmatize human rights defenders, to protect not displace indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, and to bring the soldiers responsible for the  killing of more than 2000 innocent civilians to justice.

Sounds simple, right? Here’s the catch: the U.S. government has never used this powerful tool. With the Bush Administration, it wasn’t surprising that they would throw human rights to the sidelines. But now that the Obama Administration has all its people in place at the State Department, there is no reason why they shouldn’t use this critical leverage. Still, it will take a strong push from us to make them use it.

Fill in your information below to send a fax to Secretary Clinton today urging her not to certify.