Mr. Eamon Gilmore:

There are two levels to the issue of FARC’s involvement in the drugs trade. First, part of the agreement was that there would be a commitment by FARC to discontinue its involvement in the drugs trade, and second, it said that it would co-operate with the Government in bringing an end to the illegal drugs trade. Separately, FARC agreed that, insofar as it had proceeds, an inventory would be done of what assets it had accumulated and that those assets would be used in the reparation of victims. That would become part of the pool to be used for the reparation of victims.

The proceeds of the illegal drugs trade are going into criminal hands. The Government of Colombia has a very robust policy to try to end the drugs trade. The difficulty is with the growing end because it is a case of who is growing the crop. The people who are growing the crop are in the main small landowners and small farmers for whom this is a profitable crop. There is a degree of what might be called peer pressure at one level but also raw intimidation from those who are controlling the drugs trade, which makes the shift to substitution very difficult.

One approach that is being advocated is the forced eradication of the crop. The difficulty with that is that very often it puts the security services of the state into conflict and into very difficult situations with local communities, giving rise to social unrest. For example, there was an incident in Tumaco on the Pacific coast a little over a year ago where unarmed people who had been protesting were killed. That is very difficult and it is difficult to see how the drugs problem can be solved solely at the level of those who are growing the crop.

President Santos used to talk about the necessity for a wider international approach. I believe there is a shared responsibility, certainly in countries, communities and environments where there is a big market for cocaine. It is something we have to talk about because there is a direct link between the consumption of cocaine and people getting killed in remote areas of Colombia and other countries. Colombia is one of the biggest producers of cocaine and there is a direct link. There are people being killed because they are in favour of crop substitution and they are being intimidated. Many of the social leaders who have been targeted are people who have been trying to give leadership in local community situations where there is very little presence of the state, who have been trying to organise crop substitution, and who have been intimidated or worse. That is what is happening on the ground, and since the commencement of the implementation of the peace agreement, more than 300 social and local community leaders and human rights defenders have been killed.