The European Parliament,

A. having regard to its earlier resolutions on the situation in Colombia,

B. gravely concerned by the climate of terrorism and political violence in Colombia,

C. recalling that since it was set up four years ago the Patriotic Union, a left-wing coalition, has seen the assassination of over a thousand of its members and leaders, without any of those responsible being apprehended,

D. alarmed by the revelations made in the latest Amnesty International report, which details widespread and systematic violation of human rights and massacres perpetrated by death squads which are part of the regular army and whereas the report goes on to condemn cases of torture, mistreatment of prisoners, illegal detention and summary judicial proceedings, particularly in the case of prisoners of conscience,

1. strongly condemns the assassination on 22 March 1990 of the left-wing candidate, Bernardo Jaramillo:

2. calls on the Colombian judicial authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of this case;

3. calls for a purge in the armed forces of all those responsible for human rights violations;

4. calls for the abolition of the "fuero militar", which gives military courts sole jurisdiction over cases involving members of the armed forces;

5. advocates that the names of officials who have committed human rights violations should be made public, as should the measures and proceedings taken against them;

6. calls on the government to support the public prosecutor's department in its investigations of human rights violations;

7. calls for the demilitarization of all areas currently under military administration;

8. calls for the disbanding of military governorship and the restoration of civilian authorities in militarized areas;

9. urges the government to protect and cooperate with all non-governmental human rights organizations;

10. advocates a total ban on the involvement of the military authorities in civilian proceedings (for example house searches);

11. would like to see a ban on the use of military facilities for the detention of civilians;

12. calls for the lifting of the decrees adopted under the state of emergency, particulary those enacted under the pretext of combating the drug trade but in fact directed against popular organizations, such as Decree n· 1859 of 1989, which allows persons to be held incommunicated for seven working days (dias habiles) and Decree n· 1863 which gives the armed forces the right to search civilians;

13. calls of the abolition of the special judicial arrangements introduced under the state of emergency;

14. demands that the disappearance of persons be made a criminal offence;

15. urges the Colombian Government to ratify the Convention on Crimes against Humanity;

16. calls for the international convention governing conduct in time of war to be applied to the conflict with armed resistance groups, with particular reference to protection of the civilian population, a ban on massacres and bombardments and the treatment of wounded;

17. demands that the 1977 additional protocol to the Geneva Convention be submitted to the Congress;

18. advocates the abolition of any legal basis for the expansion and continued existence of paramilitary groups;

19. considers that in Colombia, as elsewhere in the world, any lasting peace plan and economic development policy must deprive drug traffickers of their sources of income, and hence power, and is conditional upon a fair price being paid for substitute crops;

20. condemns the fact that for more than a year the Colombian President has had regular contacts with the cartels;

21. Takes the view that consideration should be given to alternative strategies for the repression and prohibition of drugs, which attack the root of the problem - the financial and hence military power which the cartels derive from the vast profits from the drug trade - which will ensure lasting economic development through substitute crops and which respect human rights and provide democratic guarantees;

22. calls for the next conference on drugs sponsored by the EEC to devote particular attention to assessing the results of current policy to combat drugs and to study alternative strategies;

23. instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the Colombian Government.