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Political Influence of Local and International Ngos in Domestic Policymaking Processes: Kidnapping Prevention in Colombia

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Political Influence of Local and International Ngos in Domestic Policymaking Processes: Kidnapping Prevention in Colombia Political Influence of local and International NGOs in Domestic Policymaking Processes: Kidnapping Prevention in Colombia Sugit S. Arjon (10889906) Supervisor: Eva van Roekel Second Reader: dr. Robert Jan van der Veen 26th June 2015 MSc. Political Science: Thesis 1 Acknowledgment I would like to thank Eva van Roekel, my supervisor, for her full support, assistance, encouragement, and understanding throughout research and thesis writing period. Besides my supervisor, I would like to express deepest appreciation to my research assistant, Dewi Sekar Sariningrum Heru who helped me in data collection. Deepest gratitude for my participants, representatives of NGOs, without their time, the empirical information presented in this thesis would not have been possible. Last but not least, I believe I would not have been able to complete my thesis without the love and support from my parents. I am also very grateful for friends that I made during my wonderful stay in Amsterdam. Amsterdam, June 2015 Sugit S. Arjon Cover images taken from Pixabay, Creative Common Public Domain, free for commercial use. 2 List of abbreviations and acronyms BACRIM BEnd Criminales Emergentes ( The Emerging Criminal Gangs) CGSB Coordinadora Guerrillera Simon Bolivar (Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinating Board) CINEP Centro de Investigación Popular (Centre of Research and Popular Education) CNP Foundation Consejo Nacional de Paz (National Peace Council) COSOC Consejo Comunal de Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil ELN Ejército de Liberación Nacional (The National Liberation Army) EPL Ejército Popular de Liberación (The Popular Liberation Army) EU European Union FARC Fuerzas Aramadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) GAULA Grupos de Acción Unificada por la Libertad Personal (Unified Action Groups for Personal Liberty) ICC International Criminal Court ICJ International Court of Justice ICTJ International Center for Transnational Justice INGOs International Non-Governmental Organisations ISO International Organization for Standardization M19 Movimiento 19 de Abril (19th of April Movement) MAQL Movimiento Armado Quintin Lame (Quintin Lame Armed Movement) MOVICE Movimiento Nacional de Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado (National Movement of Victims against State Crime) NGOs Non-Governmental Organisations 3 NPC Consejo Nacional de Paz (National Peace Council) OAS Organization of American States OEA Organización de los Estados Americanos (Organization of American States) PRT Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores de Colombia (Workers Revolutionary Party of Colombia) REDEPAZ Red Nacional de Iniciativas Ciudadanas por la Paz y contra la Guerra (National Network of Peace Initiatives) RUV Registro Único de Víctimas (Unique Registry of Victims) UN United Nations UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees USA United States of America USAID United States Agency for International Development 4 List of figures, tables, and map Figure 1: Illustration of government and NGOs relations ………………………………….21 Figure 2: Number of kidnappings ……..…………………………………………………....29 Table 1: Number of kidnappings in Colombia from 1990-2002 …………………………...29 Table 2: Differences between grassroots and advocacy NGOs ……………………………36 Table 3: Categories of NGOs based on their activities ………………………………….38-39 Table 4: Aim, goal, and execution of grassroots and advocacy NGOs ………………….39-40 Table 5: NGOs role with samples and techniques …………………………………………43 Table 6: List of peace talks between the Colombian Government and guerrilla groups... 52-53 Map 1: Political map of Colombia ……………………………………………………… 60 5 Table of Contents Acknowledgment .................................................................................................................................... 2 List of abbreviations and acronyms ........................................................................................................ 3 List of figures, tables, and map ............................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 7 2. Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 10 2.1. Content analysis ........................................................................................................................ 10 2.2. Semi-structured interview ......................................................................................................... 11 2.3. Criteria for participants ............................................................................................................. 13 2.4. Ethical considerations ............................................................................................................... 13 2.5. Reflection on data collection..................................................................................................... 14 3. Theoretical framework .................................................................................................................. 15 3.1. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as catalyst for change ............................................. 16 3.2. The idea of democracy is to participate .................................................................................... 18 4. Colombia: kidnap capital? ............................................................................................................ 26 5. NGOs ability to influence the Government .................................................................................. 31 6. NGOs’ involvement in Colombian Government strategies to combat kidnapping....................... 47 6.1. Legal framework ....................................................................................................................... 47 6.2. Institutions................................................................................................................................. 49 6.3. Peace talk .................................................................................................................................. 50 7. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 54 8. Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 57 9. Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 64 9.1. Appendix 1: Presidential remarks ............................................................................................. 64 9.2. Appendix 2: Colombia map ...................................................................................................... 70 6 “The people of Colombia, in the exercise of their sovereign power, represented by their delegates to the National Constituent Assembly, invoking the protection of God, and in order to strengthen the unity of the nation and ensure to its members life, PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE, work, JUSTICE, EQUALITY, understanding, FREEDOM, and PEACE within a legal, DEMOCRATIC, and participatory framework that may guarantee a just political, economic, and social order and committed to promote the integration of the Latin American community, decree, authorize, and promulgate the following.” (Constitution of Colombia, 1991) 1. Introduction The preamble of Colombia’s Constitution of 1991 says that the Colombian Government will ensure a peaceful coexistence, justice, equality, freedom, and peace within a democratic structure for the Colombian people. This is a promise from the Colombian Government to its people to protect them from struggles. However, evidence shows that these promises are not being kept. Colombia faces numerous organised crimes today, such as drug trafficking, arms dealing, money laundering, human trafficking, and kidnapping. All of these crimes threaten Colombia’s people, who need the Colombian Government to combat all of the crimes above with appropriate and applicable policies. According to UNHCR in 2008, Colombia is considered a developing nation and a lower middle-income country. This status from UNHCR has triggered and force kidnapping into an industry within the Colombian people. Kidnapping became an industry because the practices growing profits, the revenues earned because majority of the kidnapping cases in Colombia require ransom as they way to make money (PAX Christi, 2001). Why the phenomena kidnapping as an industry happens? One of the main reason is because the expanding activities of guerrilla groups and common criminals. PAX Christi (2001) argue that majority, the victims of kidnapping suffer from psychological trauma and the ransom payment often leads to the bankruptcy. Moreover, McGee (2010) argues that the economic gap between the rich and the poor in Colombia is widening, causing inequality and never-ending civil conflict; this is all started because of human rights crisis with the highest number of kidnappings in the world, which is not an ideal situation for a developing country. Moreover, the Colombian Government must fight those criminals who make Colombian people insecure in their own country. In a globalised world, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play an important role in combatting and preventing those
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