,,iii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #adh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,april #i1
 #bjai ,mr4 ,cardin 7for himself and    
,mr4 ,blunt7 submitted the following    
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,foreign ,relations       
,,resolution  ,supporting efforts by the
 ,government of ,colombia to pursue     
peace and regional stability4  ,whereas1
 in #bjaf1 the ,government of ,colombia 
concluded a historic peace accord with  
the ,revolutionary ,armed ,forces of    
,colombia 7,,farc71 aimed at addressing 
the root causes of the half-a-century   
conflict1 including stark economic      
inequalities1 the rural-urban divide1   
and the historical exclusion of         
,afro-,colombians1 indigenous people1   
women1 and poor farmers1 and is         
currently working to implement these    
accords2 ,whereas the ,governments and  
people of the ,united ,states and       
,colombia have forged a resolute bond   
through a shared commitment to support  

peace1 human rights1 democracy1 the rule
 of law1 and security throughout the    
hemisphere and the world1 which has been
 bolstered by the support of hundreds of
 thousands of ,colombian-,americans and 
their contributions to ,american life2  
,whereas1 in #bjjj1 the ,government of  
,colombia achieved an impressive        
national consensus to build state       
capacity1 and the ,united ,states       
committed to combat organized crime1    
drugs1 and violence through its foreign 
assistance package in support of ,plan  
,colombia2 ,whereas ,plan ,colombia and 
its successor1 ,peace ,colombia1 have   
received steadfast commitments from the 
administrations of ,presidents ,william 
,clinton1 ,george ,w4 ,bush1 ,barack    
,obama1 and ,donald ,trump1 and         
continuously has been strengthened by   
broad bipartisan support in the ,united 
,states ,congress2 ,whereas1 while the  
,government of ,colombia contributed    
more than #ie percent of funds over the 
life of ,plan ,colombia1 the political  

leadership1 technical advice1 military  
assistance1 and intelligence-sharing    
role of the ,united ,states1 along with 
the #aa1jjj1jjj1jjj appropriated by the 
,united ,states ,congress through ,plan 
,colombia and ,peace ,colombia to combat
 the illicit narcotics trade and        
transnational organized crime1 advance  
democratic governance1 promote economic 
growth1 and defend human rights1 played 
a key role in transforming a nation on  
the brink to an increasingly peaceful   
and prosperous democracy1 while also    
safeguarding vital ,united ,states      
interests2 ,whereas the ,government of  
,colombia1 throughout the               
administrations of ,presidents ,andres  
,pastrana1 ,alvaro ,uribe1 ,juan ,manuel
 ,santos1 and ,ivan ,duque1 has made    
investments and shown remarkable        
courageous leadership1 often at great   
cost and sacrifice1 to consolidate      
domestic security1 socioeconomic        
development1 and the rule of law that   
far exceed those contributions made by  

the ,united ,states in ,colombia2       
,whereas1 over the past #bj years1      
levels of crime and violence have       
subsided sharply in ,colombia1 with     
annual per capita homicide rates        
declining from #fb per #ajj1jjj people  
in #aiii to a record low of #bc per     
#ajj1jjj people in #bjag2 ,whereas the  
alignment of improved security and sound
 economic policies has translated into  
steady growth in ,colombia's ,gross     
,domestic ,product1 which increased from
 #hf1jjj1jjj1jjj in #aiii to more than  
#cji1jjj1jjj1jjj in #bjag1 and led to   
greater ,foreign ,direct ,investment1   
which grew from #a1ejj1jjj1jjj in #aiii 
to one of the highest in ,latin ,america
 at an estimated #ad1jjj1jjj1jjj in     
#bjag2 ,whereas the ,united ,states and 
,colombia enjoy a robust economic       
relationship with ,united ,states goods 
and services trade with ,colombia       
totaling an estimated #cf1ajj1jjj1jjj in
 #bjaf1 supporting over #ajj1jjj jobs in
 the ,united ,states2 ,whereas the      

,government of ,colombia has made       
impressive strides in reducing poverty  
during the last #ae years1 with the     
poverty rate decreasing from #fd percent
 in #aiii to #bg percent in #bjag1      
according to the ,world ,bank2 ,whereas1
 since #aiii1 the ,government of        
,colombia has expanded the presence of  
the state across all #cb territorial    
departments1 has contributed to the     
professionalism of the ,colombian       
judiciary1 and has improved the capacity
 of the ,colombian ,army1 ,navy1 ,air   
,force1 and ,national ,police2 ,whereas 
,colombia is one of the ,united ,states 
most consistent and strategic partners  
through its support of ,united ,states  
diplomatic objectives at the ,united    
,nations and critical efforts made in   
the fight against transnational         
organized crime and increased security  
and rule of law overseas1 including in  
,central ,america's ,northern ,triangle1
 ,afghanistan1 and several countries in 
,africa2 ,whereas ,colombia signed a    

,memorandum of ,understanding with      
,,nato in #bjag and is the first ,,nato 
partner nation in ,latin ,america2      
,whereas these gains are challenged by  
an escalating crisis in ,venezuela1     
which has seen an influx of more than   
#a1bjj1jjj ,venezuelans into ,colombia  
and the need for continued financial    
support to implement the peace accord   
over the next #h years2 ,whereas the    
internal armed conflict has victimized  
all ,colombians1 including women1       
children1 and ,afro-descendant and      
indigenous peoples1 and has led to the  
repeated targeting of leading           
representatives of civil society1       
including trade unionists1 journalists1 
human rights defenders1 and other       
community activists who remain at grave 
risk from guerrilla groups1 paramilitary
 successor organizations1 organized     
criminal groups1 and corrupt local      
officials2 ,whereas efforts to achieve  
lasting peace in ,colombia must address 
the hardships faced by victims of the   

armed conflict1 as exemplified by the   
,government of ,colombia's ,law on      
,victims and ,restitution of ,land of   
#bjaa2 ,whereas the prospects for       
national reconciliation and sustainable 
peace in ,colombia rely on the effective
 delivery of justice for victims of the 
conflict and the ability to hold        
accountable and appropriately punish    
perpetrators of serious violations of   
human rights and international          
humanitarian law2 and ,whereas the work 
of ,special ,jurisdiction for           
,peace--the transitional justice        
mechanism created with the purpose of   
ensuring accountability in the context  
of ,colombia's internal armed           
conflict--is fundamental to the         
implementation of the accords and the   
consolidation of peace in the country3  
,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that the       
,senate-- 7#a7 reaffirms the unwavering 
support of the ,government and people of
 the ,united ,states for the people of  
,colombia in their pursuit of peace and 

stabilization of territories previously 
in conflict so they can achieve their   
aspiration to live in a country free of 
violence and organized crime2  7#b7     
lauds efforts to bring an end to        
,colombia's enduring internal armed     
conflict2  7#c7 commends the work of the
 ,united ,nations ,verification ,mission
 in overseeing the implementation of the
 #bjaf peace accord and the disarmament 
and reintegration of combatants2  7#d7  
maintains its commitment to the more    
than #g1jjj1jjj victims of ,colombia's  
armed conflict and urges the government 
and ,,farc to hold accountable          
perpetrators of serious violations of   
human rights and international          
humanitarian law and ensure that they   
are appropriately punished2  7#e7       
encourages the ,government of ,colombia 
to protect vulnerable populations who   
remain at risk in that country1         
including defenders of human rights1    
those facing threats due to crop        
substitution from the illicit crop      

market1 and ,afro-descendant and        
indigenous communities2  7#f7 encourages
 the ,secretary of ,state to develop a  
comprehensive strategy to assist the    
,government of ,colombia in managing the
 effects of the ,venezuela crisis       
without endangering or detracting from  
the successful implementation and       
sustainability of the peace accord and  
stabilization of territories previously 
in conflict in ,colombia1 and to further
 strengthen the close bilateral         
partnership shared by the ,governments  
of the ,united ,states and ,colombia2   
7#g7 reaffirms its commitment to        
continued partnership between the       
,governments of the ,united ,states and 
,colombia on issues of mutual interest1 
including security1 counternarcotics    
cooperation1 combating transnational    
organized crime1 ensuring justice for   
those who have caused indelible harm to 
our populations1 reintegration of ,,farc
 members1 economic growth and investment
 with a focus on disadvantaged          

communities1 and educational and        
cultural exchanges that strengthen      
diplomatic relations2  7#h7 supports the
 ,special ,jurisdiction for ,peace as an
 important transitional justice         
mechanism and encourages the            
continuation of its work as an important
 institution in charge of guaranteeing  
truth1 justice1 and victim's reparations
 in the aftermath of the country's      
internal armed conflict2 and  7#i7      
commits to furthering the bilateral     
relationship between the ,united ,states
 and ,colombia by working with leaders  
in the public and private sectors1 as   
well as civil society from both         
countries1 to ensure that the ,united   
,states-,colombia relationship remains  
at the forefront of ,united ,states     
foreign policy4