Colombia struggles with justice problems

WASHINGTON, June 28 (UPI) -- Colombia's peace process must include accountability for human rights violators, said U.S. and international observers at a forum Monday in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Ambassador to Colombia William Wood and José Miguel Vivanco, director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch, said extradition of perpetrators of crimes against humanity remains a powerful leverage in any peace negotiations with paramilitary groups.

"We are quite dogmatic about accountability for atrocities," Vivanco said. "Extradition is a tool; it's an instrument. That's why it's critical to support extradition in this negotiation."

The forum, hosted by the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, offered Wood, Colombian lawmakers and representatives of humanitarian organizations the opportunity to debate the future of the peace process in Colombia and, in particular, the case of paramilitary groups such as the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia.

After more than 40 years of armed conflict, Colombia and its President Alvaro Uribe Velez are struggling to find a balance between concessions that would bring those groups back to the negotiating table and justice for the crimes they committed, panelists said.