Colombia
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Background |
| Information on the current and historical context of Colombia's upcoming elections. | |
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Get Involved |
| Find out how you can be a part of Global Exchange's Observation of Colombia's 2010 elections in support of Colombian Civil Society. | |
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Links |
| A list of organizations and groups offering information and analysis about Colombia. | |
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Current Media and Blogs |
| A variety of English- and Spanish-language media offering reports and analysis on current events in Colombia. | |
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Colombia—the South American country with the closest military and diplomatic ties to the U.S.—will hold pivotal national elections next year under a cloud of political scandals and indictments.
These elections could bring healing to a country scarred by six decades of political violence. Yet because violent right-wing paramilitary groups have infiltrated Colombia's congress and high government positions in recent years, fear of further control over Colombian institutions runs deep.
Colombia's judiciary - an important counterweight to corruption - has been the target of wire-tapping and violent harassment of judicial officials aimed to undermine their effectiveness. Some fear that Colombia's system of constitutional checks and balances itself is in jeopardy.
In light these threats, Colombia's Misión de Observación Electoral (MOE)—a non governmental association linking Colombian labor, human rights, Afro-Colombian, and Indigenous organizations and leading research centers—asked Global Exchange to help organize international observers for Colombia's 2010 elections.
Global Exchange will be providing administrative, media and technical support to the Colombia Elections Monitoring Project. The missions that this project carries out will put special focus on troubled regions in the critical weeks prior to elections and bring international attention and visibility to the MOE's work of insuring fair elections and the integrity of Colombia's governing institutions.
This autumn we are actively recruiting people with the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to be an active member assemble of one of the expert field teams that will begin visiting Colombia as observers this February.