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DetDeterminationClinton · D Quiet signal

Presidential Determination

Presidential Determination on Waiver of Certification Under Section 3201 "Conditions on Assistance for Colombia,"

President Clinton waived congressionally mandated human rights and counter-narcotics conditions on U.S. assistance to Colombia, finding it in the national security interest to provide aid without requiring certifications that Colombian military personnel credibly accused of human rights abuses be suspended, that the military cooperate with civilian prosecutions, that paramilitary leaders be prosecuted, that Colombia implement a 2005 coca/opium elimination strategy, and that the military develop a Judge Advocate General Corps.

Federal Register Open PDF 65 FR 52291

Impact dates

  1. Colombia eliminate total coca and opium poppy production (strategy target, not binding on U.S.)

Key directives

  • Waive certification requirements under Section 3201(a)(1)(A)(ii), (iii), (B), (C), (D), and (E) of the FY 2000 Emergency Supplemental Act
  • Report waiver to appropriate Congressional committees
  • Arrange publication in Federal Register

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • Waiver takes effect upon signing; assistance to Colombia may proceed without certification requirements
  • Secretary of State directed to report waiver to Congress and arrange Federal Register publication

Near term (90d)

—

Long term

  • Colombia's coca and opium elimination target set for 2005 (now expired/moot)

Risks & tensions

  • Waiver removes leverage for Colombian military human rights accountability; tension between national security framing and human rights conditions imposed by Congress
  • 2005 eradication target was ambitious and ultimately unmet; mycoherbicide mention reflects controversial biological agent approach
  • Congressional oversight bypassed via waiver authority; potential inter-branch tension
Presidential Determination: Presidential Determination on Waiver of Certification Under Section 3201 "Conditions on Assistance for Colombia," · Executive Orders