E/CN.4/1995/111 page 17 have created a culture of violence in which the settlement of differences by violent means is a common occurrence. The deficiencies of the administration of justice, but also the inability of the State authorities to ensure security for the civilian population, were said to have been particularly detrimental in this regard. 52. The Special Rapporteurs were informed of some of the initiatives taken by the authorities to decrease the level of violent crime, including attempts at decreasing the number of firearms held by civilians. Projects in several cities aim at analysing the causes of crime in order to target such measures in a more efficient way. 53. However, the persistent economic and social differences and the high level of poverty continue to be an underlying cause of violence and crime. Several observers have pointed out that the benefits derived from steady economic growth and stability have not been employed to resolve the most basic problems of poverty and social exclusion. While 75 per cent of the population are said to fall below the level of poverty and 13 per cent are completely illiterate, public investment in education, health, housing, food and other social programmes is said to be very low. Very high administrative costs and the amount of money spent on military activities are said to reduce public investment in social areas even more. In addition, land continues to be concentrated in the hands of a small number of large landowners. 54. Politically motivated as well as common criminality linked with drug trafficking constitutes a further factor contributing to the climate of violence prevailing in Colombia. Armed groups engaged in drug trafficking are said to be directly responsible for acts of violence in connection with the settlement of disputes. Other drug traffickers, and particularly the drug cartels, finance private armies to preserve their economic interests. The security forces were said to have committed numerous human rights violations against the civilian population in pursuing organizations linked with drug traffickers, similar to the treatment inflicted on suspected members of the armed insurgency. In some instances, however, private forces financed by drug traffickers are said to cooperate with the security forces, particularly where there is a common interest in fighting armed insurgents. The formation of paramilitary groups, sometimes with the participation of military and police personnel, with the aim of combating drug trafficking, was also reported. III. AREAS VISITED BY THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS 55. The following sections contain a brief analysis of the situation in three areas visited by the Special Rapporteurs during their mission: the department of Arauca, the Magdalena Medio region and the department of Valle del Cauca. These areas have not only been the scene of some of the most salient and grave cases of violations of the right to life and physical integrity in the recent past, they may also serve as examples of the interaction of the different actors. A. Arauca 56. In the department of Arauca, political violence started in the early 1980s, coinciding with the development of the exploitation of oil