The assessment was included in the yearly certification report, required by the six-billion-dollar Plan Colombia lawmakers approved in 2000, which was presented last week to Congress, the department said in a statement.

"Though there continues to be a need for improvement, the Colombian government has taken positive steps to improve respect for human rights in the country," it told Congress, asking it to authorize 30.3 billion dollars for the Colombian Armed Forces.

The money goes to help Colombia deal with rampant drug trafficking and guerrilla violence in its territory, but includes monitoring human rights abuses especially by security forces.

Like a US-Colombian free trade agreement, Plan Colombia is conditioned to human rights improvements in Colombia.

The department said the new administration of President Juan Manuel Santos -- sworn in on August 7 -- "has taken significant steps to demonstrate that it takes human rights seriously," both at the social and judicial system levels.

Nevertheless, it added, "impunity remains a concern... (and) threats by criminal groups against human rights defenders and civil society in Colombia are also deeply troubling."

The State Department urged Colombia to pursue thorough investigations of all alleged human rights abuses and threats in the country.

"The United States government remains committed to continued engagement with the Colombian government to improve the human rights performance of the Colombian Armed Forces, and respect for human rights throughout the country," it added.

Fiscal 2011 begins October 1.

earlier related report
Mexico signs deal for six Eurocopter military helicopters
Mexico City (AFP) Sept 15, 2010 - Mexico signed a deal with France to buy six military helicopters from Eurocopter on Wednesday, officials said, amid increasing pressure on its troops in a wave of drug-related violence.

The six EC 725 Cougar helicopters, also known as "Caracal," will join six others already delivered by the helicopter unit of European aerospace giant EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space), a French embassy official said.

The agreement was first announced by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Mexico last year.

The helicopters would be used to transport staff, not only in anti-drug operations, a Mexican defense ministry spokesman told AFP.

The government has deployed some 50,000 troops across the country since 2006 to take on its powerful drug cartels. A spike in drug-related violence has left some 28,000 people dead since then, according to official figures.

France has also loaned Mexico two EC 725 helicopters to take part in a military parade in the capital on Thursday, during celebrations of the bicentenary of the start of Mexico's independence from Spain.

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