Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is seeking international support for his plan to allow paramilitaries to other convicts to avoid jail by paying compensation to victims.
He told the UN General Assembly this evening that he was willing to modify his proposals in order to achieve peace in his country.
"I understand the concern raised by offering alternative sentences for grave crimes," said Mr Uribe, who has presided over a military buildup aimed mainly at Marxist rebels.
"But in a context of 30,000 terrorists, it must be understood that a definitive peace is the best justice for a nation in which several generations have never lived a single day without the occurrence of a terrorist act," he said.
His proposals, introduced to the Colombian congress last month, would allow the president to commute prison terms for far-right paramilitaries or leftist guerrillas. Instead, they could pay fines or reparations to victims, serve house arrest or do community service.
Mr Uribe's government is now negotiating with paramilitary groups that Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch blame for most of the country's gross human rights abuses.
The president hopes 90 per cent of the right-wing militiamen will lay down their arms by late 2005.
He acknowledged that the legislation had caused controversy at home and abroad. "Therefore, we invite everybody to examine the different options and to achieve the best final text," he said. He told the General Assembly that murders, kidnappings, massacres, and overall crime had been reduced since he took office in August 2002. But he said the overall figures were still staggering.
For example, homicides fell by 22 per cent but still totaled 21,253 cases. Kidnappings fell 34.7 per cent with 1,485 people snatched. People forced from their homes fell 66 per cent to 73,586 cases, Mr Uribe said.
He also met UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has sent envoys to help with the peace process. Mr Annan, in a statement, said he remained committed to helping Colombia "reach a negotiated solution to the conflict".