INTRODUCTION
1. On 26
November 1996, the Government of Colombia and the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) agreed on the establishment of an office in
Colombia of OHCHR, which opened in April 1997. Its mandate is to assist the
Colombian authorities in developing policies and programmes to promote and
protect human rights, to advise civil society on matters of human rights, to
observe the situation of human rights and international humanitarian law in the
context of the violence and the internal armed conflict, and to submit its
reports and analyses to the High Commissioner.
2. The High Commissioner
visited Colombia from 7 to 9
September 2007 to sign an agreement with the Government of Colombia to extend
the office in Colombia’s
mandate in its entirety up to 30
October 2010. After 10 years of activities, the High Commissioner wishes to
express her acknowledgement to the Colombian people and to the authorities for
having welcomed and cooperated with the Office. The High Commissioner also
extends her gratitude to those countries and organizations which have given
support to the office in Colombia,
and contributed to the promotion and protection of human rights.
3. This report covers the
period from January to December 2007, focusing on the most significant aspects
of the office in Colombia’s
mandate. It is based on the following activities: systematic and analytical
observations of the human rights situation, including field visits, the
processing of complaints, the analysis of reports and statistics, interviews
with State authorities, victims, other representatives of civil society, United
Nations agencies in Colombia,
bodies from the international community and NGOs.
I. THE POLITICAL CONTEXT
4. Colombia has been seriously
affected by an internal armed conflict for more than 40 years. It has also
become increasingly evident that the illegal armed groups are directly or
indirectly involved in drug-trafficking, and are associated with
local and international networks of organized crime and corruption. The complex
relationships between all these factors, added to persistent structural
problems such as impunity and limitations of access to justice, inequality and
discrimination, continue to affect the human rights situation negatively. That
said, it must be recognized that Colombia has made progress in
restoring security throughout the country in recent years, and the visibility given
to human rights in the public agenda is a solid achievement.
5. During 2007, the most
relevant political and security-related events with an impact on the human
rights situation were: (a) the judicial proceedings against demobilized
paramilitary leaders under Law 975/2005, known as the “Justice and Peace Law”; (b) judicial
investigations into the activities of a number of high-level public servants
for their alleged links with paramilitary groups; (c) the emergence or
consolidation of a range of new illegal armed groups following the paramilitary
demobilization process, some of them having strong links with organized crime
and drug-trafficking; and (d) the holding of regional and local elections.
6. The security forces
continued to implement “el plan de guerra” (war plan) against illegal armed
groups, in particular against the guerrillas, through the “Plan Consolidación”,
which replaced the former “Plan Patriota”. The intensity of hostilities
frequently had a negative impact on the civilian population, and breaches of international
humanitarian law were attributed to all armed actors. Several new illegal armed
groups emerged, building up strength and engaging in
violent acts in certain regions. FARC-EP and ELN persisted in their violent
disruptions of public order and continued to infringe international
humanitarian law. A number of organizations – including the Organization of
American States’ Mission to Support the Peace
Process in Colombia
(MAPP/OEA) – raised the alert on guerrilla activities in specific areas,
formerly under demobilized paramilitary groups’ control. According to the security
forces, there was an increase in militia-type activities by the guerrillas as
they retreated from the regular forces´ offensives. These dynamics are more
directly observed in the south of the Department of Córdoba, in the Urabá-Chocó
area, eastern Antioquia, the north of Santander,
the north of Tolima, Nariño, Putumayo, Guaviare, Vichada and Arauca.
7. The Government authorized
and sponsored a number of initiatives of its own and of third parties, to
make contact with FARC-EP, with varying degrees of support. Its intention was
to find agreements which would lead to the release of hostages in exchange for
imprisoned guerrillas and, perhaps, eventually lead to peace talks. There was
enormous consternation when the 11 deputies from the Departmental Assembly of
Valle del Cauca had been murdered, after being held by
FARC-EP since 2002. Their death was met with a unanimous outcry by Colombians,
leading to massive protests, and a widespread movement of public opinion urging
the release of all the kidnap victims. A mixture of shock and grief also shook
the nation with the publication of pictures of the hostages and letters written
by them to their families, seized by the authorities from FARC-EP agents in
late November, which showed their deplorable situation. All of this reminded
people at home and abroad that those who fall into the hands of illegal armed
groups remain permanently defenceless and vulnerable. Some of them have already
been held for as long as 10 years.
8. On 28 October 2007 elections
were held nationwide for regional and local authorities. Governors and members
of local assemblies were elected in the 32 departments, mayors and councillors
in 1,094 municipalities, four metropolitan districts, and for local wards.
Candidates were nominated from a broad range of political groups. The voter turnout was
high and the results confirmed the country’s political plurality. The
mobilization of the forces of law and order contributed to security at the
polls. During the polling day, a climate of normality prevailed. However,
before and after that day, there were isolated acts of violence. There were death threats
and even murders in some places, mainly by guerrilla groups (especially
FARC-EP), although some were attributed to members of the new illegal armed
groups, drug-traffickers and criminal gangs who threatened the lives of
numerous candidates and restricted their political activities. A total of eight aspiring
candidates and 23 registered candidates were murdered; four aspiring candidates
and five registered candidates were kidnapped.
9. Another important aspect
of the political context was the continuation of the dialogue among the Government,
civil society and the international community, which led to the III International Congress on Colombia,
held in Bogotá in November 2007. The final declaration reaffirmed the need to
continue with efforts to achieve results [in applying the recommendations of
the High Commissioner] as quickly as possible.
II. THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND
INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW SITUATION
10. Although there are some
encouraging signs of improvement, the situation of human rights and international
humanitarian law remains a matter of concern, particularly in regions in which
the dynamics of internal armed conflict have become more intense.
11. The authorities, especially
the Government, welcomed the High Commissioner’s recommendations and
cooperation in general, renewing their commitment to full implementation, while
acknowledging that there are still challenges to be faced and shortcomings to
be remedied. However, major efforts and additional measures must be sustained
and reinforced over a long period of time if they are to be really effective.
This should include coordinated and convergent actions by all sectors and
institutions of the State and civil society. Specific efforts must be made to
prevent victims’ demands from becoming
invisible and thus irrelevant. The fulfilment of the rights of victims of the
armed conflict to truth, justice, and reparation, and the guarantee of
non-repetition, are essential conditions for a transition towards lasting peace
and national reconciliation.
A. State authorities
1.
The fight against impunity
12. Structural problems persist
in the administration of justice. These include the under-reporting of crimes
to the authorities, the difficulties of access to the judicial system, the
insufficiency of funds and technological resources (despite increased budgets),
the lack of uniform criteria in the application of the law, the high workload
of judges and prosecutors, the slow pace of proceedings, and cases of
corruption. During 2007 some progress was made in opening up channels to combat
impunity, particularly in judicial proceedings under Law 975/2005 against
demobilized paramilitary leaders whose depositions represent a first step in
clarifying past events. Investigations have also been undertaken by
the Supreme Court and the Attorney General´s Office against high-level civilian
and military officials for alleged links with paramilitary groups and
corruption.
13. Investigations into the
storming of the Palace
of Justice by the M-19
guerrilla group and its recovery by the army in 1986, and others related to the
murders of members of the Unión
Patriotica were reopened. The courts also handed down decisions against
members of the security forces who perpetrated extrajudicial executions, as in
the cases of the three trade unionists murdered in August 2004 at Caño Seco in
Saravena, Arauca, and the farmer murdered in April 2004 in the village of La Hondita
in El Peñol, Antioquia. In both cases the military patrols reported that the
victims had been “shot in combat”, and the courts found that they were not. The
Attorney General´s Office also ordered the detention of an army captain for the
massacre of five adults and three children in San José de Apartadó, Antioquia,
in February 2005.
14. At the international level,
the Inter-American Court
on Human Rights has ruled against the Colombian
State, which accepted responsibility
for the extrajudicial execution of an indigenous leader in the Nasa community, Cauca, by members of the armed forces in February 1988. In another case in
which the State has also accepted responsibility, the same Court found that
paramilitaries, with the collaboration of State agents, were guilty of the
massacre of 12 officers of the judiciary in January 1989 in La
Rochela, Santander.
(a) Investigations
into links between public officials and private enterprise with paramilitary
groups
15. The Supreme Court of
Justice opened investigations into the activities of 45 members of Congress for
their alleged links with paramilitary groups. The accused are from 16 different
departments; 18 of them have been imprisoned. Others under investigation
include four former departmental governors and 18 former mayors. In November, the
Procurator General dismissed the Director of the Administrative Department of
Security (DAS) and barred him from holding public office for 18 years, for
having collaborated with paramilitary groups and taken part in acts of
corruption. All of these investigations have revealed the extent of
paramilitary infiltration within the State through alliances with politicians
and the support of certain private companies. The Supreme Court has
given clear evidence of its strength and independence, which reinforces the
possibility to further expose other paramilitary connections with members of
public and private institutions.
16. Despite these very
important cases, there remain serious structural problems for the efficacy of
the justice system, as mentioned before. The full introduction of the
accusatory system in the criminal courts, due to be completed by early 2008, is
intended to help combat impunity at all levels.
(b) Judicial proceedings under Law 975/2005, the “Justice
and Peace Law”
17. Law 975/2005 regulates the
procedures to be followed with demobilized members of illegal armed groups and
establishes judicial benefits based on their contribution to justice and
reparation. In 2007, 3,127 of the 31,671 demobilized paramilitaries were candidates for benefits
under Law 975/2005. As at 19 December 2007, the Attorney General´s Office had
begun the process of receiving 1,057 voluntary depositions; of these, 941
depositions were closed because the deponents did not ratify their willingness
to be processed according to Law 975/2005. A total of 542 candidates for
benefits are in prison. The Attorney General´s Office has also registered
121,547 victims. There is a marked contrast between the large number of cases
and the limited progress made – during 2007 not a single indictment was issued.
This shows the size of the Attorney General´s challenges, and supports many of
the concerns and doubts about the process.
18. Some of the victims and
some human rights defenders have pointed out that the information revealed by
the demobilized paramilitaries is often neither complete nor truthful. It is
evident, too, that the statements made by the majority of these paramilitaries
often attempt to justify – and even openly claim credit for – the acts
committed by their organizations. This leads to real risks to the lives and
safety of those victims who participate in proceedings. At the same time, the
flow of information that has come to light as a result of these depositions has
exposed the enormous dimensions of paramilitary criminal activity, and the unspeakable
details of events hitherto unknown to the authorities – let alone the public. These new disclosures
generate legitimate concern about the group of approximately 19,000 demobilized
paramilitaries who have not submitted to Law 975/2005 and have no formal
investigation open against them.
19. There is a growing
consensus regarding the need for new professional and technical resources for
the Attorney General´s Office, the Procurator General and the judicial system.
There must also be renewed national and international political support in
order to reinforce the judicial and political processes of the Justice and
Peace Law.
20. Another challenge lies in
the implementation of mechanisms to guarantee security for the victims to
participate and to receive reparations. This will have to be a central issue in
2008 if the Attorney General´s Office takes the steps that should follow the
depositions of the paramilitary leaders.
2.
Extrajudicial executions
21. The persistence of
extrajudicial executions attributed to members of the security forces,
especially members of the Army, has prompted the Government to strengthen the
control mechanisms. The political will of senior civilian and military
personnel to adopt measures which will prevent, investigate, punish and expose
situations in which this type of action has occurred has been most evident in
their discussions with the Office during 2007; and they acknowledge that
serious crimes, such as extrajudicial executions, do not even achieve any kind
of military advantage.
22. New directives produced
this year by senior Ministry of Defence officials and military authorities have emphasized technical
and regulatory matters. These directives could serve as the practical basis for
a comprehensive attempt to deal with allegations of extrajudicial executions
attributed to the security forces. The office in Colombia will closely and regularly
monitor implementation and results in 2008. All these measures follow the
orientation of several recommendations made by this office, and it is expected
that they will be fully developed in the document on integral policies of human
rights and international humanitarian law to be published by the Ministry of
Defence in early 2008. The Government has also asserted that the Military
Criminal Justice has a restrictive area of action and should be limited to
exceptional cases, as stated in the presidential objection to the bill
containing a new Military Criminal Code. Adjustments were also
made to adopt the accusatory system within the Military Criminal Justice. Other
Army measures included the deployment of operational legal advisers; the
strengthening of internal controls; the reinforcement of its human rights
offices; and training on the application of guidelines for personnel who are
the “primary responsible authority” to preserve evidence for the Attorney
General´s Office.
23. There is an abundance of
guidelines within the military, and an expanded policy of training in human
rights and international humanitarian law. Nevertheless, there is still much to
be done towards the effective implementation of these principles within the
security forces.
24. The office in Colombia continues
to receive complaints of extrajudicial executions attributed to the security
forces Some common characteristics of the complaints are the following: the
victims are represented as having being killed in combat; the scene of the
crime has been tampered with before the bodies were identified; and often
investigations have been initiated by the Military Criminal Justice system.
Official investigations reveal that the underlying motives in several of these
cases may be related to pressure on the military to show results, or to false
claims of success in action by certain members of the security forces to obtain
benefits and recognition.
25. The complaints also
indicate that the victims included some who might have been linked to new
illegal armed groups, such as in Toluviejo in June 2007, where six young men,
apparently recruited by unidentified persons, were found dead several days
later and were reported as having been killed in combat in Chinú, Córdoba, by
the Unified Action Group for Personal Liberty (GAULA) of Army Brigade 11.
26. It is urgent to identify
internal obstacles so that the policies described above can become fully
operative. There is also a need to make progress in the review, design and
implementation of new models of tactical training to be used at the level of
operative units, and to analyse lessons learned.
27. At the same time, OHCHR
welcomes the decision taken by the military leadership regarding the June 2007
incident in Balsillas, Caquetá, when two soldiers shot six people (including a
minor). The immediate reaction of the
military commanders was to send the case to the civilian jurisdiction, where
the soldiers were tried and sentenced in just three months.
28. If extrajudicial executions
are to be totally eradicated, the Attorney General´s Office and the control
agencies need to have greater commitment. The Attorney General´s Office has
created a special unit to conduct investigations of extrajudicial executions.
The complexity and dimensions of this problem require the allocation of
sufficient technical and budgetary resources, and appropriate training for the
investigation team.
3. Enforced disappearances
29. So far, the depositions by
demobilized paramilitary leaders have revealed the location of 1,009
clandestine graves within their respective zones of influence or control. This
has made it possible to recover the remains of 1,196 victims, most of whom have
not yet been identified (440 were reported as preliminary identified, and 118
fully identified bodies have been returned to the families). The process has certainly
revealed the way in which these extremely serious crimes were systematically
committed by paramilitary groups, and the widespread practice of enforced
disappearance in Colombia
in recent years.
30. It is urgent to redirect
the processes of exhumation so that many more bodies can be properly
identified. This will only happen if there is greater effort to facilitate the
participation of the victims’ families in the processes of investigation, in
line with international standards. Colombian and foreign forensic experts have
already made this recommendation to the authorities. The National Plan for the
Search of the Disappeared, issued in February 2007, favors collective and
regional investigations, thus facilitating the identification of patterns and
optimizing the efforts to identify the remains. But the Plan has barely gone
into operation. There have been positive experiences in the application of this
type of approach in Santa Marta, Magdalena, and Yopal, Casanare, which are worth
perfecting and extending to other regions, with the inclusion of guarantees for
the relatives.
4.
Torture and the excessive use of force
31. The office in Colombia
has received information on cases of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment and the excessive use of force by members of the security forces. In
Cesar, complaints have stated that in some extrajudicial executions attributed
to Army personnel, the victims had been tortured.
32. Likewise, the office in Colombia
received information on torture inflicted on soldiers by their superiors in
Bogotá, and it was also informed of cases of torture attributed to members of
the National Police in certain police stations or during patrols in Bogotá,
Huila and Norte de Santander. In the first of these cases, six officers in
Bogotá were removed from active service. The office in Colombia is also following up complaints on
excessive use of force by members of the Police Force’s Mobile Anti-Riot Squad
(ESMAD) in Chocó and Putumayo.
33. Cases
were reported of abuses allegedly committed by members of the police against
the transgender population engaged in prostitution in Bogotá, Medellin
and Cali.
5.
Illegal or arbitrary detentions
34. Complaints were made about
illegal or arbitrary detentions in which warrants were exclusively based on the
testimony of former guerrillas, which was not properly corroborated by other
evidence. In Cesar, 11 people were arrested and presented to the media as
guerrillas, and had to be released several days later for lack of proper
evidence. The same happened to another 12 detainees in Santander.
35. Some judicial decisions
have questioned the impartiality of witnesses, such as former guerrillas or
paramilitaries who receive economic benefits for their testimonies. This
happened in the case of a human rights defender in Santander who spent 14
months in prison on the basis of the testimony of two former guerrillas, and
was later acquitted when it was shown to be false.
6.
The situation in prisons
36. According to official data,
overcrowding in prisons has reached an average of 20.6 per cent, and the
situation is much worse in some establishments. The Government intends to build
11 new prisons during its remaining two and a half years of office. The current
situation requires additional efforts and measures to meet the basic needs of
prisoners, such as health, food, sanitation, legal advice and expert
assistance, and others such as family visits, education and work projects.
Steps already taken to implement an educational model and work training should
be extended to a greater number of inmates. The continuing need for
differential treatment of women prisoners, indigenous people, Afro-Colombians, lesbian,
gay, bisexual , and transgender persons (LGBTs) and AIDS sufferers within the
prison system is still a matter of concern.
37. The National Penitentiary
and Prison Institute (INPEC) has indicated that it will amend Law 65/1993
(Penitentiary Code) and reform the General Regulations for Penitentiaries and
Prisons, to respond to the above-mentioned issues.
38. Finally, Law 975/2005
implies new challenges in the design of a criminal policy. This refers
particularly to the security risks caused by the complex situations arising
when those formerly involved with paramilitary, guerilla and common criminal
groups are brought together in the same facility.
B. The demobilization processes
39. After the formal end of the
collective demobilization, the Casanare Rural Self-Defense Group is the only
remaining paramilitary group recognized during the negotiation process that is still operating. As per the information
directly collected by the office in Colombia, there is still concern that the
new illegal armed groups operating in the Departments of Meta, Vichada and
Guaviare, and there have been actions in Nariño attributed to the self-styled
Nueva Generación (“New Generation”), as was already mentioned in the High
Commissioner’s report of 2006 (E/CN.4/2006/9). These groups are heavily armed,
have a military organization and responsible leaders, and have the capacity to
control territory and to conduct military operations against other armed
actors. They represent an active factor in intensifying the armed conflict,
with direct and serious consequences for the civilian population. There has
been information suggesting that certain members of the armed forces have links
with actions attributed to these groups, or take an acquiescent or tolerant
attitude to them.
40. There are also serious
challenges to the consolidation of the demobilization process, precisely
because of the emergence of new illegal armed groups. The structures, interests
and modus operandi of these
groups are not homogeneous, and the use of identical terms to describe them
often conceals a wide variety of different activities, aims and alliances.
However, whatever their denomination, they remain a legitimate source of
concern because they continue to inflict violence on the civilian population, for example, in the
Departments of Chocó, Valle del Cauca, and Putumayo. The extensive use of the
name Aguilas Negras (Black Eagles) by
several of the existing groups, although they apparently do not belong to a
single structure, has created confusion and has occasionally enabled these
groups to divert attention from their real importance. For this reason, the
simple description of these new structures as “criminal gangs”, does not take
into account the complexity, variety and plurality of the phenomenon and the
danger it implies. Official figures report that the armed forces killed more
than three times as many members of such groups in 2007 as they did in 2006.
41. The authorities have
detected that former middle-ranking cadres from previous paramilitary groups
act as heads of some of these new groups, and that a number of low-level
demobilized members operate in areas which were once zones of influence of the
paramilitaries. Information received by the office in Colombia claims that these groups
maintain links with demobilized paramilitary leaders who have accepted the
terms of Law 975/2005. The Attorney General´s Office is investigating demobilized
paramilitary leaders accused of continuing with their criminal activities from
their cells in Itagui,
Antioquia.
42. Many of these groups have
been engaged exclusively in illegal activities which imply a control of
territory and of the population, such as drug-trafficking, extortion,
security-related actions, racketeering and other illegal activities. These have
often led to violent disputes among the criminals themselves. Their activity is
making a noticeable impact on the population in the form of murders, massacres, acts of
“social cleansing”, death threats and child
recruitment,
evidencing the need for ever greater efforts by the authorities to combat these
new groups and investigate their possible links with public servants and local
government officials. Likewise, the economic influence of these groups tends to
encourage corruption amongst authorities.
43. The Government considers
security and development to be central to sustainable reintegration of
demobilized persons, admittedly aware that the persistence of drug-trafficking
and other illegal activities facilitates the relapse of former combatants and
renews the capacity for recruitment of all illegal armed groups. The
Presidential Advisory Office for Reinsertion is implementing a number of
projects for the effective reintegration of the demobilized population.
However, it faces serious challenges in trying to secure greater participation
of regional and municipal authorities and the business sector to offer
alternative means of employment to the demobilized and guarantee their
security. This Office draws attention to the fact that many of the victims who
have not received reparations in the judicial proceedings under Law 975/2005
perceive the efforts described here as a form of “revictimization” that offends
their personal dignity and sense of justice.
C. Guerrilla groups
44. The FARC-EP continued to
disregard their duty to respect international humanitarian law. They have
committed grave and systematic breaches such as massacres, murders, the taking
of hostages, the planting of antipersonnel mines, acts of sexual violence,
recruitment of children (boys and girls) and terrorist acts. Among their many
crimes, members of this group were said to be responsible for two massacres in
May and August 2007 with 10 victims (among them a girl) perpetrated in Turbo,
Antioquia, as well as the murder of 11 Valle del Cauca assemblymen. They also murdered a
number of municipal officials, including two councillors in Doncello, Caquetá,
and the mayor of San José de Palmar, Chocó.
45. FARC-EP continued taking
hostages, among them 10 timber workers in Riosucio, Chocó, a candidate for the
mayoral elections in Anorí, Antioquia, and five people in the Department of
Nariño who were later found murdered. This tactic is also employed, to a lesser
degree, by ELN. The systematic kidnapping and the prolonged captivity of
hostages are a matter of grave concern. FARC-EP disregard the obligation to
give humane treatment to persons
deprived of their freedom for reasons related to the conflict, as is the case
of members of the security forces held captive for many years. They also take
hostages to obtain economic benefits or to exert political pressure. These military and police personnel and
civilians have spent many years in captivity in conditions which are not
verifiable, with no access to the humanitarian intervention by the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). This must be a cause for
serious ethical and legal reflection that should question the categories of
breaches of international humanitarian law applied to these situations in the
light of the universal criminal jurisdiction. The High Commissioner has always
unreservedly condemned this situation and has insisted firmly and repeatedly
that the kidnap victims should be unconditionally released.
46. FARC-EP continued to plant
anti-personnel mines and to commit violent acts. They are considered to be
responsible for a car-bomb explosion in Cali
on 10 April which destroyed the Headquarters of the Metropolitan Police there,
produced the death of a civilian, and severely damaged various buildings.
47. Although ELN continues to
engage in talks with the Government, it continues to disregard international
humanitarian law and have made death threats, committed murders, taken hostages
and used antipersonnel mines. Among their crimes, there was the murder of an
indigenous leader of the Awa ethnic group in Ricaurte, Nariño, and kidnappings
in Norte de Santander and Arauca.
48. Fighting continues between
FARC-EP and ELN in the departments of Arauca, Cauca and Nariño, and
this has led to an increase in the number of murders, death threats, planting
of anti-personnel mines, and forced displacement.
D. Situations of special concern and particularly vulnerable groups
1. Victims of the armed conflict
49. As noted earlier, the
Attorney General´s Office has registered over 121,547 victims of crimes
committed by members of paramilitary groups who expect to exercise their rights
in the proceedings in progress under Law 975/2005. Nevertheless, the number of
victims of crimes committed in the internal armed conflict is not restricted to
that group alone, and the condition of the victims as such is not derived from
the State’s recognition or by their participation in judicial proceedings. All
of these victims have a legitimate aspiration to truth, justice, and integral
reparation; and to guarantees of non-repetition. It may be that the response to
these expectations will always be relative, but the State has a permanent duty to
maintain its willingness to resolve these problems in the best possible manner.
50. Those victims who aspire to
exercise their rights under Law 975/2005 are confronted with serious and very
concrete obstacles, beginning with the danger to their lives and their personal
safety. The National Police has reported 160 cases of death threats against
victims claiming their rights, and the National Commission for Reparation and
Reconciliation (CNRR) has recorded 13 murders of people who were pressing
claims for the restoration of land and other possessions. There are still
difficulties for the victims who wish to be parties in related court
proceedings due to a lack of clarity regarding the application of some
provisions of Law 975/2005. Added to this, there is limited access to legal
counsel and to appropriate representation in court.
51. In September, the
Government created the Program of Protection for Victims and Witnesses under
Law 975/2005, but this programme has received criticisms from some of the main
beneficiary sectors. Both the Government and CNRR have recognized the need for
administrative mechanisms for reparation that will overcome the limitations of
the existing judicial mechanisms. At the time of writing, the Government and
CNRR were working to set up a legal framework, which could represent an
important initial step forward to fulfill the rights to truth, justice and
guarantees of non-repetition. This is an area of reform and adjustment still
required by the process initiated with Law 975/2005.
2.
Displaced persons and isolated communities
52. In 2007, the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees published a comprehensive report
on forced displacement in Colombia. The figures on forced
displacement in 2007 reveal that incidents were provoked mainly by attacks on
the civilian population by FARC-EP and the ELN, by clashes between these two
groups, or by clashes between
these groups and law enforcement agencies. In Nariño, one of the departments
most affected, displacements were caused by clashes between the guerrillas and
the self-styled Nueva Generación. Also, in certain areas
displacement was related to the presence of illegal crops, or to pressure
exerted by illegal armed groups, or gangs engaged in the growing of illegal
crops and drug-trafficking, or as the effect of aerial spraying.
53. FARC-EP continued to
isolate a number of communities, on occasion planting
antipersonnel mines, which has seriously affected the economic, social and
cultural rights of the population to the point of preventing access to health
care and food.
54. The Government has
increased the funding allocated to meet the needs of the displaced population
and its budgetary effort is significant. However, the Controller General, the
Procurator General and the Constitutional Court have drawn attention to
persisting deficiencies with regard to the differentiated attention to specific
population groups (such as women, indigenous, Afro-Colombians) and inequity in
handling protected rights, especially the right to housing. Cases of forced
displacement (a crime under Colombian law, which has driven almost 2 million
Colombians off their land) have not been properly
investigated, and very few perpetrators have been convicted and reparation has
been granted in very few cases.
55. The Constitutional Court
has actively followed up the issue of displaced persons and established
indicators to measure the effective enjoyment of rights and to overcome the
situation that it had declared unconstitutional, among other means, by
extending the three-month period of humanitarian emergency aid offered by the
State until the affected persons can support themselves. The court also made it
clear that the State must take full responsibility for the stabilization of the
situation of all displaced persons.
3.
Indigenous groups and Afro-Colombians
56. Indigenous and
Afro-Colombian groups – who make up a considerable percentage of the displaced
population – have been particularly affected. This situation is partly due to
the fact that they are located in territories that are strategic in the
dynamics of the internal armed conflict, and partly because they have suffered
from discrimination and marginalization. In addition, they have also been
affected by large-scale productive projects imposed on their collectively held
territories and by legislation unfavourable to traditional forms of production,
by the development of major infrastructure projects - such as dams which can
negatively impact the environment - and by the aerial spraying of illegal
crops.
57. Serious violations
committed against indigenous ethnic communities have been attributed to illegal
armed groups. One instance was the massacre of eight Awá and Pastos Indians in
the municipality
of Cumbal, Nariño, in
June 2007, attributed to FARC-EP. The worst affected regions are Arauca, Cauca,
Chocó, Córdoba, Guajira, Nariño, Putumayo and
Valle del Cauca. The intensification of the armed conflict in Buenaventura gravely affected the individual
and collective rights of the Afro-Colombian population in that area. A very
large number of members of the nomad group Nukak Makú – inhabitants of a region
in the Department of Guaviare who, as a group, are in danger of extinction –
have been displaced and are in a critical situation, needing very specific
attention due to their cultural peculiarities.
58. The Government extended its
comprehensive plan for the support of extremely vulnerable or endangered
indigenous communities into the Departments of Cesar, Risaralda, Meta and Guajira. This is a positive step which needs to
be consolidated, expressly taking into account results from studies conducted
among several ethnic groups focusing on their expected life plans.
59. A plan for integral
development was formulated to improve the situation of Afro-Colombians, and
progress was made in regulating several articles of Law 70 of 1993 on
collective land ownership. This is a process which should culminate in specific
decisions arrived at after consultation with the communities themselves.
4.
Human rights defenders
60. In 2007, human rights
defenders - both men and women particularly rural and grassroots leaders - were
murdered. In Antioquia, Casanare, Norte de Santander, Putumayo and Sucre, cases were reported
in which responsibility was attributed to members of the security forces. Other
cases were attributed to FARC-EP in Antioquia, Arauca, Caldas and Putumayo and
to new illegal armed groups in Antioquia, Bolívar, Cesar, Córdoba, Putumayo and Valle del Cauca. Cases were recorded also of
threats made against human rights defenders in Antioquia, Atlántico and Bogotá
and information was stolen from the offices of human rights NGOs in Bogotá.
Information was also stolen from the Regional Ombudsman’s offices in Bolívar
and Santander. Some members of organizations which offer advice to the victims
of paramilitary groups in the proceedings under Law 975/2005 have also received
threats or been subjected to interference with their work and their work has
been publicly questioned, even by State authorities, especially in Bogotá and
Medellín.
61. In the course of her visit
to Colombia
from 7 to 9 September 2007, the High Commissioner reiterated her support for
the dedicated and courageous work of men and women working as human rights
defenders, and advocated for effective measures to improve their protection.
The High Commissioner called for public officials to stop making statements
designed to discredit human rights defenders’ work, because they might increase
the danger to the defenders’ lives or personal safety.
62. The Protection Programme of
the Ministry of Interior and Justice was strengthened with additional personnel
and extended its coverage to new groups of beneficiaries, such as displaced
persons and victims who were involved in cases under Law 975/2005. Until
effective results are achieved in the investigation, processing and punishment
of those responsible for the attacks on human rights defenders, however, crimes
against them are unlikely to cease.
63. Renewed impetus must be
given to the tasks recommended to the Procurator General and the Ministry of
Defence to guarantee that military and police intelligence files do not include
human rights defenders and organizations without justification. Legislation has
yet to be introduced which will regulate the handling of this kind of
information in accordance with international standards.
5.
Trade unionists
64. Official figures from the Ministry
of Social Protection record 26 murders of union leaders or members, 18 of whom
were teachers. The trade unions record a total figure of 34. The difference
between these numbers, and the consideration of accumulated figures over longer
periods,
has generated an intense debate on the risks faced by union activists in Colombia.
65. A number of murders and
death against trade unionists denounced to the office in Colombia in 2007 were attributed to
members of the FARC-EP, to new illegal armed groups, or to unidentified
persons.
66. In 2006 the
Attorney-General created a special unit to investigate these incidents; to date
the unit has received a total of 1,231 cases. The unit has 13 prosecutors, a
group of investigators and 24 lawyers. At the time of writing, there were
convictions in 82 of those cases, 36 of which were issued in 2007. There was a
conviction in only one of the 21 investigations into the murders of unionists
initiated in 2007. The judiciary’s administrative authority, the Superior
Council of the Judicature, appointed three specialized judges (known as
“Decongestion Judges”) who have been working on 24 cases in recent months, of
which seven have been decided.
67. The State has paid
attention to the problems of union members, especially in allocating a
significant amount of resources to provide protection to union members.
Nevertheless, the poor results of the judicial system reveal an urgent need for
more decisive actions that will secure fundamental rights and the practical
exercise of the right to freedom of association.
6.
Journalists
68. Journalism in Colombia
is vigorous, and it expresses a variety of ideological perspectives.
Nevertheless, in 2007 the Foundation for Freedom of the Press (FLIP, or
Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa) recorded one murder, 92 death threats,
two kidnappingss and seven exiles. The office in Colombia
received information regarding journalists who had been intimidated or
otherwise threatened while covering the public hearings of demobilized
paramilitary leaders in Medellín, Barranquilla
and Bogotá.
69. The Ministry of Interior
and Justice maintains its Journalists Protection Program, but the measures
requested from the Committee for Regulation and Assessment of Risk need to be
expedited. The lack of effective progress in the investigation, processing and
punishment of those responsible for violations of the rights of journalists contributes
to the persistence of crimes against them.
7.
Violence against women and children in the
context of the conflict
70. The armed conflict
continues to have a specific impact on women, even though, as in previous
years, it is not easy to document cases of sexual abuse that have occurred in
this context. Information has been received on cases attributed to FARC-EP,
revealing that sexual violence is used as a mechanism for pressure or
retaliation. For example, in June 2007 a teacher was subjected to sexual violence
in Medellín for having refused to instruct her pupils in the political ideals
of the guerrillas. FARC-EP was also attributed responsibility for the murder of
women who attempted to desert from their ranks.
71. The office in Colombia also received information on cases of
sexual violence attributed to members of the army in incidents which occurred
in Bolívar and Putumayo.
72. In May 2007, the Attorney
General set up a special group within its Human Rights Unit to be responsible
for the investigation of cases in which the victims have been women, children
and adolescents subjected to specific violations of their rights in the context
of the armed conflict.
73. Minors – both boys and
girls - find themselves in a particularly precarious situation when they are
victims of displacement due to the armed conflict. Cases are still being
recorded of boys and girls seriously harmed by anti-personnel mines, acts of
sexual violence, indiscriminate attacks and terrorist activities.
74. FARC-EP continued to recruit
children of both sexes, especially in the departments of Arauca, Cauca,
Antioquia, Sucre, Bolívar, Guaviare, Meta, Nariño and Valle del Cauca. In some cases the
children were placed in the front line, resulting in killings in combats with
State security forces. Likewise, ELN and the new illegal armed groups continued
to recruit children.
8.
Economic, social and cultural rights: poverty
and inequality
75. During 2007, official
figures, including statistics on poverty, unemployment and other socioeconomic
indicators, were the object of public debate due to the changes introduced in
official methods of measurement and to limitations of access to “plain files”,
thus impeding comparisons with figures from previous years. As a result the
credibility of these figures has been questioned. Official statistics reflect
that approximately 45 per cent of Colombia’s population lives below
the poverty line, and 12 per cent in extreme poverty. Displaced persons are the
poorest of the poor. The Gini coefficient for Colombia, which is a measure of
inequality of income and wealth, is 58.6, the third worst in Latin America. Progress is therefore
needed in identifying the most appropriate instruments with which to measure
the effective enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.
76. In 2007, the Government’s
initiative in implementing the pilot phase of the Social Protection Network for
Overcoming Extreme Poverty (a project known as JUNTOS) plans to extend social
services, and has a target of 1.5 million families as potential beneficiaries,
of which 300,000 families are victims of forced displacement. The beneficiaries
receive cash subsidies with the condition that their children attend school and
go for medical checkups. The programme has extended the access to services in
rural areas, but its impact on the reduction of overall poverty and inequity is
contingent on further advances in an integral policy against poverty. The high
rate of economic growth in 2007 and the reduction of unemployment were not accompanied by
an improvement in the quality of employment contracts.
77. In 2007 reforms to the
Social Security (Health) System came into effect,
relieving the lowest income earners from any obligation to make contributions. This measure may help to
eliminate barriers to access of the poorest groups to health services: access
to these services is at present not equitable, particularly in the case of
displaced populations, indigenous groups, women, adolescents and the elderly.
78. The reforms to the regime
of budget transfers from the central Government to regional and local
governments approved in 2007 will modify the distribution of funds received by
the regions for education, health, drinking water and sanitation services, and its impact on both
the coverage and quality of services is still uncertain. As a point of context
of this development, the Ombudsman has denounced the fact that in 2007 over 16
million Colombians did not have access to drinking water. The State also failed
to comply fully with the mandate of the Constitution that education for those
aged between 5 and 15 (including at least one year of pre-school and nine years
of basic education) should be universal, free and mandatory. Finally, other
norms approved this year will make it more difficult to recognize land
ownership rights of the displaced in rural areas.
79. The approval of policies
for health
and education
has all in all been positive and should serve as a basis for other specific
measures that will guarantee the rights of sectors that are particularly
vulnerable and discriminated against.
III. ACTIVITIES OF THE OFFICE IN COLOMBIA
80. During 2007, the office in Colombia
received 1,871 complaints and followed up 1,563 of them. A total of 234
observation missions were undertaken, which represented 606 days of field
visits. The office in Colombia
continued with its activities in other areas of its mandate – advisory
services, technical cooperation and dissemination – from Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cali
and Medellín. On the first of these areas, activities were concentrated mainly
on instruction regarding international standards of transitional justice, the
prevention of violations of human rights, particularly extrajudicial
executions, the scope of military jurisdiction, discrimination, gender-based
violence and the rights of victims. Regarding dissemination activities, there
were 42 press releases and 11 lectures on subjects such as peace and human
rights, victims’ rights, gender and armed conflict and impunity, among others.
81. The renewal of the the
office in Colombia’s mandate was preceded by an joint reflection exercise of between
State agencies and the office regarding its activities in Colombia since 1997,
and the performance of the State. This
exercise enabled themes of common interest to be identified and the scenarios
to enrich the implementation of the Agreement to be created. Also, an assessment of the impact of the office
in Colombia
was made during the year in a frank and productive dialogue with Colombian
organizations, civil society and the international community. The analysis led
to recommendations that will prove useful in enriching the responses which the the
office in Colombia
will make to new demands and needs that arise with regard to the situation of
human rights and humanitarian law.
82. Working with the embassies
of Spain and Sweden and with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the
office in Colombia continued to support the Government and civil society in the
process of formulating a National Action Plan on Human Rights and International
Humanitarian Law, with encouraging results in the definition of criteria for a
methodology for agreeing content and stages for substantial progress in 2008. The
office in Colombia
also provided advice to the National Plan for Education in Human Rights, which
advanced in 2007 by forming five regional technical teams and by developing
pilot plans for the five regions.
83. Among other technical
cooperation projects implemented in the course of 2007, there was the programme
to incorporate a human rights-based approach into municipal development plans. The
office in Colombia
offered advice to local authorities and civil society organizations in 20 municipalities
and two districts of Bogotá.
84. Working with the Ministry
of Interior and Justice, the office in Colombia implemented a programme of
training in human rights for 141officials and community leaders in nine Civic
Coexistence Centers set up in municipalities where the conflict has been most
intense. The office in Colombia
also started a project to support the Office for Ethnic Affairs of the Ministry
of Interior and Justice in the area of prior consultations with indigenous groups.
85. Working with the Procurator
General, the office in Colombia
supported the transition of municipal administrations in a process of
accountability addressed to municipal ombudsmen.
86. The office in Colombia held
many training courses, including the following: (a) courses for military
officers and for personnel from other Latin American countries on matters of
human rights and international humanitarian law; (b) training for 12 civilian
and military institutions on the Istanbul Protocol regarding investigation of
torture; (c) courses for prosecutors on investigation of extrajudicial
executions under the Minnesota Protocol; (d) courses for 98 judges and appeal
justices from the Courts Martial System on the application of the system’s
jurisdiction.
87. In the area of enforced
disappearances, the office in Colombia
began a project for the development of a “diagnostic guide” on the procedure to
be followed before the administration of justice in cases of enforced
disappearance. In coordination with the ICRC, the office in Colombia facilitated the work of an
inter-institutional round table on psychosocial assistance to the relatives of
victims of enforced disappearance.
88. The project for
strengthening the Attorney General´s Office, co-financed by the EuropeanUnion,
ended in 2007. Activities after June were financed by USAID and were designed
to assist the implementation of the High Commissioner’s recommendations for the
institutional strengthening of the Attorney General´s Office, the fight against
impunity and the promotion of human rights and international humanitarian law
in that office.
89. The signature of the United
Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) with the Government of Colombia
on 23 July 2007 was a noteworthy accomplishment for the United Nations Country
Team in Colombia.
The office in Colombia
participated actively in the drawing up of the document.
90. In the framework of the
United Nations Action 2 Global Fund, the office in Colombia supported the
incorporation of the human rights-based approach in the pilot programme
executed jointly with the United Nations system in Soacha, along with the
training of United Nations officials in planning with a human rights
perspective, and the evaluation of the impact of activities performed from 2004
and 2007 in
the Action 2 Programme.
91. Working through the
Inter-Agency Group on Gender, the office in Colombia
played an active part in preparing information material on gender for all United
Nations Ssstem officers in Colombia.
It also offered advice on the issue of gender-based violence to women members
of Congress, and participated in the design of an “Integral Strategy for the
prevention, attention and eradication of all forms of gender-based violence in Colombia”, a project to be financed by the
Millenium Development Goals Fund (MDGF) of Spain’s agency for international
cooperation and development, AECID.
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS
92. The office in Colombia
of OHCHR has continued to support and follow up the implementation of the
recommendations made to all relevant institutions in previous reports. The
results have been of a varied nature. Noteworthy achievements include the
strengthening of the mechanisms for working with the Government, particularly
with the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces, and the progress made in
judicial investigations of the links of political leaders with paramilitary
groups. There is however a need for further progress in the fight against
impunity. The economic and political structures of the demobilized paramilitary
groups need to be dismantled. The illegal armed groups continue to disregard
the recommendations.
93. The office in Colombia
intends to take advantage of the extension of its mandate to undertake a review
of all the recommendations made during the past 10 years. This exercise will
attempt to assess progress, identifying pitfalls and updating pending
recommendations where necessary. The follow-up of the recommendations will be
re-evaluated in order to promote implementation through more effective,
permanent, coordinated and participatory mechanisms.
94. The High Commissioner
encourages the authorities to pay special attention to the following
recommendations. She is firmly convinced that their implementation will
contribute to a substantial improvement in the human rights situation and in
respect for international humanitarian law:
(a) The High Commissioner
calls on the Government, the illegal armed groups and civil society to give
priority to full respect for international humanitarian law and human rights,
particularly the rights of victims, in their efforts to chart a course for
dialogue and negotiations for the achievement of lasting peace;
(b) The High Commissioner reiterates the
importance of follow-up and implementation of previous recommendations pending.
She invites the Government and civil society to continue to progress jointly
and systematically in their efforts to establish methodologies to improve
implementation of those recommendations. She hopes that the mechanisms set up for
this purpose in 2006 will be maintained, and thanks the international community
for its permanent accompaniment, which she urges it to continue. She trusts
that these efforts will enable priority themes of the National Action Plan on
Human Rights and international humanitarian law to be consolidated, and that
this Plan will address the causes of the principal challenges in this area;
(c)The
High Commissioner calls on members of illegal armed groups to practice full
respect for the norms of international humanitarian law and to release,
immediately and unconditionally, all those they are holding as hostages;
(d)The High Commissioner
urges the Ministry of Defense and the Attorney General´s Office to implement
effective means of dismantling all forms of illegal armed groups that have
emerged after the demobilization process began, and to take all measures
required to dismantle the political and economic structures of the demobilized
paramilitary groups. The High Commissioner urges the judiciary to continue in
its investigations of public servants and political leaders who have links with
paramilitary groups;
(e)The High Commissioner
urges the Government and Congress to redouble their efforts in the application
of mechanisms of reparation that are inclusive and comprehensive, embracing all
judicial and administrative measures that will provide an effective guarantee
that the victims will be protected when they exercise their right to the truth,
justice, reparation and non-repetition;
(f) The High Commissioner
calls on the Government, Congress and international cooperation agencies to
strengthen and increase resources for the Attorney General´s Office, the
Procurator General, the Ombudsman’s Office and the Judiciary. The High
Commissioner further urges these institutions to adopt all measures necessary
to respond to the challenges of the implementation of Law 975/2005, and in
general, the fight against impunity - especially the judicial proceedings
regarding extrajudicial executions, murders of trade unionists, journalists and
human rights defenders;
(g) The High Commissioner
calls on the Government, the control agencies and the senior officers of the
Armed Forces to strengthen their efforts to eliminate extrajudicial executions,
to adopt measures designed to prevent, investigate, punish and publicize those
situations in which such violations may have occurred, and to apply and extend
the instructions issued by the Ministry of Defence, as a priority. The High
Commissioner also urges the Attorney General´s Office to clarify all the
accusations of alleged extrajudicial executions at the earliest opportunity;
(h) The High Commissioner
urges the Government to increase its efforts to reduce poverty and extreme
poverty, and in particular, to adopt integral and progressive approaches that
will allow it to overcome the imbalances and inequities that affect large
sectors of society, especially vulnerable groups and those living in rural
areas. Priority should be given to grant and expand equitable access to health,
education and housing services to displaced populations, indigenous groups,
women, children, adolescents and the elderly. In addition, measures to protect
and recognize land ownership rights of the displaced in rural areas should be
considered and implemented.
ANNEX
Representative
cases of violations of human rights and breaches of international humanitarian
law
I. VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
A. The
right to life
1. The office in Colombia of
OHCHR received complaints of violations of the right to life by extrajudicial
execution. In most cases, these
executions followed the same pattern observed in previous years: the victims
were civilians who were presented as members of guerrilla groups or other
illegal armed groups, reported as killed in combat.
2. The office in Colombia
reported several of these cases to the competent authorities. In Riohacha, La
Guajira, members of the Cartagena Battalion were allegedly responsible for the
death of a peasant farmer affected by mental disability. On 2 May 2007, in Hato Corozal, Casanare,
there was the death of a community leader, in events attributed to members of
the Counter-Guerrilla Battalion No. 65.
On 13 May, in Pueblo Bello, Cesar, a murder was allegedly perpetrated by
soldiers of Brigade 10. In Orito Putumayo,
members of Mobile Brigade 13 were allegedly responsible for the death of three
civilians on 9 September.
3. Other violations of the
right to life were reported to have been committed by members of the Army. In Buenaventura, on 3 August,
soldiers of the Cisneros Task Force were allegedly responsible for opening fire
against students, whom they confused with guerrillas. A girl of 14 died. On 17
September, in Montelíbano, Cordoba,
soldiers of Brigade 11 reportedly opened fire against two peasant-farmers who
were under the effects of alcohol, one of whom died. Two soldiers of Brigade IX
were condemned for the killings of six civilians perpetrated on 10 June in San
Vicente del Caguan, Caqueta.
4. The office in Colombia
received complaints of extrajudicial executions attributed to members of the
Police. These include the death of three individuals on 25 March in Ipiales,
Nariño. On 8 September, the killing of a young man aged 22 in El Carmen,
Bolivar, was allegedly perpetrated by members of the Sectional Judicial Police
SIJIN, in an act which had characteristics of “social cleansing”. In Zulia, Norte de Santander, a man died on 3
July after being shot by members of the Mobile Rifles Squadron, EMCAR, in a
manoeuvre which the police officers considered to be suspicious.
5. The office was also
informed of several murders of human rights defenders, union members and other
social leaders. On 28 January, the president of the Municipal Committee for the
Displaced population in La Cotorra, Cordoba,
was murdered. In Montería, on 31 January, there was the murder of Yolanda
Izquierdo, the leader of the displaced who coordinated a collective movement to
recover lands usurped by paramilitary groups. In Medellín, Antioquia, on 23
April, the president of the Community Action Board of the El Pesebre district
of Commune 13, who was also the adviser to the Asociación Madres de la
Canderlaria (Mothers’ Association of La Canderlaria) was murdered, allegedly
because of her work in making denunciations. On 7 November, in Cartago, Valle
del Cauca, the murder of the Coordinator of the Women's Committee in the
Sindicato Unico de Trabajadores de la Educación (union of education workers)
was reported. On 4 May, a political activist of the Polo Democrático
Alternativo (“Alternative Democratic” list) party was murdered in Cali, Valle de Cauca.
6. In October, the office in Colombia
received reports of death threats against members of the NGO Corporación Yira
Castro, and the National Coordinator for the Displaced. In September, a human
rights defender in Tulua, Valle del Cauca was displaced, due to death threats
and the kidnapping of his wife. On 6 November, the Office condemned the
aggression and death threats against Yolanda Becerra, president of Organización
Femenina Popular (Popular Women’s Organization). In Bogotá, in May, three union
members received pamphlets and telephone calls with death threats.
B. The right to personal integrity
7. A report was received that
three young men were tortured on 4 August inside a police station by members of
the National Police in Ocaña, Norte de Santander. In Bogotá, on 12 August, it was reported that
agents of the National Police struck a taxi driver.
8. Cases were reported of
abuses allegedly committed by members of the police against the transgender
population engaged in prostitution in Bogotá, Medellin
and Cali.
9. On 26 May, it was reported
that members of the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad
ESMAD used tear gas against members of an indigenous community who were
blocking the Pereira-Quibdó road, and they destroyed and burned several items
of personal property. On 28 September, there was a report of the mobilization
of peasant-farmers towards Orito, Putumayo, to
prevent the arrival of the crews for illegal crop eradication, and members of
ESMAD used violence to dislodge them.
C. The right to individual freedom and personal security
10. There were reports of mass
detentions conducted by State agents based on intelligence reports or
statements made by informers which had not been properly corroborated. On 24
January, in Aguachica, Cesar, 11 alleged ELN militiamen were detained by
members of the police. Their photographs
and names were published, and they were later released due to lack of evidence.
11. Cases were reported of
illegal detentions of human rights defenders and social leaders who were
accused, without sufficient evidence, of the crime of rebellion. The Office was
informed of the case of a detention of a member of the Kankuano indigenous
community by Army personnel on 15 July in Valledupar,
Cesar, with no judicial order to do so. On 13 February, the president of the
Permanent Human Rights Committee in Nariño was detained. Subsequently, the
Attorney General's Office decided that there had been irregularities in the
evidence presented, and ordered the accused to be released.
D. The right to due process
12. In several of the cases
reported to the office, the authorities in the Military Criminal Justice System
took up the investigation of crimes which should have been taken by the civil
courts. On 30 September in Aguazul, Casanare, there was a murder which was
allegedly committed by members of the Taurema Battalion and the investigation
was taken by Military Criminal Court 13. The investigation of the killing of a
peasant-farmer on 26 April in Abrego, Norte de Santander, allegedly committed
by members of Battalion 15, was sent to Military Criminal Court 37.
13. The office was also
informed of cases in which prosecutors of the civil jurisdiction sent case
files opened for homicides with characteristics of extrajudicial executions to
the military jurisdiction. In the case of the murder of the president of the
Community Action Board of La Union, Yondó, on 25 June, the Regional
Prosecutor's Office of Barrancabermeja sent the case to Military Criminal Court
14. In several cases of civilians reported as killed in combat in Aguazul,
Casanare, the Attorney General's Office remitted the cases to the Military
Criminal Courts.
14. The office was informed
that certain judges in the criminal military system who intended to return case
files to the civil courts came under pressure from the commanding officers of
the units.
15. The office also received
information on cases in which the work of the justice system was obstructed. On
15 February, after a clash in which four individuals died in La Gloria, Cesar,
police personnel had no access to the crime scene, and the official reports on
the bodies were prepared by Army personnel.
E. The right to private life
and inviolability of domicile
16. On 26 January, a peasant farmer
was detained by Army personnel in Fortul, Arauca,
accused of being a guerrilla. He was taken to Bogotá, where he was presented
before several national media. Two days later he was released, due to an error
of identification.
17. On 25 January, soldiers of
the Mechanized Infantry Battalion No. 3, entered the indigenous reserve of
Chagui Chimbuza, Nariño, and with no judicial order, searched the houses of
several members of the Awá indigenous communities.
18. Human rights organizations
in Bogotá, such as JUSTAPAZ (Centro Cristiano para Justicia, Paz y Acción
Noviolenta) and Corporación Juridica Yira Castro, reported that during June,
August and November their offices were broken into, and the hard disks
containing information on their work with victims were stolen from their
computers.
F. The right to freedom of
opinion and expression
19. The Fundación para la
Libertad de Prensa (FLIP, Foundation for Press Freedom) recorded 92 cases of
death threats against journalists.
20. In Bogotá, in September,
the journalists Hollman Morris and Gonzalo Guillén received death threats over
the telephone and by e-mail, as a result of their work on human rights issues
and the process of demobilization of paramilitaries
II. BREACHES
OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW
A. Murder and threats against protected persons
21. The office in Colombia
recorded in 2007 a large number of massacres, most of which were attributed to
members of FARC-EP. On 18 June, 11 assemblymen from Valle del Cauca, kidnapped
by FARC-EP in 2002 were murdered. In Turbo, on 16 May, members of FARC-EP were
allegedly responsible for opening fire against a vehicle, which caused the
deaths of four people including a girl aged 3. In Cumbal, Nariño, on 5 June,
FARC-EP were allegedly responsible for the death of eight members of the
indigenous Awá and Pasto
communities. There was also the killing of three peasant farmers allegedly
perpetrated by members of the ELN, on 12 March in Mercaderes, Cauca.
22. There were also reports of
selective murders. On 15 January, members of FARC-EP murdered two teachers in
Ricaurte, Nariño, and on 23 January, they murdered the president of the
Community Action Board in Samaná, Caldas. Members of ELN were allegedly
responsible for the murder of a community leader in Tame, Arauca
on 28 July. On 11 June, on the Totumeando-Manjuari road, members of FARC-EP
reportedly used an electric saw to kill a truck driver.
23. According to information
collected, eight potential candidates and 22 candidates to the 2007 local elections
were murdered by the illegal armed groups in the course the election campaigns.
Members of FARC-EP were allegedly responsible for most of these murders. There
were also murders of local authorities.
In El Doncello, Caquetá, on 9 July, two municipal councillors were
murdered during actions attributed to members of FARC-EP. The same group was
allegedly responsible for the murder of the Mayor of San José del Palmar,
Chocó, on 12 July.
24. There continued to be
reports of murders of indigenous leaders. FARC-EP were allegedly responsible
for the murder of two members of the Central Assembly of the Nasas settlements
in Florida, Valle del Cauca, the murder of a member of the Awá community in the
Cuascabi Paldubi reservation in Nariño, on 1 May, and of two members of the
Embera Katio indigenous community in Cordoba on 31 May. ELN was allegedly
responsible for the murder of an Awá leader on 11 January in the Gualcalá
reservation in Nariño.
25. There were reports of
murders attributed to the illegal armed group Autodefensas Campesinas - Nueva
Generación (“New Generation-Peasant Self-Defence Force”, or AC-NG). On 3 February, in Samaniego, Nariño, a man
was taken from his home by a group of individuals, and on 8 February, his body
was found with signs of torture. On 25 February, the Mayor of Cumbitara, Nariño
was intercepted by a group of paramilitary AC-NG, who tied him to a tree and
threatened to kill him.
26. There were death threats
against candidates to the local elections and authorities. In Huila, several
mayors reported death threats attributed to members of FARC-EP. The same group
was allegedly responsible for threats against municipal officials in
Villagarzón and in Puerto Guzmán, Putumayo,
and against five mayors in Valle del Cauca.
27. There were also reports of
threats by members of FARC-EP against journalists. These included threats
against journalists in Arauca and Saravena on
7 August, for not having read out a press release made by this group.
28. On 20 March and 6 June, the
illegal armed group AC-NG made death threats on the Internet against several
human rights defender organizations, the Pastoral Social of Tumaco, and the
Mayor of Samaniego, accusing them of being “terrorists and couriers of human
rights”.
B.
Attacks against the civilian population and
indiscriminate attacks
29. On 20 August, guerrillas of
the FARC-EP attacked an Army armoured car, which caused the death of a civilian
and wounded five more. On 9 April, an attack with a car bomb destroyed the
police headquarters in Cali,
causing the death of one person, wounding 41, and damaging 240 properties.
30. On 29 April, in Puerto
Asis, Putumayo, devices placed by members of
FARC-EP exploded and damaged property.
31. In Nariño, clashes between
FARC-EP and ELN throughout the year led to blockades of food, medicines and
fuel, a crisis in the health and hygiene system, and the isolation of
communities due to the planting of minefields.
32. On 3 September, members of
FARC-EP stopped a bus on the Medellín-Anori road and forced the passengers to
step out of the vehicle. In Teorama, Norte de Santander, members of FARC-EP
blocked traffic for five days, by placing a truck belonging to the municipality
across the road, and saying that they had planted a bomb in it.
33. In Lopez, Cauca,
in February, members of Mobile Brigade No. 14 allegedly imposed restrictions on
the provision of food and fuel. On 9 October, in Orito, Putumayo,
troops of the Anti-Narcotics Brigade stopped a health brigade truck from
entering the rural district of Santa Lucia.
C. Acts of terrorism
34. In Carmen de Viboral,
Antioquia, on 19 May, numbers of FARC-EP were allegedly responsible for the
murder of two peasant farmers, and for having dynamited their houses in order
to intimidate the population. FARC-EP were reported to have mounted a number of
attacks in Cali and Buenaventura, including five on 23 June,
which left 23 wounded.
D. The taking of hostages
35. The office in Colombia was informed of the kidnapping of nine
geologists in Choco on 13 March, by FARC-EP; of four contractors of an oil
company in Saravena on 12 March; and of a businessman in Caldas in a rural area
of Manizales on
1 May, who subsequently died in a military operation. On 22 January, four
peasant-farmers were kidnapped by members of the ELN in Hacarí, Norte de
Santander.
36. On 14 August, a local
candidate for mayor in Betulia, Antioquia, was kidnapped by members of FARC-EP.
In La Playa Norte de Santander, a candidate for mayor was kidnapped on 5 July,
by persons allegedly belonging to ELN.
E. Forced displacement
37. On 24 February, 375 members
of the indigenous Pastos and Awá groups took refuge in Ecuador, due to the murder of the
president of the indigenous reservation of San Juan de Mayasquer, and as a
result of death threats against several teachers by FARC-EP.
38. On 24 March, in El Charco,
Nariño, a total of 4,876 persons were displaced due to combat between FARC-EP
and the Colombian Marines.
39. In Arauca,
a clash between FARC-EP and ELN forced a number of mass displacements, such as
those reported in January and April in Fortul and Arauquita.
40. On 16 May there were
reports of forced displacement of 40 families from the rural area of Istmina,
Chocó, due to clashes between FARC-EP and an illegal armed group which calls
itself “Rondas Campesinas Populares” (popular peasant “rounds”, or civil
defence groups).
41. On 25 May, 40 families, 24
of them from the indigenous Awá communities, were displaced to the town of
Valle del Guamuez, Putumayo, as a result of the killing of a young man allegedly
committed by members of Counter-guerrilla Battalion 87.
F. Child victims of the armed conflict
42. The office in Colombia was informed of several cases of
recruitment, particularly by FARC-EP in the Departments of Putumayo, Cauca, Caldas and Nariño, and by ELN in Bolivar and Norte
de Santander. In Cartagena,
Bolivar, there were reports of the recruitment of boys and girls by
unidentified armed groups.
43. Several cases were recorded
of child victims of antipersonnel mines. On 22 September, in the Nulpe Medio
Alto Reservation in Nariño, three children from the indigenous Awá group died
when they stepped on antipersonnel mines planted by FARC-EP.
44. The office in Colombia
received a complaint about the use of a boy of 11 as a guide by members of the Nueva
Granada Battalion in a military operation in southern Bolivar; another case
reported the use of boys and girls as informers for the Marines and the
National Police.
G. Women victims of armed conflict
45. On 26 June, a woman was the
victim of a rape by FARC-EP guerrillas, in retaliation for having refused to
cooperate with the illegal group.
46. There was a case of sexual
violence on 27 July, in El Carmen de Bolivar, Bolivar, against a woman
suffering from mental disability, attributed to seven soldiers of the Army.
47. The office in Colombia
recorded attacks on the lives of woman leaders, such as those suffered by the
Mayor of Neiva, Huila, on 28 February and 22 December, attributed to FARC-EP.
There were also the murders of a town councillor of San Vicente del Caguan,
Caqueta, on January 6 and a woman councillor of Arauquita, Arauca,
on 8 June.
48. There were death threats
against women in Cauca by FARC-EP, caused by
the fact that they had personal relationships with members of the regular armed
forces.
49. The office was informed
that members of Jungle Brigade 27 had sexually harassed girls in the rural area
of San Miguel, Putumayo.
H. Use of antipersonnel mines
50. In the Nulpe Alto
Reservation in Nariño, 167 families in the Awá community were isolated due to
the large number of mines planted by members of FARC-EP. The same situation
occurred in the Nasa Kwe’s Kiwe indigenous reservation in Valle del Cauca.
51. The existence of the
minefields has also caused forced displacement. On 23 April, in Tame, Arauca, all members of the La Esperanza indigenous
reservation were displaced after the area was mined.
52. There were also reports of
schools mined by the illegal armed groups. In April, members of FARC-EP planted
antipersonnel mines around the school in the rural district of Campiña de
Manzanares, Caldas.
- - - - -
