RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Abuses under Scrutiny by UN Commission, NGOs

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Apr 18 2002 (IPS) - United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, numerous non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the Colombian government coincide in their pessimistic outlook when it comes to the human rights situation in the war- torn South American nation.

Robinson said the rule of law in Colombia “is in grave jeopardy as a result of the continuing armed conflict, the escalation of violence, the application of the Law on National Security, the lack of proper administration of justice and the burgeoning paramilitary threat.”

Colombia’s Vice-President Gustavo Bell, who is also the minister of Defence, acknowledged that the steps taken by the government have not been enough “to resolve the violent situations that have persisted for many years now.”

For nearly four decades Colombia has suffered armed clashes between leftist guerrilla groups and government forces. And the conflict has deepened in recent years with the actions of right- wing paramilitaries, and drug trafficking groups.

In this context, respect for human rights has deteriorated and there have been “recurrent and grave breaches of international humanitarian law,” Robinson said in an address Thursday before the UN Commission on Human Rights, which is engaged in its annual six- week sessions in Geneva until Apr 26.

The High Commissioner presented a special report about the Colombian situation to the Commission, the maximum UN forum on human rights.

Based on the elements provided in the debate by Robinson, Bell, some of the official delegates, and NGO representatives, the chairman of the Commission will draft a declaration about Colombia to be presented Apr 25.

For at least five years, the Colombian case has been one of great concern to the UN Commission, but the 53-member forum has never issued a condemnation against the country because the government has consistently been willing to collaborate in improving respect for human rights.

However, every year the chairperson of the Commission has issued a statement sharply criticising the human rights abuses continue to be perpetrated in Colombia.

Another indication of the severity of the Colombian problem in the eyes of the High Commissioner is that a special office has been set up in Bogotá to monitor the human rights situation.

Furthermore, Robinson announced Thursday that, in agreement with the Colombian authorities, branch offices will be opened in the cities of Cali and Medellín.

Her report expresses disappointment with respect to “the recent discontinuation of the peace talks between the government and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrillas and the consequent escalation of the armed conflict.”

The FARC, under the command of Manuel Marulanda, have at least 15,000 armed combatants, according to the U.S.-based NGO Human Rights Watch, and is the largest insurgent organisation in Colombia.

In a letter to Marulanda this week, Human Rights Watch requested the immediate and unconditional release of all people the guerrilla group has kidnapped and is holding hostage.

Regarding guerrilla activities, Robinson’s report states that “violence is increasing and directed particularly against the civilian population.”

Some two million Colombians have been forcibly displaced as a result of the armed conflict, Margarita Pacheco-Montes, head of the Geneva-based NGO New Synergies in Development, told the UN Commission.

Joaquín Pérez, European Union representative, stated that the bloc is concerned about the progressive increase in the number of internally displaced people in Colombia, and their great vulnerability and insecurity in humanitarian terms.

The High Commissioner’s report states that her office “has observed firsthand the weakening capacity of the state and its institutions to address human rights concerns.”

“The state has been increasingly absent in numerous regions of the country, aggravating problems of legitimacy, governance, and respect for the rule of law,” says the document.

Robinson also criticised the sanction and application of Colombia’s Security and National Defence Law.

The People’s Defender (Ombudsman) of Colombia, Eduardo Cifuentes, stated that this law violates the principle of the separation of government powers and threatens the primacy of civilian power of the military.

But Robinson praised a ruling of the Colombian Constitutional Court that declares the law unconstitutional because it violates international humanitarian law.

The international laws, governed by the Geneva Conventions, refer specifically to protecting the civilian population affected by armed conflict, and also the injured and ill combatants and prisoners of war.

The High Commissioner mentioned the “constant expansion and consolidation of paramilitary groups, who are amongst the main violators of human rights.”

These right-wing groups continue to maintain ties with public servants and security forces, according to Robinson.

The human rights organisation Amnesty International continues to receive reports that strong links still exist between the security forces and paramilitaries, said the group’s spokeswoman Tessa Mackenzie.

“Over 80 percent of non-combat killings were allegedly carried out by paramilitaries in collusion with the security forces,” she said.

Robinson, meanwhile, said she is “deeply disturbed by paramilitary claims that a significant number of those recently elected to parliament represent paramilitary groups.”

The High Commissioner also expressed concern about the proposal of the frontrunner in Colombia’s presidential election campaign, Alvaro Uribe, to provide arms to one million civilians to defend themselves against the guerrillas.

Bell, Colombia’s vice-president, said the charges that public authorities have been involved in human rights violations “could not be justified.”

There is no systematic or institutional violation of human rights, and the government of Andrés Pastrana is attempting to strengthen the rule of law by complying with its international obligations, said Bell.