UN Human Rights Council, 6^th regular session

Oral statement on Colombia

General Debate, 14 September 2007

AI Index: AMR 23/034/2007 (Public)

Amnesty International welcomes this general debate.

We welcome the signing of the agreement for a three-year extension of the integral mandate of the High Commissioner’s Office in Colombia. This extension was essential given the ongoing serious human rights situation in the country.

Colombia continues to face a human rights and humanitarian crisis, despite improvements in certain indicators of violence associated with the armed conflict, such as killings and kidnappings. In particular, AI continues to be concerned about the still high numbers of internally displaced people; killings of and threats against trade unionists and human rights defenders, mainly by paramilitary groups; continued enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions and the increasing number of reports of extra-judicial executions by the security forces; and killings and kidnappings of civilians by guerrilla groups¹.

All parties to the conflict – paramilitaries, the security forces and the guerrilla groups– continue to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. They are responsible for serious human rights abuses against human rights defenders, trade unionists and other groups at particular risk in Colombia. Despite the supposed demobilisation, paramilitaries continue to issue death threats against and to kill human rights defenders, trade unionists and other social activists, accusing the victims of these threats of being subversive collaborators. The demobilization process is also failing to dismantle effectively paramilitary structures, which continue to operate in collusion with security forces, sometimes under new names.

AI remains seriously concerned about continued and repeated breaches of international humanitarian law by guerrilla groups, including selective killings of civilians and hostage taking.

AI also continues to receive many reports of extra-judicial executions committed directly by the security forces. The victims are repeatedly presented as guerrillas killed in combat. Many cases of extra-judicial executions are investigated by the military justice system thus guaranteeing impunity for those responsible.

A serious flawed paramilitary demobilization process, combined with thousands of cases of threats and killings and a chronic lack of investigations and prosecutions, makes Colombia one of the most dangerous places in the world for trade unionists. In a report issued last July²AI highlights a pattern of systematic attacks against trade unionists involved in labour disputes, in campaigns against privatization or in favour of workers’ rights in some areas where extractive industries operate³.

AI welcomes the Tripartite Agreement signed by the Colombian government, Colombian business representatives and Colombia’s trade union confederations in June 2006, under the auspices of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The agreement provides for the establishment of a permanent presence of the ILO in Colombia. This presence will monitor respect for freedom of association in the country and progress made by the special units of the Office of the Attorney General to investigate killings of trade unionists most of which are carried out with impunity.

AI asks this Council to:

- support adequate monitoring of the security situation faced by the trade unionists and other human rights defenders in Colombia;

- support efforts by the Colombian government and the ILO to investigate cases of threats, attacks against and killings of trade unionists; and to

- regularly examine the situation in Colombia with the aim of insisting on the full and prompt implementation by the Colombian government and by the guerrilla forces of the recommendations of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.