Colombia

Forum with Civil Society Organizations - VI Summit of the Americas

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Wed, 04/11/2012 - 09:00 - Thu, 04/12/2012 - 17:00
VI Summit of the Americas
Cartagena

CCAJAR and CEJIL issue a press release on the Mapiripán Massacre hearing at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Bogotá D.C., and Washington D.C., November 24, 2011– Regarding the hearing on compliance with the Judgment of the Mapiripán Massacre case, held on Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011 at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, CEJIL and CCAJAR express their satisfaction that the Court reaffirmed that the prime interest is the protection of the victims of severe human rights violations.

Thu, 11/24/2011

Bogotá D.C., and Washington D.C., November 24th, 2011– Regarding the hearing on compliance with the Judgment of the Mapiripán Massacre case, held on Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011 at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, CEJIL and CCAJAR express their satisfaction that the Court reaffirmed that the prime interest is the protection of the victims of severe  human rights violations.

In its 2005 judgment the Court was able to identify 20 victims of the massacre by name. At the same time, it stated that there were approximately 49 victims and that the State had the duty to continue investigating the facts in order to identify the remaining victims.

During the compliance hearing, it was clear that the victims named in the judgment had been confirmed by the State on several occasions throughout the international proceedings. An additional victim was identified by the State during the process of monitoring compliance. However, today, the Colombian State is questioning some of these recognized victims in clear contradiction with its previous submissions to the Court. During this compliance hearing, it was also evident that the Colombian State has been negligent in its duty to individually identify the victims of this massacre, as well as to establish the actual number of murdered and forcibly disappeared victims.

The information presented by the State before the Court is based in the investigations of the Justice and Peace Unit of the Prosecutor’s Office, which, without denying the existence of the Mapiripán Massacre itself, are intended to reduce its magnitude, by referring to the existence of only 12 victims.

In contradiction to this, a report by the Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Unit of the Prosecutor’s Office issued on April 2011 identifies 77 possible victims of the Massacre.

At the hearing before the Court, the State asked for the review of the judgment, without presenting evidence of its affirmations or clarifying the terms of its request. Fourteen years and four months after the Mapiripán Massacre, and six years after the Inter- American Court´s  judgment was issued the Colombian State asked for 3 more months to present the evidence that would support its current request.

We welcome the fact that the Colombian State is resorting to the appropriate channels for debate, such as the procedure for monitoring compliance with a judgment, and not to de facto actions such as discussing the case in the media or presenting inaccurate information.

It will be the Inter-American Court, in an autonomous manner, and after the corresponding legal debate, that will issue the appropriate resolution which will protect the truth based on the real facts of the case, as well as the victims of the Mapiripán Massacre. The decisions of the Court are final and cannot be questioned or appealed.

Center for Justice and International Law issues statement on the Mapiripán v. Colombia case

Washington D.C., November 1, 2011 – As is public knowledge, Mariela Contreras, a witness in the Mapiripán v. Colombia case decided by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2005, has allegedly recently retracted the statements she gave in Colombian proceedings in 2002 and before the Inter-American Court in 2005. This has generated a vigorous debate in Colombia over the magnitude of the crimes that were committed, the penalties given to those responsible, and the duties of both the justice administration, as well as the lawyers representing the accusers.

Tue, 11/01/2011

Washington D.C., November 1, 2011 – As is public knowledge, Mariela Contreras, a witness in the Mapiripán v. Colombia case decided by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2005, has allegedly recently retracted the statements she gave in Colombian proceedings in 2002 and before the Inter-American Court in 2005. This has generated a vigorous debate in Colombia over the magnitude of the crimes that were committed, the penalties given to those responsible, and the duties of both the justice administration, as well as the lawyers representing the accusers.

First, it is essential to clarify that there is no doubt in either the domestic or international arena as to the occurrence of the massacre. Nor is there any doubt as to the shared role of the AUC and members of security forces in events, which were widely reported in the press and for which both the state and the paramilitaries themselves have recognized their responsibility. Second, CEJIL shares the concern of the justice administration, our colleagues from the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CCAJAR), the government, and Colombian society when faced with the possibility that this witness may have manipulated the process at the national and international level with false declarations, and we are confident that this situation will be properly investigated and clarified.
 
On the other hand, it should be emphasized that CEJIL and CCAJAR began representing Mariela Contreras in the international proceedings in 2003, four years after the initial petition in the Mapiripán case was presented before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, and one year after her declaration to the Attorney General of Colombia.
 
Moreover, her statement was entirely consistent with the statements of her children, the forensic evidence, evidence of relevant documents, the testimony of the authorities, among them judge Novoa Cortes, as well as with the statements of expert witnesses, victims and their family members. When litigating a case, the evidence is fundamentally based on the entire body of evidence that exists at the internal level and on all the information provided by the State. Additionally, it should be noted that the Colombian state itself, represented by the Executive authority, repeatedly included Mrs. Contreras among the family members of the victims of the massacre during the international proceedings and assumed international responsibility for the crimes committed.
 
The uncertainty over the number of victims of the Mapiripán massacre is not a new issue, but rather was clearly identified during international litigation. Indeed, the difficulty in reaching a precise number of victims was identified by the Inter-American Court in their 2005 judgment as one of the shortcomings of the state’s investigation. In that judgment, the Court ordered the state to conduct all due diligence necessary to individualize and identify each executed and disappeared victim and their family members within a reasonable amount of time. That same Court reaffirmed that, precisely because of the way in which the massacre was planned and executed, it was possible that, in exceptional cases, the whereabouts of persons previously taken for dead could be established in the course of a criminal investigation.
 
In light of this information, CEJIL and the other human rights organizations connected to this case remain committed to establishing the truth, bringing those responsible to justice and determining the reparations owed to the victims.
 
Contact in Washington Milli Legrain mlegrain@cejil.org Tel (1) 202 319 3000
 

Colombian Human Rights Defenders Continue to Endure Threats, Attacks, Harassment and Illegal Surveillance under Santos Government

On May 10, U.S. citizen Kimberly Ann Stanton, wife of human rights lawyer Rafael Barrios of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CCAJAR), and former Washington Office on Latin America deputy director received in her cell phone voice mail a recording of a private conversation that she had had with Rafael Barrios a few days previously, while they were in the car provided for Mr. Barrios’ protection by the Colombian government’s protection program. The voice mail was preceded by numerous calls to her cell phone from a cell phone in Turbo, Antioquia.  Upon receiving the complaint, the Attorney General’s office examined the car and found a microphone in it.

 

Mon, 05/23/2011

Despite welcome promises on human rights improvements by the Santos Administration that took office in August 2010, Colombia’s human rights defenders continue to endure threats, attacks, break-ins of their homes and offices, and illegal surveillance. Two recent incidents involving leading human rights defenders illustrate how dangerous the situation has become.

On May 10, U.S. citizen Kimberly Ann Stanton, wife of human rights lawyer Rafael Barrios of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CCAJAR), and former Washington Office on Latin America deputy director received in her cell phone voice mail a recording of a private conversation that she had had with Rafael Barrios a few days previously, while they were in the car provided for Mr. Barrios’ protection by the Colombian government’s protection program. The voice mail was preceded by numerous calls to her cell phone from a cell phone in Turbo, Antioquia.  Upon receiving the complaint, the Attorney General’s office examined the car and found a microphone in it.

On April 7, CCAJAR had returned some of the protection measures provided by the government, those administered by the intelligence agency DAS, because “we have learned that the protection program for CCAJAR was being used against us,” according to Mr. Barrios.   However, CCAJAR had kept the protection scheme provided for by the Ministry of Justice, including the car that Mr. Barrios was using for his protection, in which the microphone was subsequently found.

This event takes place in a very tense context due to the current work that CCAJAR is undertaking. On one hand, CCAJAR’s attorneys are representing victims before national courts in the case against DAS agents for illegal surveillance on civilians, including journalists, human rights defenders, and opposition leaders. On the other hand, CCAJAR also represents victims of human rights violations committed by high- ranking military officials. In this regard, just a few weeks ago, a sentence was issued convicting General Arias Cabrales to 35 years in prison for the forced disappearance of 11 people, all represented by CCAJAR, in the Palace of Justice case.

This same week the Bogotá home of prominent human right defender, Danilo Rueda, of the Inter-Church Commission of Justice and Peace (CIJP) was broken into, computer tampered with and two USBs stolen. The USBs contained sensitive information relating to the Operation Genesis case, a joint military and paramilitary operation carried out in the Chocó in 1996-7 whose Afro-descendant victims are represented by CIJP in a legal suit against retired General Rito Alejo del Rio.

Mr. Rueda and other CIJP staff are victims of the DAS illegal surveillance intelligence case. The break in is the latest of a series of troubling security incidents.

In April, CIJP staff was riding in Bogotá in armored cars provided by the government’s protection program when they were followed suspicious individuals. The trailing car proceeded to follow Mr. Rueda to his home. The car containing four men stopped in front of Mr. Rueda’s apartment, and one of the men rang his bell. When no one responded they left. On April 1, Gisela Cañas, a lawyer with CIJP, received a text message with the following death threat: “Listen Gisela bloody bitch…we know where you are and we will kill you for defending foolish things, we give you 48 hours to leave the country.”

Justice and Peace, a religious organization, provides legal and physical accompaniment to Afro-Colombian, indigenous and campesino and displaced communities and victims in various conflictive regions of Colombia including the Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Cauca, Sucre and Putumayo. The break-in at Mr. Rueda’s home and a recent break in at Justice and Peace’s Curvaradó office are indicative that Mr. Rueda and staff are at very high risk of harm.

We join these human rights defenders and their organizations in calling on the Colombian government to: promptly investigate and prosecute these threats, break-ins, and illegal surveillance; improve protection measures as requested by the groups affected; and put an end, for once and for all, to all illegal surveillance. The Santos Administration must not only embrace the language of human rights, but also take effective action to guarantee the legitimate work of human rights defenders, essential for freedom of expression and a thriving democratic society. We join U.S. policymakers in welcoming the improved tone that Mr. Santos has brought to human rights issues, but the U.S government should insist upon concrete, demonstrable results in the investigation and prosecution of these cases, the strengthening of protection programs, and the dismantling of illegal surveillance schemes.

For more information, contact:

Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli, Washington Office on Latin America, (202) 546-7070, cell (202) 489-1702, gsanchez@wola.org

Lisa Haugaard, Latin America Working Group, lisah@lawg.org

Viviana Krsticevic, Center for Justice and International Law, vkrsticevic@cejil.org

Abigail Poe, Center for International Policy, abigail@ciponline.org

Colombia Should be Held Liable for Violating Human Rights in the Case of Missing Persons During the Palace of Justice Siege in Colombia

Years waiting for justice

Audiencia ante la CIDH en el caso de los desaparecidos del Palacio de Justicia

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has sufficient evidence to declare the international responsibility of Colombia for the violation of human rights in the operation held by the army and the police to regain control of the Palace of Justice on November 6, 1985.

Mon, 03/22/2010

Washington D.C. March 22, 2010

Audiencia ante la CIDH en el caso de los desaparecidos del Palacio de Justicia

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has sufficient evidence to declare the international responsibility of Colombia for the violation of human rights in the operation held by the army and the police to regain control of the Palace of Justice on November 6, 1985.

This was proved today at a hearing before the IACHR by the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the Colectivo de Abogados "José Alvear Restrepo" (CAJAR), and the Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJP).

For petitioning organizations , the State of Colombia is responsible for the disappearance of 12 people, the torture of three, and the disappearance and extrajudicial execution of a Judge of the Supreme Court.

The incident occurred in an operation by the police and army to retake the Palace of Justice, which had been violently occupied by the guerrilla group Movimiento 19 de Abril (M-19), with over 300 people inside. The operation, in which force was used excessively and disproportionately, causing over 100 deaths.

Liliana Avila from CIJP said that “nearly a quarter century after, the case of the Palace of Justice remains in total impunity. The government has not not adequately investigated the enforced disappearances, the torture, nor the extrajudicial killing of the magistrate judge".

The organizations highlighted the findings of the Truth Commission on the facts of the Palace of Justice, prepared by the Supreme Court, which issued its final report in December, 2009.

According to the Truth Commission, there is no doubt that the missing persons (cafeteria employees and occasional visitors) entered the Palace of Justice the day of the incident, survived the operation for "retaking", were arrested by agents of the State, designated as “special hostages" with "arbitrary and superficial criteria” and forcibly disappeared. Until this date, there is no knowledge of their whereabouts.

Also demonstrated by the Truth Commission, torture and cruel degrading treatment suffered by a student, a lawyer, and an employee of the state enterprises of Bogota, as well as the extrajudicial killing of Judge Carlos Horacio Urán, who left the court alive with non-fatal injuries and was executed by government agents.

The first complaint about the case before the IACHR was released in 1990, but until now there has been no response from the State. For the petitioning organizations, such conduct of the State "is consistent with its silence on internal level in reference to the requests for truth and justice by victims and their families."

"Faced with allegations of procedure of the state, we want to draw the attention to the procedural conduct of the State which is absolutely made upon bad faith" said Viviana Krsticevic, executive director of CEJIL.

For Krsticevic, in 19 years of processing the case before the IACHR, the State has only submitted 19 pages of "precarious and insufficient" information.

Rafael Barrios, CAJAR lawyer, criticized that the State has not referred to the report of the Truth Commission, which confirmed the allegations of the petitioners, and recalled that the first serious research began 20 years after the fact, but so far not a single sentence has been given. Barrios has denied that 14 members of the military are in trial and added that six military defendants are in complete liberty because the State failed to beat the deadlines for processing.

The petitioning organizations asked the IACHR to "help break the pact of silence" by issuing a substantive report to establish the international responsibility of the Colombian state.

 

Press Contact: Mauricio Herrera. Director of Communications.

(202) 319-3000, (202) 445-46-76. mherrera@cejil.org.

 

The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) is an advocacy of human rights in the Americas. CEJIL's main objective is to ensure full implementation of international human rights standards in the Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS), through the effective use of the Inter-american human rights system and other international protection mechanisms. CEJIL is a nongovernmental nonprofit with consultative status at the OAS, the Organization of the United Nations (UN) and observer status with the African Commission on Human Rights.

 

VI Summit of the Americas

More Information

Sat, 04/14/2012 (All day) - Sun, 04/15/2012 (All day)
Cartagena
Colombia

Organizations across North America express support for CAJAR and Inter-American System

November 21, 2011 - Twenty-five non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from across Canada, the United States and Mexico have signed statements and sent letters of support for the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective (CCAJAR) and the Inter-American Human Rights System in response to troubling statements questioning the credibility of CCAJAR and the Inter-American system made by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and other high-ranking Colombian officials.

Thu, 12/01/2011

November 21, 2011 - Twenty-five non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from across Canada, the United States and Mexico have signed statements and sent letters of support for the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective (CCAJAR) and the Inter-American Human Rights System in response to troubling statements questioning the credibility of CCAJAR and the Inter-American system made by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and other high-ranking Colombian officials.
 
The Colombian government made these statements after a woman recanted her previous testimony that her husband and sons had been killed in the 1997 massacre in the village of Mapiripán. CCAJAR had represented the woman, along with several other victims' family members, in a case brought before the Inter-American Human Rights Court, which ruled in 2005, based upon evidence provided by the Colombian government, that the Colombian State held responsibility for the massacre and should conduct a thorough investigation to determine the identity of all the victims and pay them reparations. As the Inter-American Court wrote in its decision, "it is the State's obligation to properly investigate the human rights violations that have occurred in Colombia, which have cost the lives of thousands of Colombians and have taken place with the proven acquiescence or participation of agents of the State."
 
All of the statements and letters of support from the different North American organizations highlight their extreme concern over the declarations made by Colombian government officials against CCAJAR. For example, in its November 16th letter to President Santos, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) identified problematic statements from the President himself, in which he attempts to discredit the Collective. CCR highlights how these statements are "outrageous to anyone who is familiar with the brave and committed work of CCAJAR for truth and justice on behalf of human rights victims." Such statements continue to make Colombia a dangerous place for human rights defenders, given regular threats, illegal surveillance and infiltration to which human rights defenders are subject in Colombia.
 
Equally concerning to North American organizations are Colombian government statements that seek to undermine the Inter-American Human Rights System. As the CCR points out in its letter, the Inter-American System has been an invaluable resource for the many victims of grave human rights abuses. "Indeed," writes the CCR, "the crisis of impunity for human rights violations in many countries, including Colombia, is often what necessitates victims turning to the Inter-American System."
 
The November 21st NGO statement also makes reference to several other emblematic cases of human rights violations allegedly involving the Colombian military that are slated to be presented at the Inter-American System or reviewed by Colombian courts, as well as a proposed law that would remove human rights cases involving members of the military from civilian jurisdiction. The NGOs express their concern that these recent statements by Colombian government officials set a dangerous precedent for due process in these cases.
 
CONTACT:Lisa Haugaard, Latin America Working Group, 202-546-7010Camilo Ramirez, Center for Constitutional Rights, 212-614-6463 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            212-614-6463
 
Letters and Statements from North American NGOs

 

CEJIL will participate in twelve hearings and five working meetings during the 143rd Session of the Inter-American Commission

Two witnesses in cases from Mexico and Honduras will travel to Washington for the hearings

 

Washington D.C., October 21, 2011 – Beginning Monday, October 24 through Friday, October 28, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) – together with more than 50 Latin American civil society organizations – will participate in twelve public hearings and five private working meetings before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington D.C. during its 143rd Session.

Two specific cases previously admitted by the Commission will be highlighted among the public hearings: Opario Lemoth Morris and Others (Buzos Miskitos) v. Honduras and Jesús Ángel Gutiérrez Olvera v. México. Both hearings will include appearances by victims who have travelled to Washington to testify.

 

 

143er

Fri, 10/21/2011

 

Washington D.C., October 21, 2011 – Beginning Monday, October 24 through Friday, October 28, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) – together with more than 50 Latin American civil society organizations – will participate in twelve public hearings and five private working meetings before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington D.C. during its 143rd Session.

Two specific cases previously admitted by the Commission will be highlighted among the public hearings: Opario Lemoth Morris and Others (Buzos Miskitos) v. Honduras and Jesús Ángel Gutiérrez Olvera v. México. Both hearings will include appearances by victims who have travelled to Washington to testify.

In addition, CEJIL will participate in various regional thematic hearings on pressing human rights issues, including: human rights defenders in Central America, security in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and the rights of the LGBTI community across the continent.

At the national level, CEJIL and its co-petitioners will denounce problems related to political rights in Nicaragua, women’s rights in Colombia, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and the María da Penha law on domestic violence in Brazil. In addition, CEJIL and its counterparts will denounce the denial of the right to nationality for Dominicans of Haitian descent and the conditions for access to public information in Venezuela, as well as the violence faced by rural population of Bajo Aguán, Honduras.

Moreover, the IACHR has called for four official working meetings on October 26. These will be related to compliance with friendly settlements and recommendations of the Commission in three important cases from Peru - Mamérita Mestanza, MM and the case of the Joint Press Release of February 22, 2001 –  as well as one on femicide in Honduras and one on a case from El Salvador concerning the  assassination of six Jesuit priests and their housekeepers, the assassination of Monseñor Romero, and the Las Hojas Massacre.

The hearings will be broadcast live on the website of the Organization of American States here. The schedule of CEJIL’s hearings can be found here.

 

Washington Contact:

Milli Legrain

mlegrain@cejil.org

+(1) 202-319 3000

Contact in Costa Rica:

Darío Chinchilla

dchinchilla@cejil.org

+(506) 2281-3280

 

 

 

CEJIL welcomes the creation of a UN Special Rapporteurship on Truth, Justice, and Reparation

This new body will coordinate actions with the Inter-American System of Human Rights

Washington, DC, September 29, 2011. - The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) welcomes today’s decision made by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council to adopt a resolution that appoints a special rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. The resolution was adopted by consensus and received wide support, as it was co-sponsored by more than 75 countries.

Thu, 09/29/2011

Morazán, El Salvador. Monumento a las víctimas de la masacre de El Mozote y sitios aledaños. "Ellos no han muerto, están con nosotros, con ustedes, con la humanidad entera".

Washington, DC, September 29, 2011. - The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) welcomes today’s decision made by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council to adopt a resolution that appoints a special rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. The resolution was adopted by consensus and received wide support, as it was co-sponsored by more than 75 countries.

CEJIL specifically applauds the stated purpose of coordinated action between the rapporteurship and the organs of the Inter-American System for Human Rights, which could translate into a better compliance of international obligations pertaining to human rights.

The rapporteur has the challenge of ensuring that States make progress in revoking laws that guarantee impunity, as well as proposing public policies and laws that guarantee the right to reparation.

CEJIL believes that the new mechanism should resume studies conducted by the United Nations regarding amnesties and impunity. Equally important would be to defend the right to file an appeal and obtain reparations for victims of violations of the international human rights law and gross violations of international humanitarian law.

The person in charge of the rapporteurship will have a three-year mandate and will report annually to the Human Rights Council and the United Nations General Assembly.

The rapporteur’s duties will include: a) to contribute, upon request, to the provision of technical assistance; b) to gather relevant information on national situations, including on the normative framework, on national practices and experiences, such as truth and reconciliation commissions and other mechanisms, relating to the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence in addressing gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law, and to study trends, developments and challenges and to make recommendations thereon; c) to identify, exchange and promote good practices and lessons learned, as well as to identify potential additional elements with a view to recommend ways and means to improve and strengthen the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence; and, d) to make recommendations concerning, inter alia, judicial and non-judicial measures when designing and implementing strategies, policies and measures for addressing gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law.

During the rapporteur’s mandate a study will be undertaken to promote “a systematic and coherent approach on issues pertaining to the mandate,” which will compile information from different sources. The rapporteurship will have to “work in close coordination, while avoiding unnecessary duplication, with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, other special procedures of the Human Rights Council, and with other relevant actors.”

“Without any doubt, this decision contributes to making a reality of the rights to truth, justice, and the reparation for millions of victims of gross human rights violations and survivors worldwide,” stated CEJIL’s Executive Director, Viviana Krsticevic.

Krsticevic added that the wide support the resolution has received is vital for ensuring this mechanism’s legitimacy and efficacy.

“We hope that the work of the new rapporteurship will allow for a qualitative leap when addressing the thematic in various countries across Latin America – such as Brazil, Uruguay, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia, and Mexico, amongst other nations – that still require significant progress in guaranteeing these fundamental rights and the fight against impunity,” she concluded.

Letter sent to President Santos of Colombia

Dismissal of the prosecutor investigating the Palace of Justice case in Colombia

On September 7,2010, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the Latin America Working Group (LAWG) and the US Office on Colombia sent a letter to President Santos of Colombia expressing their concern over the dismissal of prosecutor Angela María Buitrago who  had  been leading an investigation on the Palace of Justice case. This raises fundamental questions regarding Colombia’s willingness to prosecute the gravest human rights violations.

Please read the letter below:

Wed, 09/08/2010

 

On September 7,2010, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the Latin America Working Group (LAWG) and the US Office on Colombia sent a letter to President Santos of Colombia expressing their concern over the dismissal of prosecutor Angela María Buitrago who had been leading an investigation on the Palace of Justice case. This raises fundamental questions regarding Colombia’s willingness to prosecute the gravest human rights violations.

 

Washington, D.C., September 7, 2010

Juan Manuel Santos
President of Colombia

 

Esteemed President Santos,

 

We write to express our concern regarding recent developments in the Palace of Justice case.  In particular, the decision to dismiss prosecutor Angela María Buitrago, who had vigorously led the Palace of Justice investigation for the past several years, raises fundamental questions regarding Colombia’s willingness to prosecute even the gravest violations of human rights.

As you know, the Truth Commission for the Palace of Justice Events created by the Colombian Supreme Court has established that following the military’s recovery of the Palace of Justice from the M-19 guerrillas in November 1985, members of the armed forces killed and forcibly disappeared at least a dozen innocent victims.  These crimes, which had gone largely unexamined for two decades, were seriously investigated for the first time beginning in 2005, when Buitrago was named as Prosecutor for the case. Despite significant obstacles, remarkable progress has been achieved. Several formal high-ranking military officers are currently under investigation or on trial, and earlier this year the first criminal conviction in the case was handed down against retired Coronel Alfonso Plazas Vega.

These promising developments are a testament to the courage and professionalism of federal prosecutor Buitrago, Judge Maria Stella Jara, and the victims’ representatives in the local criminal investigation, who have persisted with the case in the face of constant threats and intimidation. The conviction of Plazas Vega in particular was a significant milestone.  Indeed, many in Colombia and the international community—including UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay—expressed  hope that Colombia was finally making progress in tackling the impunity that has historically characterized human rights violations committed by the military.

Unfortunately, recent events in the Palace of Justice case lead us to fear that Colombia still lacks the political and institutional fortitude to confront criminality at the highest levels.  Shortly after convicting Coronel Plazas Vega of murder, Judge Stella Jara was forced to flee Colombia for her own safety, despite the fact that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had ordered the government to protect her. And last week, acting Prosecutor General  Guillermo Mendoza Diago dismissed Angela María Buitrago, just days after she ordered that three former Colombian generals be investigated in connection with the extrajudicial execution of Magistrate Carlos Horacio Urán.

Ms. Buitrago has played a fundamental role in clarifying the military’s actions following the recovery of the Palace of Justice. Magistrate Uran’s murder is a case in point. Irrefutable evidence now proves that he survived the Palace of Justice siege only to be subsequently tortured and executed by the Armed Forces, who then returned his body to the Palace of Justice and made it appear as if he had died in the crossfire between the military and the guerrillas. This particularly cynical crime remained hidden from Mr. Uran’s family and the Colombian public for over twenty years, until Ms. Buitrago’s painstaking and intrepid investigatory work unearthed the truth. Colombians will be justified in asking what other aspects of military’s actions and motives in the Palace of Justice tragedy will now go unexamined.

Accordingly, the decision to dismiss Ms. Buitrago is not only a major setback for one of Colombia’s most emblematic human rights cases, it lays bare the unfortunate reality that Colombia’s chief prosecutor appears willing to compromise high-profile investigations and dismiss his most capable personnel. Given the pattern of harassment in this and other cases, we are lead to believe that his decision was the result of outside pressure.

Mr. Mendoza Diago’s actions are more than just a blow to the Palace of Justice case. Ms. Buitrago was also the chief prosecutor on several high-profile and sensitive human rights investigations and trials. These include the trials of former presidential intelligence chief Jorge Noguera, former Medellin chief prosecutor Guillermo Valencia Cossio, and former Senator Ciro Ramírez for conspiring with paramilitary groups. These cases are in an advanced stage, and the chief prosecutor's abrupt removal is a serious setback, that will cause unnecessary delays.

With Mr. Mendoza Diago in charge, prosecutors throughout Colombia could be reluctant to proceed against the powerful and well-connected.

Mr. President, we encourage you to move quickly to replace Mr. Mendoza Diago with a permanent Prosecutor General who will act with the necessary integrity and resolve in continuing the Palace of Justice investigation, ideally by reinstating Ms. Buitrago as the lead prosecutor in this case.  We further urge your government to immediately adopt all necessary measures to ensure the physical safety of Ms. Buitrago, and all judges, prosecutors, human rights attorneys and victims’ relatives involved with the case.

The Palace of Justice case has become a litmus test for Colombia’s justice system.  A firm and principled response to the recent setbacks in this case will be an important early signal of your government’s commitment to ensure accountability for gross human rights violations. The organizations that we represent and the international community in general, will observe your actions with great interest.

 

Sincerely,

 

Viviana Krsticevic
Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)

Lisa Haugaard
Latin America Working Group (LAWG)

Gimena Sanchez-Garzoli
Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)

Kelly Nicholls
U.S. Office on Colombia

 

Cc:

Angelino Garzón
Vice President of Colombia

María Angela Holguín
Foreign Minister of Colombia

Guillermo Mendoza Diago
Acting Prosecutor General of Colombia

Jaime Arrubla
President of the Supreme Court of Colombia

Carolina Barco Isakson
Colombian Ambassador to the United States

P. Michael McKinley
U.S. Ambassador to Colombia

Hillary Rodham Clinton
U.S. Secretary of State

Maria Otero
U.S. Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs

Navanethem Pillay
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights

Christian Salazar Volkmann
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Representative in Colombia

Gabriela Carina Knaul de Albuquerque e Silva
U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers

Margaret Sekaggya
U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders

Christof Heyns
U.N. Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

Felipe González
President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

 

 

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