Corporate report

Colombia - Country of Concern: latest update, 30 September 2014

Updated 21 January 2015

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

0.1 Latest Update: 30 September 2014

The human rights situation in Colombia has remained broadly unchanged in the last three months; however, serious threats against human rights defenders (HRDs) continue.

Colombia has seen a drop in the murder of HRDs and community leaders compared to last year, but a report published on 19 August by Somos Defensores (We are Defenders, a Colombian NGO alliance) indicated that death threats are on the rise. It noted that in the first six months of 2014, assassinations of community leaders, compared to 2013, had dropped 18% from 37 to 30; however, death threats had increased 20% from 154 to 194 cases.

After the report was published, almost 100 HRDs received new threats: on 8 and 9 September about 90 people received threats allegedly from the criminal gang (BACRIM) Águilas Negras (Black Eagles); and, on 22 September, eight high-profile leaders received threats allegedly from BACRIM Rastrojos. Two members of the coalition of human rights NGOs from Colombia-Europe-United States were assaulted and their computers and mobile phones stolen, which contained information about cases of extrajudicial killings. The British Embassy raised the issue with the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia, urging quick investigations, and continues to monitor the situation.

Threats against community leaders and representatives of victims’ rights also continue. On 15 September, three were killed: two in Chocó and one in Quindío. The National Liberation Army (ELN) publicly acknowledged killing two indigenous leaders in Chocó, citing that they were army and paramilitary allies. The Colombian Ombudsman’s Office issued an alert about defenders of victims’ rights, following a study showing that currently 336 representatives are being threatened.

Worryingly for the 93 journalists currently under threat (according to the Ombudsman’s Office) the most threatened journalist in the country was murdered in Antioquia on 12 August. The National Protection Unit had removed protection measures 15 days earlier after assessing that his life was no longer in danger. On 22 August, a journalist’s home in Bogotá was broken into and two computers, containing information on the armed conflict and forced disappearances in Norte de Santander, were burnt. The Foundation for Freedom of Expression issued a report for July and August, registering 14 attacks on journalists. This is ten fewer than May-June 2014, but brings the total of attacks against journalists in 2014 to 132.

On 13 August, President Santos announced the creation of four new ministries. General Oscar Naranjo – the most recognised former police officer in Colombia - was appointed as the new Minister-Counsellor of Post-Conflict, Security and Human Rights. He will lead the planning, coordination and implementation of policies and programmes related to post-conflict. He will oversee the new Human Rights Counsellor’s Office, headed by Guillermo Rivera, one of the most prominent congressmen in the design of the Victims’ and Land Restitution Law. The Presidential Programme for Human Rights has now moved to the Human Rights Counsellor’s Office, elevating its status within the institutional structure. Details of the changes are still emerging; the Embassy will follow closely and seek positive partnerships with the new entities. As with the appointments of Naranjo and Rivera, Santos’s appointment of Juan Fernando Cristo, author of the Victims’ Law, as Interior Minister, sent a clear message that Santos is serious about peace. The Public Policy on Human Rights has already been published, and we are encouraging its integration into the National Development Plan.

Disturbingly, the National Protection Unit announced on 10 September that it has a £22 million budget deficit leading to a 15% cut in protection schemes. The Interior Minister guaranteed that protection measures for HRDs, journalists, land restitution claimants and victims would not be reduced, and that the cut would apply only to former public servants.

During July and August, fora for victims were held across the country, providing them with a platform to share messages and ideas with the negotiating teams. The Embassy was present at one of the fora to hear the messages firsthand. The UN, National University of Colombia, and the Catholic Church subsequently picked 60 victims to go to peace talks held in the Cuban capital, Havana, using a broad but strict set of criteria, to represent the various issues there. The first group of 12 victims travelled on 15 August; to date, three groups have participated in the talks. During the meetings, the victims expressed their expectations regarding truth, justice and reparation, and shared their proposals with the negotiating teams. One encounter made national headlines when Ivan Marquez (member of the Secretariat of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – FARC - heading its negotiating team) approached a woman whose family had been killed by the FARC, asking for her forgiveness and assuring her that the whole truth would be clarified.

On 21 August, President Santos signed a decree that established 25 May as the National Day for the Dignity of Women Victims of Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict. This is part of the personal reparation to Jineth Bedoya, a Colombian journalist who was kidnapped, tortured and raped by paramilitaries on 25 May, 2000. She leads an important campaign to raise awareness and ask for justice for survivors, and is recognised as a national and international spokeswoman for the issue. Santos stated that peace talks are intended to prevent new cases of abuse to which women are the most vulnerable, and recognised Ms Bedoya as an example of peace building in Colombia. The Embassy is actively supportive of her campaign.

August 2014 marked the completion of maximum eight-year sentences for demobilised paramilitary members under the Justice and Peace law of 2006. The process offered reduced sentences in exchange for confessions. It led to information about more than 30,000 homicides, 4,500 forced disappearances, and more than 2,300 massacres. Under the law, participating ex-paramilitaries are now eligible to leave prison. The FARC are watching the process closely for their transitional justice arrangements. So far only five low-ranking soldiers have left prison. Fears and controversy surround the impending release of high-ranking paramilitary leaders and the safety of those who testified against them. The Embassy is monitoring the situation.

After two failed attempts to reform military jurisdiction (MJ) in the country, the national government under Santos is trying to instigate reforms for the third time. A new bill was submitted to Congress in September 2013, has been approved in two debates in the Senate, and is being prepared for the third in the Chamber of Representatives (all bills need to pass four debates in each chamber). The bill aims to create a new structure for MJ and specific crimes that it will cover. Civil society, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and some members of Congress have all expressed deep concern about the bill, fearing it will lead to impunity for some of the worst crimes such as “false positives” (a series of murders in Colombia, where members of the military had poor or mentally impaired civilians lured to remote parts of the country with offers of work, killed them, and presented them to authorities as guerrilleros killed in battle, in an effort to inflate body counts and receive promotions or other benefits). For example, Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas Director for Human Rights Watch, sent a letter to the Minister of Defence Pinzón on 8 July stating his concerns, especially the likely increase in perceptions of impunity in the country. Todd Howland, representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia, said the bill “doesn’t contribute to a sustainable peace”. The Embassy is following progress of the reform bill.

On Thursday 7 July, the British Ambassador and Political Officer met the Interior Ministry to raise specific cases and concerns related to HRDs. The Ministry highlighted that it had undertaken nine public acts of recognition of HRDs, seeking to de-stigmatise their work.

On 22 September, the Embassy observed a meeting on the emblematic land restitution case of Curvaradó. The meeting was arranged by Judge Luis Ernesto Vargas, President of the Colombian Constitutional Court, with Juan Fernando Cristo, Interior Minister, and the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace, ABColombia, Christian Aid, the Inter-Agency Dialogue on Colombia, and Peace Brigades International. Civil society gave an update of the situation and raised specific requests. The Minister responded with a clear set of next steps that should have a positive impact on the situation.

On 28 August, the Embassy co-hosted a reception with the Colombian Caravana of Human Rights Lawyers for about 120 guests. An awards ceremony to recognise the work of HRDs in Colombia was the main event of the evening.

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