Corporate report

Colombia - in-year update July 2015

Published 15 July 2015

The government of Colombia continued to make progress in tackling human rights issues between January and June 2015. On 20 February, President Santos signed a new decree that sought to honour the victims of forced disappearance and to establish improved processes for finding and identifying them. In March, Presidential Advisor for Human Rights, Guillermo Rivera, created a cross-government high-level technical commission to design the Colombian National Action Plan on business and human rights. On 5 May, Congress approved the 2015-18 National Development Plan, which sets out guidelines for growth and improvement, in which the government has stated that human rights feature as a cross-cutting issue throughout. It envisages significant advances for rural women, although specific funds for gender equality are not identifiable. Regarding victims, the plan allocates 8.5 billion pesos (£2 million) in 2015 for assistance, attention and reparation.

The situation for human rights defenders (HRDs) remains of concern. In June, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), while noting that the human rights situation was generally improving, reported that so far this year 21 HRDs have been murdered (with no related court rulings since 2013). On 16 April, the Colombian NGO Somos Defensores (“We are Defenders”) stated that there had been 249 threats against HRDs between January and March, including those against former senator Piedad Córdoba and other HRDs, which led to a meeting between her and government figures. The Attorney-General’s Office opened an investigation and pledged to create a cyber team dedicated to tracing online threats. Separately, following threats against HRDs, including Senators Iván Cepeda and Claudia López, by the criminal group Las Águilas Negras, Interior Minister Juan Fernando Cristo ordered a police investigation. On 1 June, Fabian Espinosa, a trade unionist from Cúcuta, was found dead in his apartment. He had no protection measures and had reported threats against his life on several occasions.

According to the National Indigenous Organisation of Colombia (ONIC), 20 indigenous people were murdered between January and May. 41 Embera indigenous families were able to return to their territories in Risaralda, after an agreement was reached by local authorities in February. Afro-descendant leaders of the La Toma community in Cauca received threats from illegal groups following their demands for an end to illegal mining and a peasant association of the Catatumbo region (ASCAMCAT) was attacked during a leaders’ meeting. Guillermo Rivera, Presidential Adviser on Human Rights, called for investigations into the case. The Cumbre Agraria, a movement that groups campesino, afro and indigenous organisations from different regions, declared themselves victims of “systematic” persecution on 10 March. They claimed that during the first 70 days of 2015 they had registered 110 “war actions” and had reported 20 collective threats to the Attorney-General’s Office. On 10 April, various indigenous leaders from Cauca department denounced threats from Las Águilas Negras.

Two journalists were killed during the first three months of 2015: Luis Peralta (14 February) and Edgar Quintero (2 March). Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) reported 33 threats against journalists so far in 2015. On 6 May, the UNHCHR in Colombia expressed its concern over recent threats against Gonzalo Guillen, one of the main witnesses in the case against former Guajira governor, Kiko Gomez. On 17 May, journalist Juan Diego Restrepo was detained for 10 hours in Norte de Santander, allegedly by the Ejército Popular de Liberación (EPL), and, on 27 May, two journalists covering recent protests in Nariño were threatened and detained by armed men.

On 25 June, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report entitled “On Their Watch”, suggesting evidence that senior army officers, including the current heads of the armed forces and the army, were involved in the “false positive” killings in Colombia. The report stated that systematic practices took place within the Colombian military between 2002 and 2008, with killings staged to look like those of guerrillas, paramilitaries or criminals. The Attorney-General’s Office has launched investigations into four generals: three retired, one serving. More than 800 members of the Colombian army (mostly of low rank) have been jailed in the “false positives” scandal. On 24 April, the trial against the army battalion in Antioquia that committed the majority of these cases began. President Santos has pledged to ensure that this issue is investigated thoroughly.

In June, the Colombian government published statistics on its compensation programme to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the Victims and Land Restitution Law (2011). So far, 7.4 million individuals have registered as victims and the land restitution unit has received 77,833 complaints. 5.8 million victims have been deemed eligible for compensation and the Victims Unit has compensated over 500,000. Of those eligible, 86% are primarily victims of displacement; 14% have suffered other kinds of conflict-related crimes such as torture, sexual violence and kidnap. According to the Land Restitution Unit, more than 100,000 hectares have been returned to land claimants, benefiting 15,000 victims. Over 90% of the victims are still waiting for reparation.

The ongoing peace negotiations between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) continued to focus on the rights of victims and the end of the conflict. Negotiators took several steps towards de-escalation and confidence-building in the first three months of 2015, such as the FARC’s announcement to stop recruiting children under 17 (12 February) and President Santos’s announcement of the creation of an Advisory Peace Commission (10 March). On 22 May, however, the FARC suspended its unilateral ceasefire when 27 of its members were killed in aerial strikes in Cauca. This was the result of the government’s resumption of aerial bombardments following a FARC ambush on 15 April. The Peace and Reconciliation Observatory reported that between mid-May and mid-June, there were 157 armed actions in Colombia, including burning vehicles and attacks on electrical towers. Despite the re-escalation of the conflict, the delegations continued to meet in Havana and the 38th cycle of negotiations concluded on 27 June. Negotiators agreed that formal humanitarian de-mining would start on 10 June in Antioquia as a joint effort between the Colombian Army and disarmed FARC members. On 4 June, both sides announced the creation of a Truth Commission as part of an integral truth, justice and reconciliation system.

On 30 April, the Supreme Court sentenced the former head of Colombia’s national intelligence agency, María del Pilar Hurtado, and former President Uribe’s secretary, Bernardo Moreno, to 14 years in prison and eight years of house arrest respectively for having ordered illegal wiretaps and surveillance operations during Uribe’s government. Separately, confidence in the justice sector has suffered following a corruption scandal in the Constitutional Court. The president of the court has faced calls for his resignation, including from the Attorney-General and President Santos, following allegations that he sought bribes. President Santos pledged to reform the justice system as part of a wider “balance of powers” reform (approved by the Chamber of Representatives on 9 June) that seeks to strengthen the independence of state institutions.

In Congress, a reformed version of the Military Jurisdiction Bill, or fuero militar, was approved on 10 June. The Ministry of Defence presented a single article stating that all crimes committed by the armed forces while in active service would be tried by military justice under International Humanitarian Law. The seven worst crimes listed in previous versions of the Bill will be tried by civilian courts.

On 3 February, President Santos met two visiting Nobel Laureates and agreed that sexual violence should be addressed in the peace talks in Havana. He asked the FARC to make a commitment to recognise victims of sexual violence. On 27 February, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, visited Colombia. She met victims and made a statement. The first anniversary of the National Day for the Dignity of Women Victims of Sexual Violence was held on 25 May, led by survivor Jineth Bedoya.

On 18 February, the Constitutional Court ruled that sexual orientation could not be applied as a discriminating factor; however, it also stated that LGB&T couples could only adopt a child if it was the offspring of one of the parents.

The British Embassy in Bogotá prioritised support for HRDs during this period, and continued to urge the government to address human rights abuses. The Ambassador met Guillermo Rivera in January to urge the government to take measures to prevent threats against HRDs, trades unionists, civil society and politicians. In February, Embassy officials met the Ministry of the Interior and the Attorney-General’s Office to discuss how to tackle impunity. In May, FCO Minister for the Americas, Hugo Swire, met High Commissioner for Peace, Sergio Jaramillo, and emphasised the centrality of human rights to the ongoing peace process. The Embassy is funding three human rights projects this year: Corporación Mujer Sigue Mis Pasos, to create a network of victims of sexual violence; the Institute for Human Rights and Business, to develop and promote tools in the gold mining sector to prevent, mitigate and provide access to non-judicial remedy for human rights violations; and the Committee for Human Rights (CPDH) to develop differential protection measures for rural HRDs.