20Nov03

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Committee Against Torture Issues Conclusions and Recommendations on Report of Colombia.

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The Committee against Torture this morning issued its conclusions and recommendations on the third periodic report of Colombia. The report dealt with the national efforts to implement the Convention against Torture, of which Colombia is one of the 134 States parties. The Colombian report was discussed in Committee meetings on 11 and 12 November.

Cited among positive developments in the report of Colombia were the adoption of a number of domestic laws and international instruments of relevance to the prevention and suppression of torture and ill treatment and the closer cooperation between the office in Colombia of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Government of Colombia.

The Committee expressed concern, among other things, about the high number of forced disappearances and arbitrary executions; the allegations of tolerance, support or acquiescence by the State party's agents concerning the activities of the paramilitary groups known as "self-defence groups", who were responsible for a great deal of torture or ill-treatment; the allegations of inadequate protection against rape and other forms of sexual violence; and the numerous reports of attacks on human rights defenders.

Among the panel's recommendations were that Colombia take all necessary measures to prevent the acts of torture and ill-treatment that were being committed in its territory; that Colombia investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible for rape and other forms of sexual violence, including rape and sexual violence that occurred in the framework of operations against illegal armed groups; and that Colombia take effective measures to protect human rights defenders against harassment, threats and other attacks.

The Committee will meet at 3 p.m. this afternoon to issue its final conclusions and recommendations on the reports of Morocco and Latvia.

Conclusions and Recommendations on Third Periodic Report of Colombia.

The Committee noted with satisfaction the State party's adoption of a number of domestic laws and international instruments of relevance to the prevention and suppression of torture and ill-treatment, among them, the new Penal Code, which defined the offences of torture, genocide, forced disappearance and forced displacement; the new Military Penal Code, which excluded these crimes from the jurisdiction of the military criminal courts and regulated the principle of due obedience; and the new Code of Penal Procedure, which provided that illegally obtained evidence would be inadmissible. The Committee also welcomed the statement by the State party's representative that there neither had been nor would be any amnesty or clemency in the State party for acts of torture. The Committee noted with satisfaction the closer cooperation between the office in Colombia of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Government of Colombia, including the recent signing of a letter of understanding with the Office of the Public Prosecutor.

The Committed cited among matters of concern the high number of forced disappearances and arbitrary executions; the recruitment of part-time "peasant soldiers"; the establishment of a network of paid civil informants; the climate of impunity that surrounded human rights violations by State security forces and organs; the allegations of tolerance, support or acquiescence by the State party's agents concerning the activities of the paramilitary groups known as "self-defence groups", which were responsible for a great deal of torture or ill-treatment; the allegations that some prosecutors in the Human Rights Unit of the Public Prosecutor's Office had been forced to resign and that members of the Unit had been threatened in connection with their investigation of cases of human rights violations; the allegations of inadequate protection against rape and other forms of sexual violence, which were frequently used as forms of torture or ill-treatment; the numerous reports of attacks on human rights defenders; the numerous forced internal displacements caused by armed action against illegal groups; and the overcrowding and poor conditions in penal establishments.

It recommended, among other things, that Colombia take all necessary measures to prevent the acts of torture and ill-treatment that were being committed in its territory; that Colombia take firm steps to end impunity for persons thought to be responsible for acts of torture or ill-treatment, carry out prompt, impartial and thorough investigations, bring the perpetrators of torture and inhuman treatment to justice and provide adequate compensation for the victims; that Colombia reconsider the adoption of proposed measures that could facilitate the commission of acts of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by encouraging private persons to act for the State in military action or other action against illegal armed groups; that Colombia provide the Human Rights Unit of the Public Prosecutor's Office with the resources needed to do its work effectively and to ensure that its staff were able to carry out their duties independently, impartially and in safety; and that Colombia investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible for rape and other forms of sexual violence, including rape and sexual violence that occurred in the framework of operations against illegal armed groups.

The Committee also recommended that Colombia provide medical staff with the training necessary to determine when torture or ill-treatment of any kind had occurred; that Colombia take effective measures to protect human rights defenders against harassment, threats and other attacks; that Colombia take effective measures to improve conditions in places of detention and to reduce harassment there; that Colombia ensure that persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment were treated according to international standards; and that Colombia report in its next periodic report on the domestic legal provisions that guaranteed non-refoulement to another State when there were substantial grounds for believing that the person concerned would be in danger of being subjected to torture.

[Source: United Nations Press Release - 20Nov03]

Este documento ha sido publicado el 23ene04 por el Equipo Nizkor y Derechos Human Rights