Colombia

Terror, extra-judicial executions and disappearances seem like every day ocurrences in Colombia. Government-supported death squads battle with terrorists groups and drug lords to impose a real state of terror over large parts of the population. Human Rights workers, lawyers and judges - as well as peasants - are among the most common victims of these groups. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from their lands. Impunity reigns. The Colombian government and the Clinton administration have come up with a military-economic plan for the eradication of coke that threatens to increase the armed conflict. This Plan Colombia provides for increased US involvement in the internal war that plagues Colombia and may result in the intensification of the conflict. Meanwhile, a frangible peace process is the only real hope the people of Colombia have for the restoration of their human rights. You can find here English language information and links about the human rights situation in Colombia. More information is available in Spanish.

Actions | Plan Colombia | Peace Process | Reports | Victims | UN | OAS | Analysis | Declarations | NGOs | Government & Law | Media | Discussion | Links

News & Actions on Colombia

Information on HR violations/Urgent Actions

Letter to President Alvaro Uribe from 57 members of Congress. Washington, 23Sep03 [ENG/ING] Schakowsky, Colleagues Call on Secretary Powell to Publicly Dissociate the US from Uribe's Comments and Pressure Him to Protect Human Rights in Colombia. Washington, 22Sep03 [ENG/ING] Commander of the Military Forces, Jorge Enrique Mora Rangel, organizes a press conference against Justice and Peace. Inter-Ecclesiastic Commission of Justice and Peace, Bogota, 22Aug03 A paramilitary attack is feared as military operations continue against CAVIDA. Inter-Ecclesiastic Commission of Justice and Peace, Bogota, 14Jun03 Members of the Community Council of the Jiguamiando and Curbarado are presumed disappeared. Inter-Ecclesiastic Commission of Justice and Peace, Bogota, 13Jun03 Actions from the World Organization Against Torture on Colombia IFEX Alerts On freedom of expression in Colombia Voice for Colombians Campaign from the U.S. Committee for Refugees Spanish Language Urgent Actions

Plan Colombia

All the Documents on Plan Colombia

Peace Process

All the Documents on the Peace Process

Reports

US Dpt of State Human Rights Reports on Colombia 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 US Dpt of State Reports on Religious Freedom in Colombia 2000 | 1999 Report on Forced Displacement in Colombia - 1999 by the Support Group for Displaced People Organizations - GAD, March 2000 Organization and Operation of Intelligence Networks Colombian Armed Forces Directive No. 200-05/91 Human Rights Watch Reports The Ties That Bind: Colombia and Military-Paramilitary Links HRW, 2000 War Without Quarter: Colombia and International Humanitarian Law Human Rights Watch, 1998 Colombia's Killer Networks HRW, 1996 Children and Violence in Colombia HRW 1994 Investigations into the murders of journalists in Colombia in the last decade, 1993-2003 IAPA, April 2004 Colombia Eligible for U.S. Military Aid. Associated Press y Yahoo, 27Jan04 Colombia and the United States signed an accord that exempts Americans from prosecution before the ICC. The Associated Press, 18Sep03 Recent Massacres Committed by Paramilitaries Linked to the Colombian Military Nov 2000 Building Peace in the Midst of War: Civil Society Initiatives in Colombia WOLA, May 2000 Amnesty International Reports and Press Releases on Colombia Refugee Information Colombia: A Country Study - US Library of Congress Letter of Father Javier Giraldo on the situation in Uraba 1997 Spanish Language Reports

Victims

Activists alarmed at new Anti-Terrorism Law. Yadira Ferrer by IPS, Bogota, Col, 23Dec03 Rural colombians flocking to Bogotá need more help. UN News Service, NY, 09Oct03 Commander of the Military Forces, Jorge Enrique Mora Rangel, organizes a press conference against Justice and Peace. Commission Inter-ecclesial of Justice and Peace, Bogotá, August 22, 2003 Colombian Trade Unionists Assassinated Between January 1st and October 23rd 2000

United Nations Information/Actions

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Reports on Colombia 2002 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani, about her mission to Colombia. E/CN.4/2002/106/Add.2 - 28 March 2002. UN Human Rights Activities vis a vis Colombia 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 UN Treaty Body Documents for Colombia UN Charter Body Documents for Colombia In Spanish

OAS Information/Actions

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Third Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Colombia 1999 Second Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Colombia 1993 Individual Cases Report No 84/00 - Norberto Javier Restrepo - Oct 2000 Report Nº 62/00 Hernando Osorio Correa Report Nº 57/00 La Granja, Ituango Report Nº 34/01 Mapiripán Report Nº 30/99 César Chaparro Nivia y Vladimir Hincapié Galeano - March 1999 Report Nº 84/98 Carlos Prada and Evelio Bolaño Castro - On Admissibility, Sep. 1998 Nelson E. Jiménez v. Colombia, On Admissibility - March 1997 Diaz et al. v. Colombia, On Admissibility - March 1997 Hildegard María Feldman v. Colombia - 1995 Calderón Jurado v. Colombia 1992 - Murder of Human Rights Defender de Jesús Pedraza v. Colombia 1992 -Disappearance of Human Rights Defender In Spanish

Analysis

Colombian President Finds Friends and Fists. Stefania Bianchi, IPS, Brussels, 11Feb04 Call Colombia's human rights bluff. By Robin Kirk, The Guardian, London, UK, 07Feb04 A president who wants a licence to kill. Isabel Hilton, The Guardian, London, UK, 10Feb04 The Displaced Ask, Where Is the State? IPS, Feb04 Un official to highlight plight of blockaded areas in talks with President. UN News Service, NY, 27Jan04 Uribe Faces EU Questions on Human Rights. NY Times Online, NY, Usa, 23Jan04 EU criticises Colombia on rights. BBC, UK, 22Jan04 Uribe Faces EU Questions on Human Rights. The Guardian, UK, 22Jan04 EU calls on Colombia to respect rule of law. Reuters, Bogota, Col, 21Jan04 Colombia's Poisonous Export. By Robert D. Novak, CNS News.com, 18Aug03 An interview with Colombian human rights activist Padre Javier Giraldo, S.J by Ruth Goring, April 2003 Secret aid poured into Colombian drug war. The Guardian, Wednesday July 9, 2003 In Colombia, Muckrakers Have Become Scarce By Tina Rosenberg, NYT, 03jul03 Colombia: The Traffic of Terror The Crimes of War Project explores the Colombian conflict "This War Can't Go on Any Longer Interview with paramilitary leader Carlos Castaño, 1997 MAPIRIPAN: A Shortcut To Hell 1997 Social Cleansing, Human Rights, and Sexual Orientation in Colombia Juan Ordoñez. Articles in Spanish

Resolutions & Declarations

Canadian Resolution Canadian Parliamentary Committee adopts Resolution urging the Colombian Government to disband Paramilitary Groups and inviting the Canadian Goverment to Examine the possibility to prosecute in Canada those responsible for Crimes Against Humanity in Colombia. Dec. 1999

Human Rights NGOs

Colombian Human Rights Network Colombian Labor Monitor Colombian Support Network Cultural Center Demos Peace Brigades International Inter Agency Dialogue in Colombia NGOs with Spanish-language Websites

Government & Law

Colombia Ombudsman Office Colombian Embassy in the US US Embassy in Bogota Political Parties Spanish Language Government Links

Media

Ancol: Official News Spanish Language Media

Discussion Fora

Colombian Action Network news, discussion and events lists Derechos' Human Rights in the Americas Mailing List Derechos' Lista de Derechos Humanos en Colombia

Links

Colombia Links

Human Rights in Latin America