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Featured Story - June 24, 2008

Victims of violence continue to be denied justice and reparations by the Colombian government

Introduction

Despite the existence of a “demobilization” process for Colombia’s paramilitary forces, thousands of their victims continue to be deprived of the rights to truth, justice, and reparations. The “Justice and Peace” process has sidelined victims and has led to further threats to their safety. Adding to this tragedy, there have been slanderous public statements made by high-level government officials against those human rights activists who are working on behalf of victim’s rights. The recent extradition of 14 top paramilitary leaders to the United States further marginalizes the victims and complicates their quest for justice.

The “Justice and Peace” law

On July 25, 2005, the Colombian Congress adopted controversial Law 975, more commonly referred to as the “Justice and Peace” law. Article I of the 35-page law states that its objective is to facilitate peace building, as well as the individual or collective reincorporation into society of members of illegal armed groups, while guaranteeing the rights of their victims to truth, justice, and reparation. The law calls for maximum prison sentences of 5 to 8 years for demobilized paramilitaries – including those that were found guilty of committing atrocities like massacres.

Colombian and international human rights organizations have consistently criticized this legislation as too lenient on perpetrators of massive human rights violations. The “Justice and Peace” law allowed for minimal jail sentences and it gave the Colombian government very few means to effectively dismantle the paramilitary structures. Reacting to these and other deficiencies, the Constitutional Court revised the law in 2006, stating that demobilized paramilitaries have to hand over illegal assets, confess all their past crimes, and divulge information regarding their organization’s structure. Without complying with these conditions, ex-combatants would lose their privileged treatment.

Despite these improvements to the “Justice and Peace” law, its implementation has neglected the more than 121,500 persons who have officially registered as victims with Colombia’s Attorney General. For example, lands seized illegally by paramilitary forces are not returned to their rightful owners unless there is proof of their illegal origins, something that has proven difficult, particularly where land tenure is based on traditional or collective ownership. Furthermore, appeals to sentences handed down under Law 975 can only be made by the demobilized combatant, the Public Prosecutor (Fiscalía), or the Attorney General (Procuraduría) and not the victims, further distancing them from the justice system. Finally, many victims fear further victimization if they attempt to participate in the “Justice and Peace” process. The case of Yolanda Izquierdo is a good example. Her husband was murdered in January 2007 for helping to organize a group of victims in Córdoba department to press for the return of their stolen land. Despite persistent violence and enormous risks, victims continue to organize and speak out against the inadequacies of the “Justice and Peace” law.

Slanderous public comments by the Colombian government

Adding to the dangers victims have faced under the ”Justice and Peace” process, the Colombian government has recently engaged in a series of public statements against those individuals working to defend the victims of the conflict. Following José Obdulio Gaviria’s reckless remarks regarding the organizers of the March 6th demonstrations against paramilitary and other forms of violence, human rights defenders received death threats from the Águilas Negras (Black Eagles). Many of these threats were acted upon, and several leaders of the March 6th demonstrations labeled by Gaviria as being members of the FARC were murdered by the reorganized paramilitary structures. One such person was Luz Adriana González – General Secretary of the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CPDH) of Risaralda. Despite the grave consequences of his words, Gaviria did not retract his statements and Uribe continued supporting his advisor.

Worse still, Colombian government officials continue making rash public statements that put the lives of human rights defenders in Colombia in great danger. In a May 2, 2008 article in the Colombian newspaper, El Espectador, Iván Cepeda Castro – an activist for victims of the conflict – wrote about his first trip to the community of Montería. He wrote about how the government has yet to seize paramilitary properties and also shed light on the infamous University of Córdoba, where 19 university staff have been murdered since 1995. President Uribe responded vehemently to Cepeda’s article on May 6, 2008. Uribe accused Cepeda of using “the protection of victims…as a way to instigate the violation of human rights of those people who do not share their ideas” and as a means “to discredit the Colombian government” overseas.

The Comisión Colombia Europa Estados Unidos (CCEEU) – a coalition of human rights NGO’s – responded to Uribe’s statements against Cepeda by writing an open letter to the president on May 7, 2008. The letter condemns Uribe’s comments and defends Cepeda as a dedicated human rights activist.

Paramilitary extradition

On May 13, 2008, 14 high-level paramilitary leaders were extradited to the United States to be tried on charges of drug-trafficking. The surprise move was applauded by the Bush administration, but alarmed many Colombians. Many people fear that a narrow focus on drug crimes in the US would allow the paramilitary leaders and their political allies to escape responsibility for human rights violations, including the deaths of more than 10,000 individuals. Moreover, there is a possibility that victims will find it more difficult to obtain justice in these cases if the testimony of paramilitary leaders for human rights violations is not guaranteed. Responding to these fears, US officials have vowed to cooperate with Colombian prosecutors. President Uribe also stated that all assets seized from the extradited paramilitaries by US courts would go to compensate their victims in Colombia. But specifics of these commitments are still lacking and it remains to be seen whether US prosecutors follow through with these promises.

Conclusions

Like in all wars, civilians in Colombia have born the brunt of the effects of the violence between the guerrillas, paramilitaries, and State forces. After years of injustice, it is likely that the extradition of paramilitary leaders to the US will further marginalize the victims of the conflict. Still, there is the opportunity for the Colombian government to ensure that extradited AUC leaders will also be tried for the crimes they committed in Colombia. In order to support this, the US Department of Justice must actively support victim’s demands for justice and reparation – something that has eluded them for too long.

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