November 12, 2008
UN accuses Colombia forces of killing civilians
By Naomi Mapstone in Lima
Financial Times Published: November 2 2008 23:18 | Last updated: November 2 2008 23:18
Colombia's security forces are engaged in “widespread and systematic” killings of civilians that could constitute a crime against humanity, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said at the weekend.
Navi Pillay, speaking in Bogotá at the close of a fact-finding mission, said it was up to Colombia's government to investigate the killings but that international bodies could step in if it was “unable or unwilling” to do so.
Álvaro Uribe, Colombian president, last week fired 27 army officers implicated in the deaths of 11 men from Soacha, outside of Bogotá, who disappeared from their homes and were later found shot dead in mass graves in the country's north-east. They had been listed as members of rebel groups killed in combat.
Human Rights groups allege that security forces have killed hundreds of civilians and portrayed them as members of the Farc rebel group to inflate combat death figures as a measure of the success of their operations.
“We are observing and keeping a record of the number of extrajudicial killings and it does appear to be systematic and widespread,” Ms Pillay said.
“The goal is to have the national authorities investigate these crimes and to prosecute the perpetrators. It is only when a country is unable or unwilling to investigate or prosecute these crimes that the International Criminal Court, for instance, will have the power to intervene.”
A report by Amnesty International last week found that about 330 extrajudicial executions by the security forces were reported in 2007, compared to 220 a year between 2004 and 2006, 130 in 2003, and 100 in 2002.
Most victims were campesinos or community leaders who were taken from their home or workplace and killed elsewhere, the report said. “The body is presented wearing army fatigues by the security forces, although witnesses testify that the victim had been wearing civilian clothes when detained ... The bodies also often show signs of torture.”
Mr Uribe, whose approval ratings soared above 80 per cent after Colombian forces rescued Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other high-profile hostages from the Farc this year, has been credited with tangible improvements in security, luring foreign investment and improving the economy.
But he is under pressure over his administration's human rights record as he tries to win approval from US Democrats for a proposed trade agreement.
Mr Uribe defended his government's response to the allegations of extrajudicial killings and strongly criticised both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for recent reports
Date Modified : 2010/01/29
