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The tone of the national debate on human rights in Colombia changed

markedly after the new government of President Juan Manuel Santos took
office on 7 August. In his inauguration speech President Santos declared that
the defence of human rights would be a ³firm and unavoidable commitment´ of
his government. In a meeting following the inauguration he told Minister of
State Jeremy Browne of his determination to make human rights a ³non -issue´
in Colombia. These commitments have so far translated into an im proved
dialogue with civil society, better relations with the judiciary and improvements
in some areas under the direct control of the government, such as the conduct
of the military. The Colombian government embarked on an ambitious reform
programme which includes new legislation to combat corruption, reform the
judiciary, restitute land to displaced people and compensate victims.

Nevertheless, the situation on the ground continued to cause concern.

Human rights defenders were frequently victims of viol ence and intimidation
and murder; indigenous and Afro-Colombian people suffered displacement,
threats and massacres; and impunity levels remained high. The activities of
illegal armed groups were a significant obstacle to progress in many parts of
the country. Further barriers include corruption, the worst winter floods in
Colombia¶s history, the complicated situation of land distribution , and the
government¶s lack of control over many remote areas.

Our Embassy in Bogotá implemented a comprehensive and h igh-profile

programme of human rights work, offering advice and assistance to the
Colombian government and delivering tangible progress. We also intervened
in individual cases of concern. Our Embassy worked closely with UK NGOs
and on Human Rights Day in December we issued Bogotá¶s first -ever joint
statement between civil society representatives and an embassy , which
recognised the work of Colombian human rights defenders in confronting the
country¶s problems. During Jeremy Browne¶s meeting with Presiden t Santos
in Bogotá in August ± where the vice president, foreign minister, defence
minister, environment minister and the director of the Colombian police were
present ± he welcomed the president¶s clear statement of intent on human
rights and called for continued improvements. Mr Browne held many meetings
on human rights in Colombia in London during 2010, including with the
Colombian ambassador, the director of CINEP (a respected Colombian think -
tank), and the NGOs ABColombia, Peace Brigades International, Justice for
Colombia and Amnesty International .
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In November Vice-President Angelino Garzón signed a tripartite agreement
with civil society and the Group of 24, comprising various EU countries, the
US, Japan, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Mexico w hich committed the
government to holding a National Human Rights Conference in December
2011. The government also pledged to create a National Human Rights
Centre. The British Ambassador will chair the Group of 24 in 2011. The UK
and Colombian governments have many interests in common and the
relationship between us is set to deepen and widen. Helping Colombia deal
with its human rights issues will continue to be part of this relationship. We
acknowledge the Colombian government¶s intention to improve its human
rights record but also recognise that this must translate into results on the
ground.
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In his inauguration speech, President Santos set out a programme which
included reform of the justice system. He held early meetings with se nior
judges and committed to implementing a package of reforms to depoliticise
the judiciary, improve its administration and give it greater resources. To
support this process, our Embassy funded a project with the Attorney -
General¶s Office, the Supreme Court of Justice and the Ombudsman to
produce a set of legal and administrative recommendations to strengthen the
criminal justice system. Some of these have already been included in the text
of the new Justice and Peace Law which is expected to be approve d in the
second half of 2011.
The controversial issue of the appointment of the new attorney-general was
resolved on 1 December. The Supreme Court had been unable to agree on
any of the candidates proposed by former President Uribe which meant that
the post has been vacant for 15 months. The election of ex -Congresswoman
Viviane Morales by a clear majority ±14 of 16 judges ± within hours of the
candidates¶ first appearances before the court was a clear sign that relations
between the government and judici ary had improved. This was a welcome
outcome which we hope will pave the way for much needed judicial reform .

Despite these positive developments, the number of individuals who did not
face justice for their crimes remained high. There was a lack of accountability
for state representatives guilty of human rights violations, as well as crimes
committed by non-state groups and individuals. The 2005 Justice and Peace
Law, set up to demobilise paramilitaries, has so far failed to ensure
accountability for killings or reparations for victims. Of more than 3,000
individuals facing charges under the law, only two have been convicted to
date.


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The so-called ³÷
´ extrajudicial killings attributed to security
forces, have been one of the most high profile and disturbing human rights
abuses of the past decade in Colombia. The UN Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights estimated that 3,000 civilians were victims of
extrajudicial execution between 2004 and 2008. In 2009 the UN Special
Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions described the
killings as systematic and perpetrated by significant elements within the
military, albeit there was no evidence to suggest they were carried out as a
matter of official government policy. In 2010 the Office of the Inspector -
General stated that the killings were a result of the armed forces¶ desire to
show results for military commanders and the government. This was the first
time any official body had made such a statemen t.

Extrajudicial killings have reduced significantly over the past two years and
perpetrators of past crimes have been brought to justice. According to
President Santos, 298 members of the military have been convicted so far,
though this represents only a fraction of the outstanding cases. The
international community has criticised the Colombian state for the slow speed
at which the killings have been investigated. It has also called for all
outstanding cases to be handed over from military to civilian justice and for
closed cases to be re-opened. In a meeting with Vice -Minister for Defence
Yaneth Giha on 11 January 2011, Mr Browne sought assurances that the
matter would be addressed promptly and thoroughly. The vice-minister
assured him that effectively addressing the ³÷
´ was one of
President Santos¶s top priorities. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights estimates that 100 additional prosecutors and 500 more
investigators would be needed to investigate the remaining ca ses.

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The operating environment for human rights defenders and civil society
groups improved in 2010. In the past, even senior government officials had
equated their work with support for terrorist organisations. This has had
serious consequences for their safety. This changed with the election of the
new government and President Santos¶s subsequent discussions with civil
society leaders soon after his inauguration.

Nevertheless, many human rights defenders, including trade unionis ts,

indigenous and Afro-Colombian leaders, teachers, journalists and members of
NGOs reported that they continued to face the risk of attack from illegal armed
groups and criminals in 2010. At least 40 human rights defenders and
community leaders were killed during 2010, as well as 25 trade unionists .

Our Embassy implemented a high -profile programme of activities to

demonstrate support for human rights defenders under threat. This has
included visits to the offices of threatened organisations. In May the
Ambassador visited the Luis Carlos Perez Lawyers¶ Collective in
Bucaramanga, whose members receive frequent threats and harassment. In
August he hosted a reception for human rights defenders and representatives
of the Colombian government to promote t he idea that human rights
defenders are ³part of the solution, not part of the problem´. Our Embassy
also highlighted the work of human rights defenders through the ³Human
Rights Defender of the Month´ section of its Human Rights Bulletin. English
and Spanish versions of this bulletin have a large civil society and government
readership in both Colombia and the UK .

Our Embassy also raised a number of individual cases with the Colombian
government. For example, in December the Chargée d¶Affaires contacte d the
Presidential Programme on Human Rights to express concern for Berenice
Celeyta, president of the Association for Investigation and Social Action,
which investigates human rights abuses in Valle del Cauca , after she had
received threats against her. Following our representations, the Presidential
Programme instructed national and provincial authorities to put in place
measures to ensure the safety of members of the association. It also
instructed the relevant authorities to investigate the case.

Previous stigmatisation of human rights defenders as guerrilla sympathisers

meant they often faced hostile public opinion. Our Embassy supported a
project with Oxfam GB to mobilise public opinion in their favour. As a result of
the project, the Bogotá regio nal government is implementing a plan to include
human rights defenders and civil society organisations in public debate.

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Journalists are subject to threats and violence in Colombia. The number of
journalists murdered for their work remained low ± one per year in both 2009
and 2010 ± but violence and intimidation continued .

Our Embassy supported a project implemented by Media for Peace to

strengthen the Colombia Reporters¶ Network of investigative journalists who
cover conflict and peace issues. The project brought five sensitive stories to
public attention via national print media and radio, whilst putting in place
measures to ensure the reporters¶ safety.

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Indigenous and Afro-Colombian people continued to face significant obstacles
to the enjoyment of their human rights. They were affected severely by
threats, violence, murder and displacement. Official figures suggest 3.5
million Colombians are displaced, the majority of whom are indi genous or
Afro-Colombian.

The Awá indigenous people were affected particularly badly. The Awá¶s
ancestral homelands on the border with Ecuador are of interest to illegal
armed groups ± because of the strategic important of the location of their land
± and coca producers, as well as companies involved in mining, rubber and
palm oil cultivation and infrastructure mega -projects. As a result, the Awá
were subject to violence, threats, disappearances, forced displacement and
massacres. On 9 November, a judge in Tumaco sentenced three alleged
members of a criminal gang to 52 years in prison for the massacre in 2009 of
12 members of the Awá community. The victims included a three -year-old
child and an eight-month-old baby. Whilst it is encouraging that the st ate is
investigating crimes against the Awá and that perpetrators are being brought
to justice, the violence continues. A further four members of the community
were reportedly massacred five days before the verdicts were handed down.
Official data showed that massacres increased by 41% in 2010.
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The new Colombian government committed itself to tackling forced
displacement and started work on a new Land and Victims Law which will
provide for the restitution of land to displaced individuals and communities. In
advance of the new law the government began using existing legislation to
implement an accelerated restitution programme, ³ „


„ „´, in
certain areas of the country. On 17 January 2011 President Santos
announced that 121,000 hectares had al ready been restituted to 38,000
families. However, a huge challenge remained and there were fears that
violence would increase as beneficiaries began to return to their land. These
fears were realised on 24 November with the brutal murder of Oscar Maussa ,
leader of the Blanquicet Farmworkers¶ Cooperative and beneficiary of
protection measures granted by the Inter -American Court on Human Rights.

In August, Mr Browne met representatives of Plan International in Cartagena

to raise awareness of the internall y displaced population, with a particular
focus on the plights of over 2 million forcibly displaced children in Colombia.
Our Embassy, in coordination with like -minded embassies and international
organisations, visited a number of communities under threat to show solidarity
with displaced and threatened people and draw attention to their plight. In
December, an embassy official visited the Las Camelias humanitarian zone in
Urabá to meet representatives of several displaced communities. On the day
of the visit so-called ³invaders´ arrived to establish a new settlement on
collective land. The ³invaders´ are allegedly part of a strategy by powerful
economic entities to exploit the communities¶ land commercially. Our
embassy representative raised the case with the commander of the army
brigade in Apartadó and the Chargée d¶Affaires made representations to the
Presidential Programme on Human Rights. The Presidential Programme
subsequently instructed the relevant provincial authorities to take measures to
end the illegal occupation of collective territory but the ³invaders´ remain. Our
Embassy continued to follow the situation with other diplomatic missions and
the Inter-Ecclesiastical Commission for Justice and Peace, which works with
the local community.

Like Colombia¶s indigenous groups, Afro -Colombians make up a significant

proportion of the displaced population. In April, our Embassy supported the
launch of a report by the National Association of Displaced Afro -Colombians
which includes recommendations on how to include the views of displaced
Afro-Colombians in public policy-making. In August, Mr Browne met
representatives of the association in Cartagena and publicly condemned the
threats against them. Afro-Colombian communities are particularly vulnerable
because they occupy land of strategic importance to guerrilla groups, cocaine
cultivation or narco-trafficking. Mr Browne¶s visible support for the association
gave recognition to the organisation which ± as testified by its members ±
contributed to their security and helped strengthen the message that NGOs
are an integral and important part of democratic society.

We co-funded a project with the Norwegian Refugee Council which supported

hearings before the ombudsman to highlight violations of land and territorial
rights in Nariño and Santander provinces. As a direct result of the hearings
the ombudsman signed two new resolutions which oblige state authorities to
investigate the allegations and to monitor the protection of human rights in
both regions.
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