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HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CONDEMNS MURDER OF LABOUR ACTIVIST IN BOGOTA
22 October 1998
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HR/98/78
22 October 1998
Mrs. Robinson Urges Full Protection for Human Rights Defenders
The following statement was made yesterday by High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson:
“The murder last night of Jorge Ortega, Vice-President of the Central Workers’ Union, is the latest in a series of tragic events which have brought home to me the seriousness of the human rights situation in Colombia and the enormity of the work that needs to be done to address it.
Mr. Ortega was killed just two days after the horrible attack on an oil pipeline in Segovia, Antioquia, in which almost 50 people lost their lives. The seriousness of the wounds of the survivors means that the death toll will probably rise.
Colleagues in my Office here in Bogota have told me how they witnessed first hand Mr. Ortega’s support and commitment for human rights. He accorded much importance to the work of the Office and its efforts to consolidate the Interinstitutional Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Workers.
Mr. Ortega, like many other human rights defenders in Colombia, had received death threats and his colleagues feared for his life. Yesterday I addressed an international seminar on the protection of human rights defenders in which the risks these courageous men and women face every day were a major part of the discussion. Their fears are not unfounded: I learned with deep
concern this morning that the seminar itself had received a bomb threat, with the caller demanding that the meeting end immediately.
I raised these issues this morning with Jaime Bernal Cuellar, Prosecutor-General, and will also discuss them with President Andres Pastrana and other Government officials I will be meeting later today.
I take this opportunity to condemn in the strongest possible terms Mr. Ortega’s murder and threats against other human rights defenders. Such attacks and ongoing violence linked to the armed conflict make the search for peace and full respect for human rights in Colombia even more urgent.
I also urge the Government to do its utmost to find and prosecute those responsible for Mr. Ortega’s murder and to ensure the protection of those who struggle so that all Colombians can enjoy all their human rights.”
22 October 1998
Mrs. Robinson Urges Full Protection for Human Rights Defenders
The following statement was made yesterday by High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson:
“The murder last night of Jorge Ortega, Vice-President of the Central Workers’ Union, is the latest in a series of tragic events which have brought home to me the seriousness of the human rights situation in Colombia and the enormity of the work that needs to be done to address it.
Mr. Ortega was killed just two days after the horrible attack on an oil pipeline in Segovia, Antioquia, in which almost 50 people lost their lives. The seriousness of the wounds of the survivors means that the death toll will probably rise.
Colleagues in my Office here in Bogota have told me how they witnessed first hand Mr. Ortega’s support and commitment for human rights. He accorded much importance to the work of the Office and its efforts to consolidate the Interinstitutional Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Workers.
Mr. Ortega, like many other human rights defenders in Colombia, had received death threats and his colleagues feared for his life. Yesterday I addressed an international seminar on the protection of human rights defenders in which the risks these courageous men and women face every day were a major part of the discussion. Their fears are not unfounded: I learned with deep
concern this morning that the seminar itself had received a bomb threat, with the caller demanding that the meeting end immediately.
I raised these issues this morning with Jaime Bernal Cuellar, Prosecutor-General, and will also discuss them with President Andres Pastrana and other Government officials I will be meeting later today.
I take this opportunity to condemn in the strongest possible terms Mr. Ortega’s murder and threats against other human rights defenders. Such attacks and ongoing violence linked to the armed conflict make the search for peace and full respect for human rights in Colombia even more urgent.
I also urge the Government to do its utmost to find and prosecute those responsible for Mr. Ortega’s murder and to ensure the protection of those who struggle so that all Colombians can enjoy all their human rights.”