HIGH COMMISSIONER EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER ATTACKS ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN COLOMBIA

1 February 1999





The following statement was made today by High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson:

I am deeply concerned about reports coming out of Colombia regarding attacks on human rights defenders.

Yesterday, Julio Gonzales and Everardo de Jesus Puerta, both members of the Comite de Solidaridad con los Prisioneros Politicos, were murdered by unidentified individuals as they traveled from the city of Medellin to Bogota to participate in a seminar on human rights.

Last Thursday four other human rights defenders were kidnapped by men who identified themselves as "paramilitaries". The four were taken after the assailants forced their way into offices of the Instituto Popular de Capacitacion, a human rights NGO in Medellin.

I condemn in the strongest terms these attacks, which come less than two months after the adoption by the General Assembly of the United Nations of the Declaration on the protection of human rights defenders.

During my visit to Colombia last October, I witnessed for myself the level of insecurity human rights defenders face in Colombia, where in 1997 and 1998 alone 25 activists were assassinated. In meetings with senior Government officials, including President Andres Pastrana, I asked the authorities to recognize publicly the importance of the work of human rights defenders and to take effective steps to protect their lives and guarantee their work. I also recalled the importance of finalizing the study of intelligence files undertaken by the Prosecutor General.

I have urged the Colombian authorities to conduct independent and thorough investigations into cases of attacks on human rights defenders and to bring the culprits to justice.