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人权事务委员会审议哥伦比亚的报告（部分翻译）
哥伦比亚接受审议
2016年10月20日
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日内瓦（2016年10月20日）——人权事务委员会今天结束了对哥伦比亚关于其落实《公民权利和政治权利国际公约》条款情况的第七次定期报告的审议。
总统人权顾问保拉·加维利亚·贝坦库尔（Paula Gaviria Betancur）呈报了报告，并表示，旨在远离摧残了哥伦比亚50多年的冲突的谈判已取得重大进展。与哥伦比亚武装革命军达成的和平协议落实了双边停火，对人民权利产生了即时的影响，而与民族解放军谈判过程的公开阶段计划于2016年10月底开始。法律和制度框架得到了加强，在公共人权政策、赔偿受害者、保护所有公民的权利以及打击有罪不罚的措施的一些具体领域已有所进步。2014-2034年保障人权国家战略的制定过程得到了国家人权系统的参与，并巩固了国家和民间社会之间共同的人权议程。武装冲突的状况代表着哥伦比亚最重大的挑战——尽管公投拒绝了和平协议，但哥伦比亚致力于继续努力实现和平。
委员会专家们希望，最终的和平协议能够很快达成，并强调，持续的政治意愿将有助于此，人权事务高级专员办事处也能就此发挥重要作用。专家们对适用于过渡期的法律框架表示关切，并强调哥伦比亚有义务确保保护所有人免受威胁、暴力、绑架和流离失所，包括由武装组织和犯罪团伙造成。最令人关切的状况是妇女受到的普遍暴力，包括性暴力，以及对这些犯罪严重的有罪不罚，这存在于武装冲突情况之外的90%强奸案中。另一个关切是对七百万境内流离失所者的保护——有待处理的案件数量为全球第二多——包括因为犯罪团伙和大型开发项目而流离失所的人。讨论中提出的另一些问题包括为了预防和调查国家官员的酷刑、虐待、法外杀人和任意逮捕行为，对非裔哥伦比亚人和土著人民跨领域的结构性歧视，保护人权维护者免受国家和非国家行为者的威胁和暴力，缺少获得合法流产的系统性途径。
在总结发言中，加维利亚·贝坦库尔女士重申，人权处于政治议程的核心位置，哥伦比亚政府和人民尤其重视改善人权状况和加强民间社会。
委员会主席兼报告员戴儒吉拉尔•赛图尔辛（Dheerujlall Seetulsingh）指出，即便武装冲突结束，但哥伦比亚仍存在许多挑战。委员会的结论性意见可能有助于进一步改善哥伦比亚的人权状况，并充分落实公约的条款。
哥伦比亚代表团成员包括以下部门的代表：部长办公室、国家保护股、司法和法律部、受害者援助与整体补偿股以及哥伦比亚常驻联合国日内瓦办事处代表团。
委员会的下一场公开会议为今天下午3点，计划开始审议阿塞拜疆的第四次定期报告(CCPR/C/AZE/4)。
Report
The seventh periodic report of Colombia can be read here: CCPR/C/COL/7.
Presentation of the Report
PAULA GAVIRIA BETANCUR, Presidential Adviser for Human Rights, said that the Colombian Government had made significant progress in negotiating the way out of the conflict that had devastated Colombia for more than 50 years. The peace agreement reached with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had paid due attention to victims; it had put in place a bilateral ceasefire which had had an immediate positive impact on the rights of the people in Colombia, and it had also had tangible humanitarian results such as the demobilization of children and the clearing up of landmines. The Colombian people had rejected this peace agreement in a recent plebiscite, but the Government was committed to working towards peace. Progress was being made in the negotiations with the National Liberation Army, and the public phase of the process was due to begin at the end of this month in Quito. Since its last review by the Committee, Colombia had strengthened its institutional framework with the active participation of victims of the conflict; specific areas of progress included the public policy on human rights, reparation to victims, protection of the rights of all citizens, and measures to fight against impunity. Following the intensive consultation with 22,000 persons and 9,000 organizations, the document “Moving from Violence to a Society of Rights: The Proposal for a Comprehensive Human Rights Policy” had been drafted, on the basis of which the national human rights system had been set up in 2011. The national system had developed, in a participative manner, the National Strategy for Guarantees of Human Rights 2014-2034 which consolidated a common human rights agenda between the State and civil society.
The Law on Victims and Land Restitution, begun in 2011, had established the policy of reparations to victims of the conflict through the national system. It had put in place a register of victims which included those whose land had been taken away, as well as victims of sexual violence, enforced disappearances, displacement, murder, and landmines. As of September 2016, more than eight million victims had been registered in the national system; 6.3 million were being assisted and of those, 85 per cent were victims of displacement. To date, 600,000 persons had been compensated administratively. The State was also fighting inequality, discrimination and social exclusion, with particular attention being paid to women and to socially vulnerable groups such as children, people of African descent, indigenous peoples, campesinos, persons with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.
Women were recognized as key actors in achieving a peaceful and prosperous country, and the priority was dealing with sexual and gender-based violence. Colombia had criminalized femicide, adopted the protocol for the investigation of sexual violence, guaranteed access to justice to victims of sexual violence, and declared 25 May as the national day of dignity for women victims of sexual violence in the context of the conflict. In order to seek solutions to problems that could affect the work of human rights defenders, Colombia had created the National Table for Guarantees and had strengthened protection programmes for persons at risk; some 6,500 persons enjoyed protection, including journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and activists. The General Attorney’s Office had consolidated strategies to improve rates of homicides, enforced disappearances, torture and other serious violations of human rights. Colombia was the first to acknowledge the outstanding challenges, first and foremost the 50-year long armed conflict.
Questions from the Committee Experts
A Committee Expert expressed hope that a final peace agreement would soon be reached in Colombia and stressed the importance of the continued political will to do so. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia could have an important role to play. What was the state of play concerning Colombia’s compliance with the Committee’s views in relation to individual communications? What was being done by the Government to ensure that the human rights policy was being implemented in those places in which people had been caught in cross-fire for many years and whose human rights had been violated by many groups, and where the presence of State agents in charge of guaranteeing fundamental human rights had been sparse?
It seemed that the Office of the Ombudsmen was rather independent, but there was a concern about the key role of the Office of the President in determining the budget of the Office of the Ombudsmen, which did not affect the functionality but it might affect the perceived independence of this mechanism. Was Colombia considering changing this.
Since 2011, the inter-agency early warning task force had decided to transform all reports and documents into follow-up actions which had an implication on effectiveness on the ground. In 2013, the Office of the Ombudsman had issued an early warning concerning the situation in Buonaventura, and in particular the recruitment of children and enforced disappearances. What was the action taken on this early warning? The Expert asked the delegation about the participation of women in political and public life, measures taken to strengthen the capacity of the Advisory Office to monitor the situation of gender equality and implement the national gender equity strategy, and action taken to increase the representation of women in the highest levels of the judiciary.
Colombia had seven million internally displaced persons – the second largest number in the world – and the protection of their rights was an issue of concern. Experts asked about the number of internally displaced persons and the number of displaced minors; efforts to prevent displacement, including resources, activities and results; and about measures taken to implement the recommendation by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in relation to truth and justice. What measures were being taken to provide legal protection for persons displaced by organized crime units and armed groups other than FARC, violence and insecurity, and measures taken to prevent displacement due to mega-development projects? The Committee Expert asked about the process of registration of internally displaced persons in the national registry of victims, in particular in rural and remote areas, and the rules governing reparation and monetary compensation based on the date of displacement, since it seemed that different benefits were being provided to those displaced before 1985, those displaced between 1985 and 1991, and those displaced after 1991.
The delegation was asked to describe the legal mechanism for reparation for all victims of displacement and statistical data on reparation provided that was disaggregated by type and date of displacement, restitution provided and the indication of whether beneficiaries belonged to people of African descent. Structural discrimination against people of African descent was an ongoing concern, noted the Expert, and asked about disaggregated data on violence against people of African descent and indigenous people, prosecution and sanctioning of perpetrators and measures taken to deal with multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.
The situation of utmost concern was the high level of violence against women, including by Government agents, and the high levels of impunity for sexual violence: 90 per cent of all non-conflict related acts of rape and sexual violence remained unprosecuted. What was the content of the zero-tolerance policy for sexual violence; which forms of reparation were or would be available to victims of sexual violence committed in the conflict; how many convictions had been secured for crimes of femicide; and which level of protection was provided to victims and witnesses to encourage them to give testimony in cases involving sexual violence? Which steps were being taken to ensure that health care providers offered the required health services to victims of sexual violence, including those in conflict, including access to abortion?
Another Expert commended the determination of the State to acknowledge the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons and ensure their protection from discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Nevertheless, levels of violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons were rather high: 405 had been killed between 2012 and 2015, of whom more than 100 in 2015 alone, and during the same period 21 defenders of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights had been killed. The situation of civil status of transgender persons had improved by the law adopted in 2015, but there were difficulties in the implementation of the law. What was the status of same-sex couples and which rights did they have?
Turning to the issue of violence against women, the Expert said that in spite of the efforts made by the State, violence, and in particular rape, was widespread in the country, as was sexual harassment at work despite its criminalization. There were differences in the Criminal Code concerning sanctions for rape and sexual violence depending on the context in which they were committed, with domestic violence carrying a lesser punishment.
The Expert took positive note of the well-developed legislation and institutions that dealt with the phenomenon of enforced disappearances, but in practice more needed to be done in searching for disappeared persons and in fighting impunity. What measures were being taken to create a national register for disappeared persons, to unify the several existing databases into one register for the entire country – this was a crucial tool to make the search for disappeared persons effective. It seemed that the number of enforced disappearances attributable to the State had gone down, but it remained a systematic practice in Colombia. The peace agreement with FARC foresaw the creation of a joint body for the search of disappeared persons which was eagerly awaited by the families as it would give more efficiency to the search: what was the status of this initiative in the light of the results of the referendum in which the peace agreement had been rejected? It appeared that more than 26,000 persons had been registered as disappeared, the bodies of some 8,000 had been found, but there were still more than 19,000 persons whose fate was still unclear.
A Committee Expert discussed the access to safe pregnancy-termination services and in particular obstacles to that access such as lack of knowledge of the law by the medical professionals and institutional conscientious objection, which as an idea was unsustainable to the Commission which recognized the individual right to conscientious objection. The situation of teenage pregnancies was not improving: were the measures taken having any impact on reducing the figures?
Colombia had failed to provide in its report information about the involvement of law enforcement officers in cases of torture and ill-treatment, measures taken in this regard, and the existence of an independent complaint mechanism. The report was equally silent or lacked detail on the questions related to cases of arbitrary arrest, and measures taken to ensure that those responsible were brought to justice and that the victims received adequate reparation. Which measures had been taken to put an end to the military practice of “round-ups”.
People of African descent constituted more than 10 per cent of the Colombian population, and yet, black faces were nowhere to be seen in the highest echelons of the government, private sector and civil society. How were their rights protected and the issues of concern to them advocated for?
Response by the Delegation
Ensuring the effective protection and promotion of human rights in Colombia would be a main challenge in the absence of peace, said the head of the delegation, stressing the challenges that the country was facing in dealing with 50 years of armed conflict. Another delegate confirmed the absolute commitment of Colombia to a zero-tolerance policy to extra-judicial killings, torture and the “false positive” cases, and to clarifying those issues and ensuring that the perpetrators were brought to justice. In this sense, the cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia was very important. According to the statistics by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, there were 4,977 cases of investigations related to protected persons – including extra-judicial killings, which involved 7,577 victims; 1,199 members of the security forces had been sentenced, including high-ranking officials. To date, 1,955 cases of torture had been reported, involving 1,545 victims; 94 persons had been sentenced, including military agents and police officers.
Colombia was willing to renew the mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia which had been offering advice since 1996, and this was greatly appreciated. Colombia had received 19 views from the Committee; the law 288 was a very important instrument which set up the institutional procedure through which the victims could receive compensation.
The early warning system aimed to assess the dynamics of the conflict and enable the Government to take preventive measures. In 2015, the Ombudsmen had issued eight risk reports and 31 follow-up reports, which had led to early warning being submitted for 70 municipalities. By May 2016, four risk reports and six follow-up reports had been issued, leading to early warning submitted in 26 municipalities.
The Ombudsman was an autonomous, independent body whose budget was allocated by the Congress. Over the past several years, the Office had been significantly strengthened, and its budget had been increased by more than 80 per cent in 2015 compared to the previous year. The greatest proportion of the allocation went to free legal aid which strengthened the right to access to justice for all Colombians.
The rate of displacement in 2014 had been reduced by more than 80 per cent, and it had been even further reduced with the bilateral ceasefire which was part of the peace agreement. It was true that displacement in Colombia continued, particularly inter-urban displacement as a result of violence by organized crime groups and gangs. Regardless of the significant reduction in displacement, challenges continued and plans were being rolled out throughout the country; local authorities that had taken their tenure this year were working on reducing the phenomenon. The local public policies had been rolled out and the Government had ensured that the necessary budget support was being provided for local plans. The Protocol on Return was included in the law and was being implemented with the joint effort of central and local authorities; 700,00 households had been helped by September 2016, but it was important to say that not all internally displaced persons were willing to cooperate with authorities upon their return.
The Observatory for Racism and Discrimination had been created in 2011 and to date two sentences had been handed down for crimes of racial discrimination against people of African descent. The Environment Minister, the Minister of Culture, and the Minister of Citizen Participation were people of African descent, nevertheless, the political and public participation of people of African descent was low. A Working Group had been created to examine violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, and a specific attorney in the Office of the Prosecutor had been appointed to investigate those crimes.
With regard to violence against women, the developments at the legislative level stemmed from the dedication of the President and the tireless work of various women’s organizations and groups. The Protocol for the Investigation of Sexual Violence had been adopted this year and it had set up directives and guidelines for the work carried out by the Office of the Prosecutor in investigating crimes of sexual violence. An institutional framework to fight impunity for sexual violence had been strengthened; in 2015, 244 cases had been identified and were being currently investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office.
Teenage pregnancy affected some 20 per cent of the girls in the country; this was not only a public health problem but an issue that had an impact on all aspects of the girls’ lives, and the life of the community. Over the last six years, the reduction in the rate of teenage pregnancy had been around 1.5 per cent due to the availability of contraceptives, the promotion of responsible sexual activity via social media, and education and information campaigns aimed at teens and their parents. Teenage pregnancy disproportionately affected girls of Afro-descendant communities. Various actions had been taken by the Ministry of Health to tackle the issue, in cooperation with generalist health providers, communicators of all kinds and women grassroots organizations, in spreading information about access to sexual and reproductive health services, including pregnancy-termination services. The Ministry of Health had clearly taken a line based on the existing legal provisions in Colombia that no institution could raise conscientious objection when it came to providing abortion. Some 96 per cent of women across the country – and 99 per cent in some areas - had access to maternity care.
By July 2016, the Office of the Prosecutor had registered 74,000 cases of enforced disappearances. Efforts were being made to ensure that the various registries of enforced disappearances communicated with each other in order to provide consolidated information to the families. Approximately 2,900 State officials had been prosecuted and charged with the crime. Action was being taken to improve the search for disappeared persons, in cooperation with families and communities, and this work would continue regardless of the approval of the people of Colombia of the peace agreement.
Colombia had recently adopted the law requiring that at least 35 per cent of high-level decision-making positions were held by women, and which also obliged State institutions to regularly report on compliance, which, according to the latest data, was 38 per cent.
Questions by the Committee Experts
In their follow-up questions, Committee Experts referred to the answers concerning actions to address discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, and asked about the status of the national policy for the promotion, respect, defence and guarantee of the full rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community in Colombia. The Law 288 was a good law but it had its limits as it referred only to compensation, while the issue of investigation and finding the perpetrators of the violations was not addressed; filling this gap would expand the meaning of compensation to include other forms of reparation in addition to monetary ones. Could the delegation inform on the existence of the independent complaint mechanism for torture and ill-treatment?
Experts also asked about difficulties that transgender persons experienced in the administrative registration of gender, and about the reasons which could explain different and more lenient sanctions for rape and sexual violence committed in the domestic context. With regard to enforced disappearances, the delegation was asked to provide additional information concerning concrete plans for the setting up of the joint unit for the search for disappeared persons as foreseen by the peace agreement with the FARC, and to clarify the differences that existed in the official number of forcibly disappeared persons. There were still difficulties in accessing legal abortion and it seemed that a large number of pregnancies were still terminated through so-called “back street abortions”, which put the lives of women at risk.
In terms of the fight against impunity for human rights violations, an Expert noted that the concept and the notion of transitional justice embraced a whole range of mechanisms and instruments to address the issue of human rights violations and establish accountability of perpetrators. Did the concept of transitional justice in Colombia include the establishment of the Truth and Justice Commission and what was the experience in this regard? To which extent was the assistance from the International Criminal Court instrumental in conducting investigations and prosecutions for the most serious crimes committed in Colombia?
Response by the Delegation
One of the greatest challenges in monitoring the human rights situation in the country was the lack of a unified system of information and data collection, collation and sharing. Colombia was expending a great deal of effort to collect and analyse data from various sources which currently existed.
The legislation in place recognized the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community and their rights, while a specific decree on their protection was undergoing a consultation process at the moment. The Law 288 had been adopted in 1996, and was complemented with a decree adopted in 2016 which defined more clearly the issue of compensation. There was a need to define a clear mechanism through which compensation could be effected.
Responding to the question concerning sentences and convictions for killings of protected persons, and how many of those were actually extra-judicial executions, a delegate said that more than 400 convictions had been handed down and that the detailed statistics for those cases had been published in a report available to the public. It had found that in 60 per cent of the cases, convictions had been carried out against soldiers - 40 per cent of those included higher-ranking officers, including seven colonels.
Colombia had put in place specific measures in the area of prevention, disciplinary investigation and criminal investigation of cases of torture, and was mindful of the fact that the action must be taken within the security forces. The National Police had adopted the Human Rights Policy in 2011, which included provisions to prevent torture and ill and cruel treatment, including recommendations made by the Committee against Torture. The Policy was being widely disseminated and training of the police officers was being carried out. The Constitutional Court had spoken on the matter of persons deprived of liberty and the policy at the highest level had been established, according to which a review of the conditions in detention centres was being carried out on a biweekly basis. The Office of the Ombudsmen also followed up the situation in prisons and had a specific mechanism to receive complaints of torture by inmates. Some 127 cases of alleged torture had been lodged during the period 2003-2016; 42 disciplinary sanctions had been handed down and 94 persons had been convicted for acts of torture since 2005.
Questions by the Committee Experts
In the next round of questions and comments, a Committee Expert stressed the importance of the willingness and commitment of the Government and FARC to negotiate and put an end to the armed conflict. The peace agreement had proposed a legal framework for peace, however, the agreement had been rejected by the referendum and had so put in question the destiny of that legal framework. The question was which laws would be applied in the context of transition, particularly in relation to the investigation and prosecution of the gravest human rights violations? What was happening to the Law on Justice and Peace, which did not seem to be very successful in establishing accountability for serious human rights violations, including for those persons extradited to the United States who had been tried on drug crimes but not war crimes? What difficulties were being encountered in the restitution of land?
The question was how the Government would protect the people in this transitional period, including members of the Patriotic Union, of which 6,000 had been killed? There were two Colombias, noted the Expert, the Colombia of Bogotá, with the Constitutional Court and excellent laws, and the Colombia of regions where those laws did not apply, where impunity reigned and there were shortcomings in the implementation of the law. With or without armed conflict, Colombia had to protect its people, protect them from being kidnapped from their homes.
Another Expert agreed that a significant number of people were still exposed to high levels of violence, and stressed that the key question was about the strategy of Colombia in dealing with this phenomenon and protecting its people, including from the violence by organized crime groups. What was the impact and the result of the Attorney General’s 2012 policy decision to prioritise certain criminal investigations?
It was hard to accept the legality under the Covenant of the policy of sending the campesinos to eradicate coca fields, including those infected by landmines, considering that the peasants did not have much choice but to accept the risks. In addition to the risk by landmines, those civilians were being regarded by some armed groups operating coca plantations as legitimate military targets – what action was being taken to protect their lives and to ensure that compensations were paid to families of those killed in such operations.
The Committee was concerned about the scope of powers conferred upon the Government to intercept private phone conversations, in particular about the policy which was very broad and provided for the application of surveillance powers, and also provided for open-ended monitoring activities. Which form of oversight existed in monitoring of meta-data other than internal control by security agencies?
Colombia was a country of origin and destination of trafficking in persons, including for purposes of forced labour, and the delegation was asked to provide data on investigations, prosecutions and compensation to victims of trafficking; the penalties under the law for crimes of trafficking; and to explain the gap between more than 3,000 calls to trafficking hotlines and the very low number of reported prosecutions. Civil society had reported an increase in the recruitment of indigenous and Afro-Colombian children by post-mobilization armed groups, which was an issue of great concern. Was this considered as trafficking and investigated and prosecuted accordingly? Which measures were being taken to monitor the conditions of indigenous women working in the domestic sector and to monitor forced labour in mining operations?
Which steps were being taken to protect human rights defenders from threats and violence by both State and non-State actors, to prosecute perpetrators, and to implement the detailed recommendations by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in this regard? How was the current birth registration system being adapted and made more appropriate to Colombia’s culturally diverse population, particularly in rural areas, and could Colombia ensure that birth certification was an integral part of the health care system?
Another Expert expressed concern about inhumane and degrading conditions in detention facilities which suffered overcrowding – according to the Ombudsmen more than 400 per cent in some prisons – and asked about the success criteria and the ambition for the measures taken by Colombia to reduce prison overcrowding. The delegation was asked about the rules governing solitary confinement and the attention given to the safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex inmates. It was troubling that Colombia did not seem to recognize the need to ensure the systematic inspection of places of detention with a view to monitoring the situation both of conditions and abuse.
The delegation was asked about the jurisdiction – military or civilian – over crimes against humanity and war crimes; the specific investigations and prosecutions undertaken by judges, lawyers and prosecutors that led to the need for their protection; sanctions handed down for recruitment and use of children by armed groups; measures taken to adopt the law establishing the obligation for free, prior and informed consent with indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombians; and the steps in place to ensure the protection of rural and indigenous populations from violence and disappearances.
Response by the Delegation
Addressing serious human rights violations and acts that might constitute violations of international humanitarian law received special attention in Colombia, which had more than 10 years of experience in different truth and justice mechanisms specific to transitional periods. The judicial investigation of serious offences was taken as a part of a comprehensive framework which also included measures not judicial in nature. Colombia had been cooperating with the International Criminal Court Prosecutor for more than 10 years, exchanging information and visits, and was absolutely committed to providing justice to victims within its legal framework and in cooperation with the International Criminal Court.
On the legal framework for peace, the Constitutional Court had ruled that the framework for transitional justice was legal and all questions of interpretation had been taken on board by the Government. Consultations had been undertaken on the order in which cases should be taken by the prosecution, and there was an understanding that the prosecutor should continue to investigate serious human rights violations. The Law 965 illustrated complexities involved in ensuring justice in circumstances where there was a large number of victims: 50,000 had been registered, which meant that 50,000 people had come forward voluntarily to register for special investigation and prosecution. There was a need for criminal prosecution, but also for non-judicial measures in order to satisfy the needs of victims and their families, including victims of enforced disappearances.
Colombia was doing its best to improve the situation in prisons and ensure the guarantee and respect of human rights of inmates. Measures were being taken to reduce overcrowding, but a number of difficulties existed; for example, preventive detention was being used widely as it was often the only way to ensure that the accused appeared before the court. Colombia had no intention of using military criminal courts to carry out investigations, certainly not into any serious violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law; the intention was to use civilian courts and prosecutors in such cases. There was an absolute zero-tolerance policy to any form of collusion between State and public officials and criminal groups or gangs. The Specialized Unit for Organized Crime of the Office of the Prosecutor had prosecuted and sentenced 51 State officials, including army and police officers, for having links with criminal groups.
The inter-institutional Committee against people trafficking brought together 18 different bodies in one committee to tackle the issue; similar committees existed at departmental and local levels, in order to guarantee the practical application of the laws, particularly at the local level. In smaller towns and municipalities it was the responsibility of mayors to tackle the phenomenon and provide support for victims. To date, 1,746 cases had been reported and were currently being investigated, and 127 individuals had been convicted for trafficking in persons.
There were indeed difficulties in access to legal abortion, particularly in remote and rural areas, which disproportionately affected indigenous communities, and the Government was fighting to put down the barriers, including cultural, that existed in this regard. The aim was not only to reduce maternal mortality and pregnancy-related complications, but also to ensure the high-quality of health services in order to reduce the gaps. The reduction in maternal mortality was 44 per cent and 49.7 deaths per 1,000 live births and this showed the progress made, particularly in rural areas; nevertheless, the gap between urban and rural areas remained, particularly in remote areas.
All children had the right to birth certification and to be registered. Currently there were 1,156 birth registration offices in the country, and more than 300 hospitals could register births in the national register. There was a plan to put in place mobile registry units, and to put in place an online registration tool.
The National Protection Unit had been created in 2011 to protect persons, groups and communities at extraordinary risk because of their functions. There were roughly 600 persons under protection at the moment, and those included human rights defenders, trade unionists, journalists, or State officials working on the investigation or prosecution of serious human rights violations. It was individuals who should submit the request for protection, the Unit would carry out a risk study, and the inter-agency Committee would assess the risk and decide on protection measures. To date, the Unit had undertaken more than 60,000 risk studies; of those, roughly 9,500 had been assessed as extraordinary risk and protection measures had been put in place. The Unit’s budget in 2016 was $ 170 million and almost 90 per cent was spent on the protection of non-State individuals, as the cost of the protection of State officials was born by State agencies directly.
Concluding Remarks
PAULA GAVIRIA BETANCUR, Presidential Adviser for Human Rights, reiterated the commitment of Colombia to continue to cooperate with this Committee and to take into account its concluding observations. Colombia appreciated the recognition of the challenges caused by the 52 years of armed conflict and the efforts undertaken to tackle human rights issues. Human rights were at the heart of the political agenda in the country, and the Government and the people of Colombia were particularly attached to improving the human rights situation and strengthening civil society. There were not one, two or three Colombias – there was only one which was the country of human rights and rule of law for all its people.
DHEERUJLALL SEETULSINGH, Committee Vice-Chairperson, noted that the dialogue was taking place at a historic moment in Colombia, with the peace agreement reached with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Santos. Even with the end of the armed conflict, many challenges would continue and it was hoped that the Committee’s concluding observations would help to further improve the human rights situation in Colombia and fully implement the provisions of the Covenant.
总统人权顾问保拉·加维利亚·贝坦库尔（Paula Gaviria Betancur）呈报了报告，并表示，旨在远离摧残了哥伦比亚50多年的冲突的谈判已取得重大进展。与哥伦比亚武装革命军达成的和平协议落实了双边停火，对人民权利产生了即时的影响，而与民族解放军谈判过程的公开阶段计划于2016年10月底开始。法律和制度框架得到了加强，在公共人权政策、赔偿受害者、保护所有公民的权利以及打击有罪不罚的措施的一些具体领域已有所进步。2014-2034年保障人权国家战略的制定过程得到了国家人权系统的参与，并巩固了国家和民间社会之间共同的人权议程。武装冲突的状况代表着哥伦比亚最重大的挑战——尽管公投拒绝了和平协议，但哥伦比亚致力于继续努力实现和平。
委员会专家们希望，最终的和平协议能够很快达成，并强调，持续的政治意愿将有助于此，人权事务高级专员办事处也能就此发挥重要作用。专家们对适用于过渡期的法律框架表示关切，并强调哥伦比亚有义务确保保护所有人免受威胁、暴力、绑架和流离失所，包括由武装组织和犯罪团伙造成。最令人关切的状况是妇女受到的普遍暴力，包括性暴力，以及对这些犯罪严重的有罪不罚，这存在于武装冲突情况之外的90%强奸案中。另一个关切是对七百万境内流离失所者的保护——有待处理的案件数量为全球第二多——包括因为犯罪团伙和大型开发项目而流离失所的人。讨论中提出的另一些问题包括为了预防和调查国家官员的酷刑、虐待、法外杀人和任意逮捕行为，对非裔哥伦比亚人和土著人民跨领域的结构性歧视，保护人权维护者免受国家和非国家行为者的威胁和暴力，缺少获得合法流产的系统性途径。
在总结发言中，加维利亚·贝坦库尔女士重申，人权处于政治议程的核心位置，哥伦比亚政府和人民尤其重视改善人权状况和加强民间社会。
委员会主席兼报告员戴儒吉拉尔•赛图尔辛（Dheerujlall Seetulsingh）指出，即便武装冲突结束，但哥伦比亚仍存在许多挑战。委员会的结论性意见可能有助于进一步改善哥伦比亚的人权状况，并充分落实公约的条款。
哥伦比亚代表团成员包括以下部门的代表：部长办公室、国家保护股、司法和法律部、受害者援助与整体补偿股以及哥伦比亚常驻联合国日内瓦办事处代表团。
委员会的下一场公开会议为今天下午3点，计划开始审议阿塞拜疆的第四次定期报告(CCPR/C/AZE/4)。
Report
The seventh periodic report of Colombia can be read here: CCPR/C/COL/7.
Presentation of the Report
PAULA GAVIRIA BETANCUR, Presidential Adviser for Human Rights, said that the Colombian Government had made significant progress in negotiating the way out of the conflict that had devastated Colombia for more than 50 years. The peace agreement reached with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had paid due attention to victims; it had put in place a bilateral ceasefire which had had an immediate positive impact on the rights of the people in Colombia, and it had also had tangible humanitarian results such as the demobilization of children and the clearing up of landmines. The Colombian people had rejected this peace agreement in a recent plebiscite, but the Government was committed to working towards peace. Progress was being made in the negotiations with the National Liberation Army, and the public phase of the process was due to begin at the end of this month in Quito. Since its last review by the Committee, Colombia had strengthened its institutional framework with the active participation of victims of the conflict; specific areas of progress included the public policy on human rights, reparation to victims, protection of the rights of all citizens, and measures to fight against impunity. Following the intensive consultation with 22,000 persons and 9,000 organizations, the document “Moving from Violence to a Society of Rights: The Proposal for a Comprehensive Human Rights Policy” had been drafted, on the basis of which the national human rights system had been set up in 2011. The national system had developed, in a participative manner, the National Strategy for Guarantees of Human Rights 2014-2034 which consolidated a common human rights agenda between the State and civil society.
The Law on Victims and Land Restitution, begun in 2011, had established the policy of reparations to victims of the conflict through the national system. It had put in place a register of victims which included those whose land had been taken away, as well as victims of sexual violence, enforced disappearances, displacement, murder, and landmines. As of September 2016, more than eight million victims had been registered in the national system; 6.3 million were being assisted and of those, 85 per cent were victims of displacement. To date, 600,000 persons had been compensated administratively. The State was also fighting inequality, discrimination and social exclusion, with particular attention being paid to women and to socially vulnerable groups such as children, people of African descent, indigenous peoples, campesinos, persons with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.
Women were recognized as key actors in achieving a peaceful and prosperous country, and the priority was dealing with sexual and gender-based violence. Colombia had criminalized femicide, adopted the protocol for the investigation of sexual violence, guaranteed access to justice to victims of sexual violence, and declared 25 May as the national day of dignity for women victims of sexual violence in the context of the conflict. In order to seek solutions to problems that could affect the work of human rights defenders, Colombia had created the National Table for Guarantees and had strengthened protection programmes for persons at risk; some 6,500 persons enjoyed protection, including journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and activists. The General Attorney’s Office had consolidated strategies to improve rates of homicides, enforced disappearances, torture and other serious violations of human rights. Colombia was the first to acknowledge the outstanding challenges, first and foremost the 50-year long armed conflict.
Questions from the Committee Experts
A Committee Expert expressed hope that a final peace agreement would soon be reached in Colombia and stressed the importance of the continued political will to do so. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia could have an important role to play. What was the state of play concerning Colombia’s compliance with the Committee’s views in relation to individual communications? What was being done by the Government to ensure that the human rights policy was being implemented in those places in which people had been caught in cross-fire for many years and whose human rights had been violated by many groups, and where the presence of State agents in charge of guaranteeing fundamental human rights had been sparse?
It seemed that the Office of the Ombudsmen was rather independent, but there was a concern about the key role of the Office of the President in determining the budget of the Office of the Ombudsmen, which did not affect the functionality but it might affect the perceived independence of this mechanism. Was Colombia considering changing this.
Since 2011, the inter-agency early warning task force had decided to transform all reports and documents into follow-up actions which had an implication on effectiveness on the ground. In 2013, the Office of the Ombudsman had issued an early warning concerning the situation in Buonaventura, and in particular the recruitment of children and enforced disappearances. What was the action taken on this early warning? The Expert asked the delegation about the participation of women in political and public life, measures taken to strengthen the capacity of the Advisory Office to monitor the situation of gender equality and implement the national gender equity strategy, and action taken to increase the representation of women in the highest levels of the judiciary.
Colombia had seven million internally displaced persons – the second largest number in the world – and the protection of their rights was an issue of concern. Experts asked about the number of internally displaced persons and the number of displaced minors; efforts to prevent displacement, including resources, activities and results; and about measures taken to implement the recommendation by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in relation to truth and justice. What measures were being taken to provide legal protection for persons displaced by organized crime units and armed groups other than FARC, violence and insecurity, and measures taken to prevent displacement due to mega-development projects? The Committee Expert asked about the process of registration of internally displaced persons in the national registry of victims, in particular in rural and remote areas, and the rules governing reparation and monetary compensation based on the date of displacement, since it seemed that different benefits were being provided to those displaced before 1985, those displaced between 1985 and 1991, and those displaced after 1991.
The delegation was asked to describe the legal mechanism for reparation for all victims of displacement and statistical data on reparation provided that was disaggregated by type and date of displacement, restitution provided and the indication of whether beneficiaries belonged to people of African descent. Structural discrimination against people of African descent was an ongoing concern, noted the Expert, and asked about disaggregated data on violence against people of African descent and indigenous people, prosecution and sanctioning of perpetrators and measures taken to deal with multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.
The situation of utmost concern was the high level of violence against women, including by Government agents, and the high levels of impunity for sexual violence: 90 per cent of all non-conflict related acts of rape and sexual violence remained unprosecuted. What was the content of the zero-tolerance policy for sexual violence; which forms of reparation were or would be available to victims of sexual violence committed in the conflict; how many convictions had been secured for crimes of femicide; and which level of protection was provided to victims and witnesses to encourage them to give testimony in cases involving sexual violence? Which steps were being taken to ensure that health care providers offered the required health services to victims of sexual violence, including those in conflict, including access to abortion?
Another Expert commended the determination of the State to acknowledge the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons and ensure their protection from discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Nevertheless, levels of violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons were rather high: 405 had been killed between 2012 and 2015, of whom more than 100 in 2015 alone, and during the same period 21 defenders of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights had been killed. The situation of civil status of transgender persons had improved by the law adopted in 2015, but there were difficulties in the implementation of the law. What was the status of same-sex couples and which rights did they have?
Turning to the issue of violence against women, the Expert said that in spite of the efforts made by the State, violence, and in particular rape, was widespread in the country, as was sexual harassment at work despite its criminalization. There were differences in the Criminal Code concerning sanctions for rape and sexual violence depending on the context in which they were committed, with domestic violence carrying a lesser punishment.
The Expert took positive note of the well-developed legislation and institutions that dealt with the phenomenon of enforced disappearances, but in practice more needed to be done in searching for disappeared persons and in fighting impunity. What measures were being taken to create a national register for disappeared persons, to unify the several existing databases into one register for the entire country – this was a crucial tool to make the search for disappeared persons effective. It seemed that the number of enforced disappearances attributable to the State had gone down, but it remained a systematic practice in Colombia. The peace agreement with FARC foresaw the creation of a joint body for the search of disappeared persons which was eagerly awaited by the families as it would give more efficiency to the search: what was the status of this initiative in the light of the results of the referendum in which the peace agreement had been rejected? It appeared that more than 26,000 persons had been registered as disappeared, the bodies of some 8,000 had been found, but there were still more than 19,000 persons whose fate was still unclear.
A Committee Expert discussed the access to safe pregnancy-termination services and in particular obstacles to that access such as lack of knowledge of the law by the medical professionals and institutional conscientious objection, which as an idea was unsustainable to the Commission which recognized the individual right to conscientious objection. The situation of teenage pregnancies was not improving: were the measures taken having any impact on reducing the figures?
Colombia had failed to provide in its report information about the involvement of law enforcement officers in cases of torture and ill-treatment, measures taken in this regard, and the existence of an independent complaint mechanism. The report was equally silent or lacked detail on the questions related to cases of arbitrary arrest, and measures taken to ensure that those responsible were brought to justice and that the victims received adequate reparation. Which measures had been taken to put an end to the military practice of “round-ups”.
People of African descent constituted more than 10 per cent of the Colombian population, and yet, black faces were nowhere to be seen in the highest echelons of the government, private sector and civil society. How were their rights protected and the issues of concern to them advocated for?
Response by the Delegation
Ensuring the effective protection and promotion of human rights in Colombia would be a main challenge in the absence of peace, said the head of the delegation, stressing the challenges that the country was facing in dealing with 50 years of armed conflict. Another delegate confirmed the absolute commitment of Colombia to a zero-tolerance policy to extra-judicial killings, torture and the “false positive” cases, and to clarifying those issues and ensuring that the perpetrators were brought to justice. In this sense, the cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia was very important. According to the statistics by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, there were 4,977 cases of investigations related to protected persons – including extra-judicial killings, which involved 7,577 victims; 1,199 members of the security forces had been sentenced, including high-ranking officials. To date, 1,955 cases of torture had been reported, involving 1,545 victims; 94 persons had been sentenced, including military agents and police officers.
Colombia was willing to renew the mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia which had been offering advice since 1996, and this was greatly appreciated. Colombia had received 19 views from the Committee; the law 288 was a very important instrument which set up the institutional procedure through which the victims could receive compensation.
The early warning system aimed to assess the dynamics of the conflict and enable the Government to take preventive measures. In 2015, the Ombudsmen had issued eight risk reports and 31 follow-up reports, which had led to early warning being submitted for 70 municipalities. By May 2016, four risk reports and six follow-up reports had been issued, leading to early warning submitted in 26 municipalities.
The Ombudsman was an autonomous, independent body whose budget was allocated by the Congress. Over the past several years, the Office had been significantly strengthened, and its budget had been increased by more than 80 per cent in 2015 compared to the previous year. The greatest proportion of the allocation went to free legal aid which strengthened the right to access to justice for all Colombians.
The rate of displacement in 2014 had been reduced by more than 80 per cent, and it had been even further reduced with the bilateral ceasefire which was part of the peace agreement. It was true that displacement in Colombia continued, particularly inter-urban displacement as a result of violence by organized crime groups and gangs. Regardless of the significant reduction in displacement, challenges continued and plans were being rolled out throughout the country; local authorities that had taken their tenure this year were working on reducing the phenomenon. The local public policies had been rolled out and the Government had ensured that the necessary budget support was being provided for local plans. The Protocol on Return was included in the law and was being implemented with the joint effort of central and local authorities; 700,00 households had been helped by September 2016, but it was important to say that not all internally displaced persons were willing to cooperate with authorities upon their return.
The Observatory for Racism and Discrimination had been created in 2011 and to date two sentences had been handed down for crimes of racial discrimination against people of African descent. The Environment Minister, the Minister of Culture, and the Minister of Citizen Participation were people of African descent, nevertheless, the political and public participation of people of African descent was low. A Working Group had been created to examine violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, and a specific attorney in the Office of the Prosecutor had been appointed to investigate those crimes.
With regard to violence against women, the developments at the legislative level stemmed from the dedication of the President and the tireless work of various women’s organizations and groups. The Protocol for the Investigation of Sexual Violence had been adopted this year and it had set up directives and guidelines for the work carried out by the Office of the Prosecutor in investigating crimes of sexual violence. An institutional framework to fight impunity for sexual violence had been strengthened; in 2015, 244 cases had been identified and were being currently investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office.
Teenage pregnancy affected some 20 per cent of the girls in the country; this was not only a public health problem but an issue that had an impact on all aspects of the girls’ lives, and the life of the community. Over the last six years, the reduction in the rate of teenage pregnancy had been around 1.5 per cent due to the availability of contraceptives, the promotion of responsible sexual activity via social media, and education and information campaigns aimed at teens and their parents. Teenage pregnancy disproportionately affected girls of Afro-descendant communities. Various actions had been taken by the Ministry of Health to tackle the issue, in cooperation with generalist health providers, communicators of all kinds and women grassroots organizations, in spreading information about access to sexual and reproductive health services, including pregnancy-termination services. The Ministry of Health had clearly taken a line based on the existing legal provisions in Colombia that no institution could raise conscientious objection when it came to providing abortion. Some 96 per cent of women across the country – and 99 per cent in some areas - had access to maternity care.
By July 2016, the Office of the Prosecutor had registered 74,000 cases of enforced disappearances. Efforts were being made to ensure that the various registries of enforced disappearances communicated with each other in order to provide consolidated information to the families. Approximately 2,900 State officials had been prosecuted and charged with the crime. Action was being taken to improve the search for disappeared persons, in cooperation with families and communities, and this work would continue regardless of the approval of the people of Colombia of the peace agreement.
Colombia had recently adopted the law requiring that at least 35 per cent of high-level decision-making positions were held by women, and which also obliged State institutions to regularly report on compliance, which, according to the latest data, was 38 per cent.
Questions by the Committee Experts
In their follow-up questions, Committee Experts referred to the answers concerning actions to address discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, and asked about the status of the national policy for the promotion, respect, defence and guarantee of the full rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community in Colombia. The Law 288 was a good law but it had its limits as it referred only to compensation, while the issue of investigation and finding the perpetrators of the violations was not addressed; filling this gap would expand the meaning of compensation to include other forms of reparation in addition to monetary ones. Could the delegation inform on the existence of the independent complaint mechanism for torture and ill-treatment?
Experts also asked about difficulties that transgender persons experienced in the administrative registration of gender, and about the reasons which could explain different and more lenient sanctions for rape and sexual violence committed in the domestic context. With regard to enforced disappearances, the delegation was asked to provide additional information concerning concrete plans for the setting up of the joint unit for the search for disappeared persons as foreseen by the peace agreement with the FARC, and to clarify the differences that existed in the official number of forcibly disappeared persons. There were still difficulties in accessing legal abortion and it seemed that a large number of pregnancies were still terminated through so-called “back street abortions”, which put the lives of women at risk.
In terms of the fight against impunity for human rights violations, an Expert noted that the concept and the notion of transitional justice embraced a whole range of mechanisms and instruments to address the issue of human rights violations and establish accountability of perpetrators. Did the concept of transitional justice in Colombia include the establishment of the Truth and Justice Commission and what was the experience in this regard? To which extent was the assistance from the International Criminal Court instrumental in conducting investigations and prosecutions for the most serious crimes committed in Colombia?
Response by the Delegation
One of the greatest challenges in monitoring the human rights situation in the country was the lack of a unified system of information and data collection, collation and sharing. Colombia was expending a great deal of effort to collect and analyse data from various sources which currently existed.
The legislation in place recognized the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community and their rights, while a specific decree on their protection was undergoing a consultation process at the moment. The Law 288 had been adopted in 1996, and was complemented with a decree adopted in 2016 which defined more clearly the issue of compensation. There was a need to define a clear mechanism through which compensation could be effected.
Responding to the question concerning sentences and convictions for killings of protected persons, and how many of those were actually extra-judicial executions, a delegate said that more than 400 convictions had been handed down and that the detailed statistics for those cases had been published in a report available to the public. It had found that in 60 per cent of the cases, convictions had been carried out against soldiers - 40 per cent of those included higher-ranking officers, including seven colonels.
Colombia had put in place specific measures in the area of prevention, disciplinary investigation and criminal investigation of cases of torture, and was mindful of the fact that the action must be taken within the security forces. The National Police had adopted the Human Rights Policy in 2011, which included provisions to prevent torture and ill and cruel treatment, including recommendations made by the Committee against Torture. The Policy was being widely disseminated and training of the police officers was being carried out. The Constitutional Court had spoken on the matter of persons deprived of liberty and the policy at the highest level had been established, according to which a review of the conditions in detention centres was being carried out on a biweekly basis. The Office of the Ombudsmen also followed up the situation in prisons and had a specific mechanism to receive complaints of torture by inmates. Some 127 cases of alleged torture had been lodged during the period 2003-2016; 42 disciplinary sanctions had been handed down and 94 persons had been convicted for acts of torture since 2005.
Questions by the Committee Experts
In the next round of questions and comments, a Committee Expert stressed the importance of the willingness and commitment of the Government and FARC to negotiate and put an end to the armed conflict. The peace agreement had proposed a legal framework for peace, however, the agreement had been rejected by the referendum and had so put in question the destiny of that legal framework. The question was which laws would be applied in the context of transition, particularly in relation to the investigation and prosecution of the gravest human rights violations? What was happening to the Law on Justice and Peace, which did not seem to be very successful in establishing accountability for serious human rights violations, including for those persons extradited to the United States who had been tried on drug crimes but not war crimes? What difficulties were being encountered in the restitution of land?
The question was how the Government would protect the people in this transitional period, including members of the Patriotic Union, of which 6,000 had been killed? There were two Colombias, noted the Expert, the Colombia of Bogotá, with the Constitutional Court and excellent laws, and the Colombia of regions where those laws did not apply, where impunity reigned and there were shortcomings in the implementation of the law. With or without armed conflict, Colombia had to protect its people, protect them from being kidnapped from their homes.
Another Expert agreed that a significant number of people were still exposed to high levels of violence, and stressed that the key question was about the strategy of Colombia in dealing with this phenomenon and protecting its people, including from the violence by organized crime groups. What was the impact and the result of the Attorney General’s 2012 policy decision to prioritise certain criminal investigations?
It was hard to accept the legality under the Covenant of the policy of sending the campesinos to eradicate coca fields, including those infected by landmines, considering that the peasants did not have much choice but to accept the risks. In addition to the risk by landmines, those civilians were being regarded by some armed groups operating coca plantations as legitimate military targets – what action was being taken to protect their lives and to ensure that compensations were paid to families of those killed in such operations.
The Committee was concerned about the scope of powers conferred upon the Government to intercept private phone conversations, in particular about the policy which was very broad and provided for the application of surveillance powers, and also provided for open-ended monitoring activities. Which form of oversight existed in monitoring of meta-data other than internal control by security agencies?
Colombia was a country of origin and destination of trafficking in persons, including for purposes of forced labour, and the delegation was asked to provide data on investigations, prosecutions and compensation to victims of trafficking; the penalties under the law for crimes of trafficking; and to explain the gap between more than 3,000 calls to trafficking hotlines and the very low number of reported prosecutions. Civil society had reported an increase in the recruitment of indigenous and Afro-Colombian children by post-mobilization armed groups, which was an issue of great concern. Was this considered as trafficking and investigated and prosecuted accordingly? Which measures were being taken to monitor the conditions of indigenous women working in the domestic sector and to monitor forced labour in mining operations?
Which steps were being taken to protect human rights defenders from threats and violence by both State and non-State actors, to prosecute perpetrators, and to implement the detailed recommendations by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in this regard? How was the current birth registration system being adapted and made more appropriate to Colombia’s culturally diverse population, particularly in rural areas, and could Colombia ensure that birth certification was an integral part of the health care system?
Another Expert expressed concern about inhumane and degrading conditions in detention facilities which suffered overcrowding – according to the Ombudsmen more than 400 per cent in some prisons – and asked about the success criteria and the ambition for the measures taken by Colombia to reduce prison overcrowding. The delegation was asked about the rules governing solitary confinement and the attention given to the safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex inmates. It was troubling that Colombia did not seem to recognize the need to ensure the systematic inspection of places of detention with a view to monitoring the situation both of conditions and abuse.
The delegation was asked about the jurisdiction – military or civilian – over crimes against humanity and war crimes; the specific investigations and prosecutions undertaken by judges, lawyers and prosecutors that led to the need for their protection; sanctions handed down for recruitment and use of children by armed groups; measures taken to adopt the law establishing the obligation for free, prior and informed consent with indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombians; and the steps in place to ensure the protection of rural and indigenous populations from violence and disappearances.
Response by the Delegation
Addressing serious human rights violations and acts that might constitute violations of international humanitarian law received special attention in Colombia, which had more than 10 years of experience in different truth and justice mechanisms specific to transitional periods. The judicial investigation of serious offences was taken as a part of a comprehensive framework which also included measures not judicial in nature. Colombia had been cooperating with the International Criminal Court Prosecutor for more than 10 years, exchanging information and visits, and was absolutely committed to providing justice to victims within its legal framework and in cooperation with the International Criminal Court.
On the legal framework for peace, the Constitutional Court had ruled that the framework for transitional justice was legal and all questions of interpretation had been taken on board by the Government. Consultations had been undertaken on the order in which cases should be taken by the prosecution, and there was an understanding that the prosecutor should continue to investigate serious human rights violations. The Law 965 illustrated complexities involved in ensuring justice in circumstances where there was a large number of victims: 50,000 had been registered, which meant that 50,000 people had come forward voluntarily to register for special investigation and prosecution. There was a need for criminal prosecution, but also for non-judicial measures in order to satisfy the needs of victims and their families, including victims of enforced disappearances.
Colombia was doing its best to improve the situation in prisons and ensure the guarantee and respect of human rights of inmates. Measures were being taken to reduce overcrowding, but a number of difficulties existed; for example, preventive detention was being used widely as it was often the only way to ensure that the accused appeared before the court. Colombia had no intention of using military criminal courts to carry out investigations, certainly not into any serious violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law; the intention was to use civilian courts and prosecutors in such cases. There was an absolute zero-tolerance policy to any form of collusion between State and public officials and criminal groups or gangs. The Specialized Unit for Organized Crime of the Office of the Prosecutor had prosecuted and sentenced 51 State officials, including army and police officers, for having links with criminal groups.
The inter-institutional Committee against people trafficking brought together 18 different bodies in one committee to tackle the issue; similar committees existed at departmental and local levels, in order to guarantee the practical application of the laws, particularly at the local level. In smaller towns and municipalities it was the responsibility of mayors to tackle the phenomenon and provide support for victims. To date, 1,746 cases had been reported and were currently being investigated, and 127 individuals had been convicted for trafficking in persons.
There were indeed difficulties in access to legal abortion, particularly in remote and rural areas, which disproportionately affected indigenous communities, and the Government was fighting to put down the barriers, including cultural, that existed in this regard. The aim was not only to reduce maternal mortality and pregnancy-related complications, but also to ensure the high-quality of health services in order to reduce the gaps. The reduction in maternal mortality was 44 per cent and 49.7 deaths per 1,000 live births and this showed the progress made, particularly in rural areas; nevertheless, the gap between urban and rural areas remained, particularly in remote areas.
All children had the right to birth certification and to be registered. Currently there were 1,156 birth registration offices in the country, and more than 300 hospitals could register births in the national register. There was a plan to put in place mobile registry units, and to put in place an online registration tool.
The National Protection Unit had been created in 2011 to protect persons, groups and communities at extraordinary risk because of their functions. There were roughly 600 persons under protection at the moment, and those included human rights defenders, trade unionists, journalists, or State officials working on the investigation or prosecution of serious human rights violations. It was individuals who should submit the request for protection, the Unit would carry out a risk study, and the inter-agency Committee would assess the risk and decide on protection measures. To date, the Unit had undertaken more than 60,000 risk studies; of those, roughly 9,500 had been assessed as extraordinary risk and protection measures had been put in place. The Unit’s budget in 2016 was $ 170 million and almost 90 per cent was spent on the protection of non-State individuals, as the cost of the protection of State officials was born by State agencies directly.
Concluding Remarks
PAULA GAVIRIA BETANCUR, Presidential Adviser for Human Rights, reiterated the commitment of Colombia to continue to cooperate with this Committee and to take into account its concluding observations. Colombia appreciated the recognition of the challenges caused by the 52 years of armed conflict and the efforts undertaken to tackle human rights issues. Human rights were at the heart of the political agenda in the country, and the Government and the people of Colombia were particularly attached to improving the human rights situation and strengthening civil society. There were not one, two or three Colombias – there was only one which was the country of human rights and rule of law for all its people.
DHEERUJLALL SEETULSINGH, Committee Vice-Chairperson, noted that the dialogue was taking place at a historic moment in Colombia, with the peace agreement reached with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Santos. Even with the end of the armed conflict, many challenges would continue and it was hoped that the Committee’s concluding observations would help to further improve the human rights situation in Colombia and fully implement the provisions of the Covenant.
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