3 Human Rights Challenges for the next President of

Colombia
Position Note

The FIDH and its member organisations in Colombia, the Colectivo de Abogados Jose
Alvear Restrepo - CAJAR and the Permanent Committee on Human Rights (CPDH =
Comité Permanente de Derechos Humanos), insist that there are three main human
rights challenges that the next President of Colombia, who will be elected on Saturday
17 June 20181 , will have to face and prioritise as soon as he takes office on 7 August
2018. It is a key moment where the possibility of advancing towards the construction
of a true and lasting peace could become a reality.

Despite the humanitarian advances that the signing of the Peace Agreement between
the Colombian government and the FARC signalled, which involved among other
things, the abandonment of arms by the guerrilla group, the reduction of the homicide
rate to its lowest level in the last 42 years and the holding of presidential elections
without any disruption to law and order in the country2, Colombia has a massive
human rights debt that prevents the consolidation of the democratic rule of law.

The promotion and protection of human rights, together with the separation and
independence of state powers and respect for the rule of law, are the fundamental
principles for the consolidation of democracy. Consecrated in the Colombian
Constitution and in the regional and international instruments signed and ratified by
the Colombian State, these principles are imposed as a priority mandate for the next 4
years of government.

During its third universal periodic review before the United Nations Human Rights
Council in May this year, 86 countries made 211 recommendations to Colombia to
improve the human rights situation in the country. The Colombian state accepted 183
of them. Among them, the FIDH and its leagues highlight in particular the state's
voluntary commitment to continue to adopt measures for the protection of human
rights defenders, to continue implementing the peace agreement with the FARC and to
continue negotiations with the ELN.

In this context, it is essential that the next president of Colombia express his
real political will to guarantee human rights in Colombia and in particular
lead his government to overcome the following human rights challenges:

1 Gustavo Petro or Ivan Duqué will be elected next 17 June by popular vote as President of the Republic of
Colombia and he will govern for the next 4 years.
2 The Spectator, ‘Not a single law and order problem in elections: MinInterior”, 27 May 2018, in:
https://www.elespectador.com/noticias/politica/ni-un-solo-problema-de-orden-publico-en-elecciones-
mininterior- articulo-791045
Reduce the rate of impunity for the most serious crimes. Colombian
organisations condemn 98.68% of impunity in cases of forced disappearance and
88.43% in cases of extrajudicial executions3. Impunity is a structural problem in
Colombia and as such, it requires structural measures to overcome it. Similarly, the
recent corruption scandals that reached the highest courts in Colombia, the undue
interference of senior government officials in judicial decisions, the "chuzadas" of
judges, as well as delays in the delivery of justice and the lack of officials, cannot
continue to be the daily routine of the Colombian judicial system. It is therefore
essential as a first step that the future government provide the judiciary with human
and financial resources and guarantees of independence, as a first step towards
overcoming some of the impunity.

The functioning of the Special Justice for Peace (JEP) as a key pillar in the
implementation of the Peace Agreement could lead to impunity for serious violations
of human rights and international humanitarian law if some specific measures are not
taken. It is worrying that the JEP can only try civilian third parties whose participation
has been "active or determining" in the commission of war crimes and crimes against
humanity, an ambiguous condition that leaves their appearance to be voluntary. Also
of concern are the limitations on the responsibility of the executive (article 23 of the
Rome Statute), which establish numerous concurrent conditions and blur the
provisions of article 28 of the Rome Statute..4

It is the responsibility of the Head of State to ensure that the rights of victims to truth,
justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition are a priority in the
implementation of peace agreements. One of the priority issues for the effectiveness of
these rights has to do with access to archives by the organs of the integral system of
truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition. The President-elect should consider
declassifying files related to entities that have participated in serious human rights
violations (Charry Solano Battalion, 20th Brigade, Administrative Department of
Security (DAS = Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad).

There is an urgent need for the Government to promote measures to ensure that
serious human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed
in the country can be effectively investigated and punished and to combat widespread
impunity in the country. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal
Court
- The ICC has had a preliminary examination of these crimes committed in Colombia
open for 14 years. In its latest report, the Prosecutor's Office concludes that there is a
lack of domestic proceedings against those most responsible for the so-called "False
Positives" cases, forced displacement, and crimes of rape over which the ICC may
have jurisdiction if the national authorities do not have the will or the ability to
investigate and prosecute these crimes.5.

3 Figures presented by the Coalition of Civil Society Platforms and Organizations for the UPR COLOMBIA 2018.
4 See our communiqué of 23 March 2017 ‘If the transitional justice system cannot judge businessmen and senior
officials, the International Criminal Court must do so’.
5 See one of the communications sent to the ICC by the FIDH on false positives: "War is measured in litres of
blood" of 29 May 2012, in: https://www.fidh.org/es/region/americas/colombia/colombia-cpi/La-
The next president must commit to strengthening controls on the intelligence and
counter-intelligence work of state entities, since in recent governments (both Uribe
and Santos) this power has been abused to spy on human rights defenders, social
leaders and people who have participated in peace negotiations. In this regard, we
call for measures to be taken for the participation of civil authorities in the control
mechanisms.

Protect and guarantee the defence of Human Rights in Colombia. The increase
in murders of human rights defenders continues to grow alarmingly, making Colombia
the country with the highest number of murders of human rights defenders in the
world. In 2017, between 106 and 126 human rights defenders lost their lives due to
the inability of the state to protect them, according to the recent report ‘There is no
peace for human rights defenders’.6. The murders are added to the different
aggressions such as threats, stigmatisation and criminalisation. The vulnerability of
human rights defenders has increased dramatically since the demobilisation of the
FARC and the signing of the Peace Agreement in rural areas, revealing other armed
actors as their main aggressors, including the armed forces, and revealing an
alarming inability of the state to confront this scourge.

It is a priority for the government under its president to ensure that activists, human
rights defenders and other leaders, especially in rural areas, are effectively protected
in view of the current challenges facing the implementation of the Peace Agreement,
ensuring, among other things, an effective presence of institutions in all areas of the
country and an effective fight against the paramilitary structures, which are identified
as the main perpetrators of the aggressions.

The human rights of association, assembly and freedom of expression must be

guaranteed. Peaceful protest is a mechanism for social expression and the
enforceability of rights and as such its exercise must be guaranteed. In Colombia,
protest has historically been stigmatised, repressed and criminalised. The
Government will have to adopt a regulatory framework of protest and social
mobilisation based on international standards.

Reduce the negative impact of business on human rights. In January 2017, the
government changed, among other things, the foreign investment regime, simplifying
requirements and eliminating deadlines for the registration of foreign investments to
make the domestic economy more attractive. 7. Concern is focused on the agro-
industry and extractive industries. In a post-agreement context, an increase in foreign
investment in Colombia and in trade flows with other countries is expected to
increase, which could reinforce

FIDH-y-la-Coordinacion-Colombia; and see: ICC Office of the Prosecutor, Report on preliminary examination
activities 2017, https://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/item.aspx?name=171204-rep-otp-PE. James Stewart, ICC Deputy
Prosecutor, ‘The Role of the ICC in the Tranisitional Justice Process in Colombia’,
https://www.icc-cpi.int//Pages/item.aspx?name=180530-otp-stat
6 Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, FIDH and OMCT programme, 15 May 2018, at:
https://www.fidh.org/es/temas/defensores-de-derechos-humanos/colombia-no-hay-paz-para-las- personas-
defensoras-de-derechos-humanos-23151
7 Order 119 of 26 January 2017.
vulnerabilities of the communities and areas where the projects will be implemented.

FIDH has documented cases in which national and foreign companies with the consent
and/or support of state agents and officials in Colombia have violated human rights
and even committed serious crimes against international law. The environmental and
human costs of oil exploration and exploitation in Colombia clearly illustrate this
situation.8. Reports from FIDH and its organisations reveal the role of business and
state actors in increasing threats to defenders of the environment and the territory 9,
as well as requesting the International Criminal Court to investigate the role of
executives of Chiquita Brands (a US company) to the commission of crimes against
humanity in the Urabá Antioquia area.10.

The current situation confirms the catastrophic impact that companies can have if an
evaluation of their impacts and the human and environmental costs that the
implementation of a business project can have is not carried out beforehand. The
communities affected by the Hidroituango mega-project of the Public Enterprises of
Medellín (EPM = Empresas Públicas de Medellín), have denounced for more than 10
years the consequences that are being seen today: destruction of the environment,
flooding of the Cauca river, displacement of the population, loss of livelihoods and
livelihoods of the population near the river, aggressions, threats, militarisation, even
assassinations of members of the Rios Movement that welcomes those affected by
this project 11… what else is expected to dismantle this project?

In addition to the above, in order to respond effectively to the human rights

challenges in the country, the FIDH highlights the èCovenant on Human Rights’12
proposed by the recent Representative in Colombia of the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Alberto Brunori, to whom the candidates
committed themselves before the first round.

The commitment of the President of Colombia to respect and guarantee the human
rights of all Colombians will be fundamental to achieving a more just and humane
Colombia.

8 See: FIDH, CAJAR, PASO, ‘The Human Cost of Oil: Human Rights Impact Assessment of Pacific Exploration
& Production Corp. Activities in Port Gaitan.’ 12 July at: https://www.fidh.org/es/temas/globalizacion-y-
derechos-humanos/explotacion-petrolera-en-colombia-informe- revela-costos-humanos-y;
9 See: Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (FIDH/OMCT), CAJAR: ‘Defending the territory
and the environment within the framework of extractive company activity’., 5 October 2017, at:
https://www.fidh.org/es/temas/defensores-de-derechos-humanos/colombia-informe-revela-el-rol-de-los-actores-
empresariales-y
10 See: FIDH, International Human Rights Harvard Law School, CAJAR, ‘Contribution of Chiquita Executives to the
commission of crimes against humanity in Colombia: Communiqué under article 15 of the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court, at: https://www.fidh.org/es/region/americas/colombia/coalicion-de-organizaciones-
de-derechos-humanos-pide-a-la-cpi
11 CAJAR, ‘HidroItuango: An irresponsible tragedy’, at: https://www.colectivodeabogados.org/?+-Hidroituango-Una-
tragedia-provocada-+#pagination_articulos
12 High Commissioner for Human Rights Colombia, ‘A Covenant for Human Rights: a reflection of the urgent
challenges facing the state’, 24 de mayo de 2018, at:
http://www.hchr.org.co/files/Pronunciamientos/2018/pacto- derechos-cuatro-puntos_24_mayo-final.pdf