Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño said that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) decision to investigate Ecuador’s complaint over Colombia’s 2008 cross-border raid should not affect the restoration of ties between the two nations, reports EFE.
Patiño said that the IACHR’s decision was separate from the future of Ecuador’s diplomatic ties with Colombia and that the issue could be raised next week during a scheduled meeting with his Colombian counterpart Maria Angela Holguin in Quito.
Last week the IACHR accepted Ecuador’s complaint, which was filed in 2009 following the death of Franklin Aisalla in a raid by the Colombian army on a FARC camp in Ecuadorean territory. Twenty-six people were killed in the raid, including FARC commander “Raul Reyes.”
The complaint says that Colombia violated the right to life, personal integrity, judicial guarantee and judicial protection of Aisalla.
Both countries have three months to gather evidence in the case, and will then present their arguments to the IACHR.
After the complaint is examined an official report will be issued, and recommendations will be issued to Colombia if the state is found at fault. If Colombia does not comply with the recommendations, the country can be brought to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica.
Colombia and Ecuador have been making strides towards restoring diplomatic relations, and the foreign ministers of the neighboring countries will meet on November 18 to continue the dialogue.
