A report by the U.S. State Department that was sent to Congress
Wednesday praised the improvement of human rights in Colombia, but expresses concern about new paramilitary violence.
Despite the improvement of human rights in Colombia, the report still sums up a number of human rights abuses committed by the Government or the Armed Forces.
“The following societal problems and governmental human rights abuses
were reported during the year: unlawful and extrajudicial killings;
forced disappearances; insubordinate military collaboration with new
illegal groups and paramilitaries who refused to demobilize; torture
and mistreatment of detainees; overcrowded and insecure prisons;
arbitrary arrest; a high number of pretrial detainees, some of whom
were held with convicted prisoners; impunity; an inefficient judiciary
subject to intimidation; harassment and intimidation of journalists;
unhygienic conditions at settlements for displaced persons, with
limited access to health care, education, or employment; corruption;
harassment of human rights groups; violence against women, including
rape; child abuse and child prostitution; trafficking in women and
children for the purpose of sexual exploitation; societal
discrimination against women, indigenous persons, and minorities; and
illegal child labor,” the report reads.
According to the report, the leftist guerrilla groups FARC and ELN also continued to commit human rights abuses throughout 2008.
“The FARC and ELN committed the following human rights abuses: political
killings; killings of off-duty members of the public security forces
and local officials; kidnappings and forced disappearances; massive
forced displacements; subornation and intimidation of judges,
prosecutors, and witnesses; infringement on citizens’ privacy rights;
restrictions on freedom of movement; widespread recruitment of child
soldiers; attacks against human rights activists; and harassment,
intimidation, and killings of teachers and trade unionists.”
The report praises the reduction of killings and human rights abuses committed by paramilitary forces after the demobilization of the AUC, but warns about the abuses committed by emerging groups like the Águilas Negras. “Paramilitaries who refused to demobilize and new illegal groups
continued to commit numerous unlawful acts and related abuses,
including: political killings and kidnappings; physical violence;
forced displacement; subornation and intimidation of judges,
prosecutors, and witnesses; infringement on citizens’ privacy rights;
restrictions on freedom of movement; recruitment and use of child
soldiers; and harassment, intimidation, and killings of human rights
workers, journalists, teachers, and trade unionists.”
Colombia’s human rights situation was a reason for the Democratic majority in Congress to not sign a free trade pact with its south American ally. The treaty, also criticized by Barack Obama during his campaign for the presidency, is still pending approval.
