Colombia’s foreign minister asked the United Nations’ Security Council to investigate attempts to sabotage an ongoing peace process.
Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva asked the security council to create an international commission in charge of investigating alleged attempts to sabotage war crimes tribunal JEP.
In March, the JEP formally accused former prosecution officials of fraud and concealing evidence in order to extradite late guerrilla leader Jesus Santrich on bogus drug trafficking charges.
Colombia’s war crimes tribunal accuses former chief prosecutor of fraud, concealing evidence
In his most recent report to the security council, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres referred to the alleged attempt to sabotage the transitional justice system.
According to Leyva, the JEP’s criminal charges are due to an attempt to the “entrapment of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace.”
Some of us consider that what was sought was the entrapment of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace. That is why I feel it is my obligation to call the attention of the Security Council because we do have enemies of the peace process. From there, after reflecting on it, we will see if the creation of an International Investigation Commission of the United Nations is appropriate.
Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva
In Colombia, the Prosecutor General’s Office is in charge of investigating the alleged obstruction of justice administered by the war crimes tribunal.
The JEP only has the legal authority to investigate crimes against humanity committed by the FARC and State officials during the armed conflict between 1985 and 2016.
The prosecution has historically failed to adequately investigate human rights violations and crimes against humanity, according to the Truth Commission.
This has particularly been an issue in cases that involved prosecution officials, the Truth Commission said in its final report on the armed conflict that was released last year.
