Colombia’s war crimes tribunal JEP said it has opened an investigation into gender-related crimes that were committed during the country’s armed conflict.
The transitional justice tribunal announced its 11th investigation into the most common crimes against humanity almost a year and a half after promising to do so.
The gender violence investigation will primarily investigate gender-based hate crimes committed by the military and the now-defunct guerrilla group FARC against civilians and their own members.
At a press conference, JEP magistrate Lily Andrea Rueda called on victim organizations to provide the tribunal with information on gender-based violence “given the underreporting and the gaps that the chamber found in the information on the facts to be investigated.”
Rueda additionally called on social organizations to continue providing support to victims of, for example, sexual violence, while the court seeks to clarify the violence that targeted women and the LGBTQ community.
This is not a case that is limited to investigating certain conducts or crimes, but an investigation focused on the motives and logics of the armed organizations.
JEP magistrate Lily Andrea Rueda
While preparing the criminal investigation, the JEP was able to identify 35,168 victims of sexual violence and other gender-related crimes that were committed between 1957 and 2016.
More than 89% of these victims were victims, according to the JEP. Thirty-four percent of the identified victims suffered sexual violence before turning 18.
In more than 33% of the registered cases, the alleged perpetrators were paramilitary groups. Guerrilla group FARC was allegedly responsible for 5% of the victims and another 3% allegedly were the work of state officials.
In 30% of the cases, the JEP was unable to immediately link gender-based crime to a specific armed actor.
Approximately 67% of the registered victims of gender-based violence were forcibly displaced because or their sex, gender or sexual orientation.
Some 20% of the victims suffered sexual violence.
The JEP investigation into gender-related violence will cover war crimes that are not part of ongoing investigations, for example those that focus on war crimes in particularly affected regions.
