The Colombian government praises the widely criticized demobilization of paramilitary organization AUC, stressing that the peace process led to the discovery of some 40,000 crimes.
According to a report by the government’s high commissioner of peace — responsible for the demobilization process — 53,037 members of illegal armed groups have demobilized since 2002 when President Alvaro Uribe took office.
The report states that through the demobilization of these fighters “40,455 new acts came to be known, of which 22,419 were confessed to,” newspaper El Tiempo quoted.
The demobilization process of the AUC has been criticized by victims, human rights organizations and the UN for allowing right-wing paramilitary fighters and their economic and political allies to enjoy almost complete impunity for the suspected 30,000 murders committed by members of the organization.
According to the government, the majority of the demobilized members of the paramilitary AUC and left-wing FARC and ELN are now taking part in rehabilitation programs. A little more than 4,000 are still being investigated by the justice system.
