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COLOMBIA

Case N° CO/01 - PEDRO NEL JIMENEZ OBANDO
Case N° CO/02 - LEONARDO POSADA PEDRAZA
Case N° CO/03 - OCTAVIO VARGAS CUELLAR
Case N° CO/04 - PEDRO LUIS VALENCIA
Case N° CO/06 - BERNARDO JARAMILLO OSSA
Case N° CO/08 - MANUEL CEPEDA VARGAS

Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council at its 159th session
(Beijing, 21 September 1996)


The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the outline of the case, as contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/159/11(a)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 158th session (April 1996), concerning the case of Mr. Pedro Nel Jiménez Obando, Mr. Leonardo Posada Pedraza, Mr. Octavio Vargas Cuéllar, Mr. Pedro Luis Valencia, Mr. Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa and Mr. Manuel Cepeda Vargas, of Colombia,

Taking into consideration the information supplied by the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Human Rights in communications dated 19 April and 5 July 1996,

Taking into consideration the information and observations provided by various sources on 16 July, 8 August and 13 September 1996,

Recalling that, although a special Regional Group of Prosecutors was set up by the Attorney General's Office (Fiscalía General) together with a Technical Investigation Corps to advance the investigations into the murders of the other parliamentarians concerned, the files relating to the murders of Mr. Vargas Cuéllar and Mr. Luis Valencia Giraldo are still archived and those concerning Mr. Jaramillo, Mr. Jiménez and Mr. Posada are at a standstill,

Recalling also that arrest warrants have been issued against the Castaño brothers, Fidel and Carlos Castaño Gil who are both sought in connection with the murder of Senator Cepeda and Senator Jaramillo,

Considering that, according to an article in "El Espectador" of 7 August 1996, the Office of the Prosecutor General (Procuraduría General de la Nación) has opened disciplinary investigations of four members of the Colombian armed forces - two colonels and two sergeants - on account of their presumed involvement in the killing of Senator Cepeda,

Considering in this connection that the sources emphasize that, in the past, members of the Office of the Attorney General (Fiscalía General) and the Procuraduría, together with witnesses and other officials involved in judicial or disciplinary investigations into the role of members of the security forces presumably implicated in cases of human rights violations, have been the targets of death threats and other human rights violations,

Recalling in this connection that two leading witnesses in this case have been killed and others have reportedly started to express doubts and retract their statements; that the sources fear that they have been threatened or are part of a "cover-up" to prevent the investigators from inquiring into the real motives for the murder,

Recalling that Senator Cepeda Vargas, murdered on 9 August 1994, had denounced to senior officials of President Gaviria's Government the existence of a death list drawn up as part of the "Golpe de Gracia" (coup de grâce) plan to kill Communist Party and Patriotic Union leaders, including Manuel Cepeda himself; that he made a statement before the National Assembly accusing the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and General Bedoya of being the "Señores de la Guerra" (warlords) who opposed peace negotiations and were marked by their "professional anti-communism and links to paramilitary groups",

Considering that on 16 July 1996 one of the sources not only confirmed the existence of the "Golpe de Gracia" plan but also stated that a second phase of the plan had been launched which aimed specifically at assassinating remaining local, regional and national members of Parliament from the Patriotic Union,

Considering in this connection that Ms. Aida Abella, President of the Patriotic Union Party, survived an attempt on her life in Bogotá on 7 May 1996 and that she has had to leave the country to seek safety, whereas another member of the party, Mr. Pedro Malagón, deputy of the Meta Provincial Assembly, was assassinated on 20 June 1996 together with his daughter,

Considering also that, owing to the secrecy of the investigation, the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Human Rights is not aware whether the Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalía General) is investigating the charges made by Senator Cepeda that there exists a "Golpe de Gracia" plan and the accusations made by him in the National Assembly against General Bedoya; and that no information has been received regarding investigations into the existence of a second phase of the "Golpe de Gracia" plan,

Recalling that the parliamentarians concerned were assassinated although they had been afforded physical protection,

Considering in this connection that one of the sources states that past assassinations of Congressmen having been afforded physical protection by the authorities show that such protection is worthless unless accompanied by a clear political commitment at the highest levels of the Government to put an end to political assassinations and to respect the political opposition,

Taking note of the fact that, while Article 112 of the Constitution of Colombia provides for a statutory law to regulate the status of the opposition, according to the source no such law has as yet been adopted since the Constitution entered into force on 5 July 1991,

Recalling that, in the resolution it adopted on the Colombian cases in April 1996, it felt that the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Colombia would assist the country in combating impunity; that it should be noted in this connection that the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, at its 52nd session (March/April 1996), requested the High Commissioner on Human Rights "... to establish at the earliest possible date a permanent office in Colombia with the mandate to assist the Colombian authorities in developing policies and programmes for the promotion and protection of human rights and to observe human rights violations in the country ...",

Considering that discussions are still under way between the United Nations and the Colombian Government on this subject and that no such office has as yet been established,

  1. Thanks the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Human Rights for the information it has provided and its co-operation;

  2. Notes with satisfaction that the investigations into the murder of Senator Cepeda seem to be advancing and urges the competent authorities to do their utmost to secure the unimpeded further progress of these investigations;

  3. Fails to understand why, despite special measures to reactivate the investigations into the murder of Mr. Jiménez, Mr. Posada, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Valencia and Mr. Jaramillo, no results have been achieved, and seeks clarification from the authorities in this respect;

  4. Questions whether any serious efforts has been made to execute the arrest warrants issued against the Castaño brothers;

  5. Is greatly alarmed at the allegations of renewed threats of assassination of members of the Patriotic Union Party and the existence of a second phase of the "Golpe de Gracia" plan, which has already led to the assassination of one member of the party and an attempt on the life of its President;

  6. Urges the Parliament and Government of Colombia, in view of the seriousness of the matter, to take urgent steps to conduct inquiries into the existence of the "Golpe de Gracia" plan denounced by Senator Cepeda, the accusations levelled by him in the National Assembly at the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and alleging the existence of a "second of phase" of that plan;

  7. Calls on the Government at the highest levels to affirm in the strongest terms its commitment to put an end to political assassinations and ensure that members of the political opposition may fully exercise their rights;

  8. Recommends, as a means of demonstrating this commitment, that in accordance with the Constitution of Colombia a statutory law be drawn up and adopted as soon as possible to regulate the status of the opposition;

  9. Urges the Government of Colombia to reach an agreement as soon as possible with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights so that an Office of the High Commissioner can immediately become operational, with a clear mandate not only to advise the authorities on human rights issues but also to monitor and report on the situation;

  10. Requests the Secretary General to convey these concerns to the President of the National Congress and of the National Group of Colombia;

  11. Further requests the Secretary General to resume contact with the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Human Rights, inviting it to transmit the information desired and notify any new developments in connection with these cases;

  12. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to pursue the examination of these cases and report to it at its next session (April 1997).


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