CASE N° CO/01 - Pedro Nel Jiménez Obando
CASE N° CO/02 - Leonardo Posada Pedraza
CASE N° CO/03 - Octavio Vargas Cuéllar
CASE N° CO/04 - Pedro Luis Valencia Giraldo
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 169th session (Ouagadougou, 14 September 2001)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the resolution it adopted at its 168th session (April 2001) on the case of Mr. Pedro Nel Jiménez Obando, Mr. Leonardo Posada Pedraza, Mr. Octavio Vargas Cuéllar, Mr. Pedro Luis Valencia Giraldo, Mr. Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa and Mr. Manuel Cepeda Vargas of Colombia, and to the related report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians,

Taking account of the information provided by the Human Rights Programme of the Vice-Presidency of the Republic on 23 August 2001,

Recalling that the MPs concerned, members of the Unión Patriótica, were all assassinated between 1986 and 1994 and that only in the case of Senator Cepeda Vargas have the murderers, two army non-commissioned officers (NCOs), Mr. Justo Gil Zúñiga Labrador and Mr. Hernando Medina Camacho, been identified and brought to justice; they were discharged from the military in November 1999 and on 28 January 2001 sentenced to 43 years' imprisonment at second instance by the Bogotá High Court; recalling that former paramilitary leader Carlos Castaño, who had been indicted as the presumed instigator of the crime, was acquitted,

Recalling that the two convicts have since been formally accused of involvement in the killing on 14 July 1999 of Lieutenant Talero Suárez, when they were supposed to be in preventive detention, a factor which it considered to lend credence to the fear expressed by the sources that the de facto freedom of movement of the two NCOs may well explain the death threats against Senator Cepeda's son and daughter-in-law, the disappearance of the wife and the daughter of the main witness in the Cepeda case and the attempt, in December 1999, to kidnap the second daughter of the witness; recalling that it has on several occasions urged the authorities to transfer them to a civilian prison, particularly since they are no longer in the army;

Considering that, according to the information provided by the Human Rights Programme of the Vice-Presidency, the two convicts were transferred to Picaleña Prison, which according to the source is a civilian prison; noting that, according to the source, the main witness in the Cepeda case was held in that same prison until at least September 2000 and, should he still be in detention there, his life may be in danger,

Considering that, according to the Human Rights Programme of the Vice-Presidency, preliminary investigations into the death threats against Senator Cepeda's son and daughter-in-law are being conducted by the Human Rights Unit of the Attorney General's Office,

Considering that on 15 April 2001 the trial started of three suspects in the case of Senator Jaramillo, a witness having provided details implicating Carlos and Fidel Castaño and Gustavo Adolfo Mesa, a member of the disbanded Medellín cartel currently in prison for the murder of a journalist, Jorge Enrique Pulido,

Recalling that, according to the authorities, special measures have been taken to combat impunity, namely the establishment of a "Search Squad for private justice groups", set up in December 1997 under Presidential Decree 2895, together with the establishment by the Attorney General's Office, in 1999, of 26 sub-units in as many sectional directorates for the purpose of investigating crimes committed against Unión Patriótica members,

Noting that the 2001 report on Colombia of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights observed that "Carlos Castaño Gil had gained public visibility in the national and international media with disconcerting ease and that while paramilitary operations were still on the rise, they had not encountered any governmental action aimed at stopping them; that by contrast with the large military offensives against the guerrillas, deploying huge human and logistic resources in campaigns that last for weeks, the results of the Government's anti?paramilitary policy … were patchy",

1. Thanks the Human Rights Programme of the Vice-Presidency of the Republic for the information provided and for its cooperation; nevertheless regrets the lack of response from the National Congress;

2. Expresses satisfaction at the transfer of Senator Cepeda's murderers to a civilian prison; wishes to ascertain whether the main witness in the case, who has been decisive in establishing the truth, is currently held in the same institution and, if so, whether special measures have been taken to ensure his personal security;

3. Notes that preliminary investigations into the death threats against Senator Cepeda's son and daughter-in-law are still ongoing, wishes to ascertain what actual progress has been made since November 1999 when the relevant complaint was lodged; reiterates its wish to ascertain the result of the investigation, if any, into the disappearance of the wife and the daughter of the main witness in Senator Cepeda's case;

4. Notes with satisfaction that the trial of the persons suspected of the murder of Senator Jaramillo has started; nevertheless observes with grave concern that one of them, Carlos Castaño, appears to be living completely at ease; wishes therefore to ascertain what steps the authorities have taken or intend to take to apprehend him so that he may be tried in accordance with the law;

5. Can but infer from the lack of any information on judicial proceedings in the cases of Mr. Pedro Nel Jiménez Obando, Mr. Leonardo Posada Pedraza, Mr. Octavio Vargas Cuéllar and Mr. Pedro Luis Valencia Giraldo that the investigations concerning their murder are still at a standstill;

6. Notes that appropriate legislation and mechanisms are in place in Colombia to combat paramilitary elements; urges the authorities to make effective use of those provisions in order to ensure that justice is done;

7. Considers that, given the number and magnitude of the cases and the fact that some of them have come to a standstill, an on-site mission would assist in promoting a satisfactory settlement;

8. Requests the Secretary General to contact the parliamentary authorities with a view to organising such a mission as early as possible with a mandate to gather information from the competent parliamentary, governmental, administrative and judicial authorities, as well as from the families of the victims and their lawyers;

9. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session (March 2002), in the light of such information as the on-site mission may have gathered.

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