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 Senator Hernán Motta Motta of Colombia, and to the related report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians,

Recalling that Mr. Motta had been receiving death threats which forced him into exile in October 1997; his name is reportedly on a death list drawn up by the paramilitary group led by Carlos Castaño Gil, who admitted publicly in March 2000 on a private TV channel that he personally decided who was to be executed by his group,

Recalling that, according to information provided by the Human Rights Office of the Vice-Presidency of the Republic on 28 April 2000, the investigation into the death threats is being conducted by the Special Prosecutor of Santa Fe de Bogotá and is still at the preliminary stage; at the time, the Office was in the process of contacting members of the Unión Patriótica to ascertain whether they had received any new information which might help to advance the investigation; considering in this respect, however, that Mr. Motta says he has not so far been contacted for that purpose,

Considering that it appears from the latest communication of the former Human Rights Office of the Vice-Presidency of the Republic (now Human and Humanitarian Rights Programme - Vice Presidency of the Republic), dated 23 August 2001, that it has been in contact with the National Director of the Prosecutor's Office (Directora Nacional de Fiscalías) to seek information on progress made in the relevant investigation, but so far to no avail,

Noting that the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, in its Chairman's Statement of 2001 on Colombia, the text of which is the result of negotiations held with the Colombian authorities, mentions that it is "encouraged by the creation of a National Coordination Centre set up to coordinate all State activities to combat the paramilitaries in all their forms and calls upon the Government of Colombia to make sure that these and other related measures are effectively implemented and to ensure that those responsible are brought to civilian justice" and that it "takes note of the announcement of the Six-Point Plan put forward by the Government of Colombia in January 2001 to tackle paramilitary groups. Concrete action is now required",

1. Thanks the Human Rights Office of the Vice-Presidency for the information provided;

2. Wishes to ascertain whether it has meanwhile contacted Mr. Motta, as intended, and received information from the National Director of the Prosecutor's Office about the investigation in this case;

3. Wishes to ascertain whether Carlos Castaño is suspected of being involved in this case, given the strong leads suggesting that he was behind the death threats against Mr. Motta;

4. Notes with satisfaction that a wide range of mechanisms is in place to combat paramilitary groups, and urges the authorities, in particular the National Congress as guardian of human rights, to show the necessary political will to make sure that they are used in order to dispense justice in this case;

5. Considers that, since the case has come to a standstill, an on-site mission would lend fresh impetus to the Committee's work on the case, and consequently requests the Secretary General to contact the parliamentary authorities with a view to organising a mission as early as possible to gather the fullest possible information from the competent parliamentary, governmental, administrative and judicial authorities;

6. Requests the Secretary General to communicate this resolution to the parliamentary authorities and to the source;

7. 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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