The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case concerning the murders of Mr. Pedro Nel Jiménez Obando, Mr. Leonardo Posada Pedraza, Mr. Octavio Vargas Cuéllar, Mr. Pedro Luís Valencia Giraldo, Mr. Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, Mr. Manuel Cepeda Vargas and Mr. Octavio Sarmiento Bohórquez, all of whom were members of the parliament of Colombia, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/177/11(a)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 176th session (April 2005),

Recalling that, in the case of Mr. Jaramillo, paramilitary group leaders Mr. Carlos Castaño and his brother Mr. Fidel Castaño were identified as the murderers and sentenced in absentia in November 2001, and that Mr. Carlos Castaño was not convicted for his role in the murder of Mr. Cepeda, despite unambiguous acknowledgments of his responsibility in the book My Confession and in live radio and written press interviews,

Recalling that, in the case of Mr. Jiménez, the presumed suspects, all military officers, were arrested but later released, and that evidence which would allow the identification of the perpetrators exists in the cases of Mr. Posada, Mr. Valencia and particularly in the case of Mr. Sarmiento, for which a detailed account exists indicating the involvement of a paramilitary group, which allegedly occupied his farm and shot him dead on 1 October 2001,

Recalling also that, in its concluding observations of 2004 on the fifth report of Colombia (CCPR/CO/80/COL) submitted under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Committee, in relation inter alia to the unpunished murder of lawmakers, stated that it was "disturbed about the participation of agents of the State party in the commission of such acts, and the apparent impunity enjoyed by their perpetrators", and recommended that the Colombian authorities "should take immediate and effective steps to investigate these incidents, punish and dismiss those found responsible and compensate the victims, so as to ensure compliance with the guarantees set forth in Articles 2, 3, 6, 7 and 9 of the Covenant",

Considering that on 22 June 2005 the Congress adopted a law on justice and peace as a result of negotiations with the paramilitary groups, and that the law has been strongly criticized for not doing enough to guarantee that paramilitary structures are dismantled and that the right to truth and justice is respected,

Noting that a special committee on the conduct of investigations into human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law was established under the Vice-President's programme to combat impunity, and that it has given priority to certain cases,

Recalling that since 1999 an amicable settlement procedure has been under way before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding a petition lodged in March 1997 pertaining to the persecution of the Patriotic Union (Unión Patriótica) political party and its members, and that several working groups were set up to examine human rights violations perpetrated against members of that party, but that several members of the Unión Patriótica have expressed disappointment at the lack of progress in the procedure, and have considered withdrawing from it,

1. Remains deeply concerned that, other than in the case of Mr. Cepeda's murder, no one has ever been brought to trial for the murder of the parliamentarians concerned, the first of which took place nearly 20 years ago;

2. Deplores this state of affairs, especially since the clear evidence or leads existing in several of the murder cases, in particular that of Mr. Sarmiento, should have permitted prompt identification and prosecution of the murderers;

3. Recalls in this respect that under its international law obligations, the Colombian State is obliged to combat impunity effectively by identifying and punishing human rights offenders, providing effective redress to their victims, and taking effective action to ensure that such offences do not recur;

4. Once again urges the authorities to act with the necessary resolve to ensure that these cases do not go unpunished; strongly believes that the special committee on the conduct of investigations into human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law can make a crucial contribution to helping bring the culprits to trial; and wishes therefore to ascertain whether the special committee is investigating these cases and whether they are among those to which it has given priority;

5. Wishes to ascertain the stage reached in the amicable settlement procedure pending before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights;

6. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the competent authorities and to the sources;

7. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held during the 114^th IPU Assembly (May 2006).

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