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 Luis 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/178/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 177th session (October 2005),

Taking account of the communication of 16 March 2006 from the Director of the Presidential Programme on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law whereby he forwards a copy of a report from the Attorney General's Office,

Further taking account of information provided by one of the sources on 3 April and on 3 May 2006,

Recalling that, in January 2001, the Appeal Court upheld a judgement handed down at first instance against two non-commissioned officers for the murder of Senator Cepeda, and sentenced each to 43 years’ imprisonment; subsequently paramilitary group leader Mr. Carlos Castaño Gil 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; Mr. Castaño was sentenced in absentia in November 2001 for the murder of Mr. Jaramillo, but was never arrested for this crime, and subsequently disappeared in April 2004; no investigation seems to be under way to establish his fate,

Considering that, according to the latest report of the Attorney General's Office, Mr. Jesús Emiro Pereira Rivera was, after having been acquitted at first instance, convicted on appeal for the murder of Mr. Sarmiento and sentenced to a 40-year prison term; the same report confirms that the investigations in the cases of Mr. Jiménez, Mr. Posada and Mr. Valencia have been abandoned and that, in the case of Mr. Valencia, although the investigation is at the preliminary stage, all the evidence that might help to identify the culprits has been examined, but to no avail,

Recalling that since 1999 a friendly 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 Unión Patriótica (Patriotic Union) political party, to which all the above parliamentarians except Mr. Sarmiento belonged, and that several working groups were set up to examine human rights violations perpetrated against members of that party,

Considering the open letter of 3 May 2006 from two Colombian non-governmental human rights organizations, both petitioners in the Unión Patriótica case, addressed to the current President of Colombia, in which they emphasize that, despite the latter's express acknowledgement of the persecution of the Unión Patriótica and commitment to put in place safeguards to avoid a repeat of these violations, there has been no effective official action in response to the continuing assassinations, attacks and harassment suffered by Unión Patriótica members and survivors, and that reportedly one of the campaign spots in the current President's re-election campaign spreads unfounded accusations against the Unión Patriótica,

Considering that, following Mr. Castaño's acquittal, Mr. Cepeda's family lodged a case with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which in December 2005 agreed to separate Senator Cepeda's case from the existing Unión Patriótica case and to deal with its merits forthwith; on 3 May 2006, the source affirmed that the Commission had also undertaken an in-depth examination of the overall Unión Patriótica case and had expressed willingness to review its substance,

1. Thanks the Director of the Presidential Programme on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law for the information provided;

2. Notes with satisfaction that Mr. Sarmiento's murder has not gone unpunished; wishes to know whether Mr. Pereira is currently serving his sentence;

3. Is deeply concerned at the failure of the authorities to honour the commitments they assumed in the framework of the friendly settlement procedure, which could have provided non-judicial redress in the cases in question, and at their failure to end the persecution of members of that party and the families of those assassinated;

4. Strongly urges the State of Colombia to comply with its duty under international human rights law and the American Convention on Human Rights, which entails its obligation to ensure that justice is done and remedy provided for past abuses;

5. Notes that a new stage has been reached in consideration of the Unión Patriótica case by the Inter-American Commission, and requests the Secretary General to seek more detailed information in this respect;

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 115th IPU Assembly (October 2006).

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