The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of Ms. Piedad Córdoba of Colombia, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/181/11(a)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 180th session (May 2007),

Taking into account the communication from the Director of the Presidential Programme on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, dated 23 April 2007, which includes a description by the Ministry of Justice and the Interior of the security measures afforded to Senator Córdoba,

Recalling that Senator Córdoba was kidnapped and held by the paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) between 21 May and 4 June 1999, and that an arrest warrant was issued on 26 June 2002 for Mr. Iván Roberto Duque Gaviria, alias Ernesto Báez, who is one of the representatives of the paramilitary groups in the negotiations with the authorities and is held in the high-security prison of Itagui; he was heard on 12 June 2006 as part the preliminary proceedings in this case; on 13 July 2006 the Attorney General confirmed the detention order served on him,

Recalling that an attempt was made on Ms. Córdoba's life in January 2003; and that the three persons arrested were all acquitted on 5 March 2005,

Recalling also that, in her March 2007 report on the human rights situation in Colombia (A/HRC/4/48), the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that "substantial efforts are still needed to overcome impunity" and that she "strongly hopes that the implementation of the policy of combating impunity will lead to concrete results in the investigation and punishment of human rights violations",

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

2. Notes that extensive security measures are in place for Senator Córdoba; trusts that, in consultation with her, the authorities will regularly assess their effectiveness and the risks she faces and, if need be, will adjust her security detail;

3. Trusts that judicial proceedings against the detained presumed culprit in the kidnapping of Senator Córdoba have well advanced; would appreciate confirmation thereof;

4. Remains deeply concerned that, more than four and a half years after the attempt on her life, none of the culprits have been brought to justice, and calls on the authorities to pursue this matter with the utmost urgency and diligence, in particular on Congress to implement its oversight function in order to ensure that justice is done;

5. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the competent authorities and to the source;

6. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 118th Assembly of the IPU (Cape Town, April 2008).

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