The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case concerning the murders that took place between 1986 and 1994 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, all of whom were members of the Parliament of Colombia and the Unión Patriótica (Patriotic Union) political party, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/182/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 181st session (October 2007),

Taking into account the communication from the President of the Colombian Congress of 8 November 2007 and that of 30 November 2007 from the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva forwarding information from the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs,

Recalling that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights decided in 2006 to examine the merits of the petition lodged in March 1997 pertaining to the persecution of the Unión Patriótica and the crimes committed against its members, including the parliamentarians concerned, and had already decided in 2005 to do so with respect to the petition lodged in the case of Mr. Cepeda's assassination; considering that at the meeting between the IPU Secretary General and his counterpart of the Organization of American States that took place in Washington on 5 March 2008, in the presence of the Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission, the IPU Secretary General was told that with respect to at least one of the two petitions a pronouncement would be made before the end of 2008; noting also that the Committee has been asked to act as amicus curiae in the case of Mr. Cepeda,

Considering that, in her February 2008 report on the human rights situation in Colombia (A/HRC/7/39), the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that “structural problems persist in the administration of justice” and that there was "a need for further progress in the fight against impunity",

1. Reaffirms its belief that a pronouncement by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on the aforesaid two petitions is crucial to helping effectively dispense justice in the case at hand in which, so far, none of the murderers of five of the six then congressmen has actually been held to account; is gratified therefore that the Inter-American Commission will soon rule on the merits of the petition(s); would greatly appreciate being kept informed in this respect and receiving a copy of the ruling(s) as soon at they are available;

2. Asks the Committee to act, as requested, as amicus curiae in the case of Manuel Cepeda;

3. Welcomes the readiness of the President of the Colombian Congress to ensure a regular dialogue to help promote a satisfactory solution, including in this case; remains convinced that, through its oversight role, the Colombian Congress has a responsibility and an opportunity to help ensure that the State of Colombia complies with its duty to make a determined effort to hold perpetrators of human rights abuses to account and provide victims and their families with reparation and that, should the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights conclude it has failed to do so, this situation is promptly addressed and remedied; trusts that the Congress will be attentive to the forthcoming rulings by the Inter-American Commission and will do everything in its power to ensure their full implementation;

4. Requests the Secretary General to inform the competent authorities and the source of this resolution;

5. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 119th Assembly of the IPU (Geneva, October 2008).

Note: you can download a complete electronic version of the brochure "Results of the 118th IPU Assembly and related meetings" in PDF format (file size 547K approximately). This version requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download free of charge.

HOME PAGEHUMAN RIGHTSMAIN AREAS OF ACTIVITYIPU STRUCTURE AND DOCUMENTS