The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of Mr. Jorge Tadeo Lozano Osorio, a former member of the Colombian Congress, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/186/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 185th session (October 2009),

Having before it the written report of the on-site mission carried out to Colombia from 22 to 24 August 2009 (CL/186/12(b)-R.2) for the purpose of raising the Committee's concerns in this and the other Colombian cases and of gaining a better understanding of the political and legal environment in Colombia in which they are situated,

Recalling that Mr. Lozano was convicted and given a heavy prison sentence, following fundamentally flawed proceedings, without being afforded the possibility of challenging them since, under Colombian law, members of Congress are tried at single instance; in 2001 he submitted a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding the flawed judicial proceedings; despite assurances that the case would be re-examined after it was first considered inadmissible, no information to this effect has been forthcoming to date despite efforts to engage with the Inter-American Commission, in particular through its President and Executive Secretary, and contacts made to this end by its Vice-President, Senator Rosario Green,

Considering that, on 5 March 2010, the Secretary General met with the Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission; it appeared from the meeting that the Executive Secretary took full note of the IPU's request that Mr. Lozano's petition be given full and immediate consideration by the Commission but that he stopped short of giving firm assurances that this would actually happen,

Recalling that, in addition to a prison term, Mr. Lozano's sentence included deprivation of his civil and political rights for 10 years starting in February 1998; considering that Mr. Lozano's rights have still not been restored although this period has expired,

Considering that legislative elections took place in Colombia on 14 March 2010,

1. Commends the delegation for its work and fully endorses the findings and recommendations contained in the report;

2. Reaffirms that this case raises extremely serious concerns about respect for fair-trial guarantees, several of which are inherent in the current procedure applicable to members of Congress in Colombia in criminal cases and, therefore, have ramifications far beyond the situation of Mr. Lozano; considers that these concerns can only be fully and effectively addressed through combined efforts at the national and regional levels;

3. Calls on the Colombian authorities, in particular the new Colombian Congress, to take action with a view to overhauling the procedure applicable to criminal cases against its members so as to ensure its full compatibility with fundamental fair-trial standards, including the right to appeal and non-discrimination towards members of parliament; affirms the continued readiness of the IPU to help advance the public debate in Colombia on this complex and sensitive matter;

4. Sincerely hopes that the Inter-American Commission will soon finally rule on the case of Mr. Lozano, convinced as it is that this will be crucial towards helping redress the apparent injustice he has suffered and will send a clear message about the need for action by the Colombian authorities to modify the procedure applicable to parliamentarians;

5. Requests the Vice-President of the Committee and the Secretary General to continue their contacts with the Inter-American Commission to this end;

6. Is appalled that Mr. Lozano has still not recovered his civil and political rights; urges the Colombian authorities to remedy this unlawful situation without further delay;

7. Requests the Secretary General to inform the competent Colombian authorities and the source of this resolution accordingly;

8. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 123rd IPU Assembly (October 2010).

Note: you can download a complete electronic version of the brochure "Results of the 122nd IPU Assembly and related meetings" in PDF format (file size 649K approximately). This version requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download free of charge.

HOME PAGEHUMAN RIGHTSMAIN AREAS OF ACTIVITYIPU STRUCTURE AND DOCUMENTS