The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case concerning the murders 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 and the death threats against Mr. Motta, which forced him into exile in October 1997, 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 to Colombia carried out 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; also having before it a communication from the Prosecutor's Office dated 19 March 2010,

Recalling that the persons concerned were Colombian congressmen and members of the Unión Patriótica (Patriotic Union) party; that none of the murderers of five of the six congressmen or the perpetrators of the death threats against Mr. Motta, who still lives in exile, have been held to account,

Recalling that in 1997 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights was seized of a petition regarding the persecution of the Unión Patriótica and offences committed, directly and indirectly, against its members, including the aforementioned parliamentarians; for lack of results in the friendly settlement process, the petitioners decided in 2006 to request the Commission to rule on the merits of their petition; the year before, the Commission agreed to review separately the petition concerning the murder of Mr. Cepeda; on 25 July 2008, the Commission concluded that the Colombian State was indeed responsible for that murder, by commission and omission, and issued a series of recommendations and referred the case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, requesting confirmation of its findings; recalling that, at the request of petitioner Iván Cepeda, the IPU, through the Secretary General, submitted on 11 January 2010 an expert opinion on this case,

Considering that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held hearings at the end of January 2010, during which the representative of the State of Colombia publicly condemned Senator Cepeda's murder, calling it unacceptable that full light had yet to be shed on the circumstances of the crime and the identity of the masterminds; on behalf of the State of Colombia, she asked the relatives for forgiveness and assured them of the authorities' commitment to elucidating the crime and holding the masterminds to account; the Court requested the parties to the case to present their final written submissions by 1 March 2010,

Considering that the Inter-American Commission has yet to rule in the collective case of the Unión Patriótica and that it appears, given the complexity of the case, that it may still be some time before the Commission adopts its report,

Considering finally that the Attorney General's Office (Procuraduría General') decided in 2009 to give special attention to the case of Mr. Jaramillo Ossa and that the Office of the Prosecutor has assembled a special team focusing on violations committed against members of the Unión Patriótica and has reactivated investigations into the assassinations of Mr. Jiménez, Mr. Posada, Mr. Valencia, Mr. Cepeda and Mr. Jaramillo and the death threats against Mr. Motta; considering also that the latest communication from the Prosecutor's Office reaffirms that, by decision of 2 December 2005, the Prosecutor in the case of Mr. Vargas declared the investigation closed on account of extinction of the criminal action through prescription; considering that, in the cases of Mr. Posada and Mr. Valencia, reference is made in each case to one suspect who is in detention and awaiting judgment,

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; thanks the Prosecutor's Office for the latest information about progress in the cases before it;

2. Is pleased that the competent authorities have lent fresh impetus to the investigations into five of the assassinations and the death threats against Mr. Motta; trusts that they will pursue their efforts with the necessary resolve in order, to the extent possible, to shed full light on these crimes and hold those responsible to account; wishes to be kept informedin this respect and to receivecopies of the forthcoming judgments in the cases of Mr. Posada and Mr. Valencia; wishes to receivefurther details as to why the case of Mr. Vargas, who was assassinated in the same year as two of the other parliamentarians, cannot be reopened as well;

3. Takes note with interest of the recent public apology and express commitment of the Colombian authorities before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights with respect to the long-standing entitlements of Mr. Cepeda's relatives in the areas of truth, justice and reparation; eagerly awaits the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in this case;

4. Trusts that the new Colombian Congress will help ensure that ongoing efforts to elucidate the murders of and death threats against parliamentarians of the Unión Patriótica receive the necessary political and financial support and that the State of Colombia fully implements the forthcoming ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Mr. Cepeda;

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

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 123rd IPU Assembly (October 2010).

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