The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring tReferring to the case of Mr. Jaime Ricaurte Hurtado González and Mr. Pablo Vicente Tapia Farinango, a member and substitute member respectively of the National Congress of Ecuador who were murdered in broad daylight in the centre of Quito on 17 February 1999 along with a legislative assistant, Mr. Wellington Borja Nazareno, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/187/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 186th session (April 2010),

Taking into account the communication from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Colombia of 27 May 2010,

Recalling the following:

• The Special Commission of Inquiry (CEI) set up immediately after the murder to help elucidate the crime has from the outset sharply criticized the conduct of the investigation and the prosecution authorities, including their scant consideration of the serious leads it has presented linking Mr. Hurtado's murder to his uncovering of a web of corruption involving high-profile figures;

• Two culprits, Mr. Contreras and Mr. Ponce, have each been sentenced at final instance to 16‑year prison sentences which they are serving;

• The prime suspect, Mr. Washington Aguirre, was arrested in the United States of America in January 2009; another suspect, Mr. Henry Willberth Gil Ayerve, was arrested in Colombia in early 2010; the Ecuadorian authorities have submitted extradition requests to the competent authorities of those countries,

Considering that in the course of September 2010 the Director of the Office of the Permanent Observer of the IPU in New York met with officials of the United States State Department, who promised to send the file of Mr. Aguirre's extradition to its attorneys for examination, and with officials at the United States Congress,

Bearing in mind the extradition treaties between Ecuador and the United States of America, and between Ecuador and Colombia,

1. Sincerely hopes that, with swift action by the Colombian authorities, Mr. Gil can soon stand trial in Ecuador; trusts that the United States authorities are likewise acting promptly on the request for Mr. Aguirre's transfer to Ecuador; would appreciate being informed of the status of both extradition processes;

2. Reaffirms its belief that trial proceedings against Mr. Aguirre and Mr. Gil are essential to the pursuit of truth and justice in this case since they would provide a critical opportunity to give due consideration to the work of the CEI; stresses in this respect that not only have the CEI’s findings revealed serious contradictions and omissions in the conduct of the competent authorities in this case, but they also offer substantive leads for an alternative line of inquiry that would enable the authorities to identify the instigators of the crime and the motive of the murder;

3. Requests the Secretary General to pursue his contacts with the competent authorities of the United States of America and Colombia in order to obtain information about the current status of the extradition processes; also requests the Secretary General to inform the Ecuadorian authorities and the source of this resolution;

4. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 124th IPU Assembly (April 2011).

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