The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case concerning the murders between 1986 and 1994 of Colombian congressmen and members of the Unión Patriótica (Patriotic Union) party, 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 another party member in Congress, 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/188/13(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 187th session (October 2010),

Having before it the written report of the on-site mission which the Committee carried out to Colombia from 9 to 13 October 2010 (CL/188/13(b)-R.2); taking into account the report of 17 January 2011 of the Prosecutor's Office,

Recalling that the state of affairs in the pursuit of justice at the national and regional levels in this case before the on-site mission was carried out was as follows:

• 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, had been held to account;

• On 26 May 2010, in a binding ruling, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights concluded that the Colombian State bore responsibility for the murder of Mr. Cepeda and ordered it, first, to conduct an effective investigation to establish the identity of the masterminds and the full scale of the cooperation between State agents and paramilitary forces in carrying out the crime, and secondly to make reparation, including through the organization, in consultation with Mr. Cepeda's family, of an official ceremony in the Colombian Congress, or another prominent public place, during which the State of Colombia, in the presence of members of both Chambers of Congress and the highest State authorities, would publicly acknowledge its responsibility and offer an apology;

• A general petition, first submitted in 1997, regarding the persecution of the Patriotic Union and offences committed, directly and indirectly, against its members, including, except in Mr. Cepeda's case, the aforementioned parliamentarians, is still pending before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights;

• Since 2008, the Procuraduría (Attorney General's Office) has given special attention to the case of Mr. Jaramillo and the Prosecutor’s Office has assembled a special team focusing on violations committed against members of the Patriotic Union and reactivated investigations into the assassinations of Mr. Jiménez, Mr. Posada, Mr. Valencia, Mr. Cepeda and Mr. Jaramillo and the death threats against Mr. Motta, and that in the case of Mr. Posada a suspect had been detained and was awaiting judgment,

• On 12 January 2011, one of the sources reported that discussions between Mr. Cepeda's family and the Colombian authorities were under way with respect to the reparation measures that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights had ordered the State of Colombia to take in the case of the murder of Senator Cepeda; according to the source, some steps have been taken, although the most important ones were still pending;

• According to the Prosecutor's report of 17 January 2011, with respect to the murder of Mr. Posada, a former paramilitary member had accepted a plea bargain and, with respect to the murder of Mr. Jaramillo, the former chief of the Administrative Department of Security, Mr. Alberto Romero, had been linked criminally to the case,

1. Thanks the Colombian authorities for hosting the mission and making the necessary arrangements to enable it to carry out its mandate;

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

3. Is gratified that steps are being taken to implement the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of the murder of Mr. Cepeda; notes, however, that for the implementation of several of the reparation measures for which the Court established clear deadlines, such as the one-year time limit for organizing the official ceremony in Congress, time is running out; trusts therefore that the authorities, in line with their commitment, are acting with the necessary resolution and swiftness to comply effectively with the Court's ruling;

4. Takes note with interest of recent progress in the pursuit of justice in the cases of Mr. Posada and Mr. Jaramillo; is nevertheless deeply concerned that this progress, along with the leads that emerged in recent years in the case of Mr. Cepeda, confirms the increasing evidence of involvement of paramilitaries and State authorities alike in the crimes committed against the Patriotic Union parliamentarians;

5. Considers that, although these crimes date back at least a decade, the nature of this evidence has direct ramifications for preserving the rule of law in Colombia today and that it is therefore all the more critical that the authorities continue to do their utmost to ensure justice; trusts therefore that the current Chief Prosecutor will not, as part of a wider effort to establish accountability for the persecution of the Patriotic Union party and its supporters, desist from identifying those responsible for these crimes and determining the extent of collusion between paramilitaries and representatives of the State in their commission; wishes to be kept informed of any further progress made in this respect;

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

7. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 125th IPU Assembly (October 2011).

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