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/188/13(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 187th session (October 2010),

Recalling that Mr. Lozano was convicted and given a lengthy prison sentence, and saw his civil and political rights suspended for 10 years following fundamentally flawed proceedings that he was unable to challenge since, under Colombian law, members of Congress are tried at single instance,

Considering that the source, on the occasion of the hearing with the Committee during the 124th IPU Assembly, stated that the judicial and civil authorities had recently lifted the suspension of his civil and political rights,

Recalling that in 2001 Mr. Lozano submitted a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding the flawed judicial proceedings leading to his conviction; despite assurances that the case would be re‑examined after it was first considered inadmissible, no information to this effect has been forthcoming despite repeated efforts by the IPU to engage with the Inter-American Commission on this issue; Mr. Lozano also submitted an individual complaint on the same matter to the United Nations Human Rights Committee under the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Colombia is a party, and which has thus far remained unanswered,

Recalling that both the Inter-American Convention of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and related jurisprudence, including specific case law to which the Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights drew attention in a letter of 12 August 2002 to the IPU Secretary General, provide extensive protection of the right to a fair trial,

Considering that Mr. Jorge Tadeo Lozano is over 70 years old and is suffering from serious kidney problems,

1. Reaffirms its belief that action by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee remains crucial to helping address the apparent injustice Mr. Lozano suffered; considers that such action has gained further urgency in the light of his advanced age and precarious health;

2. Requests the Secretary General to renew his contacts with the Inter-American Commission with a view to encouraging its swift consideration of Mr. Lozano's petition and likewise to approach the United Nations Human Rights Committee to ascertain the status of his individual complaint;

3. Instructs the Committee to continue examining the case under its confidential procedure until such time as it has obtained precise information on the prospects of full treatment by these mechanisms of Mr. Lozano's case;

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

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