The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Having before it the case of Mr. Javier Cáceres Leal, a member of the National Congress of Colombia until April 2012, which has been examined by the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, pursuant to its Procedure for the treatment by the Inter-Parliamentary Union of communications concerning violations of the human rights of members of parliament,

Considering the following information on file: on 1 November 2007, the Supreme Court launched a preliminary criminal investigation against Mr. Cáceres on charges of aggravated criminal conspiracy for the purpose of organizing, promoting, arming or financing illegal armed groups (punishable under Article 340 of Law 599 of 2000); on 2 July 2008; Mr. Cáceres made a spontaneous statement to the Supreme Court; on 14 September 2010 - despite legal provisions stipulating, according to the source, that the preliminary investigation cannot exceed six months - an official investigation was opened and Mr. Cáceres was arrested that same day in a very public manner on the premises of the National Congress; the source points out that there has been no answer to Mr. Cáceres’s repeated requests since 2006 to make a spontaneous statement in response to accusations by demobilized members of paramilitary groups circulated in the media; on 22 September 2010, the Supreme Court officially considered Mr. Cáceres a suspect and ordered that he be remanded in custody; the investigation was completed on 25 February 2011; on 27 April 2011, the Supreme Court decided that there was merit in bringing the case to trial and officially indicted Mr. Cáceres on the aforesaid charge; on 12 April 2012, the Supreme Court found Mr. Cáceres guilty and sentenced him to nine years in prison, which he is serving, and a fine of 6 billion Colombian pesos; the Supreme Court based its conclusions primarily on statements from demobilized members of paramilitary groups, including former leaders Mr. Salvatore Mancuso, Mr. Iván Roberto Duque, alias “Ernesto Báez”, and Mr. Uber Bánquez, alias “Juancho Dique”; the source affirms that these statements are contradictory and unreliable and that the proceedings against Mr. Cáceres disregarded several procedural guarantees,

Considering that, as a result of his conviction, Mr. Cáceres is no longer a member of parliament,

Considering the following: the reports of the Committee’s on-site missions to Colombia in 2009 and 2010 refer extensively to concerns about respect for fair-trial guarantees in criminal proceedings against current and former members of Congress, who are investigated and judged in a single instance by the Supreme Court, and about how the investigation and proceedings are handled in practice; with regard to the testimony of demobilized paramilitaries, the 2010 mission concluded, “such testimonies, however useful they may be, must be treated with great caution. The credibility of those persons, who have committed atrocious abuses, cannot be taken for granted. What seems clear is that the demobilized paramilitaries have their own interest in acting in a certain manner in order to be granted the lenient sentences provided for in the Justice and Peace Act. This necessarily implies that many feel it better to speak than remain silent, even when they know little or nothing of information that might serve the cause of justice”,

Considering that Mr. Cáceres brought his case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on 30 June 2012,

Considering finally that several attempts have been made to introduce legislation to ensure that Colombian parliamentarians enjoy, like other Colombian citizens, the right to a fair trial, including the possibility of appeal, and that the most recent attempt was part of a larger series of judicial reform measures adopted by the Colombian Congress on 20 June 2012 but subsequently revoked after the President of the Republic objected to it,

1. Considers that the case of Mr. Cáceres reinforces its longstanding concerns about the lack of respect for due process in criminal proceedings against members of the National Congress of Colombia, in particular their rights to be tried by an impartial court and to have an opportunity to appeal the verdict, and about the credibility of testimony by demobilized paramilitaries, who stand to gain from incriminating others, and how such testimony is obtained and used; recommends, therefore, that the legal incentives to testify be revised;

2. Sincerely hopes that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will soon be able to examine the petition submitted by Mr. Cáceres, convinced as it is that this will be crucial to providing redress in his case; requests the Committee Vice-President and the Secretary General to seek information on this from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights;

3. Affirms that the fair-trial concerns that have arisen in this case and that are inherent in the current procedure applicable to members of Congress in Colombia in criminal cases have ramifications that go far beyond Mr. Cáceres and can only be fully addressed through new legislation;

4. Regrets, therefore, that the latest attempt to introduce new legislation failed at the last minute; reaffirms its view that appropriate legal protection must be provided to members of Congress so that they can fulfil their mandates effectively and without fear of reprisals; therefore calls on the competent authorities to do everything possible to renew consultations with a view to helping ensure that the procedure applicable to members of Congress is finally overhauled so as to ensure its full compatibility with fundamental fair-trial standards, including the right to appeal and non-discrimination towards members of Congress; affirms the continued readiness of the IPU to assist in this regard; 

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

6. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and to report back to it in due course.

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