Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Geneva, 3 November 2000
N° 102

The President of the Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Dr. Najma Heptulla and the world organization of parliaments’ Secretary General, Mr. Anders B. Johnsson strongly condemn the kidnapping of members of the Colombian Parliament by guerrilla groups and the paramilitary forces headed by Carlos Castaño.

The kidnapping of members of parliament not only constitutes a violation of the human right to liberty and to security of the MPs concerned, but it also constitutes an attack against the institution of parliament as such and thus against the people whom the Parliament represents. They recall with insistence that the State has a duty to ensure the security of all its citizens and calls on the authorities to secure the immediate and unconditional release of the kidnapped members of parliament.

Dr. Heptulla and Mr. Johnsson pointed moreover to the fact that several arrest warrants are pending against Carlos Castaño, including for the murder in March 1990 of Senator Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, at the time candidate for the presidential elections of May 1990. The Inter-Parliamentary Union and its Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians which has been examining the case of Mr. Jaramillo, together with that of other assassinated Colombian MPs for several years, have consistently called on the Colombian State to ensure that these arrest warrants are executed, as is its duty under law, and Carlos Castaño brought to justice.

The IPU, founded in 1889 and based in Geneva, currently has 140 national parliaments affiliated and five regional parliamentary organisations associated. In 1976, it created the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to investigates complaints of violations of human rights of MPs. Composed of five parliamentarians from different regions, the Committee considers complaints and seeks a satisfactory settlement of the cases referred to it through dialogue and cooperation with the authorities concerned. It also conducts hearings and undertakes on-site missions. The IPU has a Liaison office with the UN in New York.