After the publication last week of a press statement by the ANNCOL agency reporting the killing of eleven Colombian provincial lawmakers, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) reiterates its call for a humanitarian agreement to be signed between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) as a matter of priority. The IPU recalls that six national parliamentarians are still in the hands of the FARC, together with former senator and former candidate to the presidency of Colombia, Mrs. Ingrid Betancourt, and another 60 hostages.

The IPU condemns the killing of the eleven Colombian provincial lawmakers who were shot dead when an unidentified military group attacked the camp where they were being held hostage by the FARC.

The IPU has always held that the conclusion of a humanitarian accord is essential to putting an end to civil strife, and this is demonstrated by the experience of other countries. It urges all concerned parties to embark without further delay on the path of negotiations and to respect human rights and humanitarian law. (See resolutions adopted by the IPU Governing Council at the 116th IPU Assembly in Indonesia).

The IPU also urges that the circumstances of the killing of the provincial lawmakers be fully elucidated and that appropriate action be taken to identify the perpetrators and hold them to account.

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 147 affiliated parliaments and seven regional assemblies as associate members. The world organisation of parliaments has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer at the United Nations. In 1976, it created the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians. The Committee meets in camera four times a year to ensure that the human rights of the world's parliamentary community - composed of more than 40'000 members - are respected. It has contributed to the settlement of a large number of over the 500 cases in more than 100 countries that it has examined since its creation.
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Contact for additional information or interviews:

Mrs. Luisa Ballin, IPU Information Officer 5, ch. du Pommier, CH - 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex / Geneva Phone: +41 22 919 41 16 Fax: +41 22 919 41 60 E-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org or cbl@mail.ipu.org Mrs. Ingeborg Schwarz, Programme Manager of the IPU Human Rights Programme 5, ch. du Pommier, CH - 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex / Geneva Phone: +41 22 919 41 42 E-mail: is@mail.ipu.org and Mr. Rogier Huizenga, Programme Officer Tel.: +41 22 919 41 24 E-mail: rh@mail.ipu.org