The Vice-President of Colombia, at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: “If you want to come, there is no problem”

Following the decision of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to carry out a mission to Colombia, due to complaints of abuse of public force in the midst of social demonstrations, the vice-president of that country , Marta Lucía Ramírez said that the doors of the country are open.

After the incidents at Bogotá airport, which ended with the expulsion of Juan Grabois, the IACHR insisted on obtaining a permit to enter Colombia, because understands that this is an urgent need. But, the response of Iván Duque’s government had been denial so far, until internal investigations were completed, which would be June 29.

However, this Wednesday, according to El Tiempo, during the meetings that Ramírez held with representatives of the IACHR in Washington DC, United States, the vice president is said to have opened the doors of the country and invited the Commission on Human Rights to enter. ““If they want to come tomorrow, there is no problem,” he said, according to the Colombian newspaper.

“The IACHR clearly says that they met me, that I invited them to come to Colombia as soon as the audience they attended. they put the date of June 29 in which they will assess the information they have requested from the attorney general’s office, the prosecutor’s office and the comptroller’s office, ”the chancellor said.

Ramírez reported having met the President of the IACHR, Antonia Urrejola; the Executive Secretary, María Claudia Pulido; and Commissioners Stuardo Ralón, Julissa Mantilla, Flavia Piovesan and Joel Hernández; with the spirit of reiterate the firm commitment of the Duque administration to respect for human rights and with continued institutional strengthening work.

The IACHR had issued a statement the day before in which it insisted on his request for permission to visit the country, but he received another text on Wednesday, more difficult, in which he expressed his concern at the human rights violations that have occurred since the start of social protests at the end of April by the security forces.

At the repeated request for authorization to travel, the IACHR today added another complaint. “The Commission considers that the complaints concerning 132 people who are still missing are extremely serious and for which the Attorney General’s office keeps the emergency search mechanism activated. It is alarming that these people continue to be reported missing as the days go by, especially when some of the 276 people who were said to have gone missing were found dead, ”the commission warned.

On Tuesday, the social leader, Grabois, member of an observer delegation, was arrested and expelled from Colombia, while participating in a fact-finding mission on the human rights situation in the context of the recent repressions.

In his Twitter account, he said: “Arrested and again attacked by an authoritarian government. Now in a small room. Expect. My Argentinian and Colombian compatriots are trying to resolve themselves outside: we are not afraid! The Great Fatherland is standing ”. A few hours later, he was due to return to Buenos Aires.

THE NATION