Colombia: Duque’s government finally accepts …

The Colombian government has affirmed that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) can visit the country as of tomorrow without any problem. The new position of Iván Duque’s government comes after the commission issued a statement in which it stressed the importance of a visit as soon as possible.

Wednesday evening Colombian Vice-President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Marta Lucía Ramírez has confirmed that there will no longer be official opposition to the entry into the country of the IACHR delegation and Colombia is “ready”. Even if on the other hand, he insisted that it would probably be better if the tour was over once the commission has received the requested reports from the Colombian authorities and after the hearing that the IACHR had called on June 29Ramírez said at a press conference.

On the same day, but earlier, Ramírez held another position on the entrance to the Human Rights Delegation. “We welcomed the visit, but some thought it was immediate. He was not rejected. The visit will surely take place in June or July “, said the chancellor as reported by the newspaper Time Columbia. Ramírez also maintained this position this week during the meeting with the executive secretary of the IACHR, María Claudia Pulido, to whom he affirmed that the entry of the humanitarian delegation could not take place “at this time”.

The IACHR underlined its concern regarding the disproportionate use of force and the need for a transparent register. “In particular with regard to the high number of loss of life, of people injured, including eye injuries and reports of enforced disappearances in the context of the protests”, details the most recent statement published by the committee. In this direction, the committee stressed the importance of carrying out the visit as early as possible.

Disappearances and torture

From civil society more organizations denounced the disappearances, torture and the existence of mass graves in the context of anti-government protests in Colombia. The country is approaching the first month of protests in which the excessive use of force, abuse and torture by police have raised alarm bells for human rights organizations like the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. the man. More than two thousand people were injured during the protests and, according to the Colombian prosecution, 129 people are missing. The NGO Human Rights Watch said it had received complaints about 61 deaths in Colombia since the protests began.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General of Colombia reported that 290 people had been found who had been flagged as ‘not located’ and noted that they were still looking for 129 more. However, other research indicates that the number of people not yet located could exceed 470.

This week the The IACHR also had a virtual meeting with the Office of the Mediator, who gave him a report in which 236 complaints of human rights violations are registered during the walks, of which 174 would be responsible members of the police. In addition, they informed the IACHR 106 complaints of gender violence, 23 sexual violence Yes two of rape.

The situation in Bogotá

For her part, the mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, delivered a report on civilian casualties and in uniform which runs from April 28 to May 23 to Juliette de Riveros, representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights . The document records 600 acts of abuse of force against a citizen (beating, detention or harassment), as well as 33 young demonstrators injured in the eyes. It also specifies that 380 police officers were injured, including 17 seriously, and 361 civilians in the same state, including five in a fragile state of health.