If you want to come to the country tomorrow, we have no problem: Marta Lucía Ramírez at the IACHR

From Washington DC to the United States, Vice-President and Chancellor Marta Lucía Ramírez held meetings with representatives of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which for days had asked the national government to authorize an observer mission to enter the country in order to make them aware of the first hand the multiple complaints of abuse of the public force in the midst of social protests.

However, it sparked controversy that the Iván Duque government’s response was that it would allow the visit, but until internal investigations were completed and it was said that it would be June 29 next.

The problem did not end there, because on May 26, Ramírez pointed out, quoted by El Tiempo, that during the meeting they held with the organization, they were told that that the announced visit date was set by them and not by the government.

“The IACHR clearly declares that they met me, that I invited them to come to Colombia from the hearing during which they themselves set the date of June 29, during which they will assess the information that ‘they asked the Attorney General’s Office. , the prosecutor’s office and the comptroller’s office, ”the chancellor said.

And he added: “We told them: we are ready for this visit. If they want to come and anticipate the hearing on June 29 and do so tomorrow, we have no problem with them coming to Colombia the next day ”.

The Vice-President indicated that she had 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 aim of reaffirming the firm commitment of the Duque administration to respect for human rights and with the continuous work of institutional strengthening.

During this meeting, the IACHR recognized and thanked Colombia for its extensive and permanent cooperation with this international organization on the various issues that are common to it. For her part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed the importance of the inter-American human rights system for the Colombian State and for the region and ratified the will of the Government of President Duque to continue to provide its full cooperation to this multilateral body.

“Our government is fully determined to ensure that in no case human rights violations are committed in Colombia during these demonstrations, unfortunately there were violent cases in the streets and there were injuries and deaths. No abuse or alleged abuse committed by any authority, be it the police or the army, will be investigated. All without exception should be investigated. No one will be above the law and that includes those with a uniform and those without a uniform, ”Ramírez said.

The Inter-American Commission issued another more in-depth statement in which it condemns human rights violations in the national context and sets out the reasons why it considers the working visit to be urgent.

“The Commission points out that in at least 1,038 protests, there were cases of death, disappearance, injury and sexual assault due to the disproportionate and illegitimate use of force. These events have been recorded, in particular, in cities such as Bogotá, Cali, Pereira, Popayán and Yumbo, and have had particular effects on indigenous peoples, women and people of African descent ”, said the agency.

The IACHR reiterated its “extreme concern” regarding the number of violent deaths linked to the demonstrations, 41 registered by the prosecutor’s office, including 17 in the midst of protests; while social organizations have documented 51. In the statement, they highlighted the cases of Lucas Villa, in Pereira; Sebastián Quintero in Popayán and Jhon Erik Larrahondo in Cali.

“The Inter-American Commission considers extremely serious the complaints concerning 132 people who are still missing and for which the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation maintains the emergency search mechanism activated. It is alarming that as the days go by, these people continue to go missing, especially when some of the 276 who were reportedly missing appeared lifeless, such as Chief Cristian Torres, on May 14 in the town of Leiva, Nariño, “said -he.

For the Commission, there are at least 87 complaints of sexual violence allegedly committed by members of the law enforcement agencies, as in the case of the minor who was assaulted by six agents in Popayán and who subsequently committed suicide. “Likewise, he condemns the act of sexual violence suffered by a law enforcement officer inside a vandalized police station in the city of Cali on April 29.”

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