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The International Tribunal against Impunity was held November
24-25 in Bogota, Colombia. The Tribunal, organized by KAIROS human
rights partners, focused on widespread human rights abuses and ongoing
impunity. The proceedings included a focus on youth in the communities
of Ciudad Bolivar and Cazuca on the outskirts of Bogota, where 600
youth have been killed at the hands of the paramilitary and the
police in the past five years. The impunity surrounding these crimes
is almost 100%; perpetrators can operate free of any fear that their
crimes will even be investigated, let alone brought to justice.
The Tribunal included an international panel of judges; among them was James Dekker, member of the KAIROS Board for the Christian Reformed Church in North America. He and the other members heard powerful and heart-breaking testimonies from twenty-one courageous witnesses, including youth, children, mothers, fathers and friends of human rights victims. They spoke about forced displacement, extra-judicial killings, forced displacement, torture and sexual abuses. When these crimes were reported to the authorities, the victims faced further harassment and threats.
The jury found the Colombian state guilty on three levels: of failing to protect the rights of its civilians, of complicity in these crimes, and of establishing and promoting a state of impunity. The international community was also found complicit in this impunity through its economic policies and its support for the demobilization process which has legitimized this reign of impunity. What follows is the complete verdict from this International Tribunal.
Verdict of the International Tribunal Against Impunity: The Cases of CIUDAD BOLIVAR and CAZUCA
Bogotá, Colombia
November 25, 2006
1. During the two days in session of the Tribunal against Impunity, November 25 and 25, 2006, in the Elíptico room of the Colombian Congress, the judges learned of the dramatic violations of the most fundamental human rights that have been committed, Crimes against Humanity, and forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
Many inhabitants of Ciudad Bolívar and Cazucá are victims of this systematic and violent practice of using terror and intimidation to deprive people of their lives, their homes, their property, and their land.
There is also undeniable evidence of the practice of forced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, kidnappings, torture, sexual abuse, and intimidation by the army, police, and paramilitary groups in this area. It is necessary to stress that children and young people of both genders are the specific targets of the abuses. The situation represents an intentional policy and practice, and a strategy by government agencies, who use repression against the civilian population either directly or through paramilitary structures, in their quest to consolidate their social, economic, and military goals.
The crimes against the people of Ciudad Bolívar and Cazucá are not isolated acts nor are they secondary or indirect consequences of the armed conflict. They go beyond the realities of urban violence that exist in many cities of the world, and therefore constitute a specific modality of violence, linked to national and international economic, political, and military interests.
The crimes are therefore of the order of crimes against humanity; they include systematic violations of fundamental human rights, such as the right to life and physical integrity, and also violations of economic, social, and cultural rights. The violations are so numerous and involve so many people that the government of Colombia cannot be exonerated from responsibility; according to national and international law, the government has the absolute obligation to protect and guarantee the rights of its citizens.
2. Consequently, the International Tribunal against Impunity declares that: the responsibility of the Colombian government is founded on the serious and unjustified denial of its obligation to guarantee fundamental rights; since it is the obligation of the state to protect its citizens, not fulfilling this obligation makes it responsible for the most serious crime, a crime that has cost the lives of many people and has increased the pain and suffering of thousands and thousands of others. Likewise, the Colombian government is also directly guilty, because of its socio-economic, military policies, and the actions of its police and security forces, which use excessive force, such as: forced disappearances; extrajudicial executions; forced displacements, including intra-urban displacement; torture; sexual abuse; intimidation, arbitrary denial of freedom; limits on freedom of movement, association, and free expression; and not addressing the basic necessities of its population, in order that they may enjoy a life of dignity.
The complicity of the State in Crimes against Humanity and serious violations of fundamental human rights is evident as much in the direct actions of state agents as in the existence of paramilitary groups, who are supported and legitimized by the authorities and offices of control. The State is guilty of complicity because of its direct actions, as well as for permitting and providing incentive for the actions of the paramilitaries, who effectively function as active and passive agents of State policy. The State is also guilty of the situation of blatant impunity.
Above and beyond the lack of protection of the most vulnerable citizens and the carrying out of crimes of Crimes against Humanity, the State has neglected its obligation to correct the situation and to ensure that these crimes are not repeated. The regime of total impunity in terms of the violations of human rights and the reign of terror that the communities of Ciudad Bolívar y Cazucá experience is shocking. The victims and their spokespeople are often not heard, their claims are not taken into account, and investigations are either not carried out or are meaningless. The victims and their family members are bribed, intimidated, or silenced; the crimes are hidden or justified as if they were the result of common delinquency or an effect of the armed conflict.
Impunity is in and of itself a serious crime. It is not simply a passive attitude towards Crimes against Humanity. It is the active institutionalization of injustice. Impunity is falsely justified as a necessary evil, in order to achieve pacification, but peace is not possible without justice, and justice is not possible without truth. On the contrary, promoting a state of impunity denies victims their right to truth, justice, reparation, and the guarantee that these acts are not repeated.
3. The court takes the socio-political context of Colombia into account, including the existence of internal armed conflict. The Tribunal does not deny the existence of insurgency in the nation; although, their participation in the abuses of Ciudad Bolívar and Cazucá was not proven in this Tribunal.
The government considers the insurgents the cause of the paramilitary
phenomenon; however, documents exist that show that the paramilitary
strategy was adopted before the current guerrillas existed. Furthermore,
the argument of the counter-insurgency struggle has no applicability
to these abuses committed in the townships of Ciudad Bolívar
and Cazucá.
Without justifying the prolongation of armed struggle, the Tribunal
affirms that armed conflict is, in and of itself, a symptom of the
social and economic structure, characterized by social injustice.
The existence of insurgent groups has generally corresponded to
widespread poverty, lack of opportunities, and social inequality;
as well as to the imposition of an economic model that favors the
interests of transnational companies, and foreign investment that
benefits the most powerful. This is the principal origin of the
violations of fundamental rights and the crimes against communities.
4. This Tribunal finds guilty not only the Colombian government, but also the international community and transnational corporations, who are complicit in supporting and financing the politics and practices of dirty war of the Colombian government.
The United States is guilty of giving its political and financial support, via Plan Colombia and the current Plan Patriota, which, under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking, imposed a model of economic and social exploitation that has given rise to massive displacements of the rural population in several regions of the nation. Many of these people are inhabitants of Cuidad Bolívar and Cazucá.
The United States is guilty of financing and advising the military
forces of Colombia, who are the real perpetrators of many of the
crimes that are being denounced here. Even worse, the United States
takes economic advantage of this situation, in order to gain contracts
in various areas. The United States is guilty of preventing a negotiated
solution to the armed conflict, when it labels insurgent groups
as terrorists and thereby rejects all non-military solutions.
The European Union is also guilty of complicity for its promotion
and financing of the Law of Justice and Peace, and the system of
reinsertion, since both permit the continuation of unpunished actions
of paramilitaries, and the perpetuation of their social, military
and economic control. Leaving the perpetrators without real sanctions
is a clear institutionalization of impunity.
Other countries are also responsible for the violations of human
rights in Colombia, such as Canada, since it supports the process
of demobilization and thereby legitimizes the reign of impunity.
Transnational corporations from the United States, Canada, Belgium, and Switzerland in Colombia are responsible for this situation, not only for the destructive exploitation of the environment in Colombia and in other parts of the world, but also for being accomplices to the paramilitary apparatus.
In this situation of widespread violations of human rights, the results of a violently imposed domestic economic project can be observed at the same time as the consequences of foreign policy, specifically in the devastating results of the neoliberal framework and, in particular, the imposition of Plan Colombia and Plan Patriota.
5. Therefore, the Tribunal condemns the Colombian government, represented by the president, Mr. Alvaro Uribe Vélez, for not fulfilling its obligation to protect its citizens and not guaranteeing the enjoyment of fundamental rights; for complicity in violations of civil, political, social, economic, and cultural; for maintaining an apparatus of impunity by not investigating, persecuting, or punishing the criminals; for not correcting the justice system and ensuring that crimes are not repeated; and for imposing an economic model at the expense of a life of dignity for the poor.
Furthermore, the Tribunal condemns:
The paramilitary groups in the area, specifically the Capital and Centaur groups and their leaders, for crimes against humanity and for imposing a state of terror on the civilian population.
The repressive apparatuses of the Colombian government, specifically the army, national police, DAS, and ESMAD, for Crimes against Humanity and for not fulfilling their obligation to respect the law.
The Federal Attorney General for not fulfilling its obligation to investigate denunciations and to protect victims and witnesses;
The Ministry of the Interior for not fulfilling its obligation to provide security for the people in situations of forced displacement and for not providing adequate humanitarian aid.
Finally, the Tribunal stresses the political responsibility of the mayoral offices of Soacha and Bogotá, for not providing the necessary infrastructure for people to have a dignified life, according to fundamental rights.
The Tribunal condemns the companies Cemex de México; Holcim de Suiza; and Ladrillera Santa Fe, for environmental destruction; complicity in imposing an economic model; and colluding with paramilitary structures that destroy the social fabric and violate citizens’ rights.
Other countries in the international community are condemned for their complicity in supporting the Colombian government in the imposition of an economic and military model, through financial support and political and moral legitimization.
The Tribunal against Impunity holds the Colombian government directly responsible should any person who has participated in this Tribunal be harassed, persecuted, or have their personal security, integrity or life threatened.
Submitted on November 25, 2006.
| Father Francois Houtart | Belgium |
| Father Javier Giraldo | Colombia |
| Dr. Chistopher Ferguson | Canada |
| Dr. Carmen Karagdag | Philippines |
| Dr. Orlando Fals Borda | Colombia |
| Dr. Patricia Dahl | United States |
| Dr. Alexis Ponce | Ecuador |
| Dr. James Dekker | Canada |
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