 
News Release
Profound Concern Over Human Rights in Colombia
Expressed as President-elect of Colombia Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Makes First Official Visit to Canada
20 June 2002
See also
Calling for justice and respect for human rights, 80 prominent
Canadian organizations - including churches, human rights groups,
trade unions and development organizations - delivered an open letter
to Colombian President-elect Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Uribe,
who is in Canada for a meeting with Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
today, is scheduled to be inaugurated in August.
During the past decade, more than 40,000 Colombians have been
killed in political or socio-politically motivated violence. Human
rights groups in Colombia are documenting a daily average of 20
killings or forced disappearances. Almost one hundred per cent of
these crimes go unpunished. The open letter to Uribe states that
he has "the capacity to reverse this trend and give [his] fellow
citizens a more hopeful future by pursuing a policy in which respect
for the human rights of every Colombian is the cornerstone."
The open letter, written by KAIROS and the America's Policy Group
of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC), raises
particular concerns about statements made by Uribe in recent months
about the need to create a vigilante network. The creation of such
a network disregards the right of the civilian population not to
be involved in conflict situations and risks leading to increased
paramilitarism in Colombia. The letter also raises concerns about
Uribe's intention to change the Colombian Constitution in order
to introduce broad anti-terrorist legislation. In a separate letter
to Prime Minister Chrétien, CCIC, KAIROS, the Canadian Labour
Congress and Rights and Democracy have urged the Prime Minister
to raise these concerns in his meeting with Uribe.
"Successive administrations in Colombia have failed to stop
nightmarish human rights abuses and have excused their inaction
by citing the 'complexity' of the situation in Colombia,' says CCIC's
President and CEO Gerry Barr. "Whether at war or not, President-elect
Uribe must act to ensure that state agents respect fundamental human
rights and the rule of law."
Adds KAIROS Executive Director Patricia Steenberg: "We expect
our Prime Minister to be clear that Mr. Uribe's proposal to create
a civilian vigilante network to work with security forces is not
the road to peace, will only lead to more civilian deaths, and is
not an approach that democratic countries like Canada can support."
 Top
of page
|
