Congressional Progressive Caucus
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Chair
Senator Bernie Sanders
2346 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
5100 O'Neill House Office Building
200 C Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20515
TLHRC@mail.house.gov
António Guterres
United Nations Secretary General /
Alice Wairimu Nderitu
Special Advisor on Genocide Prevention
United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention
and the Responsibility to Protect
osapg@un.org
Re: Early Warning:
Urgent Call to United States Congress and International Authorities for Immediate Response to Ongoing State Human Rights Violations and for the Prevention of Acts of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, with Particular Danger to Indigenous Peoples and Organizations in the Context of the National Strike in Colombia
For over a month since the beginning of the national strike in Colombia—with ongoing civilian protests for peace, the right to a dignified life, and basic social, political and economic rights that has garnered the participation of over 15 million people - the international human rights community has observed from afar the inhumane and brutal state repression of fundamental human rights by Colombia’s armed forces, police, and anti-riot (ESMAD) forces.
As human rights organizations based in the United States, we write to denounce the increasing state violence under President Duque’s authoritarian regime and issue an early warning to prevent a massacre of the Colombian people and, in particular, of Indigenous Peoples and organizations such as the Guardia Indígena (Indigenous Guard), the Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca (CRIC, Regional Council of Cauca), and Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia (ONIC, National Indigenous Organization of Colombia), which are in immediate risk of violence in the impending hours. They have already faced deliberate, concentrated threats, attacks, as a result of hate speech intended to stigmatize the protest of the Indigenous movement by branding them “terrorists,” thereby increasing the risk of physical and armed attacks against them.
In the early hours of May 30, 2021, we received various messages of distress from Indigenous leaders in the aforementioned communities. One message read (original in Spanish):
“Our situation in Colombia has become very difficult, even members of government have declared us Indigenous peoples to be “terrorists” because of our participation in the national strike. This declaration puts our lives at risk, along with the physical integrity of each of us, our families, our communities, and territories. This also endangers the civil population of Colombia through a law of repression that seeks to silence the voices of the national strike and the minga in Colombia… we feel a national massacre is on the way.”
The CRIC and ONIC issued statements and a list of demands to the Colombian government which include demands, among others, that the Colombian government:
1) respect human rights and the right to life,
2) offer guarantees for the fundamental civil rights to assemble
and protest,3) the return of disappeared to their families, and
4) further request international monitoring and investigation into crimes being carried out by armed forces and police.
We reiterate those demands and incorporate them herein.
In addition, pursuant to the Leahy Laws, which prohibit the U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense from providing military assistance to foreign security force units that violate human rights with impunity, we ask that Congress immediately cease providing any additional support for the Colombian government via military and police aid, as well as any other funding or continued trade with Colombia.
As one of the United States’ key trading partners in the Americas, Colombia is also the largest recipient of military and police aid. In 2021, over $300 million was requested in military aid. Accordingly, the United States is complicit in the ongoing violence as it is facilitating the militarization of the country and the Colombian government’s repression of mass protests. In the last month alone, over 50 people have been killed, hundreds injured, tortured, disappeared, and targeted for sexual violence.
In the preface to the United Nations preface to Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes, Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated:
“States have the primary responsibility for protecting their own populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. The international community has committed to support each State in this endeavour and, should States manifestly fail in meeting their responsibilities, to take collective action in a timely and decisive manner in line with the United Nations Charter.Colombia is an aggressor against its own people enabled by United States funding.
There is genocide underway in Colombia and crimes against humanity being perpetrated against unarmed civilians in a country where human rights violations languish in impunity. We ask that you take immediate action and call upon you for attention at this critical moment.
Sincerely,
National Lawyers Guild, Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Committee
National Lawyers Guild, International Committee
International Tribunal of Conscience of Peoples in Movement
Semilla Warunkwa – International Office, New York
ProtectTheSacredNYC
TONATIERRA
cc: International & Colombian authorities
Mr. Clément Voule, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association
Ms.Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
Ms.Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders;
The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
Mr. Tae-Ung Baik (Chair), Mr. Henrikas Mickevičius, (Vice- Chair), Ms. Aua Balde, Mr. Bernard Duhaime and Mr. Luciano Hazan
Mr. Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
Mr. Nils Melzer, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Mr. Francisco Cali Tzay, Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples.
GENEVA/ WASHINGTON D.C.(14 May 2021) - UN and OAS human rights experts* today condemned the violent crackdown on peaceful protests in Colombia, and called on the Government to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the reported killings, sexual violence, allegations of torture, and cases of alleged arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance.
“We are deeply distressed by the excessive and unlawful use of force by
police and members of the ESMAD (Mobile Anti-Riot Squad) against
peaceful demonstrators, human rights defenders and journalists across
Colombia,” the experts said.
The experts have received reports of at least 26 killings most of which
being young people, 1,876 cases of police violence, 216 cases of
injuries including police officers, approximately 168 disappearances,
963 alleged arbitrary detentions, at least 12 cases of sexual violence,
as well as allegations of torture. Furthermore, there have been at
least 69 assaults against human rights defenders.
On 28 April 2021, Colombian workers, led by an alliance of trade unions and social groups, began to demonstrate peacefully across Colombia against a series of measures taken by the government, including a tax reform bill that would allegedly deepen inequality. Despite an announcement by the presidency on 2 May that the tax reform bill would be dropped, the protests continued. The vast majority of the protests were peaceful but there were also reports of violence
The experts expressed concern about the military’s involvement in the Government response. They stressed that the military personnel are primarily formed and trained to defend the country against threats of a military nature and should not be used to police assemblies.
The independent experts also expressed alarm at reported violent attacks against the Indigenous Minga in Cali. “We reject any attempt of accusing indigenous peoples of participating with arms in the peaceful protests. Furthermore, we call on the authorities to take measures to prevent the spread of the stigmatization against protestors,” the experts said.
There have been reports of a clampdown on the media, including censorship, internet restrictions, as well as attacks and harassment of journalists. “Colombian authorities must respect freedom of expression and the press, and ensure that journalists can cover the news in safety,” the experts said.
The experts stressed that the use of potentially lethal force is an extreme measure, which may be resorted to only when strictly necessary to protect life or prevent serious injury from an imminent threat. Less lethal weapons, on the other hand, must be employed only subject to strict requirements of necessity and proportionality, where less harmful measures would be ineffective. They called on the authorities to conduct thorough, prompt, effective, impartial and independent investigations into all alleged human rights violations, to hold those responsible to account, and to ensure adequate reparations, including compensation, to victims and their families. They also urged the Government to disclose the whereabouts of all detained persons.
The experts, who have had recent engagement with the Government, urged concerned authorities to respect the right to peaceful assembly during future protests and to ensure that force is used only in compliance with the principles of precaution, necessity and proportionality.” We will continue monitoring developments closely” the experts concluded.
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*The Experts:
Mr. Clément Voule, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; Ms.Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Ms.Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders; The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances:
Mr. Tae-Ung Baik (Chair), Mr. Henrikas Mickevičius, (Vice- Chair),
Ms. Aua Balde, Mr. Bernard Duhaime and Mr. Luciano Hazan; The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention:
Ms. Leigh Toomey (Chair), Ms.Elina Steinerte (Vice-Chair), Mr.Mumba
Malila, Ms.Miriam Estrada-Castillo and Ms. Priya Gopalan; Mr. Morris
Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Mr. Nils Melzer, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and Mr. Francisco Cali Tzay, Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples.
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Huehuecoyotl Interview from
V Continental Indigenous Summit Abya Yala [Colombia]
