Colombia
14.06.01
Urgent Interventions
Colombia: forced disappearance of 34 persons, among them 12 children in Cacarica, Chocó
Case COL 140601
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed about the presumed forced disappearance of 34 persons, among them 12 children, in the Municipality of Cacarica, Department of Chocó.
According to the information from the Committee of Solidarity with the Political Prisoners Foundation (FCSPP), a member of the OMCT network, 34 persons, among them 12 children, most of them from the settlement community known as “Esperanza de Dios”, in the Municipality of Cacarica, have been missing since June 9 2001, and there is fear that they are being retained by paramilitary groups, since these had previously made serious death threats against the villgers.
A settlement is a community of families that in general have been forcibly displaced from other areas and have together established themselves in a particular place to try to retain their previous way of life.
The reports add that the missing persons were carrying out farm labour outside the settlement; one group in Bijao, one hour from the settlement, other group, in Quebrada del Medio, two hours away. The missing persons, whose names are still unknown, comprised 21 members of the “Esperanza de Dios” community, including 12 children, and 13 peasants of the area who were working near them.
According to the reports received, there has been no word of the 34 persons since Saturday June 9 2001, when at approximately noon, a group of armed men who identified themselves as members of the Autodefensas Campesinas de Córdoba y Urabá burst into the Corregimiento de Bijao. According to the reports, some of the settlers were detained when they were in their fishing boats, and others were detained in the Quebrada del Medio.
The OMCT condemns these extremely violent acts, the persecution against the civilian population, the apparent impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators and the lack of effective protective measures provided by the municipal, governmental and national authorities to prevent these acts, which were all announced by means of threats.
Requested Action:
Please write to the Colombian Authorities urging them to:
i. take all measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned persons, to locate those who are missing and to bring an end to such violent events;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned events, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to justice and apply the civil, penal or administrative sanctions stipulated by law;
iii. fully execute the recommendations made by international and regional human rights organisations, including those of the High Commission for Human Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the Inter.American Human Rights Commission as well as national and governmental human rights organisations;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental liberties in all the country in accordance with national law and international human rights norms.
Addresses
· S.E. Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n .7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566 20 71
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n . 6-54 Piso 3, Santafé de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida el Dorado con Cra. 52, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 29 35; e-mail: siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; pilaque@cgm.mil.co
· Mission Permanente de la Colombie auprès de l’Office de las Nations Unies et des institutions spécialisées a Genève. Chemin du Champ d’Anier 17-19, 1209 Genève. Tel : (+41) 22 798 4554, 798 4555. E-mail: mission.colombia@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Colombia in your respective country.
Geneva, June 14, 2001
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed about the presumed forced disappearance of 34 persons, among them 12 children, in the Municipality of Cacarica, Department of Chocó.
According to the information from the Committee of Solidarity with the Political Prisoners Foundation (FCSPP), a member of the OMCT network, 34 persons, among them 12 children, most of them from the settlement community known as “Esperanza de Dios”, in the Municipality of Cacarica, have been missing since June 9 2001, and there is fear that they are being retained by paramilitary groups, since these had previously made serious death threats against the villgers.
A settlement is a community of families that in general have been forcibly displaced from other areas and have together established themselves in a particular place to try to retain their previous way of life.
The reports add that the missing persons were carrying out farm labour outside the settlement; one group in Bijao, one hour from the settlement, other group, in Quebrada del Medio, two hours away. The missing persons, whose names are still unknown, comprised 21 members of the “Esperanza de Dios” community, including 12 children, and 13 peasants of the area who were working near them.
According to the reports received, there has been no word of the 34 persons since Saturday June 9 2001, when at approximately noon, a group of armed men who identified themselves as members of the Autodefensas Campesinas de Córdoba y Urabá burst into the Corregimiento de Bijao. According to the reports, some of the settlers were detained when they were in their fishing boats, and others were detained in the Quebrada del Medio.
The OMCT condemns these extremely violent acts, the persecution against the civilian population, the apparent impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators and the lack of effective protective measures provided by the municipal, governmental and national authorities to prevent these acts, which were all announced by means of threats.
Requested Action:
Please write to the Colombian Authorities urging them to:
i. take all measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned persons, to locate those who are missing and to bring an end to such violent events;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned events, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to justice and apply the civil, penal or administrative sanctions stipulated by law;
iii. fully execute the recommendations made by international and regional human rights organisations, including those of the High Commission for Human Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the Inter.American Human Rights Commission as well as national and governmental human rights organisations;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental liberties in all the country in accordance with national law and international human rights norms.
Addresses
· S.E. Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n .7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566 20 71
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n . 6-54 Piso 3, Santafé de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida el Dorado con Cra. 52, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 29 35; e-mail: siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; pilaque@cgm.mil.co
· Mission Permanente de la Colombie auprès de l’Office de las Nations Unies et des institutions spécialisées a Genève. Chemin du Champ d’Anier 17-19, 1209 Genève. Tel : (+41) 22 798 4554, 798 4555. E-mail: mission.colombia@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Colombia in your respective country.
Geneva, June 14, 2001