Human rights violations, actions against international humanitarian law, massacres, displacement, terrorism, kidnappings, are these words that our ears have become accustomed to hearing due to the frequency with which they are related, however, we are not accustomed to experience them; it is alien to our will to have to live day to day with this reality, perhaps it would be necessary to be from another planet or galaxy, or to be another type of being, like an animal, not to understand the importance of the situation and how it affects us to all, but it turns out that man, the human being, taking as such his definition without distinction of race, sex, economic position, political party, nationality, and religious or cultural beliefs, is one, is a being object of the right, and with rights, being these, their own, natural,non-transferable, inalienable, and above all inviolable, and this is the key to the tool, the inviolability of human rights, the understanding that our own rights have as limits the rights of others, that we have the freedom to exercise our rights, having as main duty with respect to them the respect of the rights of others, so that our rights are on the same level of equality as those of other people.in such a way that our rights are on the same level of equality as those of other people.in such a way that our rights are on the same level of equality as those of other people.
Constant violations of human rights are outstanding characteristics of the Colombian conflict, a conflict that makes a war that breaks into the daily activities of a farm, a village, a public service vehicle, or a school to the rhythm of the daily life. arrival of armed fighters on a trail or in an ATV.
Sometimes, armed men carefully choose their victims with lists in hand, either for plagiarism, or massacre, or perhaps for the payment of the vaccine that they ordered. Others simply murder those on hand, how practical, to spread terror. In fact, the willingness to commit atrocities is one of the most shocking and not at all touching characteristics of the Colombian war.
Peace and war, issues on numerous agendas, even political flags and electoral campaign issues, just as in the previous presidential election the slogan and campaign banner was peace, today, somewhat discredited due to the lack of seriousness and compliance, it He prefers to focus on the declared war, which is gaining more followers, the inauguration of a new President and the emergence of a broad-based civic movement that has demanded a just and lasting peace have sown new hopes among Colombians about the cessation of political violence. In fact, civilians are leading the initiative to convince the parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and negotiate the cessation of hostilities that is the critical point of the negotiations,because as it could be seen in the experimentation area for the dialogues already extinguished, there was talk of peace while attacks continued.
Some communities drawn into the conflict have attempted to negotiate local agreements with combatants to protect their lives. However, none of the parties to the conflict has respected that decision, which shows how difficult it is to change the behavior of these groups in practice. The peace negotiations have been doomed to failure, mainly due to the lack of fundamental issues, such as impunity for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
Just as the Colombian war does not have established battlefields, neither does it have safe havens. In traditional wars, civilians could flee the line of fire in hopes of saving their lives and the lives of their loved ones. But the Colombian war has no quarter, which in a strict sense means that there is no mercy or refuge, the danger before an attack between the parties is latent, and may be just around the corner, and more so if the attack goes on the sense of groups outside the law against the legitimate forces of the State, which is a very common and applicable situation as an example of war without quarter and which clearly and evidently violates international treaties and the slightest sense of respect for human dignity, so no one is exempt from being the victim of one of those many attacks,from the youngest to the oldest, without respecting sex, or race, or color, or ideology, nothing, from bicycle bombings where innocent children, pregnant women, poor people, to sophisticated and modern airplane hijackings are victims, there is everything, they kidnap the school teacher, the small merchant, as well as kidnap presidential candidates, senators, ministers, who are sometimes killed during their flight when they are pressured by attacks by the armed forces, this situation it has to change. Human Rights Watch holds all parties to the conflict responsible for respecting and defending humanitarian law, aimed at protecting human life in the midst of the armed conflict. In doing this, political recognition is not encouraged,status or approval of any illegal armed organization, which is obviously a wrong statement, as a terrorist group cannot be granted the status of political belligerence. The objective is to promote international standards for the defense of dignity and minimum human coexistence as a means of saving lives and minimizing the suffering of man even in the midst of war.
Our country is governed by article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which is common in all four conventions and which refers to armed confrontations between relatively organized armed forces or groups that occur within the territory of the State, and by the Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions, which applies to non-international armed conflicts in which insurgent forces are highly organized and aimed at the protection of captured civilians and combatants, and to customary international law resulting from general and consistent practice of States marked by a sense of legal obligation.
Thus, at the time of adhering and accepting the conditions of International Law, Colombia and all its parties are obliged to comply with the norms, laws, agreements, conventions, and others in this regard. However, the distance between words and deeds is enormous, as some part of the conflict can actively manipulate the concept of international humanitarian law for clearly political or strategic purposes. There is also a profound disagreement about the terms used in international humanitarian law to define those who do not participate directly in hostilities and the so-called military objectives, such as the example of people who declare people right and left as military objectives, among these there are those that in unfair and irrational judgment are declared as such,based on conditions that supposedly violate or go against the precepts of the armed group that insults the individual, being that the definition for a military objective is anyone that diminishes the enemy's military capacity, except in all cases for physical facilities intended for aid medical and spiritual, such as dispensaries and chapels, and also anyone who may affect the civilian population, and more if it is massively, thus prohibiting the attack on dams, levees, nuclear power plants, hospitals, gardens, recreation centers, or of massive gathering of people among others, the resistance by violent agents to abide by the principles of international humanitarian law in Colombia reflects the intention to justify the constant violations,deliberate and atrocious to the minimum standards necessary for the protection of human life.
Currently, a report appears in the United Nations in which the parties participating in the Colombian conflict appear, and the Police and Army are from the state, the Private Security and Surveillance Services CONVIVIR, the paramilitaries who are part of the Self-Defense Forces United by Colombia AUC, and the three most outstanding guerrilla organizations, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia FARC, the Camilista Union - Army of National Liberation UC-ELN and the Popular Army of Liberation EPL.
The Colombian Army imparts among its officers the foundations of international humanitarian law and makes educational materials available to officers, professional soldiers and recruits, thus the high command emphasizes the importance of human rights and international humanitarian law and its instruction and practice. between officers and their subordinates.
The actions of the paramilitaries belonging to the AUC are like this, in the east of the country they are still a weak force or that has not yet advanced enough, in the rest of the country they have greater control, although it is not possible to speak of their own territories for the violent agents of the conflict, since in each place there is usually someone who promotes violent actions, some groups being stronger than others in certain sectors, and in which they do not have absolute control, they fight among themselves with the aim of dominating the disputed territory.
The National Police has also incorporated the issue of human rights and international humanitarian law into its official discourse, and regularly conducts training on these international standards for its officers.
When the report was produced, the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) included at least seven paramilitary groups: the Autodefensas Campesinas de Córdoba y Urabá (ACCU), the largest and best-known group; the Self-Defense Forces of the Eastern Plains; the Cesar Self-defenses; the Autodefensas del Magdalena Medio, the oldest group; the Self-Defense Forces of Santander and southern Cesar; the Casanare Self-defenses; and the Self-Defense Forces of Cundinamarca.
The AUC also operate independently and have their own command structure, sources of arms and supplies, and operations planning.
The leader of the AUC, Carlos Castaño, who recently declared himself as the political leader of his organization, perhaps with the desire that he be granted political status, has repeatedly declared his willingness to commit his forces to respect international humanitarian law. which if put into practice, would mean an advance in the protection of human life. However, Castaño has also claimed that the characteristics of the Colombian war (with many fighters without uniforms or identification) make strict rules difficult if not impossible to apply. Instead, he has defended a "Creole" version of international humanitarian law, which is incompatible with an essential principle of this law: the protection of surrendered combatants,captured or in any way in a state of defenselessness.
After a detailed review of the cases and interviews in the field, including with Carlos Castaño, it has been concluded that far from trying to respect international humanitarian law, the AUC depend on the explicit, deliberate and systematic violation of these norms to make war. Furthermore, government investigators, members of the Church, humanitarian aid organizations and victims of the AUC agree that they only respect in their speech the protections contained in Common Article 3 and Protocol II. The AUC have repeatedly and unequivocally flaunted their disdain for international standards by committing massacres, murder of civilians and combatants out of combat, torture, mutilation of corpses, death threats, forced displacement, hostage-taking,arbitrary arrest and looting, among other violations.
Even more evident is that the FARC, the largest and oldest Colombian guerilla both in its age and in its ideals which today practically nobody supports except for its members, would have tried to adapt their methods of struggle to international standards. When the FARC consider that there is a political benefit, they show their respect for international humanitarian law. However, in dozens of other cases where there is no clear benefit, the FARC blatantly violate international humanitarian law. Documented violations include planned massacres and killings of civilians, murder of out-of-combat combatants, torture, hostage-taking, looting, and attacks on non-military targets such as ambulances. And again,the FARC deny their participation in these types of violations even when the proof of their responsibility is conclusive, these hypocritical actions that filled the government's cup during the extinct peace process, in which while they talked about peace at the negotiating tables and with the best intentions on the part of the government, to the point of being classified by the harsh criticism as a soft government and absent of authority and a strong hand in this regard, the FARC carried out the most serious and discouraged attacks on the civilian population, which is a characteristic of these groups, they seek to attack the civilian population in their defenselessness, but when it comes to confronting the authority, they flee in terror and are not capable of confronting them head-on but also with cowardly attacks using unconventional weapons such as gas cylinders,attacking police posts, and even dormitories as it happened in a garrison in the country, you have only recently, the times that they have faced frankly with the military forces, their military inferiority against the army has been demonstrated.
For its part, the UC-ELN was one of the first insurgent groups in Colombia to initiate an internal debate on international humanitarian law. Even when Colombia did not want to adopt Protocol II, the UC-ELN demanded negotiations in order to "humanize" the political conflict. However, this openness to negotiation has not yet been reflected in their actual conduct. In fact, the UC-ELN vigorously questions the concepts of international humanitarian law, sometimes to justify tactics that constitute clear violations, and in practice demonstrates a clear disregard for these standards. In this report, we document the planned killings of civilians, the killings of out-of-combat combatants, torture, executions of patients in hospitals, the taking of hostages, and indiscriminate attacks on civilian housing,hospitals and public buses and the use of mines. Furthermore, the UC-ELN violates the ban on attacking non-military targets by systematically placing explosives on Colombian pipelines in order to extort oil companies and demonstrate their political objectives.
The EPL informed Human Rights Watch that it respects international humanitarian law, with certain exceptions. For example, the EPL allows its forces to execute people who participate in paramilitary groups. These exceptions confirm that in fact the EPL commits political assassinations that disguises them as trials. In addition, Human Rights Watch documents violations by the EPL such as the murder of family members of guerrilla deserters and out-of-combat combatants, the taking of hostages, and attacks on non-military targets, such as public buses.
Two other types of violations committed by all parties to the conflict with the exception of legitimate forces are the recruitment of children under the age of fifteen and forced displacement, both prohibited by international humanitarian law.
Article 4 (3) (c) of Protocol II prohibits the recruitment of children under the age of fifteen or allowing them to participate in hostilities. In addition to national legislation that protects the rights of the child, Colombia has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which establishes the minimum age for recruitment at fifteen years.
There is an additional protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in order to increase the minimum age for recruitment and participation in hostilities to 18 years. People under the age of 18 have not reached physical and psychological maturity, and are not prepared to face the harsh conditions of war. For many of the minors who have participated voluntarily or have been forced to provide their services, the experience ends up leaving physical and psychological scars that do not allow them to live or contribute in a peaceful society. All the more reason for the adults, these children need extensive social and psychological rehabilitation after participating in hostilities.
Furthermore, the prohibition on the involvement of children in hostilities should also extend to indirect participation. This is because children who serve in armed groups fulfilling support tasks often end up participating directly in the hostilities. This fact is especially confirmed in conflicts like the Colombian one.
It should be noted that forced displacement is expressly prohibited by article 17 of Protocol II. According to the text of said article, unless the safety of civilians or imperative military reasons require displacement, combatants cannot order or force the transfer of civilians. However, in Colombia, insurgent forces cause displacement without regard to international humanitarian law. Currently, more than a million Colombians have been displaced by violence. Among the main causes of forced displacement are violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Forced displacement is often the result of indiscriminate attacks, terror caused by massacres, targeted killings,torture and threats.
Ideally, all parties should immediately instruct their combatants to strictly abide by the provisions of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and Protocol II. These minimum standards automatically apply to all groups involved in the Colombian armed conflict; Negotiation is not necessary to apply them, so there would be no pretext that since the signing of a peace pact has not been achieved, then violent and terrorist acts are committed indiscriminately.
In the event of reaching a negotiation or a mutual agreement between the parties to the conflict, efforts should be made to favor the maximum, and I would say that the principles of International Humanitarian Law are better in their entirety, and to ensure the protection of human rights in all areas. of the conflict, that is why it is key that if it were not possible to agree an immediate peace in a protocol manner, if it would be possible to reduce the intensity of the confrontations by humanizing the war, and thus remaining one step away from true peace, because for my concept it would not be effective signing a peace and after that continue to ignore the rights of the people, the legitimate rights to which man has a right, then it is necessary to achieve an end to the killings of people who are not directly involved in the conflict,including the execution of detainees after the completion of alleged trials.
Protected persons are not only civilians who do not participate directly in hostilities, but also civilians whose views may be partisan, cessation of killings of out-of-combat combatants, cessation of torture, cessation of the mutilation of corpses, cessation of death threats against civilians, including the threat to consider civilians "military targets", cessation of attacks on religious or health personnel who carry out their duties protected by international humanitarian law, respect for structures and vehicles marked with the distinctive From the International Red Cross, all forces must stop using, importing, producing and storing antipersonnel mines, which by definition are indiscriminate weapons prohibited by international humanitarian law.
The prohibition on the participation of children in hostilities should not be limited to “direct” participation, but should include the participation of minors in support tasks, since the children who provide these services usually participate directly in hostilities afterwards.
All sides must eliminate practices that cause forced displacement and instruct their combatants to avoid the forced displacement of civilians.
All sides must adopt clear rules on the installation of checkpoints to avoid the death of civilians. It must be made clear to combatants that extrajudicial killings at roadblocks are absolutely prohibited under international humanitarian law.
Attacks against democratically elected officials, electoral candidates and others who express political opinion are also repugnant from all points of view, armed groups must stop attacking civilians for the simple fact that they have expressed an opinion with which they are not In agreement, an issue that has been demonstrated in the threats against journalists or characters who in some way have the power to communicate irregularities to the public, and it is more that every time someone manifests the irregular and anti-humanist behaviors they have breathing on their man the ghost of intimidation and the veto of freedom of expression.
It is important and priority that the parties to the conflict negotiate points such as, a mechanism to improve the location and identification of the “disappeared,” wounded and fallen in combat, and assist in the evacuation tasks of protected civilians from the combat areas; a mechanism to establish zones in combat areas for the protection of civilians and the treatment of wounded; a mechanism to adequately identify and signal health and religious buildings, historical and cultural monuments and areas where danger zones exist, such as dams, dams and nuclear power plants - if any - given that according to article 15 of Protocol II they are protected. Combatants must be instructed to refrain from attacking these facilities.At the same time, the population should be educated on the meaning of these international symbols.
All parties should officially invite the International Commission of Inquiry, created by the Geneva Conventions, to visit Colombia and initiate the investigation into allegations of violations of international humanitarian law.
Insurgent groups must adopt clear rules of engagement that reflect the principles of international humanitarian law. Commanders should be required to evaluate planned attacks against the rules of international humanitarian law and demonstrate to their superiors that excessive harm will not be done to the civilian population. If a violation has been proven to occur, immediately share the evidence with the International Commission of Inquiry.
On the part of the government, a more official attitude towards the protection of Human Rights can be taken, fully adhering to International Humanitarian Law, judging before the law and repelling any anti-smoking act.
The Colombian government must begin by establishing before international organizations and record by means of a law which are the violent groups and how they violate human rights, as well as defining them within a classification, in the best style of the United States that I present to the world a detailed list of terrorist groups and made clear their repudiation against them and their decision to confront them, and that three of them are Colombians, specifically directly responsible for the armed conflict in Colombia, the two “guerrilla” groups and the self-defense groups, FARC, ELN, AUC, made it clear that the quotation marks on the word guerrillas are not to exalt these groups, but because of the doubt that remains about whether these groups should continue to be classified as such,and the best thing would be to create a general concept at the national level and start naming you according to their acts, and since the acts they carry out are not properly defending ideals and defending the rights of the people, quite the contrary, these organizations seem to have attacked at the spearhead against the Colombian people, being their own acts of terrorism.
Human rights defenders are one of the groups most exposed to risks in Colombia. The Colombian government should take immediate measures to protect the lives of human rights defenders and carry out thorough and credible investigations into every complaint filed in relation to human rights violations.
Officers of the armed forces on whom substantiated allegations of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law weigh must be immediately suspended pending a serious and credible investigation. If the accusations are sustained, these officers must be tried by civil courts, not by military courts, in accordance with the August 1997 judgment of the Constitutional Court, or by military courts, but which includes international standards in this regard.
In Colombia, important cases related to officials accused of serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have never been adequately investigated or prosecuted, in part because the statute of limitations that affects the internal investigations of the Office of the Attorney General have prevented such legal actions. The government must declare all the statutes of limitations that affect these serious crimes, both for administrative and criminal proceedings, unenforceable.
The Colombian government must propose, strongly support, fully apply, and decisively defend and respect laws that penalize violations of international humanitarian law.
The government of President Andrés Pastrana if possible, or that of the new leader who enters to govern the destinies of the country, should immediately repeal the laws that violate Colombia's legal obligations in accordance with international humanitarian law, including the legislation that created the regional courts of public order that do not satisfy the guarantees of due process required by both Article 6 of Protocol II and by the human rights treaties ratified by Colombia, such as the American Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. No new cases should be referred to the regional courts. The government must appoint an independent commission chaired by the Attorney General to review existing convictions.If violations of due process are discovered during such review, the sentences should be reversed and cases re-tried in procedures guaranteeing due process.
Avoid the blurring of the dividing line between civilians and combatants and they have committed serious and repeated violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. So far, the reforms that have been promoted have not confronted the fundamental problems of control and responsibility.
The executive branch is called upon to express its clear support for the civil authority in Colombia. In particular, governors-elects, mayors, members of municipal councils, and civil leaders should not be subject to military surveillance unless an independent judicial authority has confirmed that there is compelling evidence of the commission of a crime, since pedagogical movements but that can be effective when applying them in a general way, such as civil resistance, which does not imply the use of weapons, but a rejection of the entire civilian population in the face of acts of terrorism, which has paid off positive in the country.
Human Rights Watch has advised the Colombian State to ratify the Convention on the Prohibition, Use, Storage, Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and their Destruction (Treaty on the Prohibition of Mines) as soon as possible, and that it already respect the treaty. until its due ratification. In this sense, Colombia must initiate the destruction of the stored antipersonnel mines and the process of identification, marking, observation and cleaning of its mined areas.
Colombian security forces must be professionalized. The achievement of this objective must be reflected in a significant reduction in violations of international humanitarian law, such as the murder of civilians or combatants out of combat, torture of detainees and death threats. Furthermore, a greater degree of professionalism requires eradicating ties to paramilitarism and vigorous efforts to capture those who must be prosecuted for these criminal activities.
Many of those who need instruction in international humanitarian law are not legal professionals and need real-life examples to understand the principles. The review committee must be independent and chaired by the Office of the Prosecutor General, and must include representatives of the Ombudsman, the ICRC, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and human rights organizations, as well as internationally recognized experts.
The ELN frequently attacks Colombian pipelines and has become a specialist in the matter, placing all Colombians in distress, in order to extort oil companies and record their political opposition to the way in which these multinational corporations operate in Colombia. and not, as required by international humanitarian law, to gain a significant military advantage. For its part, the government alleges that the oil spills that occur as a result of these attacks damage the soil and water of the peasants who depend on these resources for their subsistence, which, if true, would violate Article 14 of the Protocol. II, and by the way I relate here the attack in which the USO union leader lost his life, coincidence or not, remains to draw conclusions about,who has sought to hinder the oil companies alleging that the oil money is taken by the multinationals.
It is necessary for the government to adopt immediate measures for the full application of Law 387, which stipulates the protection and assistance to forced displaced persons. The protection of human rights and compliance with international humanitarian law are fundamental elements of any acceptable long-term solution to the problem of displacement, and any future legislation related to forced displacement must incorporate all these principles, support the return of the forced displaced to their homes only when the safety of these civilians can be fully guaranteed and that their return occurs voluntarily.
Specifically, on the part of the groups calling themselves guerrillas, acts must be manifested that demonstrate that they really respect Human Rights, and that they abide by International Humanitarian Law, perhaps in this way they can regain their name as guerrillas and that if they really want to help the Colombian people, stop attacking it, make revolution in a peaceful way, accept people's rejection of their violent actions and agree to a peace, reaching reciprocal agreements, or if it is not possible due to thematic differences, that at least it be decreased the intensity of the conflict and humanize the war, seeking an end soon, subject to solutions.
It is therefore evident that the AUC and the guerrillas have not respected the most fundamental principles that characterize an independent and impartial tribunal in accordance with the provisions of Article 6 of Protocol II. Therefore, these groups must not implement “sentences” based on these illegal and detestable procedures, they must negotiate a mechanism to release, with the appropriate security measures, combatants taken out of combat.
The AUC and the guerrillas must unilaterally and unconditionally cease the practice of hostage-taking, all their combatants must publicly abide by the terms of the Mine Ban Treaty and suspend the use, storage, production and marketing of antipersonnel mines and must, in addition, destroy those that are in their power.
The participation of the international community is important and favorable, to the extent that the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia, its Director and its staff continue their important work of documenting complaints of rights violations. human rights and international humanitarian law. In addition, to the Special Representative of the United Nations General Secretariat on Forced Displacement, to return to Colombia for a follow-up visit.
The European Union as an international participant of support and oversight of the Colombian internal conflict and of the search for a peaceful negotiation to it.
The European Union has a moral as well as official obligation, according to the terms of the cooperation agreement with Colombia, to continue pressuring the authorities and all parties to the conflict to end the violations of the rights of the civilian population and, in addition To hold those responsible for the commission of such violations accountable, must increase the resources of the European Community Humanitarian Organization (ECHO) to support the forced displaced people of Colombia. In addition, the European Commission must increase resources to non-governmental human rights organizations, as well as support the financing of the Human Rights Unit of the Attorney General's Office,with the purpose of strengthening its task of documenting violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Colombia.
The United States has a very important role to play in Colombia because of its close ties and the support it provides to the Colombian security forces. Respect for and defense of human rights and international humanitarian law must be a fundamental component of US policy toward Colombia.
The United States government must continue to apply Section 570 of the Foreign Operations Budget Decree, called the Leahy Amendment, and must strengthen the oversight of military units that receive US military aid. The amendment prohibits the release of funds to any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the State Department has credible evidence that said unit has committed serious human rights violations, unless the Department determines and reports to the Congressional Budget Committees that the government in question is taking effective measures to bring members of the responsible security forces unit to justice.The State Department has also made the important decision - which has been received with satisfaction - to apply the spirit of the Leahy Amendment at a broader level to include all kinds of aid, such as presidential aid. These conditions have been crucial in making the Colombian security forces understand that the United States considers human rights to be a fundamental aspect in bilateral relations. This idea needs to be reinforced with aggressive US supervision of units receiving aid, including ensuring that soldiers accused of committing abuse will be properly and promptly investigated and, if held responsible, prosecuted by an independent court. and competent.like presidential aids. These conditions have been crucial in making the Colombian security forces understand that the United States considers human rights to be a fundamental aspect in bilateral relations. This idea needs to be reinforced with aggressive US supervision of units receiving aid, including ensuring that soldiers accused of committing abuse will be properly and promptly investigated and, if held responsible, prosecuted by an independent court. and competent.like presidential aids. These conditions have been crucial in making the Colombian security forces understand that the United States considers human rights to be a fundamental aspect in bilateral relations. This idea needs to be reinforced with aggressive US supervision of units receiving aid, including ensuring that soldiers accused of committing abuse will be properly and promptly investigated and, if held responsible, prosecuted by an independent court. and competent.This idea needs to be reinforced with aggressive US supervision of units receiving aid, including ensuring that soldiers accused of committing abuse will be properly and promptly investigated and, if held responsible, prosecuted by an independent court. and competent.This idea needs to be reinforced with aggressive US supervision of units receiving aid, including ensuring that soldiers accused of committing abuse will be properly and promptly investigated and, if held responsible, prosecuted by an independent court. and competent.
The training and equipment that the United States Department of Defense provides to units of the Colombian security forces must be subject to the inspection procedures established in the Leahy Amendment. Human Rights Watch believes that US policy should be consistent with its defense of human rights and international humanitarian law, and that all US security assistance, including training, should be subject to the proper procedures of the Leahy Amendment.
In order to strengthen the rule of law and promote human rights, we urge the United States to publicly support the work of the Office of the Human Rights Unit of the Attorney General's Office and, in addition, allocate financial resources to support its work, it must reform its drug trafficking certification processes and ensure that courses on human rights continue to be provided to state actors and international humanitarian law, including in
At risk in Colombia today are business owners such as truckers, peasants, teachers, doctors, community leaders, street vendors, and laundresses.
The conflict in Colombia is not only a battle for control of the territory, it is also waged in the hearts and minds of its people, a cruel reversal of the strategy of gaining popular support from the Vietnam War era. In Colombia, it is not usual to try to gain loyalty, only to punish it when armed men believe that it exists.
In fact, the use of extreme measures and the will to deliberately commit atrocities to spread terror are some of the most shocking characteristics of the Colombian war. The combatants communicate with their enemies and with the majority of the population in a language composed exclusively of corpses, without words.
Despite the increasing attention being paid to human rights and international humanitarian law, the effects of the Colombian war on the civilian population intensified in 1997. According to the Colombian Commission of Jurists (CCJ), which compiles information on Violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, during that year 2,183 people were murdered for political reasons in Colombia.
The murders increase with the proximity of political events, such as the elections, and for the sample a button today, in which all kinds of characters related to the political world are victims, although according to things today any citizen can be white The potential of subversive attacks, such is the case, that in Colombia there is no death penalty, but more people are executed than in the United States, just for thinking differently, just for wanting to live a normal life.
Most of the murder victims are male. Women and children dominate the ranks of the forcibly displaced. On occasions, the guerrillas or the paramilitaries have murdered women because they are the family of a suspected enemy or because they were investigating the death of a relative or colleague.
The fighters also persecute civilians based on their occupation. The most dangerous professions are often the most day-to-day professions, such as a business owner, bus driver, street vendor, or teacher. The key is that according to his profession, the civilian is more likely to come into contact with an adversary. For example, on February 3, 1996, ACCU members took a basic education teacher who worked near Chigorodó, Antioquia, from his home and allegedly threatened him with recruiting boys for the guerrillas. After his release, he did not want to leave his home. Three days later, residents found his mutilated corpse in a paddock outside the village, so vulnerable people have two options, or succumb to intimidation or death.
Defending human rights is also a dangerous profession. In 1997, 15 defenders were assassinated, including some personeros, the municipal officials in charge of receiving complaints from the public about rights violations. Antioquia is one of the most dangerous departments for human rights work, but it is not for that fact that you should be intimidated and continue to work for human rights.
In February 1998, three assassins shot and killed the human rights lawyer Jesús María Valle, President of the Permanent Committee for Human Rights "Héctor Abad Gómez" of Antioquia, in his office in Medellín. He was the fourth chairman of the committee assassinated since 1987. Less than two months later, three murderers killed human rights lawyer Eduardo Umaña in his Bogotá apartment.
Where they live can also be a sentence for civilians. A government researcher called it a "Macartization" of entire towns.
For example, in a 1997 government intelligence report reviewed by Human Rights Watch, all Recetor residents, Casanare, were described as guerrillas or collaborators, simply because they lived in a guerrilla operation area, and there is no need to going to the extremes of stigmatism, being that most likely the majority of the inhabitants of that population should not agree with the armed groups, let alone when intimidated by them, it is illogical to think that the peasants and inhabitants of the places that are presumed to be under the power of an armed guerrilla or paramilitary group are going to support them for that reason alone, the case here is not that they support them only that they face the dilemma of collaborating for good or for good. bad,Such error has reached such a point of accusing entire towns of belonging to one of the sides, which exposes them to the risk of attacks, according to Álvaro Gómez, the former Regional Defender of Antioquia.
Even the most common civil chores can turn into death traps. Boarding a bus, buying meat, or sharing a meal can compromise civilians in full view of combatants. For example, on July 20, 1996, at a routine Army roadblock, soldiers informed the driver of an interstate bus carrying 26 passengers that there were guerrillas in the area. Despite the obvious risk involved for passengers, the Army commander ordered the driver to transport six soldiers to a later location on the highway so that they could mount a new roadblock. At their destination, the soldiers left the bus that continued its usual route. A few minutes later, the guerrillas, who apparently believed that the soldiers were still on board,They opened fire on the bus. The guerrillas killed the driver, his assistant, and a nursing assistant who was riding the bus. Five more passengers were injured, including a four-year-old boy, causing a confusing confrontation in which the only victim was the civilian population, who perhaps in this case was not even aware of what was happening around them.
International humanitarian law has a long and complex history rooted in humanity's attempts to limit the damage that war causes to civilians and fighters who have been wounded or captured. In modern times, countries codified international humanitarian law in the Hague Regulations of 1899 and 1907 and in the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which deal mainly with conflicts between States.
Article 3 Common to the Geneva Conventions is practically a treaty within another treaty. This is the only provision of the Geneva Conventions that directly applies to internal armed conflicts (as opposed to international ones).
Unlike international conflicts, the laws governing internal armed conflicts do not recognize the privilege of combatants and therefore do not offer any special statute for combatants, even when they are captured.
Thus, the Colombian government has no obligation to grant prisoners of war status to members of independent state groups. Likewise, it is not necessary to grant said status to government fighters captured by other parties to the conflict. However, either party may agree to treat those captured as prisoners of war.
In 1995, Colombia attempted to put the Protocols into practice through popular education and training of the security forces.
With the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a government commission has been preparing legislation that criminalizes violations of Protocol II as crimes within the Colombian penal code and has framed humanitarian aid programs to assist forced displaced persons., which are discussed later.
The agreement that allowed the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to establish a permanent office in Colombia was a notable advance. Part of the office's mandate is to report violations of international humanitarian law.
In May 1998, President Ernesto Samper signed a law punishing people who misuse the red cross emblem and guaranteeing the protection of the ICRC's work.
The guerrilla has alleged in several interviews that although they defend international norms in theory, they do not accept Protocol II since it was not directly negotiated with them. In fact, the international community made a serious effort to include non-state groups in the conference for the adoption of the Protocols. In total, eleven such groups participated in the conference, including the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the South West African Peoples Organization (SWAPO).
During the conflict in El Salvador, the Farabundo Martí Front for National Liberation (FMLN) publicly announced its decision to abide by both Common Article 3 and Protocol II, which the government had refused to apply although it had ratified them.
For his part, the leader of the AUC, Carlos Castaño, has repeatedly declared his willingness to commit to his forces respecting international humanitarian law, but he relativizes his support by demanding that Colombia needs a "Creole" version of international humanitarian law, adapted to the type of irregular war in Colombia and that specifically allows the execution of combatants out of combat.
The application of international humanitarian law does not depend on the discretion of any of the parties to the conflict. Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions applies automatically when there is objectively a situation of armed conflict. Protocol II is applied when the forces confronted in an internal conflict, under the direction of a responsible command, exercise such control that it allows them to carry out sustained and concerted military operations and apply Protocol II, all of which is clearly fulfilled in Colombia in certain measure, since after the events of September 11, 2001 in the United States, the concept of terrorism gained vitality and currency among the international community,and since the three outlaw armed actors of the Colombian conflict are included in said report as such.
The use of antipersonnel mines by all parties to the conflict is already prohibited in accordance with provisions of international humanitarian law that protect civilians from indiscriminate attacks and provide that the parties refrain from using weapons that cause disproportionate harm to civilians. Given that the Mine Ban Treaty has been signed by two thirds of the world's governments, this agreement is establishing a new global consensus against antipersonnel mines.
In Colombia, there are some established mechanisms to promote compliance with international humanitarian law. For example, Common Article 3 states that humanitarian organizations such as the ICRC can offer humanitarian services during the armed conflict if invited to do so. In Colombia, the ICRC has advised the government since 1969. Two days after Protocol II entered into force in 1996, the ICRC and the Colombian government signed a new agreement that allows the ICRC freedom of movement within Colombia and that It maintains contacts with all the armed groups.
Although clearly limited given the magnitude of the violations, the ICRC's role is essential. Its representatives visit hostages and detainees, supervise their release when invited to do so, offer information and training to parties on international humanitarian law, assist civilian victims and wounded, and, where appropriate, present cases of alleged violations.
In the future, the International Criminal Court may offer stronger mechanisms for the application of international humanitarian law.
The Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is already trying individuals accused of violating Common Article 3. As the Tribunal for Yugoslavia has determined, “customary international law imposes individual criminal liability for serious violations of Common Article 3, as stipulated by other principles and general norms for the protection of victims of internal armed conflicts, and for violating certain fundamental principles and norms related to methods of combat in civil conflict.
Similarly, the UN Security Council expressly empowered the International Tribunal for Rwanda to prosecute people for crimes against humanity, including systematic murder or torture. Individual criminal liability under the statutes of the Courts for Yugoslavia and Rwanda applies to a person who has committed or ordered serious crimes such as massacres and hostage-taking.
It would then be magnificent for the Colombian victims of the conflict, that is, all, to be able to bring cases of human rights violations before high international criminal courts, and that justice be done, and that all those directly responsible be sentenced with all legal arguments. of the great Colombian chaos, at the head of the guerrilla and paramilitary leaders, as well as providing the country with all the help it needs to build a clean democracy based on respect for people and that any violent act or not be monitored under the norms of international humanitarian law.
It is difficult to refer to the guerrillas as a militarily organized group, because inside they created militias, whose strategy of recruiting by force, who may not be in the bush, but are the ones that cause the most damage, due to their character that goes out of the formal thing as far as the war, although it seems that they apply that thing that in the war everything is shut up, and this is evident, when they carry out the terrorist acts there are more than five people who can organize those facts, that although they do not involve a large volume in the movement of troops if they cause almost irreparable damage, collaborating not with progress as they proclaim, but on the contrary, lead us to a setback in development. Paramilitaries routinely classify civilians as combatants simply for crossing paths with guerrillas,share a drink of water or witness the passage of an armed unit.
In addition, the sides regularly attack civilians and targets without a military character, in clear violation of international humanitarian law. However, they are seldom responsible for errors.
In this sense, the case of Colombia is not unique. The parties to many internal conflicts blur the dividing line that separates civilians from combatants, and attempts are made to apply the narrowest possible definition of "civilians" to justify attacks on those suspected of loyalty to their enemies.
A civilian may also be someone who previously participated in hostilities, but who has ceased to participate. In Colombia, all men are required to perform 12 to 24 months of compulsory military service. During their time in the Army, these people are fighters. However, when they stop taking part in hostilities, they are civilians and are protected by international humanitarian law.
Civilian employees of a group of fighters, such as mechanics, and civil aviation teams that transport military personnel, material, and supplies are also protected.
In order to define military objectives, it is necessary to refer to Article 52 (2) of Protocol I, which says that military objectives are limited to those that by their nature, location, purpose or use contribute to military action. Although Protocol I applies only to international conflicts, it is an important guide because it defines and develops legal concepts used in other legal instruments. The total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization of the military objective must offer in the circumstances of the case a definite military advantage. Both conditions must be present for an object to be considered a legitimate military objective.
The time element is essential. An object that has a civil utility may at a given moment grant a defined military advantage to one of the parties and satisfy the conditions that define a military objective. For example, if paramilitaries detect a guerrilla column using a bridge to transport supplies or as a regular transit location and there are no civilians present, the bridge may be a military target, since its destruction would offer a definite military advantage. However, the bridge may not be considered a military target the next day, when farmers are using it to bring products to market. In that case, there is no defined military advantage at the time and its destruction would be a violation.
But it is clear that in Colombia the preferred objectives of the armed groups are not military and rather if they have characteristics such as public, necessary for the population, their damage implies delay in development, sometimes irreparable damage, for example attempts of attacks against the dam in the Chingaza aqueduct system that visibly if the fact had been consummated, would have caused immeasurable damage to Bogotá and all its surrounding municipalities, or the attack poisoning the water of the Pasto aqueduct, the attacks on the towers of energy, which increasingly weaken the electrical interconnection system, leaving countless people without light, in addition to the fact that the damages caused by the guerrillas to the power towers are charged to the user in the bills, and that which they supposedly advocate through the village,and they allege that they help the poor and the needy, when in reality they generate poverty, anxiety, fear, delay, pain, displacement, hunger, death and all the bad consequences that one can imagine, because the truth is that if an organized war of international character does nothing good, then a conflict like the one Colombia is experiencing is worse.
In an influential manual used by the United States Air Force, language similar to Protocol I is used when it is warned, in article 57 that “when conducting military operations, care must be constantly taken to avoid harm to the civilian population… and civilian objects. " The manual emphasizes that, in each attack, commanding officers "will take all possible precautions in choosing the manner and method of attack with a view to avoiding, and in any case minimizing, the incidental loss of civilian lives, injuring civilians and damaging civilian objects. ” If it is impossible to minimize the harm to civilians, "the attack must be canceled or suspended, and it is a language that should be handled responsibly by the agents of violence, making it clear that if they want to fight, that they fight well,without filth or inferiority towards the civilian population.
However, even when a target is clearly military, the parties to the conflict do not have an unlimited license to attack. Article 51 (5) (b) of Protocol I considers indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks to be carried out when it is expected that they will incidentally cause deaths and injuries among the civilian population, or damage to civilian property, or both, that would be excessive in relation to the specific and direct military advantage envisaged.
Among other cases, the principle of proportionality applies to guerrilla attacks on towns where there are considerable civilian casualties and damage to civilian objects, such as shops, houses and churches. In many cases, it was clear that the guerrillas had taken very few, if any, precautions to minimize excessive harm to civilians and that they had frequently attacked when there was little, if any, military advantage. Clearly, poor intelligence work and unforeseen circumstances can cause unintended harm. However, combatants cannot claim to have made a mistake if there is evidence that they have failed to take into account the obvious risks to civilians or have failed to make a reasonable assessment of possible harm.
However, it should be noted that the principle of proportionality in no way justifies or ignores civilian victims that may result from an attack. If a force suspects that an attack may cause civilian suffering, the attack must be suspended or canceled until the commandos can take specific measures to avoid or minimize civilian casualties.
Just as they are required to consider a person as a civilian if there is any doubt about their status, combatants must also refrain from attacking a normally civilian target if there is any doubt about the use being made of it.
A civilian object can only lose its protected status through a use that is only incidentally related to warfare, but which contributes effectively to the military aspect of the general war campaign of one of the parties. For example, a power plant that supplies power to a military base may be classified as a military objective since it contributes directly to the combative capacity of a party to the conflict, but if it affects ordinary citizens, it ceases to be a military objective.
Thus, attacks on the Colombian pipeline almost always constitute violations since their destruction does not offer a direct military advantage.
The UC-ELN itself has said that it does not attack the pipeline for military reasons, but to protest against Colombian economic policy. They allege that the attacks are justified because oil provides the government with the money to finance the war. However, Human Rights Watch rejects this logic as dangerous and lacking in international humanitarian law, since it could be used to justify any attack on a source of government revenue, such as taxpayers.
In 1997, according to the Political Violence Data Bank, administered by the Center for Research and Popular Education (CINEP) and the Inter-congregational Commission for Justice and Peace (Justicia y Paz), which collects information on violations of human rights and law international humanitarian, there were 185 massacres in Colombia.
Although the massacres may appear as the fruit of chaos and disorder, in reality they are mostly the result of carefully weighed and calculated plans to promote terror. In a single blow, the massacres eliminate people close to or considered close to the opposition side, and punish an entire family or population for the alleged acts of one or some of its members. The subsequent threat to those who survive, witness or hear of a massacre is evident. If someone has had contact or is considered to have had contact with the enemy, it is better to flee.
Fighters often allege that they have killed people found guilty of a crime (such as supporting their enemies) in a trial. Human Rights Watch found no evidence that the AUC or the guerrillas can guarantee the fair trial required by international humanitarian law. In fact, none of these groups has seriously attempted to defend that their trials meet these conditions.
In fact, they are summary executions disguised as judicial proceedings and a detestable violation of international humanitarian law.
The Data Bank registered 150 cases of torture in 1997, 141 of them attributed to paramilitary groups. Victims are often tortured before they are summarily executed.
As noted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in its 1998 report, torture is reported far below its actual level in Colombia. Many of those tortured are only included in the lists of victims of enforced disappearance or extrajudicial execution.
The mutilation of bodies is also clearly prohibited under international humanitarian law. Both torture and mutilation can be used to threaten other people, in violation of the prohibition against acts of terrorism and threats of violence.
Currently, 1,006 cases of enforced disappearances in Colombia have been presented to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, most committed by paramilitary groups.
In 1997, the Working Group received 16 new cases.
Below are the cases of hostage taking. According to the ICRC, hostages are “people who are, voluntarily or involuntarily, in the hands of the enemy and who respond with their freedom or their life to the fulfillment of orders.
Although the international press has paid more attention to international hostages, Colombian citizens are by far the largest number of victims. According to País Libre, a non-governmental organization that studies the phenomenon popularly known as kidnapping to extort money or obtain political concessions, at least 1,693 people were kidnapped in 1997, more than half of them by the guerrillas. In the same period, the paramilitaries were held responsible for 26 kidnappings.
In the first quarter of 1998 alone, 509 kidnappings were reported, an increase of 25 percent over the same period in 1997.
Most of the hostages fall into the hands of the guerrillas, who deny their participation in the hostage-taking. For example, the UC-ELN affirms that the victims are “held” and that these acts are not violations, since the ransoms or political concessions obtained with their release do not benefit individual guerrillas, but the entire organization.
However, there is an international consensus that this is a hostage-taking when something is demanded in exchange for liberation, be it money or political concessions. The taking of hostages is prohibited by Article 1 (b) of Article 3 Common to the Geneva Conventions and by Article 4 (2) 8 of Protocol II. Under international humanitarian law, hostage-takers seek in some way to influence the conduct of third parties by threatening a hostage with physical harm; the definition is based on the weakening of a hostage held by a party to the conflict and the possibility of being exchanged for a concession by a third party. In fact, the ICRC's definition is very little different from that which appears in authorized dictionaries, such as the Royal Academy Dictionary,which defines hostage as "a person detained by someone as a guarantee to compel a third party to meet certain conditions."
In all cases in which a person is detained or taken hostage, combatants have an obligation to treat him humanely and, when his release is planned, to guarantee his well-being during the release.
These cases are followed by attacks on health workers and facilities and disrespect for the red cross emblem. Few prohibitions are as clear in international humanitarian law as that of not damaging medical facilities and vehicles and health professionals simply by caring for the wounded, regardless of whether they are combatants or civilians. Ambulances and official hospitals are not the only protected facilities; Any structure or vehicle marked with the red cross symbol and used exclusively at any given time to care for the wounded must be respected.
The next category of violations are actions that harm or threaten the civilian population. In this category we include the use of mines and the indiscriminate use of bombs; indiscriminate attacks and attacks that violate the principle of proportionality and cause excessive harm to the civilian population; attacks on essential assets for the survival of the civilian population, such as drinking water; and looting.
The Mine Ban Treaty in all circumstances prohibits the use of antipersonnel mines. Being delayed-action weapons, they are not intended to have an immediate effect, but are prepared, concealed, and remain dormant until detonated. However, they are not only detonated by combatants, but whichever is the first to activate their mechanism. They are by nature indiscriminate weapons.
In Colombia, mines are usually installed in the perimeters of the guerrillas' quarters, or are left behind by the guerrillas to delay the persecution by the armed forces. But generally these sites are often found in or near civilian areas, civilians and their children are frequent victims of mines. According to the Ombudsman's Office, in 1995 and 1996, 44 children died from detonations of mines in Colombia.
As far as we know, the mines used in Colombia are rudimentary and never self-destruct.
Booby traps fall into a similar category when used indiscriminately. Also, when the bombs are disguised as non-military objects, such as books, or placed inside or near corpses, in which case a subterfuge is used and therefore they can violate the perfidy prohibition, a concept that is part of customary international law and defined as gaining the trust of a person, betraying that trust and making the adversary believe that the person responsible for a perfidious act has the right to the protection of international humanitarian law.
Other types of violations, such as the lack of precautions in attacks to avoid harm to the civilian population and its objects. These types of violations sometimes occur during the temporary occupation of towns, or takings. Although the captures are not violations in themselves, since the towns contain military targets, such as security forces bases, military vehicles and troops, the force involved does not usually distinguish these targets and determine if an attack can cause excessive damage to civilian persons or facilities. Other tactics employed during the captures (such as the execution of wounded or surrendered police officers, indiscriminate fires that kill or injure civilians, and looting) are blatant violations.
Unfortunately, examples of IHL violations abound. The victims of war are increasingly civilians. However, there have been significant cases in which IHL has enabled things to change, either by protecting civilians, prisoners of war, the sick and the wounded, or by limiting the use of inhuman weapons.
Since IHL is applied in periods of extreme violence, respecting it will always pose great difficulties. However, it is more important than ever to ensure its effective application.
We can all make an important contribution to the application of international humanitarian law, either through governments and organizations, or individually.
International humanitarian law, which protects human beings against the consequences of war, concerns us all. However, it is not well known.
We must make something clear, that war is not good at all, and it is reprehensible from any point of view, it is more, it is prohibited.
The Charter of the United Nations says it clearly: it is illegal to resort to the threat or the use of force against other States. Since 1945, war is no longer an acceptable way to resolve disputes between States. So why speak of international norms applicable to armed conflicts (therefore, to war) and their effects, if the use of force in international relations is prohibited in the Charter?
It turns out that the use of force has not been fully prohibited in the Charter of the United Nations. In fact, in the case of making use (lawful or illicit) of force, States retain the right to defend themselves, individually or collectively, against attacks that threaten their independence or their territory; The prohibition to resort to force, set forth in the Charter, does not apply to internal armed conflicts (or civil wars); Chapter VII of the Charter authorizes Member States to use force, within the framework of collective action, to maintain or restore international peace and security; Lastly (but, it is not a legal argument), even though they are prohibited in the Charter of the United Nations, we know perfectly well that wars continue to break out.Armed conflict is one of the sad realities of today's world.
The conclusion falls under its own weight: it is necessary to have international norms that limit the effects of war on people and property, that protect some particularly vulnerable groups of people. Such is the objective of international humanitarian law, whose main expression is the Geneva Conventions and their additional Protocols of 1977; on the other hand, a comprehensive set of customary law rules is an important supplementary source of law.
It is very crude to imagine the Colombian war without absolutely any norm on the matter, although even today it does not exist.
International humanitarian law has evolved into a complex set of rules relating to a wide variety of problems. There is no doubt that the six main treaties (containing more than 600 articles) and the dense network of customary rules restrict the use of violence in time of war. However, such an abundance of legal norms should not make us forget that the essence of humanitarian law is summarized in some fundamental principles:
People who do not participate, or have ceased to participate, in hostilities must be respected, protected and treated humanely. They must receive appropriate assistance, without any discrimination; Captured fighters, and others deprived of their liberty, must be treated humanely. They must be protected against all acts of violence, especially against torture. If judicial proceedings are initiated against them, they must enjoy the fundamental guarantees of a regulatory procedure; In an armed conflict, the right of the parties to the conflict to choose the methods or means of waging war is not unlimited. It is prohibited to cause superfluous harm and unnecessary injury; In order to protect the civilian population, the armed forces must, in all circumstances, distinguish between, on the one hand,the civilian population and civilian objects and, on the other hand, military objectives. The civilian population as such, civilians and civilian property, will not be the object of military attacks.
These principles express what the International Court of Justice called (in the case of the Corfu Strait) "elementary considerations of humanity" and, later (in the case of military and paramilitary activities in Nicaragua and against this country) the " general principles of humanitarian law ”. Such principles, as general principles of international law, constitute the foundation of the protection that the law grants to victims of war. They are mandatory in any circumstance and no derogation can be authorized.
Another fundamental idea must be mentioned at this point: the norms of international law apply to all armed conflicts, regardless of their origins or causes. These standards must be respected in all circumstances and with respect to all the people they protect, without any discrimination. In modern humanitarian law, any discriminatory treatment of war victims based on the concept of "just war" is prohibited.
Although it is true that the general principles mentioned above apply to all types of armed conflict, two sets of specific rules govern, on the one hand, international armed conflicts and, on the other, non-international armed conflicts.
International humanitarian law aims to limit the suffering caused by war and mitigate its effects. The rules it dictates are the result of a delicate balance between, on the one hand, the demands of warfare - "military necessity" - and, on the other, the laws of humanity. Humanitarian law is a delicate matter, but it does not admit concessions. This right must be respected in all circumstances to guarantee the survival of the values of humanity and, often, simply, to protect human lives. Each of us can contribute to a better understanding of the overriding goals and fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and thereby facilitate greater respect.The day that all States and all parties involved in armed conflict have better respect for humanitarian law, it will be easier for there to be a more humane world.
We Colombians have heard all kinds of formulas and options to achieve peace, even the government has ceded territory, all within good will, but the effort was wasted once the negotiations broke down.
It is key to be clear about what you want to negotiate, and for this you have to see who is harmed and why; the injured is the ordinary citizen, who has been violated in their most minimal rights, the right to life is disrespected, and other rights, people have, in addition to known rights, the right to live in peace and armed actors they must respect us that legitimate and natural right of man.
So, a fundamental issue that must be taken into account when negotiating, and for which if a revolution must be armed, but fair, and on the part of all Colombians, it is Human Rights, but to seek because they are not only indicated as such., but adhere to each treaty, or international agreement in this regard, and govern our actions to the rules that exist for the protection of the same.
Seeking respect and ensuring that the rights of people are fulfilled is the best possible way to peace, any type of reform that is achieved by armed means is useless if by this means people are violated in their rights; and once it can be said that in the country no citizen is disrespected of rights, we will be in front of peace; the idea is to put the coercive part into the matter, and not act in a merely passive way, but lash out head-on against the violent, but with acts of peace, of respect for our fellow citizens, that our daily acts go down the path of respect for the other people, starting from the principle of doing to others what we don't want them to do to us, and on the contrary treating them as we would like to be treated,resolving in a peaceful way and through dialogue the conflicts that we may have with compatriots, and precisely that, remember that we are members of the same nation, that the State is to protect and protect us, not to confront it, and that as well as we belong to the same country, we are all human beings clothed with the same rights and each one with duties depending on the person himself, but that the basic and main duty is respect for the rights of other human beings.but that the basic and main duty is respect for the rights of other human beings.but that the basic and main duty is respect for the rights of other human beings.
The mere fact of heading towards the protection of man in general and his rights, makes us seek peace, the benefit of all, an environment in which all human beings can live in peace, in harmony, if you fear, without Fears, without violence, with justice, with respect, and once peace has been achieved, the other states may stop considering us as a developing country, because the most advanced development that a people can demonstrate is measured according to the harmony, peace, and respect for the rights of its inhabitants.
The effort must be collective and at the same time individual, national and international, seek on their own initiative to document on the subject of human rights, know what we can do, and to what extent, what we must do to ensure that our rights are fulfilled, train punctually on the matter, respect the rights of the person we have closest to, and of all those who cross our path; that the actors of the conflict submit themselves to comply with the provisions of international treaties in the field of international humanitarian law, and that their actions always ensure the protection of human rights, likewise, that the government put at hand the guarantees to be able to comply with that national mission, which officially approves and applies to the laws of international humanitarian law,and that those that do not exist within the legislature are promoted for this purpose.
And the end, the objective must be peace, without using people as a means, but as beneficiaries of that objective, built on the basis of respect for Human Rights.
Download the original file
