UNITED NATIONS CCPR International Covenant Distr. on Civil and GENERAL Political Rights CCPR/C/COL/2002/5 18 September 2002 ENGLISH Original: SPANISH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 40 OF THE COVENANT Fifth periodic report Colombia* [14 August 2002] ___________ * This report is issued unedited, in compliance with the wish expressed by the Human Rights Committee at its sixty-fifth session in July 1999. GE.02-44465 (EXT) CCPR/C/COL/2002/5 page 2 CONTENTS Paragraphs Page INTRODUCTION......................................................................................... 1 - 17 7 I. BASIC INFORMATION ON COLOMBIA................................... 18 - 109 9 1. Land and people ..................................................................... 18 - 35 9 1.1. Principal ethnic characteristics ....................................... 26 - 31 10 1.2. Languages ...................................................................... 32 - 33 11 1.3. Religions ........................................................................ 34 - 35 12 2. General political structure ...................................................... 36 - 61 12 2.1. The legislative branch ..................................................... 37 - 42 12 2.2. The executive branch ...................................................... 43 - 49 13 2.3. The judicial branch ......................................................... 50 - 53 14 2.4. Supervisory bodies ......................................................... 54 - 61 14 3. Forms of democratic participation .......................................... 62 - 75 16 3.1 The people’s initiative addressed to public bodies for the adoption of laws or regulations ................................ 65 17 3.2. The referendum .............................................................. 66 - 68 17 3.3. Removal of officials ....................................................... 69 17 3.4. The plebiscite ................................................................. 70 17 3.5. The popular consultation ................................................ 71 - 73 17 3.6 The open council meeting ............................................... 74 - 75 18 4. External relations .................................................................... 76 - 86 18 5. Human rights .......................................................................... 87 - 101 20 5.1. Colombian government policy in the field of human rights and international humanitarian law....................... 88 - 99 21 5.2. The President’s programme for human rights and international humanitarian law ....................................... 100 - 101 22 CCPR/C/COL/2002/5 page 3 Paragraphs Page 6. Organization of elections......................................................... 102 - 104 23 6.1. Basic statute of political parties and movements ............ 104 24 7. The National Economic and Social Policy Council (CONPES) ...................................................................... 105 - 109 24 II. RESULTS OF THE POLICY OF THE STATE OF COLOMBIA IN THE FIELDS OF PROMOTION, GUARANTEE AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW AND THE SEARCH FOR PEACE, 1996-2002 .............................................. 110 - 298 25 1. Relations with the international community ........................... 112 - 135 25 2. The struggle against all the outlawed armed groups ............... 136 - 152 28 3. The campaign against abduction ............................................. 153 - 160 31 4. Strengthening of the commitment of the armed forces in the campaign against outlawed armed groups............................... 161 - 171 33 5. Stimulus to the administration of justice and campaign against impunity................................................................................... 172 - 226 36 5.1. Cases being dealt with, or in the course of amicable settlement, before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.................................................................. 173 - 190 37 5.1.1. The Trujillo case................................................. 174 37 5.1.2. Roison Mora and Faride Herrera......................... 175 - 177 37 5.1.3. The search for an amicable settlement in the case of the Patriotic Union ......................................... 178 - 182 37 5.1.4. Villatina: an example of an amicable settlement 183 - 190 389 5.2. Military penal justice....................................................... 191 - 192 39 5.3. National Network for Communications on Human Rights ............................................................................. 193 - 195 39 5.4. Other activities................................................................ 196 - 226 39 6. Protection of human rights defenders and threatened persons 227 - 248 44 7. Care of the population displaced by the violencia .................. 249 - 271 48 8. Other mechanisms pertaining to the human rights policy ...... 272 - 298 52 CCPR/C/COL/2002/5 page 4 Paragraphs Page 8.1. Educational and extension strategy with the President’s Programme ................................................... 279 53 8.2. Outlook for strengthened action in the field of human rights ............................................................................... 280 - 295 53 8.3. National Plan of Action on human rights and international humanitarian law ....................................... 296 - 298 55 III. HUMANIZATION OF THE ARMED CONFLICT AND THE SEARCH FOR PEACE ......................................................... 299 - 393 56 1. Humanization of the armed conflict ....................................... 299 - 330 56 1.1. Exclusion of minors from the armed conflict ................. 304 56 1.2. Disposal of anti-personnel mines.................................... 305 - 307 57 1.3. Criminalization in domestic law of atrocities committed in connection with the armed conflict ............................ 308 - 319 57 1.4. Other measures ............................................................... 320 - 321 61 1.5. Bojayį case ...................................................................... 322 - 330 62 2. The search for peace ............................................................... 331 - 393 66 2.1. Negotiations with the FARC-EP..................................... 336 - 362 67 2.2. Results of the peace proceedings with ELN ................... 363 - 393 70 IV. THE OFFICE OF THE PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE 1992-2002 ...... 394 - 424 75 V. FACTUAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SITUATION REGARDING VIOLENCE, HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW IN COLOMBIA .................................. 425 - 494 79 1. Murders ................................................................................... 426 - 427 79 2. Massacres................................................................................ 428 - 429 81 3. Homicides and armed conflict ................................................ 430 - 431 88 4. Forced disappearance.............................................................. 432 - 437 90 5. Torture..................................................................................... 438 - 441 91 6. Abduction ............................................................................... 442 - 444 92 CCPR/C/COL/2002/5 page 5 Paragraphs Page 7. Attacks on the population ....................................................... 445 - 449 96 8. Forced displacement ............................................................... 450 - 457 97 9. Damage to civilian property. Attacks on infrastructure .......... 458 - 462 99 10. Anti-personnel mines .............................................................. 463 - 471 100 11. Indigenous populations, journalists, trade unionists and human rights defenders ....................................................................... 472 - 475 104 11.1. The human rights situation of the indigenous population in 2001........................................................ 472 - 475 104 12. The human rights situation of journalists in 2001................... 476 - 483 105 13. The human rights situation of trade unionists in 2001 ............ 484 - 488 107 14. The situation in the country's prisons in 2001......................... 489 - 494 108 VI. SUBSTANTIVE PROVISIONS OF THE INT ERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS ................ 495 - 983 110 Article 1 – Right of peoples to self-determination.......................... 495 - 509 110 Article 2 – Guarantee of rights recognized in the Covenant and non-discrimination................................................................... 510 - 524 112 Article 3 – Equality between men and women in the enjoyment of human rights ........................................................................... 525 - 545 115 Article 4 – Protection of human rights in states of emergency ...... 546 - 552 119 Article 5 – Guarantee of the rights recognized in the Covenant .... 553 - 556 120 Article 6 – Right to life ................................................................... 557 - 588 122 Article 7 – Prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; prohibition of medical or scientific experimentation without consent ............................................ 589 - 591 127 Article 8 – Prohibition of slavery, servitude and forced labour and protection against such practices ............................................ 592 - 631 127 Article 9 – Right to