• Human Rights in Colombia

    Colombia's internal armed conflict continues to result in serious abuses by irregular armed groups, including guerrillas and successor groups to paramilitaries. More than 4 million Colombians have been internally displaced, and more than 100,000 continue to be displaced each year. Implementation of the Victims and Land Restitution Law, which aims to return millions of acres of abandoned and stolen land to internally displaced persons, has advanced slowly, and there have been threats and attacks against individuals seeking land restitution. Constitutional amendments concerning transitional justice and the military justice system threaten to ensure impunity for atrocities by guerrillas, paramilitaries, and the military.  

  • A home in the rural area of Municipality San Carlos Antioquia abandoned by persons displaced by violence, with graffiti of a woman’s body left by armed groups.
    © 2011 Jesús Abad Colorado L.
    Colombia: Obstacles to Care for Abused, Displaced Women
    Colombia’s laws on violence against women are not adequately protecting victims displaced by the armed conflict. Approximately two million internally displaced women and girls face high rates of rape and domestic violence. Daunting obstacles impede displaced victims’ access to healthcare, justice, and protection services.
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Colombia

  • Colombia: Military Justice Law a Blow to Human Rights
    Jun 18, 2013

    Colombia’s passage of a law to reform the military justice system is a major setback for human rights, Human Rights Watch said today. The law creates a serious risk that unlawful killings by the military, known as “false positives,” will be transferred from civilian prosecutors to the military justice system. The law also authorizes public security forces to use lethal force against civilians in a dangerously broad range of situations.

  • Colombia: Ensure Effective Inquiry Into Attack on Journalist
    May 2, 2013
    Colombia should ensure that the investigation into the attack on a leading investigative journalist thoroughly examines possible motives related to his work and identifies all responsible parties, Human Rights Watch said today. On the evening of May 1, 2013, gunmen opened fire on the car driven by Ricardo Calderón, an editor at Semana magazine, Colombia’s main newsweekly, as it was stopped on a road between Ibagué and Bogotá. Five bullets penetrated the body of the vehicle, but Calderón escaped without injuries.
  • Colombia: Landmark Ruling for Land Restitution
    Feb 20, 2013
    A Colombian tribunal’s order to restore stolen land to 32 displaced families is a major step in carrying out the country’s land restitution law, Human Rights Watch said today. Authorities should take vigorous measures to protect the beneficiaries of the ruling in Córdoba department, who have been subject to threats and intimidation.
  • Global: HRW Submission to the CEDAW Committee
    Feb 1, 2013
  • A year of progress in eliminating violence against women
    Nov 24, 2012
    “If I looked nice, he hit me,” Ana L., a mother of five in Colombia, told me.
  • A year of progress in eliminating violence against women
    Nov 24, 2012
    On November 25 every year, a grim accounting takes place: the world takes stock of violence against women, the toll it takes, and progress toward eliminating it. The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women has been commemorated on November 25 for more than three decades. It’s a day each year when my colleagues and I focus on the courageous women we have met, the injustices they’ve suffered, and the hope they inspire.
  • Colombia: Obstacles to Care for Abused, Displaced Women
    Nov 14, 2012
    Colombia’s laws on violence against women are not adequately protecting victims displaced by the armed conflict. Approximately two million internally displaced women and girls face high rates of rape and domestic violence. Daunting obstacles impede displaced victims’ access to healthcare, justice, and protection services.
  • Colombia: Letter to President Santos Criticizing the Expansion of Military Jurisdiction
    Oct 25, 2012
  • Colombia: Make Victims’ Rights Central to Peace Talks
    Oct 16, 2012

    Colombia will only achieve sustainable peace by protecting victims’ right to justice, Human Rights Watch said today in advance of peace talks between the Colombian government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas. The talks will begin in Oslo on October 17, 2012.

  • Colombia: Magistrate’s Resignation a Loss for Justice
    Sep 6, 2012
    The announced resignation of the auxiliary Supreme Court magistrate Iván Velásquez represents a major loss for Colombia’s justice system, Human Rights Watch said today. Velásquez’s resignation, effective September 30, 2012, followed the sudden decision by the criminal chamber of the Supreme Court to remove him as coordinator of investigations into ties between right-wing paramilitary groups and members of Congress, known as the “parapolitics” investigations.
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