A/HRC/10/29 alarmed by the high number of those who continued to be threatened and intimidated in relation to their work. They asked that Colombia provide journalists who are threatened and attacked with adequate guarantees of their safety, urging the Government to take measures ensuring that such journalists were not further endangered by comments made by public officials that could exacerbate threats and violence against them. The State must not only encourage investigations of such crimes but ensure that such prompt, independent, thorough and impartial investigations are held. The pertinent institutions must speed up outstanding investigations and bring to justice those who had committed crimes against journalists. 652. Conscience and Peace Tax International noted that Colombia rejected the recommendation to recognize the right of conscientious objection to military service. It reminded Colombia that no domestic legislation or constitutional provisions could override its international treaty obligations, and that article 93 of the Constitution stated that such obligations had priority over domestic law. It cited the decision of the Human Rights Committee in 2006 that conscientious objection to military service was a protected manifestation of religious belief under article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. With specific reference to Colombia, in a 2008 opinion concerning cases of forcible recruitment, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had found all three cases to constitute arbitrary detention. With regard to two conscientious objectors, it believed that their recruitment was in breach of article 18 of the International Covenant and a clear violation of their affirmation of conscience. It called on Colombia to urgently reconsider its position on this issue. 653. Action Canada for Population and Development stated that the Colombian court decision giving homosexual couples the same rights as heterosexual couples remained a dead letter. It noted also the non-implementation of a Human Rights Committee decision that a homosexual man should be allowed to receive his partner’s pension. Regarding police abuses, it supported OHCHR comments on the murders of transvestites and supported statements by the World Organization against Torture on crimes against transvestites. It called on the Fiscalía General de la Nación to create a specific unit for hate crimes. It also raised concerns about intersex children, who were dismissed from school and even sent away by their families. It called on Colombia to accept the recommendation by the Czech Republic that it provide funds to implement court decisions, establish a followup plan for the implementation of human rights and develop policies ensuring equality for gays and lesbians. 654. Amnesty International noted that many interventions during Colombia’s review reflected concerns repeatedly expressed by Colombian and international human rights organizations, OHCHR and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. It also noted the widely shared acknowledgement that the human rights and humanitarian situation in Colombia remained serious, as it remained in the midst of an armed conflict and paramilitary groups continued to operate despite the Government’s stated efforts to demobilize them. It welcomed the acceptance of most recommendations, but regretted the rejection of key ones, and asked the Government to reconsider its position, such as to accept the jurisdiction of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, to withdraw the declaration on article 124 of the Rome Statute, and to end the “soldiers for a day” programme, which threatened to drag civilians further into the conflict. Amnesty International welcomed the Government’s commitment to urgently implement in full OHCHR recommendations, but noted the failure of successive Governments to do so. It recommended that the Council adopt measures to ensure effective monitoring of progress in this regard, in cooperation with civil society. 655. The International Federation of Human Rights Leagues expressed concern that negotiations with paramilitaries had not resulted in the effective dismantling of the structures and that the Government denied this fact. It noted OHCHR concerns that 194 GE.09-17451