A/HRC/10/29
describing these structures as gangs did not reflect the complexity, variety, plurality and
risks of the phenomenon. It said there were at least 76 paramilitary groups with some 9,000
active members. Extraditions of 17 paramilitary leaders for drug trafficking were frustrating
for victims. It welcomed the Government’s commitment to generating policies to avoid
impunity of crimes against humanity but was concerned that the Government continued to
deny that the demobilization process had allowed a de facto amnesty for most
paramilitaries, including those who might have taken part in such crimes. Of the more than
30,000 paramilitaries demobilized, only one had been convicted the day before the meeting.
At May 2008, only 245 had agreed to submit to the legal process according to the justice
and peace law. It noted that Colombia, in its comments, avoided recommendations relating
to the grave attacks against the Supreme Court of Justice, including from the President of
the Republic, in the context of investigations of Government and Congress members for
supposed links with paramilitaries. It stated that the Government must stop persecuting
judiciary members and must provide them with protection.
656. SOS Kinderdorf International, also on behalf of World Vision International, Plan
International and the International Save the Children Alliance, welcomed Colombia’s
acceptance of many child right recommendations. Noting recommendation 65, it added that
limited State presence in rural areas minimized the identification and reporting of child
sexual and physical abuse, leading many cases to go unrecorded and unpunished. On
recommendation 22, it called for increased efforts to ensure effective data collection and
adequate reporting, policing and juridical measures for such offences. It called for
continued action on recommendation 19, requesting measures on demobilization through to
reintegration of child soldiers, and measures to address underlying exclusion, which made
rural, indigenous and other minority children vulnerable to recruitment. Welcoming the
Government’s commitments to the Millennium Development Goals on the health and
education of children and acceptance of the recommendations on education, it called for
measures to ensure access to health care and education in rural areas. On recommendation
62, it further recommended that birth registration fees be waived, that it be made possible to
register children in areas other than those of their birth, and that communities be educated
on the importance of birth registration. It requested clarification on the rejection of the
recommendation in paragraph 37 (c) of the report, referring to the soldiers for a day
programme and to the Committee on the Rights of the Child recommendations calling for
an end to children’s participation in military training activities. Considering the
complementary relationship between the universal periodic review and treaty bodies, it
questioned this rejection.
(d)
Concluding remarks of the State under review
657. With regard to the situation of trade unionists, Colombia explained that a special
unit had been established and resulted in 184 trials where those responsible for the murder
of unionists were convicted. While only 1 conviction had been reached in 2007, in 2008
this number had increased to 76, and there have already been 14 convictions to date in
2009. It noted that 216 cases of murder of trade unionists had been revealed in the justice
and peace process. Some of these had occurred in 2009, such as the murder of the President
of the fishermen’s union, and three perpetrators had been arrested, including the
mastermind.
658. The delegation stated that the Government had acknowledged the discussion on the
law on victims. It pointed out that a programme for compensation through administrative
means had been established by the Government at a cost of approximately $7 billion. About
180,000 people had made claims under the law, and progress had been made in
strengthening the protection programme. A decision by the Supreme Court had impeded the
executive from handing out partial charges through the justice and peace process, but once
GE.09-17451
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