A/HRC/16/22
70.
This has led to selective murders, disappearances, confinement, forced displacement,
and indiscriminate attacks through the use of anti-personnel mines. The victims include
women and girls, who are also subjected to acts of sexual violence.
71.
These crimes were attributed to FARC-EP, ELN and to post-demobilization groups.
For example, FARC-EP was accused of the killing of two young Awá men in Barbacoas,
Nariño in June. In April, unidentified assassins killed seven Afro-Colombian miners in
Suárez, Cauca.
72.
Violations, including sexual violence, have also been attributed to members of the
security forces. Insufficient and inadequate measures to protect the civilian population
during military operations may have led to cases of forced displacement, such as the
displacement of 300 Eperara Siapiadara indigenous peoples in January in Olaya Herrera,
Nariño.
73.
OHCHR-Colombia recognizes the judicial efforts to address violations against
indigenous peoples, such as the conviction of the killers of Edwin Legarda and the
massacre of 12 indigenous Awá people in August 2009. However, the State must reinforce
the protection measures to avoid further such killings.22
74.
It is imperative to advance in the formulation of protection plans for indigenous and
Afro-Colombian communities and in strict compliance with Constitutional Court
orders 004 and 005 (2009). Despite repeated recommendations by OHCHR-Colombia, no
protection plan has been implemented to date.
75.
The Ministry of Interior and Justice faces huge challenges to uphold the right of
communities to free, prior and informed consultation and consent. Current domestic
legislation does not protect this right in the case of mining exploration, even though mining
has been considered one of the driving forces for the economic development of the country.
The persistent weakness of the State to protect collective rights is thus a matter of concern.
For example, in Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, it took over a year to implement the court
ruling to immediately stop illegal mining activities that were destroying the lands of the
Zaragoza community council. The presence of Afro-Colombian communities or indigenous
peoples in areas of economic interest is often ignored, or their ancestral lands are not titled
as collective lands or reservations to avoid the obligation to consult. In other cases,
consultations are conducted with people who are not legitimate representatives of the
affected community, or the internal decision-making processes of the ethnic groups and
communities are not respected.
76.
In this context, it is necessary to adopt adequate legislation and a proper
implementation mechanism, formulated in a participatory manner with indigenous peoples
and Afro-Colombian communities. OHCHR-Colombia offers its support and advice in this
process.
L.
International humanitarian law
1.
Guerrilla groups
77.
OHCHR-Colombia received reports of systematic attacks attributed to FARC-EP
and ELN against civilian populations and property, such as massacres, selective homicides,
22
The Presidential Programme on Human Rights reported the killing of 51 indigenous persons between
January and October, representing a 48 per cent decrease with respect to the same period in 2009. The
National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) reported that 122 indigenous people were
killed in 2010 (including unreported cases and indigenous buried as unidentified).
13
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