NCJ Number
133686
Date Published
1991
Length
152 pages
Annotation
An investigative mission sent to Colombia by the Andean Commission of Jurists found that the climate of violence in the country has resulted in human rights violations and that principal human rights problems are extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances.
Abstract
The Andean Commission of Jurists is an international organization with consultative status at the United Nations. Its purpose is to promote human rights in the Andean region. The commission visited Colombia in 1987 and determined that the country's grave human rights situation reflects an acute political and social crisis. Economic differences in Colombian society and the government's inability to deal with social conflicts appear to be intensifying. The need to strengthen the country's weak judicial system represents one of the greatest challenges in finding solutions to the crisis. Despite the good intentions and skills of Colombia's judges, the general public seems to have lost all faith in them. Further, the relative independence of judicial entities and the Supreme Court is being pressured from many different directions including drug traffickers. One of the few State institutions which enjoys considerable public credibility and respect, however, is the Office of the Attorney General. Human rights groups have an important role to play in the country, but public officials must regard human rights workers as collaborators rather than as enemies. The judicial process in Colombia is reviewed in terms of the right to an independent and impartial tribunal, the constitution, the right to judicial protection, freedom from ex-post facto laws, due process of law, the right to defense, the right to compensation, and administration of justice. 39 footnotes and 5 tables