CIDH-IACHR issues follow-up report on June 2021 visit to Colombia, recalls its recommendation on the ESMAD riot squad

Published by Brent Patterson on

Photo: On June 10, 2021, PBI-Colombia was present as the CIDH-IACHR went to the Portal Resistencia during their working visit to Colombia.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH-IACHR) has presented a follow-up report on the recommendations it made following its three-day working visit to Colombia on June 8-10, 2021, during the national strike protests.

On January 27, PBI-Colombia tweeted this thread that begins:

“@CIDH presents #today a report on what the Colombian State has done to comply with the recommendations after his visit #NationalStrike2021 in which he verified police abuse and protest stigmatization ‘The outlook is one of widespread non-compliance’”

Reuters also now reports: “Colombia has made substantial progress on only three of 28 actions recommended by a regional human rights body to protect the right to protest after deaths during demonstrations in 2020 and 2021, the [IACHR says].”

The article continues: “After the protests, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) made 41 recommendations to protect Colombians’ right to demonstrate and tackle the underlying causes of their discontent.”

That report with 41 recommendations can be read here.

Reuters adds: “In its first follow-up report on Friday, the IACHR examined progress on the 28 recommendations concerning the right to protest, finding that substantial compliance had been achieved on three, partial compliance on 14 and no compliance on 11.”

That follow-up report can be read in full here.

The Spanish news agency EFE also reports: “The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) will create an ‘institutionalized follow-up mechanism’ in Colombia to review the progress of the recommendations issued by that body for the violence that occurred in the social protests of 2021.”

It adds: “The mechanism will have the participation of civil society and the Colombian Government itself, which, in the words of the deputy minister, will seek to ‘produce structural changes’ that guarantee non-repetition.”

The ESMAD

EFE also highlights: “Among the recommendations issued at the time by the IACHR were the separation of the National Police and its Mobile Anti-Riot Squadron (ESMAD) from the Ministry of Defense; the accountability of the State security forces and the development of comprehensive reparation programs for victims, among others.”

In fact, the ESMAD is referenced 64 times in the 140-page follow-up report.

On the recommendation of separating the ESMAD and police from the Ministry of Defense, El Tiempo now further explains in their article about the IACHR report that was “in order to ‘guarantee a structure that consolidates and preserves security with a citizen and human rights approach, and avoids any possibility of military perspectives.’”

Many PBI-Colombia accompanied defenders have also called for the dismantling of the ESMAD. More on those demands and what the Petro government has promised at: Where does the promise to dismantle the Colombian riot police ESMAD unit now stand?

In the coming weeks we will be interviewing Oscar Ramirez of the PBI-Colombia accompanied Committee of Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP). Watch for that podcast (our first podcast!) coming soon.

#DesmonteDelESMAD #DismantleTheESMAD

Categories: News Updates

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