PBI-Colombia accompanies the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó at installation of Justice Evaluation Commission
Photo: PBI-Colombia stands with Ombudsman Iris Marin Ortiz at the installation ceremony at the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó on April 1.
On April 1, the Ombudsman’s Office posted on Instagram:
“Peace is built from the territories!
The Ombudsman @irismarinortiz installed the ‘Justice Evaluation Commission’ in Apartadó, Antioquia, in the framework of the ‘Friendly Settlement Agreement’ with the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, victim of human rights violations since 1997.
The Commission has the mandate to evaluate the judicial processes related to the crimes against the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó and to present a public report with its findings and recommendations.
We ratify the commitment to life, dignity and justice for a #GoodFutureToday.”
The Office of the Ombudsman
The Ombudsman’s Office is a “Colombian State institution responsible for promoting human rights for a #Good Future Today.” As formally explained on their website: “It is the entity in charge of defending, promoting, protecting and disseminating the human rights, guarantees and freedoms of the inhabitants of the national territory and of Colombians residing abroad, against illegal, unjust, unreasonable, negligent or arbitrary acts, threats or actions of any authority or individuals.”
In August 2024, constitutional lawyer Iris Marín Ortiz was elected by the House of Representatives to be the Ombudsman of Colombia for the period 2024-2028.
Photo: PBI-Colombia with Ombudsman Iris Marin at the installation ceremony for the Commission. Photo by El Tiempo.
Justice Evaluation Commission to review 54 cases
W Radio explains: “After decades marked by murders, displacements and threats, the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó sees one of its historic demands advance: the creation of a Justice Evaluation Commission that will be in charge of reviewing 54 cases documented between 1997 and 2007. These facts, according to the community, remain unpunished despite the protection measures granted by international organizations.”
“The installation ceremony took place on April 1 in the municipality of Apartadó, Antioquia, with the presence of the Ombudsman, Iris Marín Ortiz. ‘Starting today, we will walk that path together,’ said Marín, who recognized that this commission represents an ‘unprecedented’ act of trust on the part of the community.”
That article adds: “The peace community of San José de Apartadó was founded in 1997 by peasants who decided to declare themselves neutral in the face of the armed conflict. Since then, it has been the target of crimes committed by paramilitary groups, guerrillas, and state agents. Although the Constitutional Court acknowledged in 2007 the absence of justice in his case, the orders issued then were not complied with and a similar commission, created in 2012, did not produce concrete results.”
Photo: PBI-Colombia at the ceremony.
The Commission and the IACHR ruling
Alerta Paisa further explains: “This Commission will be responsible for reviewing criminal investigations, processes, and judicial decisions in relation to serious human rights violations, constituting crimes, committed against members of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó and persons linked to it.”
That article also notes: “This Commission responds to the agreement reached in December 2024 [the ‘Friendly Settlement Agreement’] in the framework of case 12.325 before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), a milestone in the fight against impunity and reparation for victims.”
El Colombiano further explains: “The precautionary measures of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued in 1997 and the provisional measures of the Inter-American Court since 2000, did not prevent its members from continuing to be victimized through massacres, forced displacements and threats, among other violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.”
It adds: “This mechanism was defined in December 2024 as part of the Friendly Settlement Agreement between the Peace Community and the Colombian State, with which both parties agreed to put an end to the international lawsuit for the systematic violations of human rights and breaches of International Humanitarian Law that have fallen on the aforementioned organization for more than two decades.”
Report within a year
The El Colombiano article also reports: “Within a year, at the end of their term, they [the commission] will present a public report with their findings, conclusions and recommendations.”
Accompaniment
Peace Community leader María Brígida González told the Commission: “In the midst of paramilitarism, with the complicity of the State and business sectors, we were preparing to live in the middle of the war without being part of it. In the midst of the massacres, on March 23, 1997, we made the decision to sign the public declaration [and establish] the Peace Community.”
The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has accompanied the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó since 1999.
Photo: Ombudsman Iris Marin with Father Javier Giraldo at the ceremony. Father Giraldo learned about PBI in the 1980s and thought it would be an appropriate protection model for human rights defenders in Colombia. He was the person who made the formal request for PBI to open a project in Colombia.
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