A group* of UN human rights experts asked Colombia on Wednesday not to misuse anti-terrorist measures and serious crimes, such as terrorism, to prosecute people who participate in protests against government policies.
The specialists asked the Colombian authorities to guarantee that the charges presented conform to international law and human rights standards.
“Using such egregious charges to prosecute violent conduct during protests poses a serious threat to the defense and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and to the legitimacy of international counter-terrorism frameworks and laws,” adding that “it has a chilling effect and encourages vilification campaigns against protest movements in the country”.
According to the information received by the experts, 228 people who participated in the 2021 protests were accused of committing serious crimes, including terrorism and criminal conspiracy, for which some people face more than 22 years in prison.
Despite the fact that the law allows for the release of people detained during the protests while they await their trial, more than 180 protesters remain in prison or under house arrest. Among those detained are peaceful protesters and young people who allegedly damaged public and private property and engaged in violent and destructive acts.
Proportionality and non-discrimination
The specialists “strongly” condemned any type of violence committed in the context of the protests. “While we recognize the responsibility of the State to respond to violence, among other things by investigating, preventing and deterring such acts, violent people among peaceful protesters must be treated fairly and in accordance with international human rights standards,” they recalled.
The experts expressed their concern about the reports regarding the “stigmatization and judicial harassment” of human rights defenders, reporters, and defense attorneys prosecuted in the context of these proceedings.
At the same time, they stressed that decisions “to prosecute, hold in preventive detention, sentence, or award compensation for damages to protesters must meet the requirements of necessity, proportionality, and non-discrimination established in international human rights law.”
“Prison terms for nonviolent protest activities and for the exercise of human rights, such as freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, are always disproportionate and therefore incompatible with international human rights law“said the experts.
*The experts are: Clement N. Voule, UN special rapporteur on the rights of peaceful assembly and of association; Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Mary Lawlor, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression; and Miriam Estrada-Castillo (president rapporteur), Mumba Malila (vice president); Ganna Yudkiviska, Priya Golapan, Matthew Gillett, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent investigative and monitoring mechanisms that address specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. . Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and provide their services on an individual basis
