GOC EFFORTS TO WORK WITH JUSTICE AND PEACE VICTIMS

UNCLAS BOGOTA 004329

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KJUS PGOV PINR PREL PTER CO
SUBJECT: GOC EFFORTS TO WORK WITH JUSTICE AND PEACE VICTIMS

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Summary
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1. The Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia),Inspector
General's Office (Procuraduria),Ombudsman (Defensoria),and
National Reconciliation and Reparations Commission have to
date helped over 80,000 victims of violence to come forward
with information on crimes allegedly committed by former
paramilitaries. The GOC is preparing a Victims Protection
Plan that would strengthen protection for participants in the
Justice and Peace Law process. End summary.

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Fiscalia's JPL Unit Support for Victims
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2. Justice and Peace Law Unit Director Luis Gonzalez told
poloff on June 7 that his office in the Prosecutor General's
Office (Fiscalia) has gathered information on alleged former
paramilitary crimes from over 60,000 victims of violence.
The Unit is expanding its call center for victims and is
hiring personnel to assist them in filing claims against the
demobilized. The Unit is organizing the televised
transmission of former paramilitaries' voluntary confessions
(versions libres) so victims do not have to travel too far
and to protect them from being targeted. For example, in
Medellin, victims will not sit in a viewing room at the
Justice Building were the version libres take place, but
instead will be provided with a closed-circuit broadcast of
the proceedings at the city's Exhibition and Convention
Center. In addition, the JPL Unit in Barranquilla is
implementing a pilot project to provide psychological
counseling to victims and witnesses present during the
version libre process.

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Ombudsman Creates New JPL/Victims Unit
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3. The Ombudsman (Defensoria),through its regional and
sectional offices, has to date assisted more than 5,000
victims and registered their cases with the Fiscalia. The
Defensoria's Victims Unit primarily consists of public
defenders charged with providing legal representation to
victims. In the next two months, the Defensoria will train
150 of its officials nationwide in legal and other procedures
to assist victims and in international reparations standards.
It also plans to produce and distribute brochures on victim
assistance as part of a publicity campaign it is developing
jointly with the Procuraduria. The Defensoria will receive
USD 450,000 from the USG to help finance its operations
through 2008.

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CNRR Seeking and Working with Victims
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4. The National Reconciliation and Reparations Commission
(CNRR) has so far assisted close to 11,000 JPL victims in
nine regions of the country. Through public meetings and
community work, the CNRR has identified groups, foundations,
and other private sector entities willing to participate in
the CNRR's Victims Attention Network of civil society actors,
as well as to provide training in the judicial component or
"ruta juridical" of the JPL process. Five CNNR regional
offices have opened in Medellin, Sincelejo, Bogota,
Bucaramanga and Barranquilla, and two additional offices in
Putumayo and Neiva will be open by the end of the year.
These offices function as information centers, as well as
referral centers for the Victims' Attention Network. The
CNRR also has a website that is updated daily with relevant
information on JPL and victims' participation in the process.


5. On reparations, the CNRR is consulting with ten targeted
communities for pilot reparations projects. It is also
working with the Reparations Fund Database, administered by
Accion Social. The database helps track assets seized
through the JPL process, as well as other forfeited assets
turned over for reparations, funds provided from the national
budget, international donor funds, etc. USG support to the
CNRR is USD 2.5 million through 2007.

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Procuraduria Training
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6. The Inspector General's Office (Procuraduria) is training
its regional personnel on their role in implementing the JPL.
The training focuses on international standards related to
the victims' rights to truth, justice and reparations; due
process guarantees; and the role of public defenders in the
JPL process. Other Procuraduria initiatives include: (1) a
study to evaluate all public policies pertaining to the
protection of victims of the internal armed conflict,
including but not limited to those involved in the JPL
process; (2) a guide to reparations, both individual and
collective, which has been distributed to Procuraduria
officials and to JPL judges for their consideration; and (3)
the launch of a publicity campaign to inform victims of their
rights under JPL. The Procuraduria will receive a total of
USD 540,000 from the USG through 2008.

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Civil Society Groups Request USG Assistance
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7. Sixteen civil society groups in eight main cities have
requested USG support to provide legal and psycho-social
assistance to victims of human rights abuses committed by
demobilized paramilitary groups. Projects include an
agreement with Fundacion Pais Libre to provide legal and
psycho-social assistance to victims, including more than 400
internally displaced persons, in Monteria, Cordoba
department, and training courses on the JPL, international
criminal law, and transitional justice issues for attorneys
and other victims' representatives. Two hundred attorneys
and advisors will participate in these events. Total USG
support for victims groups through 2008 is USD 530,000.

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National Victims' Protection Plan
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8. Vice Minister of Justice Guillermo Reyes told poloff on
June 5 the Inter-Institutional Committee on the Justice and
Peace Law, which consists of high-level representatives from
every GOC entity involved the JPL process, is working on a
proposal for a National Victims' Protection Plan. The
Committee is designing protocols to improve the overall GOC
victim protection programs and eliminate bureaucratic gaps.
The National Police have been assigned to provide "first
responder" protection to victims in JPL cases who have
received threats or who are at high risk for cooperating with
the authorities. The Ministry of Interior and Justice is
working to offer medium-term protective measures for victims
in JPL cases and provide protection for leaders of victims'
organizations who have been threatened. The Prosecutor
General's Office will protect JPL witnesses. The Committee
has also decided to immediately increase security to victims
attending version libres given by demobilized paramilitary
leaders, and the next couple of months it will set up a
Victims' Information System to enable the different GOC
agencies involved in the JPL process to monitor cases and
obtain information about victims.
Drucker