COLOMBIA: ADDRESSING COLMIL EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 004340

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER MARR CO
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA: ADDRESSING COLMIL EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS

REF: A. BOGOTA 03872

B. BOGOTA 1322

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Summary
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1. (C) Defense Minister Santos set up a high-level
commission chaired by Vice Minister Jaramillo to address the
apparent increase in extrajudicial killings by the Colombian
military. He also ordered Armed Forces Commander Padilla to
incorporate international humanitarian law into all
operational planning and to facilitate the arrival of
civilian judicial investigators at the scene of combat
deaths. Charge Drucker urged Army Commander Montoya to
ensure aggressive military action against illegal groups does
not inadvertently contribute to extrajudicial killings. The
UN High Commission on Human Rights (UNHCHR),International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),and human rights groups
have voiced concern about the issue, with the UNHCHR
reporting a rise in alleged crimes from 145 in 2005 to 178 in

2006. End Summary.

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GOC Investigates Extrajudicial Killings
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2. (U) Defense Minister Santos issued permanent directive 10
on June 6 which set up a commission -- chaired by Vice
Minister Jaramillo and including Military Criminal Justice
director Luz Marina Gil, GOC Human Rights Program director
Carlos Franco, and the Deputy Commanders of each service --
to address the apparent increase in extrajudicial killings by
the Colombian military. The commission will support criminal
and disciplinary investigations of alleged killings,
recommend appropriate policy changes to ensure aggressive
military action against narco-terrorists does not
inadvertently contribute to such killings, and meet
periodically with international organizations to seek their
comments. Jaramillo said he would propose changing promotion
criteria to recognize a broader range of achievements -- e.g.
captures and demobilizations alongside kills, and advances
like territorial control and relations with civilians.


3. (U) In the directive, Santos also ordered Armed Forces
Commander Fredy Padilla to instruct military personnel to
build international humanitarian law (IHL) and legal advice
into all operational planning, establish clear rules of
engagement, exhaust all resources to enable civilian
investigators to reach the scene of combat incidents,
preserve the scene until civilian investigators arrive,
comply strictly with laws on the custody of civilians
suspected of criminal activity, and afford the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) immediate access to
prisoners.


4. (U) Military Justice director Gil told polcouns in June
the Judicial Police have begun to attach units to Colombia's
joint commands, a move that will help civilian investigators
to reach potential crime scenes. She said the military is
also training personnel to preserve a potential crime scene
until civilian investigators reach the site.


5. (C) Army Commander Mario Montoya met local UNHCHR
representative Juan Pablo Corlazzoli on June 6 and agreed to
allow UNHCHR personnel to visit the staff of each of the
Army's seven divisions to review the circumstances and status
of all alleged extrajudicial killings attributed to a
particular division. This process would start the week of
June 11. Montoya's invitation to the UNHCHR follows earlier
meetings with Charge Drucker that focused on human rights
concerns, including extrajudicial killings (ref B). Montoya
explained to the Charge that he constantly pushes commanders
to be more aggressive, but said his metrics extend beyond
kills to include captures, desertions, destruction of
weapons, camps, and drug labs, and interdiction.

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Killings Apparently on the Rise
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6. (U) The GOC's actions follow growing concern about an
apparent increase in extrajudicial killings committed by the
military. These are generally defined as homicides without
permission of a court or legal authority, or homicides
committed outside of combat. Regardless of ties to illegal
armed groups, victims are deemed civilian non-combatants if
unarmed and in plain clothes at the time of death. In its
2006 annual report, the UNHCHR said such killings were
increasing, rising from 145 in 2005 to 178 in 2006.
Corlazzoli told polcouns on June 8 that the number of alleged
killings reported so far this year exceeds that during the
comparable period last year. The Colombian Commission of
Jurists (CCJ),a well-known human rights group, reports (ref
A) even higher levels, claiming the number of killings nearly
doubled from 135 in 2001-2 to 262 in 2005-6.

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Drivers: COLMIL Growth; Pressure to Show Results
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7. (C) Human rights groups and GOC officials say multiple
factors may account for the apparent increase in
extrajudicial killings. The 2006 UNHCHR report voices
concern that military personnel's "inadequate understanding"
of the demand for results in the war against illegal armed
groups may lead to such killings. Corlazzoli told polcouns
the Army's emphasis on kills as a measure of aggressiveness
is counterproductive. Local ICRC director Barbara Hinterman
said the Colombian military's human rights performance is
better than many other militaries, but agreed the military's
stress on body count leads to illegal deaths. She said
individual commanders are the key to soldiers' behavior, and
supported GOC efforts to develop clearer rules of engagement.



8. (C) Colombian military officials believe the more than 30
percent increase in force numbers since 2002, coupled with a
tripling in combat operations, could also be contributing to
extrajudicial killings. The military has expanded into areas
of terrorist concentration, with greater operational
assertiveness and higher frequency of enemy contact.
Independent think tank Resource Center for the Analysis of
Conflicts (CERAC) maintains that while human rights-related
charges against the military have increased in recent years,
they have declined in proportion to the growth in the
military. Corlazzoli told polcouns fabrication is also an
issue. The UNHCHR has received reports that in some areas,
such as Santander, the FARC has instructed families of FARC
members killed in combat to file complaints that the FARC
fighters were victims of extrajudicial murder. Still,
Corlazzoli said that after adjusting for such false claims,
the trend in alleged killings is disturbing.


Drucker