JULY HUMAN RIGHTS UPDATE: NATIONAL MURDER RATES

UNCLAS BOGOTA 002782 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KJUS PGOV PHUM ELAB SMIG CO SUBJECT: JULY HUMAN RIGHTS UPDATE: NATIONAL MURDER RATES DOWN, PROGRESS ON LABOR AND JUSTICE AND PEACE CASES REF: BOGOTA 528 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. GOC statistics show 8030 homicides occurred nationwide from January to June, down from 8903 during the same period in 2007. Kidnappings fell from 281 during the first semester of 2007 to 242 during the same period in 2008. The National Unionist College reports 32 union members have been killed thus far in 2008; GOC statistics show 27. Labor unions claim police involvement in the murder of Bogota public employees union leader Guillermo Rivera. We have raised the Rivera case with the Colombian National Police (CNP),the Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia,) Bogota city officials, and the Presidential Human Rights Program. Fiscalia Justice and Peace Law unit director Luis Gonzalez said testimony provided by demobilized paramilitaries has clarified over 9000 crimes to date. Discussions continue between the Defense Ministry and a Cofan indigenous community on the construction of a military base in Putumayo. END SUMMARY. -------------- OVERALL VIOLENCE STATISTICS CONTINUE DOWNWARD TREND -------------- ¶2. In the first six months of 2008, the GOC registered 8030 homicides, down from 8903 during the same period last year The sharpest fall occurred in Santander department with a 69% decline (from 242 in the first six months of 2007 to 75 in the same time frame in 2008) and Buenaventura with a 46% decline (204 to 110). Still, some departments saw a spike in violence due to FARC activity, criminal groups, and narcotrafficking bands, including Cordoba (153 to 281, an 84% increase) and Choco (32 to 67, a 109% increase). Murder rates also remained high in Valle de Cauca, Risaralda, Putumayo, and Meta departments. Murders in Bogota fell from 881 during the first semester of 2007 to 861 during the same period this year. ¶3. Kidnappings are also down nationally, dropping from 281 during the first six months of 2007 to 242 during the same period in 2008. Departments where kidnapping remains a serious problem include Antioquia (40),Meta (25),Tolima (25) and Bogota (21). -------------- LABOR VIOLENCE CONTINUES BUT IMPROVING -------------- ¶4. The National Unionist College (ENS) has registered 32 murders of unionists and peasant leaders so far in 2008; the Ministry of Social Protection (MSP) reports 28 as of the end of July. The difference in numbers largely reflects MSP's exclusion of peasant group members, because they lack the employer-employee relationship required to register with the MSP as unionists. In one case, the MSP and ENS disagree over whether or not a murdered teacher belonged to a union. Since 2001, the Fiscalia has prosecuted 94 cases of violence against unionists, leading to the conviction of 188 individuals. 125 of the individual convicted are in jail, with 63 having been convicted in abstentia. The special labor sub-unit within the Fiscalia has resolved 50 cases, resulting in the conviction of 90 individuals, since its creation in October 2006. ¶5. Bogota municipal employees union President Guillermo Rivera Fuquene disappeared on April 22 in Bogota. Local authorities found his mutilated body 134 miles from Bogota on April 24, but did not identify and bury his remains until July 17. The GOC determined the cause of death as strangulation, but Rivera's family and the Confederation of Colombian Workers (CTC) report the body also showed signs of torture. A witness told the CTC that Rivera was taken by municipal police dressed in civilian clothes and placed in a patrol car. The witness refuses to cooperate with the Fiscalia and has reportedly gone into hiding, though CTC claims she is missing. CTC officials speculate that Rivera was killed due to his "militant" work with the Union Patriotica and the Communist Party. Post has raised the case with the CNP, Fiscalia, Bogota municipal authorities, and the Presidential Office on Human Rights. GOC officials say they have no evidence of police involvement. The case remains under investigation. ¶6. The Superior Judicial Council (Consejo Superior de la Judicatura) announced that special labor judge positions hearing labor violence cases would become permanent. Previously, they were temporary, six-month positions. The change responds in part to labor union criticism after the independent Appellate Court decided not to reappoint one of the three previous temporary labor judges, Jose Nirio Sanchez, in January 2008 (reftel). -------------- PROGRESS IN JUSTICE AND PEACE PROCESS -------------- ¶7. Fiscalia Justice and Peace (JPL) Unit director Luis Gonzalez said the unit has heard 1500 voluntary confessions (version libres) so far. leading to the clarification of over 9000 crimes (including 80 murders of trade unionists) and the exhumation of over 1500 remains. He said the GOC's extradition of fourteen paramilitary leaders to the United States in May has not hurt the JPL process. In fact, the extraditions have helped demobilized participants understand the benefits of cooperating with the Fiscalia. The unit has scheduled 17 additional versiones libres in the coming months, and 59 prosecutors are now working full time on the follow-up investigations. ¶8. Gonzalez said JPL testimony has been especially helpful in clarifying the murders of members of the leftist political party Union Patriotica in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Former paramilitary leader Ever Veloza Garcia (alias HH) alone has revealed information identifying 400 mass graves, over 50 of which have been unearthed. Veloza also recently submitted a memory stick, allegedly belonging to former United Self Defense of Colombia leader Carlos Castano, into evidence. The Fiscalia's Technical Investigative Corps (CTI) is reviewing the stick. We have requested Veloza's extradition, which is being reviewed by the Supreme Court. -------------- MOD-COFAN DIALOGUE -------------- ¶9. Discussions continue between the Defense Ministry (MOD) and a Cofan indigenous community on the construction of a military base in Putumayo. On July 21, the MOD responded to a Cofan community request for information on the environmental and security impact of the base on the community. The community rejected the MOD's proposal to hold a meeting on July 29, citing the need for more time to assess the impact studies. The Cofan plan to hire consultants to review the documents and suggested a meeting with the MOD in September. Specific Cofan concerns center on the number of troops in the area, impact on water systems (sewer drainage, subsurface water),and a clearer definition of the land area involved. -------------- ARRESTS IN TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS -------------- ¶10. On June 28, the GOC announced that two men had been arrested and will be tried for the illegal transportation of 25 Chinese citizens, including three minors, through Colombia. The men were arrested in Buenaventura while readying a ship to transport the Chinese to Panama en route to the United States. The Chinese originally entered Colombia illegally through Ecuador, part of a growing number of illegal Chinese being trafficked through South and Central America to the United States. This year, Department of Administrative Security (DAS) regional offices in Valle de Cauca have deported 47 Chinese that paid between 20,000 and 30,000 dollars to be transported to the United States. Under Article 188 of Colombia's Criminal Procedure Code, the two men face sentences of up to 15 years and substantial fines. The GOC continues to sensitize officers and investigative units to focus on the Chinese trafficking problem. BROWNFIELD