Colombia
22.05.02
Urgent Interventions
Colombia: disappearance of Mrs. Nydia Correa Velásquez and assassination of Mr. Andrés Robledo
Case COL 220502
Detention / Forced disappearance / Assassination
The international Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention on the following situation in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation:
The international Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed by the Permanent Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos) of the detention and presumed disappearance of Mrs. Nydia Correa Velásquez and the assassination of Mr. Andrés Robledo, in Tuluá, Departament of Valle del Cauca. Both persons had been under the protection of the Preventive Measures of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights programme since September 1999.
According to the information received, Mrs. Nydia Correa, aged 30, who was displaced from the region as a consequence of a paramilitary incursion in 1999, had been residing in the special camps set up for the displaced communities of the city of Tuluá. She was abducted on 16 May, 2002 around 6:30 a.m., when she was going to work, and was intercepted by five individuals who were operating from a taxi and a motorcycle, and then took her to an unknown place.
According to the report the events took place near the hostel “Antigua Rayadora”. The sources indicate that a young woman with blond hair had been implicated in the act. She had, presumably, indicated Ms. Nydia Correa as the person who was to be abducted. Furthermore, there had been claims that she had been previously been participating against people considered as being “desechables” or “expendable” in Tuluá, in an operation in which members of the national police in the municipality are presumably participating.
The reports affirm that Mrs. Correa’s sister, Mrs. Luz Dary Correa, had also disappeared on the road that links Tuluá with the municipality of Ceilán, in the Departament of Valle del Cauca.
On other events, information provided by reliable sources affirm that Mr. Andrés Robledo was assassinated on 18 May 2002, at 9:30 a.m., also in the city of Tuluá. He had been driving his motorcycle in the neighbourhood of Sajonia when several armed individuals intercepted him at the place of entrance to the neighbourhood. According to the reports the individuals caused a fight and then assassinated Mr. Robledo with firearms.
The reports inform that Mr. Andrés Robledo was the president of the peasant organization “Los Yarumos”, which had been member of the Municipal Committee of Human Righs, also under protection of the programme of Preventive Measures of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights since 1999. The organization had been nearly eradicated by paramilitary groups operating in the area.
According to the report, Mr. Robledo had been included in the Programme for the Protection of Social and Union Leaders, and Human Rights Defenders of the Colombian Ministry of Interior, as a result of the numerous threats against his life and personal integrity. Since November 2000, he had been aided by the programme Preventive Measures of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights for the displaced communities of Buga and Tuluá.
According to the information received several human rights organization had been previously informed the national and local authorities of the existence of paramilitary threats (issued on 12 April 2002) against the members of the displaced communities of Buga and Tulúa.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT shares its concern, along with other human rights organisations, for the continuous and worrying violent actions perpetrated against the displaced communities of the region. The International Secretariat condemns these events of extreme violence, the persecution of the civil community, and the presumed impunity of the authors of the violations, as well as the absence of effective protective measures from the regional and national authorities that prevent these type of actions.
Action requested:
Please write to the Colombian authorities urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to establish the whereabouts of Mrs. Nydia Correa, and to guarantee her physical and psychological security;
ii. order an impartial and thorough investigation regarding the events described above in order to identify those responsible, bring them to justice and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative actions provided by the law;
iii. carry out immediately the recommendations by international and regional human rights organizations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Commission for Human Rights of the United Nations, and the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights;
iv. guarantee the respect for human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance to the national laws and the international human rights norms.
Addresses:
· S.E. Andrés Pastrana Arango, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n°.7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566 20 71 e-mail : apastra@presidencia.gov.co
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n°. 6-54 Piso 3, Santafé de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· Doctor Gustavo Bell Lemus, Ministro de la Defensa, Avenida El Dorado con Cra. 52 CAN, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 18 74 ; e-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co ; mdn@cable.net.co
· Doctor Armando Estrada Villa, Ministro del Interior, Cra. 8 n°. 8-09 Santa Fe de Bogotá, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 286 80 25 ; e-mail: mininterior@myrealbox.com ; minisint@col1.telecom.com.co
· Doctor Edgardo José Maya Villazón, Procurador General de la Nación, Carrera 5 n°. 15-80,Santa Fe de Bogotá.Fax: (+57 1)342 97 23;(+57 1)281 75 31 ; e-mail : reygon@procuraduria.gov.co ; anticorrupcion@presidencia.gov.co
· Doctor Luis Camilo Osorio, Fiscal General de la Nación, Diagonal 22 B n°. 52-01, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 570 20 00 ; contacto@fiscalia.gov.co ; denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co
· Doctor Eduardo Cifuentes, Defensor del Pueblo, Defensoría del Pueblo, Calle 55 n°. 10-32 Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+ 57 1) 640 04 91 e-mail : secretaria_privada@hotmail.com
· General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida el Dorado con Cra. 52, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 29 35 ; e-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; pilaque@cgm.mil.co
Please write to the embassies of Colombia in your respective countries
Geneva, May 22 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Detention / Forced disappearance / Assassination
The international Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention on the following situation in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation:
The international Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed by the Permanent Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos) of the detention and presumed disappearance of Mrs. Nydia Correa Velásquez and the assassination of Mr. Andrés Robledo, in Tuluá, Departament of Valle del Cauca. Both persons had been under the protection of the Preventive Measures of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights programme since September 1999.
According to the information received, Mrs. Nydia Correa, aged 30, who was displaced from the region as a consequence of a paramilitary incursion in 1999, had been residing in the special camps set up for the displaced communities of the city of Tuluá. She was abducted on 16 May, 2002 around 6:30 a.m., when she was going to work, and was intercepted by five individuals who were operating from a taxi and a motorcycle, and then took her to an unknown place.
According to the report the events took place near the hostel “Antigua Rayadora”. The sources indicate that a young woman with blond hair had been implicated in the act. She had, presumably, indicated Ms. Nydia Correa as the person who was to be abducted. Furthermore, there had been claims that she had been previously been participating against people considered as being “desechables” or “expendable” in Tuluá, in an operation in which members of the national police in the municipality are presumably participating.
The reports affirm that Mrs. Correa’s sister, Mrs. Luz Dary Correa, had also disappeared on the road that links Tuluá with the municipality of Ceilán, in the Departament of Valle del Cauca.
On other events, information provided by reliable sources affirm that Mr. Andrés Robledo was assassinated on 18 May 2002, at 9:30 a.m., also in the city of Tuluá. He had been driving his motorcycle in the neighbourhood of Sajonia when several armed individuals intercepted him at the place of entrance to the neighbourhood. According to the reports the individuals caused a fight and then assassinated Mr. Robledo with firearms.
The reports inform that Mr. Andrés Robledo was the president of the peasant organization “Los Yarumos”, which had been member of the Municipal Committee of Human Righs, also under protection of the programme of Preventive Measures of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights since 1999. The organization had been nearly eradicated by paramilitary groups operating in the area.
According to the report, Mr. Robledo had been included in the Programme for the Protection of Social and Union Leaders, and Human Rights Defenders of the Colombian Ministry of Interior, as a result of the numerous threats against his life and personal integrity. Since November 2000, he had been aided by the programme Preventive Measures of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights for the displaced communities of Buga and Tuluá.
According to the information received several human rights organization had been previously informed the national and local authorities of the existence of paramilitary threats (issued on 12 April 2002) against the members of the displaced communities of Buga and Tulúa.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT shares its concern, along with other human rights organisations, for the continuous and worrying violent actions perpetrated against the displaced communities of the region. The International Secretariat condemns these events of extreme violence, the persecution of the civil community, and the presumed impunity of the authors of the violations, as well as the absence of effective protective measures from the regional and national authorities that prevent these type of actions.
Action requested:
Please write to the Colombian authorities urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to establish the whereabouts of Mrs. Nydia Correa, and to guarantee her physical and psychological security;
ii. order an impartial and thorough investigation regarding the events described above in order to identify those responsible, bring them to justice and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative actions provided by the law;
iii. carry out immediately the recommendations by international and regional human rights organizations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Commission for Human Rights of the United Nations, and the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights;
iv. guarantee the respect for human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance to the national laws and the international human rights norms.
Addresses:
· S.E. Andrés Pastrana Arango, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n°.7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566 20 71 e-mail : apastra@presidencia.gov.co
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n°. 6-54 Piso 3, Santafé de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· Doctor Gustavo Bell Lemus, Ministro de la Defensa, Avenida El Dorado con Cra. 52 CAN, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 18 74 ; e-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co ; mdn@cable.net.co
· Doctor Armando Estrada Villa, Ministro del Interior, Cra. 8 n°. 8-09 Santa Fe de Bogotá, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 286 80 25 ; e-mail: mininterior@myrealbox.com ; minisint@col1.telecom.com.co
· Doctor Edgardo José Maya Villazón, Procurador General de la Nación, Carrera 5 n°. 15-80,Santa Fe de Bogotá.Fax: (+57 1)342 97 23;(+57 1)281 75 31 ; e-mail : reygon@procuraduria.gov.co ; anticorrupcion@presidencia.gov.co
· Doctor Luis Camilo Osorio, Fiscal General de la Nación, Diagonal 22 B n°. 52-01, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 570 20 00 ; contacto@fiscalia.gov.co ; denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co
· Doctor Eduardo Cifuentes, Defensor del Pueblo, Defensoría del Pueblo, Calle 55 n°. 10-32 Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+ 57 1) 640 04 91 e-mail : secretaria_privada@hotmail.com
· General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida el Dorado con Cra. 52, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 29 35 ; e-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; pilaque@cgm.mil.co
Please write to the embassies of Colombia in your respective countries
Geneva, May 22 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.