Tactics and tools for the protection
of Human Rights Defenders

18 November 2011

Yesterday, The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) issued an open letter to Colombian President Manuel Santos condemning recent statements by the Colombian government intended to delegitimize an international legal case concerning the 1997 massacre in Mapiripán, Colombia. During the massacre, the government and paramilitary groups tortured, mutilated, dismembered, and threw civilians into the Guaviare River. A woman who had been previously recognized as a victim of the massacre recently testified in a separate hearing that the disappearance of her two sons and husband did not occur during the massacre. Despite the fact that it was the Colombian government that had provided the evidence now in question, President Santos took the opportunity to call into question the credibility of those seeking accountability for the massacre and accuse them of fraud.

In the letter, CCR urges President Santos to abstain from issuing statements that delegitimize the work of human rights defenders, including lawyers from the Colombia-based José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective, an organization already targeted because of its human rights activism. The Mapiripán massacre is undisputed and the Colombian government has acknowledged its role in the many atrocities committed by paramilitary forces. CCR concludes the letter by asking President Santos to recognize his administration’s obligation to investigate human rights violations, assume full responsibility for the identification of all victims of the crimes committed in Mapiripán, and publicly support the important role of the Inter-American Human Rights System.

Letter in English

Carta en español

Go to original article