Colombia: Presidential Candidates Must Champion Human Rights
Colombia: Presidential Candidates Must Champion Human Rights
Written by Amnesty International
Thursday, 01 May 2014 17:06
Human rights and the fight to end impunity in Colombia must be a high priority for all candidates in the presidential elections scheduled for 25 May, Amnesty International said today in a public letter addressed to the five contenders.
“Human rights should be the cornerstone of any political platform, especially given the backdrop of the ongoing peace talks between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Havana,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Director for the Americas.
“A long-sought opportunity for peace may be looming, but the next president of Colombia must not bargain away human rights in the negotiations. The candidates should be clear that a lasting peace can only be built on justice and respect for human rights.”
“The Colombian government has failed to guarantee the protection of civilians, who continue to bear the brunt of the worst excesses of the protracted internal armed conflict. This conflict has destroyed the lives of millions of Colombians, and the lives of countless more are still affected on a daily basis.”
The figures are astounding. According to a report published last year by the governmental National Centre for Historic Memory, there have been:
- Almost 220,000 conflict-related killings, 80 per cent of them civilians, between 1958 and 2012.
- At least 25,000 victims of enforced disappearances between 1985 and 2012.
- Around 27,000 kidnapping victims between 1970 and 2010.
- More than 5 million people forcibly displaced between 1985 and 2012.
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