Excerpt
I.Overview
This article discusses how international human rights and humanitarian law can be applied to the current armed conflict in Colombia and specifically considers whether human rights violators currently operating there with almost total impunity can be effectively prosecuted and punished under international law. Since the ongoing violations of the human rights of Colombian citizens have been implicitly excused by a government that is increasingly ineffective in dealing with the political chaos that has caused them, an international solution may be the best available alternative. By ceding or losing control of large portions of its national territory to guerrilla forces, by allowing paramilitary groups to act as vigilantes or as unofficial units of the military, and by looking the other way while its own military abuses the rights of its citizens, the Colombian government has demonstrated that it is unable or unwilling to address a problem that grows worse as the conflict accelerates.
Part II of this article briefly analyzes the origins of the current conflict within the context of Colombia's violent political history. Part III identifies the organizations that are principally responsible for violating human rights in Colombia today. Part IV identifies several of the major human rights abuses taking place in Colombia that rise to the level of violating both international human rights and humanitarian law. Part V discusses Colombia's contradictory approach to human rights issues, including an exemplary adherence to international treaties and an espoused commitment to human rights in its domestic laws, coupled ...
Citation: Seagrave, Alan, ‘Conflict in Colombia: How Can Rebel Forces, Paramilitary Groups, Drug Traffickers, and Government Forces Be Held Liable for Human Rights Violations in a Country Where Impunity Reigns Supreme’ (25 Nova Law Review, 525.) 2000
Link to article