The UN demands timely progress in all investigations EFE/ Mauricio Dueñas Castañeda / Archive
A year has passed since the social outburst that rocked Colombia, deliberations continue and denial of harm continues, but many families are still asking about the people who died in the demonstrations. The testimony of the witnesses has become a fundamental factor in clarifying the facts, in this context the UN has demanded that the lives of the victims and all people who have testimony be protected by the authorities in order to move forward with the investigation and put You determine in detail what happened.
While UN human rights Colombians generally oppose acts of violence, they point to the violation of victims’ rights by public violence, as it should be noted that there have been complaints in various cities across the country about the attack by several uniformed men on the marching protesters such an event was rejected by the opposition at the time and by the international community itself.
In its statement, the organization highlighted the case of Prosecutor Juan Carlos Oliveros, who is tasked with investigating several cases of abuse of office and other aspects of social protest in the country and focuses his work on the city of Santiago de Cali. . . In addition, they call for the timely application of protective measures both for the victims and for key witnesses to the events.
The UN stated: “We reject the threats prosecutor Juan Carlos Oliveros received in connection with the protest, which is conducting a vital investigation in Cali. We demand the protection and guarantee of his life and integrity, as well as the life and integrity of threatened victims and witnesses.”.
It should be noted that as soon as cases of police violence at the demonstrations and activities related to the strike became known, some judicial authorities launched investigations into the uniformed officers who could be identified. Against this background, the call for due diligence is urgent, according to the UN, as it demands that investigations proceed in a timely manner and be exhaustive, without attempting to benefit either party.
The call for attention highlighted: “We reiterate the importance of pursuing independent, impartial, comprehensive and transparent investigations – criminal and disciplinary – into the complaints of abuses by public authorities and third parties that have arisen in connection with the protests.”.
Taking legal protections into account, the United Nations Organization emphasized the freedoms of Colombians regarding the possibility to raise their protest voice, since the peaceful demonstration is guaranteed by the same political constitution and a protective fence has been erected for this right citizens have.
The UN affirmed the need to strengthen the convergence points related to democratic governance in order to promote citizens’ rights, and in view of this pointed out: “Colombia has a legal framework protecting the right to peaceful assembly. We recall that it is necessary to strengthen the methods of democratic administration in order to ensure the full exercise of this right, which must be protected by the State, including from the actions of third parties.”.
It should be noted that, according to Indepaz, 83 murders were recorded during the nationwide strike, 44 of which had alleged public violence involvement. These facts are in addition to the hundreds of reports of arbitrary arrests and varying dynamics of violence that the uniformed officers unleashed on the marching population. Even in 2021, a UN commission would have been attacked by the same police in Cali that humanitarian mission was trying to verify various denunciations uncovered and was intimidated by the authorities as they denounced. Despite the international condemnation of these and the numerous remaining cases, the national government’s statements have not met the expectations of other sectors..
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This is how TransMilenio works this Friday after an American citizen was arrested after a day of demonstrations for taking part in riots during the commemoration of the national strike