Colombia: Advocates Ask ICC To Rule on Police Brutality

The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) submitted a report to the  International Criminal Court denouncing severe human rights abuses in Colombia as widespread protests enter their 13th day.

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"Currently, the increased militarization of urban areas is worrying and would do little to deescalate the tensions and promote dialogue between the Colombian government and civil society," the organization said in a statement shared by Colombian local media outlet Marca.

The ECCHR highlighted that it is not the first time the Colombian people suffers police brutality and demonstrators are killed by officers. The statement recalls that during September 9, 2020, and November 2019, at least 17 young men were assassinated by the police. Also, the NGO temblores reported the police killed 289 people between 2017 and 2019 alone.

The ECCHR, alongside the Lawyers Collective Jose Alvear Restrepo; Corporation Sisma Mujer, Diverse Colombia, and the Regional Center for Human Rights and Gender Justice, asked the Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to determine if these violations amount to "international crimes, particularly crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute. 

Moreover, on Monday, the Inter-American Commission also expressed concern over the violent situation in Colombia since the police attacked with firearms and Indigenous demonstration in Cali on Sunday, leaving eight protesters injured.