Human Rights Mission Condemns State Terrorism In Colombia

Colombia's International Human Rights Verification Mission on Thursday ordered an investigation into President Ivan Duque's administration for "torturing, disappearing, raping, and murdering Colombian citizens during the social outbreak."

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"The government is encouraging police brutality, which has limited the right of the people to protest peacefully and to take part in the country's political decisions," the Mission clarified.

The human rights defenders also rejected Duque's stigmatization and discrimination of the protesters, who are mostly young people, women, LGBTI community members, farmers, Afro-descendants, independent journalists, and Indigenous people.

"Duque has failed to control the crisis unleashed over his mandate and neoliberal measures," stated the mission formed by representatives of social organizations and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) Office in Colombia.

The officials condemned the Colombian Prosecutor's Office and Ombudsman's Office for recognizing just three of the 45 murders committed by police agents during the protests.

"The government hasn't recognized either the 3,789 complaints of police abuses registered from April 28 to May 31," the Mission added and urged Colombian authorities to dismantle the Mobile Anti-Riot Squadron (ESMAD).

"This social crisis is causing irreparable damage to people's lives. It is time for Duque to guarantee peace and dialogue between government representatives and the protesters," the human rights defenders noted. 

According to the Mission, over 300 people have disappeared during the protests, 15 percent of whom are women. The Attorney General's Office only recognizes 129 disappearances.