This report covers the official visit to Colombia by the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous People, Mr. Rodolfo Stavenhagen, which took place between 8 and 17 March 2004.
Colombia has made progress in recent years in terms of the constitutional recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples. There are still enormous challenges to be faced, however, in the effective promotion and protection of indigenous people’s human rights and fundamental freedoms. The lack of coherence between the constitutional order, the effective implementation of the relevant provisions and the proper functioning of institutions has limited the achievements of the 1991 Constitution.
The Special Rapporteur heard many accounts of the conflict currently gripping the country and its devastating effects on indigenous peoples: murder and torture, mass displacement, forced disappearance, forced recruitment of young people into combat units and rape of women, as well as occupation of their lands by guerrilla, paramilitary and other illegal armed groups. There are also reports of the militarization of some indigenous communities. The Special Rapporteur is particularly concerned at the situation of some very small communities that are now on the brink of extinction as a result of the murder of their leaders, massacres, threats and the forced dispersal of their members.
Based on the conclusions drawn from his visit, the Special Rapporteur recommends, inter alia: securing the supply and free passage of food to indigenous communities in conflict zones, in particular to the neediest groups; the mobilization of international cooperation for an emergency programme of aid to the indigenous communities in danger of extinction, particularly in the Amazon region; respect for neutral and demilitarized indigenous territories on the part of all armed groups and the creation of indigenous peace zones, free from all military operations and subject to international supervision; immediate investigations by the prosecution services and the application of the law in all cases concerning complaints of abuses and violations
committed against members of indigenous communities by the armed forces and the police; the discontinuation of schemes for indigenous children and youngsters, such as the network of informers, the introduction of peasant soldiers and the “soldiers for a day” programme; and due application by the relevant State bodies of the precautionary measures requested by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for various indigenous peoples.
