# CE2004088EN.01050801.xml

| 8.4.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 88/508 |
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8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 88/508

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(2004/C 88 E/0520)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0536/04

by John Bowis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 February 2004)

Subject:   Colombia

Subject:

| 1. | What steps is the Commission taking to help the Colombian Government ensure that its national security policy is compatible with international human rights law and obligations? |
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1.

What steps is the Commission taking to help the Colombian Government ensure that its national security policy is compatible with international human rights law and obligations?

| 2. | Is the Commission aware that the then United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, expressed concern about the dismantling of the Human Rights Unit of the Colombian Attorney-General's office, and will the Commission discuss with the Colombian Government how they will ensure the continued effective working of independent human rights investigations and, when appropriate, legal proceedings? |
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2.

Is the Commission aware that the then United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, expressed concern about the dismantling of the Human Rights Unit of the Colombian Attorney-General's office, and will the Commission discuss with the Colombian Government how they will ensure the continued effective working of independent human rights investigations and, when appropriate, legal proceedings?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(22 March 2004)

(22 March 2004)

| 1. | The Commission, in its contacts with the Colombian Government, expressed its deep concern regarding the still grave human rights and international humanitarian law situation in Colombia, and urged the Government to urgently address this situation.
  Furthermore, the Commission uses all the cooperation instruments at its disposal to help the Colombian Government improve the situation in this respect. All the Commission's priorities for the use of its cooperation instruments, as described in its Country Strategy Paper for Colombia (1), ultimately aim at improving the human rights and humanitarian situation.
  They consist of:






  — | the support of on-going Colombian activities in the search for Peace; |
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1.

The Commission, in its contacts with the Colombian Government, expressed its deep concern regarding the still grave human rights and international humanitarian law situation in Colombia, and urged the Government to urgently address this situation.

Furthermore, the Commission uses all the cooperation instruments at its disposal to help the Colombian Government improve the situation in this respect. All the Commission's priorities for the use of its cooperation instruments, as described in its Country Strategy Paper for Colombia (1), ultimately aim at improving the human rights and humanitarian situation.

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They consist of:

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the support of on-going Colombian activities in the search for Peace;

| — | targeting of the roots and causes of the conflict; |
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targeting of the roots and causes of the conflict;

| — | providing humanitarian assistance to the victims of the conflict. |
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providing humanitarian assistance to the victims of the conflict.

In 2004, for instance, the Commission will design, with the Colombian Government, a programme worth EUR 10,5 million aiming at reducing impunity levels by improving the functioning of Colombia's justice system.

| 2. | At the London Meeting on International Support for Colombia on 10 July 2003, the Commission, together with the other representatives of the international community, voiced its strong support for the work undertaken by the Office of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia, noted with satisfaction the Colombian Government's pledge to implement the recommendations made by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and urged the Colombian Government to implement these recommendations promptly.
  The recommendations include:






  (a) | that the Attorney-General submit a bill to Congress establishing a career structure for officials and employees of his Office, with a view to strengthening the independence and impartiality of that institution; |
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2.

At the London Meeting on International Support for Colombia on 10 July 2003, the Commission, together with the other representatives of the international community, voiced its strong support for the work undertaken by the Office of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia, noted with satisfaction the Colombian Government's pledge to implement the recommendations made by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and urged the Colombian Government to implement these recommendations promptly.

The recommendations include:

(a)

that the Attorney-General submit a bill to Congress establishing a career structure for officials and employees of his Office, with a view to strengthening the independence and impartiality of that institution;

| (b) | to ensure and to strengthen the independence of the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Unit in the Attorney-General's Office, to guarantee the protection of its staff and to provide it with the means necessary to carry out its investigations; |
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(b)

to ensure and to strengthen the independence of the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Unit in the Attorney-General's Office, to guarantee the protection of its staff and to provide it with the means necessary to carry out its investigations;

| (c) | to establish within the Attorney-General's Office's Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Unit a group specializing in the investigation of possible links between members of the military and the police and paramilitary groups. |
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(c)

to establish within the Attorney-General's Office's Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Unit a group specializing in the investigation of possible links between members of the military and the police and paramilitary groups.

During the recent high-level contacts between the Commission and the Colombian Government (visit of the Member of the Commission in charge of External Relations to Colombia on 21/22 January 2004, visit of President Uribe to Brussels and Strasbourg on 9/10 February 2004), the Commission expressed its strong support for these recommendations.

The report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the implementation of its recommendations will be discussed at the forthcoming 60th session of the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva. On this occasion, the EU will draft the Chairperson's Statement on Colombia.

In addition to its political support for the work and recommendations of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia, the Commission also funded some of its activities through the ‘European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights’ (budget chapter 19 04):

| — | EUR 783 536 have been allocated to a project in favour of municipal ombudspersons for the period 2002-2004; |
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EUR 783 536 have been allocated to a project in favour of municipal ombudspersons for the period 2002-2004;

| — | EUR 600 000 have been allocated to a project aiming at strengthening the country's penitentiary institutions for the period 2003-2005. |
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EUR 600 000 have been allocated to a project aiming at strengthening the country's penitentiary institutions for the period 2003-2005.

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(1)  http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/colombia/csp/index.htm.

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