Human Rights Watch expressed grave concerns about the state of human rights in Colombia in 2012, according to a January 2013 report.
The report highlights human rights violations throughout Latin America and made specific mention of the “chronic impunity” regarding human rights crimes in Colombia.
The seven-page evaluation is divided into 10 sections ranging from crimes committed by guerrilla forces and military abuses of power and impunity to domestic sexual violence.
The report highlights that “over the past decade the Colombian army has committed an alarming number of extrajudicial killings of civilians. It mentions that “more than 3,000 civilians that have been killed by agents acting on behalf of the state.
The Victims and Land Restitution Act, devised to help the hundreds of thousands of Colombians who have been displaced by armed conflict, according to the report, has been implemented slowly and many who have made claims and applied for consideration have been threatened and attacked.
The report did, however, suggest that human rights violations would diminish under the leadership of current president Juan Manuel Santos.
“During his first year in office, President Juan Manuel Santos’ administration showed a greater concern for human rights than the former president, Alvaro Uribe,” read the report.
The report also lauded the current government for making the first attempt to negotiate peace with the country’s largest and longest-standing insurgent group, the FARC, in over a decade.
As well as Colombia, countries such as Cuba, Venezuela and Brazil faced strong criticism. The United States was also scrutinized for its use of the death penalty and for failing to close the Guantanamo Bay prison.
