The European Union said Satuday it expects Colombia to “assuage” concerns over impunity generated by a recently approved justice reform amplifying the jurisdiction of military tribunals.
In a press statement, the European High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, said she had “taken note of the adoption of the constitutional reform regarding the military jurisdiction in Colombia.”
The reform amplified the Colombian military’s jurisdiction over crimes allegedly committed by its own members. The reform was rejected by the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights who have claimed the reform will grant impunity to the military whose members are suspected of having committed at least 3,000 extrajudicial killings of civilians.
According to Ashton, “the EU had expressed a number of concerns on this sensitive issue. We have received reassurances that this reform will not lead to impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations, in line with Colombia’s international commitments.”
“The EU expects that remaining concerns will be assuaged by the forthcoming implementing legislation. The application of the new rules – in particular with regard to the treatment of the pending investigations of alleged extrajudicial executions by state agents – will be crucial to demonstrate that the worries expressed so far are unfounded,” the E.U.’s top foreign affairs affairs said.