A Spanish delegation arrived in Colombia Thursday to meet with Colombian congressmen and discuss the problem of the sexual abuse of women in the Andean nation’s armed conflict.
“We were invited by women who are members of the new Colombian Congress in order to observe and share ideas of how to combat the use of sexual violence as a weapon in the armed conflict in Colombia,” said Spanish delegate Jordi Pedret.
Pedret, who is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, discussed human rights conditions in Colombia with members of Congress.
Following the meeting, Pedret said that “Colombia must eradicate the terrible offenses on sexual liberty produced by the internal conflict and should vehemently fight to eliminate impunity. We are convinced that the new Colombian government and the new administration of Congress will place emphasis on that.”
Another Spanish delegate, Carles Campuzano, called for new laws in Colombia to combat sexual violence against vulnerable populations.
According to statistics by national forensics agency Medicina Legal, sexual violence against women is on the rise in Colombia, and is a crime associated largely with the country’s internal conflict.