A Colombian justice minister on Friday, said he wants to use the Inter-American System for human rights’ Victim’s Law, to pay reparations to all victims of armed conflict in the country.
At a court hearing in the country’s second largest city, Medellin, Vice Minister of Justice Miguel Samper Strouss, voiced his support of the Victims Law which could force a $11,500 pay out to as many as 250,000 victims.
“Honourable judges of the Court, the backbone of our model of transitional justice is the Victims and Land Restitution is full compensation for all victims of armed conflict. Therefore, an endorsement of our American Court transition scheme would be a major step forward in the consolidation of the road to peace,” stated the Vice Minister.
Samper also stressed the importance to aid all victims and not just those who come to the system.
“The recognition by the Court HR standards and the integrity of the reparation content in the Victims Act would allow us to cover all victims of armed conflict with a comprehensive policy and not just those who come for a specific purpose to Justice and Peace or to the Victims Law, if not to all those who come to the system,” he added.
The Inter-American Court has already condemned the Colombian state in 13 cases of which the country has been ordered to pay $87,500 in compensation of which they payed only $13,100.
The government’s approach has been to oppose any cuts in their faculties. The country’s President Miguel Santos has commented on Twitter about the reparations using an article published by Colombia’a Empty Chair news.
La Silla Vacía reconoce esfuerzo del Gobierno por reparar a las víctimas y hacer de Colombia un país justo
— Juan Manuel Santos (@JuanManSantos) March 28, 2013
“The Empty Chair recognizes the Government’s efforts to compensate the victims and make Colombia a just country.”
The article referred to was published on Tuesday saying, “With seven months apart, The Empty Chair twice visited the south of Magdalena, and found a changed reality, showing that, at least there, the land restitution program of Juan Manuel Santos is starting to bear fruit.”
In the article it further claimed that not everything is perfect and progress still needs to be made.
Not everything is perfect. They still feel [people in one of the government reparation programs] the lack of state presence in many ways. For example, in many of the villages there is no electricity or running water, and the access road to the town is a dirt road, and after heavy rains it can take three hours to reach a paved road.
Sources
- “Ley de Víctimas debería ser la base para reparaciones ordenadas por el Sistema Interamericano para Colombia” Viceministro Miguel Samper (Ministerio de justicia de Colombia)
- Colombia quiere que Corte Interamericana use topes de Ley de Victimas (El Tiempo)
- Miguel Santos (Twitter)
- Chibolo, el caso de mostrar de la restitucion de tierras (La Silla Vacia)
