Colombia’s ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Alfonso Hoyos, walked out of an International Commission on Human Rights meeting on Thursday, after Ecuador requested that the Commission pass a resolution condemning Colombia for its 2008 attack on a FARC camp on Ecuadorean soil.
Hoyos walked out of the meeting after delivering a 20 minute speech to delegates, arguing that the Commission has no jurisdiction to declare breaches of international humanitarian law, reported news site ABC.es.
Hoyos assured the OAS delegates that his country “has no problems with their brother, Ecuador, but with a group of assassins, narco-traffickers, terrorists and kidnappers called the FARC,” and claimed that the FARC camp that Colombia attacked in Ecuador was a legitimate military target under international humanitarian law.
Hoyos’ speech followed a request from Ecuador’s Prosecutor General, Diego Garcia, for the OAS Commission to take the “historic” decision and condemn Colombia for its actions.
Ecuador’s case against Colombia was originally presented to the OAS in June of 2009, following the Colombian incurrsion into Ecuadorean territory to attack a FARC camp, resulting in 26 people killed. Among those killed were FARC leader “Raul Reyes”, an Ecuadorean citizen, and four Mexican students.
Ecuador’s complaint against Colombia argues that when Colombia bombed the FARC camp in their territory and killed one of their citizens, they violated the right to life, personal integrity, judicial guarantees, and judicial protections enjoyed by Ecuadorean citizens. “The Ecuadorean died in a summary execution on Ecuadorian soil by a foreign country.”
This is the second time in the history of the OAS that one member country has tried to pass a resolution condemning another member country. The first case, which occurred in 2006 when Nicaragua tried to denounce Costa Rica, was declared inadmissible by the OAS in 2007.