The United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia says
to be concerned about forced displacement in the country, the ‘false
positives’ scandal and the emergence of new paramilitary gangs.
“The mortality rate associated with the conflict is declining, but the rate displacement isn’t,” the UN’s Human Rights deputy representative Javier Hernández told Spanish press agency Efe.
Hernández and his superior Christian Salazar are also worried about ‘false positives’, the killing of innocent civilians to present them as guerrillas killed in combat. A report by the UN’s office in Colombia states that the Prosecutor General currently are investigating the death of 1171 Colombians allegedly killed by the armed forces.
According to the UN, “these cases are not isolated, but a widespread practice by a large number of military units throughout the country.”
Furthermore, the UN expresses its concern about the emergence of new paramilitary gangs and the progress of Colombia’s Justice and Peace law that convinced paramilitary organization AUC to demobilize.
The UN report says approximately 150 paramilitary gangs have been formed since the demobilization of the AUC, many of them consisting of former members of the AUC or their relatives. The UN denounces that since the beginning of the demobilization of the AUC not one paramilitary has been sentenced and calls for a debate about the demobilization process.