Christian Carlos. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
The international non-profit organization for freedom of expression, Article 19, published a bulletin where international civil society organizations demand that the Colombian government immediately stop the repression of the right to protest and guarantee that human rights and technology are respected.
Given the mobilizations that took place on April 28th, Article 19 points out that there has been a process of militarization in the main cities of Colombia where there have been cases of repression by military forces, as well as by the police. Article 19 points out that such acts "threaten the guarantees to life and well-being of Colombian civil society". It therefore "firmly rejects the violent repression in Colombia".
In addition, he noted that, as in any other state, Colombia has the obligation to enforce the right to freedom of association, freedom of expression on social networks as well as in the streets.
The demonstrations in Colombia are due to the proposals in fiscal matters arising from the effects on the economy because of the pandemic by COVID-19. Colombian President Ivan Duque insisted that the reform "is a necessity" and not "a whim" which led to the resignation of the head of the Ministry of Finance of Colombia.
In response, Article 19 reports that, since the protests began as of May 4, 1,443 cases of police violence have been reported, 239 cases in which the police intervened by public force, 56 complaints of disappearances, 256 people who have been injured by the police, according to information gathered by Temblores, a Colombian non-profit organization for the protection of human rights.
"We are concerned about the reports of local activists, who point out that the militarization of the main cities and the abuse of public force is added to the kidnapping of digital devices"; however, Article 19 also denounces the kidnapping of journalistic work material, aggressions directed at journalists and independent communicators.
They point out that "there are records of undue exclusion" in Colombia that modify the information on social networks and the impossibility of the population to make live broadcasts.
Article 19 recalled that the State of Colombia is bound by international instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights.
The following is a list of the Article 19 appeal to the state of Colombia:
- Immediately stop the excessive use of force by the police and the army, end the repression in the main cities and small towns of the country and fulfil its responsibility to guarantee the right to protest.
- Ensure the free flow of information and establish all the necessary guarantees for independent and citizen media to do their job of covering the protests without
- Strengthen the rights of civil society to make use of digital technologies to exercise their right to protest, online and offline.
- Ensure that the application of exceptional measures is carried out in strict compliance with international and national human rights standards and in line with the principles of proportionality, necessity and non-discrimination.
- Investigate the facts related to the use of force by State security agents, following the call of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression.
Article 19, on behalf of 76 signatory organizations and 8 individual endorsements from around the world, express "heartfelt solidarity to activists, human rights defenders, organizations and all social actors in Colombia who, from different spheres, are resisting and working in defence of democracy".
Finally, Article 19 regrets that year after year, this type of violence continues to occur in Latin America. "We will not rest until all Latin American governments guarantee the full protection of the fundamental rights of all its inhabitants," concluded the bulletin.
