Colombia - Country of Concern: latest update 31 December 2014

The human rights situation in Colombia remained largely unchanged over the last three month period.

The situation of human rights defenders (HRDs) remains concerning after "Black September", when more than 160 people were threatened, mainly by criminal groups (BACRIM). On 26 October, 98 HRDs received threats from the criminal group Águilas Negras, who later designated 49 people from the National Victims Committee as military targets. HRDs requested an urgent meeting with the Colombian government which concluded with an agreement to create a new plan for prevention and protection, especially in light of the imminent release from prison of demobilised paramilitaries, in accordance with the Justice and Peace Law (2006). Despite the meeting, the threats have continued. On 3 December, the criminal group Los Rastrojos threatened seven HRDs in the department of Sucre and, the following day, the Águilas Negras threatened media groups and 14 journalists, among them the local agency Reporteros sin Fronteras, Venezuela's Telesur and Canal Capital, Bogotá's public television channel.

The British Embassy in Colombia continues to place support for HRDs at the core of their human rights strategy. It is currently funding a project in Antioquia to set up regional human rights committees, aiming to provide effective mechanisms for dialogue and coordination between HRDs and the local, departmental and national government. The Embassy also consistently works with NGOs and the Colombian government to monitor and accompany HRDs through regular meetings and visits. On 10 November, Huber Ballesteros, a leading member of the trade union group Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Colombia (CUT), who was arrested in August 2013, was visited in prison by an Embassy official. Representatives of the trade union organisation Unión Sindical Obrera de la Industria del Petróleo (USO) have also met Embassy staff to discuss their concerns. And in mid-November, the Embassy received a response from the Presidential Programme for Human Rights pledging to speed up their investigations of the multiple threats to HRDs made in September.

The negotiations to bring an end to over 50 years of conflict between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) reached their second anniversary on 18 October 2014. On 30 October, FARC delegates publicly acknowledged, for the first time, that the group had caused harm to civilians (but denied that civilians were ever a "primary or secondary" target of its operations). The group said that they would assume their share of responsibility for human rights abuses during Colombia's conflict, although they later denied that they had ever committed crimes against humanity.

Following a two-week suspension, triggered by the FARC capture of Brigadier-General Alzate, peace negotiations resumed on 10-17 December, with the final delegation of victims joining the talks on 16 December. The fourth group of victims denounced threats that they had received, allegedly from BACRIM groups. Negotiators are currently discussing the fourth and fifth points of the peace accords in parallel: the rights of victims and the end of the conflict. The FARC maintained their attacks on state institutions and the local population. In separate incidents in November, two indigenous guards and one police officer were killed, six others were wounded, three minors were kidnapped, and two soldiers were captured (and later released). On 17 December, however, the group announced an "indefinite" unilateral cease-fire, which began on 20 December.

On 10 December, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) charged the Colombian State with human rights violations in connection with the siege of the Justice Palace in Bogotá in 1985, when 11 people were "disappeared" and five tortured. The IACHR ruled that Colombia should speed up their investigations and compensate the victims.

The military jurisdiction bill was approved in its fourth debate of eight on 11 December. The bill has been controversial in deciding which crimes committed during active duty should be sentenced in military, rather than civilian, courts. The Colombian Ministry of Defence has publicly confirmed that extrajudicial executions (or "false positives") would not fall under the Army's jurisdiction, along with six other types of crimes, including torture and sexual violence.

In October, further allegations of military espionage against the peace process were made by the national weekly magazine Semana, which revealed that the military intelligence services had a database of public officials, diplomats and journalists that they kept under surveillance. Chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle also revealed that his personal communications had been tapped.

The government's National Victims Unit published updated figures on 1 November on the number of victims affected by the conflict. They reported the total number of people registered as victims in Colombia as 7,028,000, with 6,044,000 being victims of displacement.

On 28 November, Mancuso and other paramilitary leaders from the now disbanded Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) were sentenced by the "Peace and Justice Tribunal" for 175 cases of gender-based and sexual violence, and ordered to compensate 9,500 victims. This is one of the most important sentences of the Justice and Peace Law, recognising the systematic use of sexual violence in conflict.

On 2 December, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a preliminary report for Colombia, in which it recognised positive steps taken by Colombian authorities to investigate and prosecute crimes of sexual violence. However, the report stated that, "the Office is concerned with the limited progress relating to sexual crimes", with impunity rates at 98%, and it will closely follow developments in the implementation of the law.

The prevention of sexual violence in conflict (PSVI) continues to form a core part of the British Embassy's human rights work, particularly through our political engagement and programme funds. On 31 October, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall met victims of sexual violence, leaders of civil society organisations and government officials working for women's rights in Bogotá. The Embassy is currently funding three PSVI projects, which include supporting regional fora for women leaders and victims of sexual violence, and holding workshops on the International Protocol to Investigate and Document sexual violence in conflict. The FCO's Human Rights and Democracy Programme funding round was launched on 5 November with PSVI as one of the main priorities for our work in Colombia, and new projects will be announced in March 2015.