UN rights office urges Colombia to reform policing of protests
Dec 15, 2021
New York [US], December 16 : Colombia must urgently reform how it polices protests in the wake of demonstrations earlier this year in which several people were killed or injured, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in a report published on Wednesday.
The report documents various instances of unnecessary or disproportionate use of force by police officers during widespread demonstrations that began on April 28 and continued for several weeks.
The protests were part of a national strike against the country's long-standing economic and social equalities, many of which were worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the period from 28 April to 31 July, OHCHR's office in Colombia received more than 60 allegations of deaths in the context of the protests. So far, it has verified the deaths of 46 people: 44 civilians and two police officers. Most of the documented deaths, 76 per cent, were from gunshot wounds.
The Colombia office conducted more than 620 interviews with victims and witnesses, and examined 83 videos, including mobile phone footage of the protests and related incidents. Staff also held some 878 meetings with government officials, civil society representatives and protestors.
Based on this analysis, there are reasonable grounds to believe police officers were responsible for at least 28 of the deaths, the report said, with members of the National Police's Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD) involved in at least 10.
Non-State actors are believed to have killed 10 people, while there is insufficient information to determine the likely perpetrators of eight further deaths.
Some 60 reported cases of sexual violence allegedly committed by the police, are also included in the report. So far, 16 have been verified by OHCHR.
