Juan Gasparini/HRT

Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia and Guatemala, supported by Spain, have called on Colombia to take steps to urgently put an end to impunity of state officials suspected of committing human rights violations.

These mainly refer to summary executions, torture and forced disappearances. The Latin American countries made the request on Wednesday 10th December as Colombia Human rights record was reviewed by other member states at the UN Human Rights Council.

The countries also made recommendations in order to put in place a control mechanism regarding Colombia’s human rights record. They ask Colombia to immediately allow the special rapporteurs to visit with the following mandates on indigenous peoples, an independent judiciary, extra judicial executions, human rights activists as well as the working group on arbitrary detentions.

The Colombian vice president, Francisco Santos, came to Geneva especially for the UPR session. He indicated at the end of the debate, that his government was going to study all the recommendations and would announce on Monday which ones it would accept.