The International Secretariat of the World Organisation
Against Torture (OMCT) requests your VERY URGENT intervention in the
following situation in Colombia.
Description of the
situation:
The
International Secretariat of OMCT is deeply concerned about the information
received from reliable sources concerning the murder of a 17-year-old girl,
Susana Patricia Galeano
Galeano,
and the alleged rape of another 14-year-old girl, by members of the
Colombian army in the rural area of the municipality of Argelia, East of
Antioquia Department.
According to the information received, on February 15,
2006, around 12.30 p.m., a group of soldiers from the battalion “Juan del
Corral” of the Colombian regular army’s Fourth Brigade, based in Medellin, and
commanded by an adjutant named Ríos, turned up in the set of houses “El Plan” of
the above mentioned municipality, in pursuit of an alleged “subversive” (member
of the guerrilla) whose name has not been disclosed yet, and whom they killed.
Later on the soldiers entered the Galeano Galeano
family’s house which is located in the same set of houses and came across two
underage girls: a 14-year-old, whose name has not been disclosed yet, and a
17-year-old called Susana Patricia, whom they shot dead. The soldiers reportedly
tried to convince her family that Susana Patricia had been shot by the
“subversive”. As the family denied this version of the facts, the soldiers
ordered them to “(...) tell the authorities the girl had been shot by the
guerrilla (...)”. They also allegedly threatened members of the family so
that they would not relate these facts as they really
happened.
According to the information the corpse of Susana
Patricia Galeano Galeano was left in a pasture near the house until the
following day. Then some soldiers moved it to the municipality of Sonsón in
order to carry out the corresponding legal proceedings, claiming the office of
the public prosecutor had entitled them to do so, even though the administrative
district of “El Plan” lies within the jurisdiction of the municipality of
Argelia. Moreover Susana Patricia
Galeano Galeano’s relatives are frightened and fear for their lives and their
own integrity for having exposed facts involving law enforcement
officers.
According to the information such a serious fact is but
one more violent act perpetrated by the army against the civilian population in
the rural area of the municipality of Argelia. Some days before, on February 12,
2006, in the set of houses called “Gitana”, a soldier went into the house of a
peasant family, whose name has not been disclosed yet, and demanded that their
daughter, a 14-year-old girl, be handed over to him. The parents refused but the
soldier took her away by force and allegedly raped her. According to the
information received the underage girl’s parents were also physically assaulted
when they tried to prevent their child from being
attacked.
The International Secretariat of OMCT condemns these
utmost violent acts and urges the Colombian authorities to take the necessary
measures to guarantee the security as well as the physical and psychological
integrity of all members of Susana Patricia Galeano Galeano’s family and of the
14-year-old allegedly raped girl’s family in “Gitana”, Argelia. OMCT also
requests the government to order a thorough, independent and impartial
investigation into the circumstances of all these exposed
acts.
Moreover OMCT requests the Colombian government to order
the competent authorities to ensure the protection of the peasant population in
this area, thus abiding by the Principle of Distinction set out in International Law and
particularly by the International Humanitarian Law
(IHL).
The International Secretariat
of OMCT recalls that Colombia is a State Party to the Convention
on the Rights of the Child which, in its article 6, states that “every child
has the inherent right to life” and that “States Parties shall ensure to
the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child”. According to its article 37, Colombia is
bound to make sure that “no child shall be subjected to torture or other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. (…)”. And article 38
stipulates that “1. States Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect
for rules of international humanitarian law applicable to them in armed
conflicts which are relevant to the child, and (…) 4. In accordance with their
obligations under international humanitarian law to protect the civilian
population in armed conflicts, States Parties shall take all feasible measures
to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed
conflict.”
Furthermore
OMCT recalls that the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women,
in its article 4 (c), stipulates States should “Exercise
due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national
legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are
perpetrated by the State or by private persons”,
which includes violence against girls.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in Colombia urging them
to:
i.
immediately
take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological
integrity of the minor Susana Patricia Galeano Galeano’s family, as well
as of the family of the 14-year-old girl, allegedly raped in
“Gitana”;
ii.
order
a thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the circumstances of
the murder of Susana Patricia Galeano Galeano, and the alleged rape of the other
14-year-old girl in “Gitana”, both reportedly committed by forces of the regular
army, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the
penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by
law;
iii.
immediately
comply with the recommendations by international and regional human rights
agencies, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights;
iv.
guarantee
the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in
accordance with international human rights standards, in particular the
Convention Against Torture and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, both
ratified by Colombia, as well as the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
against Women.
Addresses:
Please also write to the diplomatic representations of
Colombia in your respective countries.
Geneva, 21 February 2006.
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.