Today a diverse and broad group of Colombian human rights organizations and victims of excessive use of force by the Colombian security forces, in collaboration with Amnesty International, presented a list of proposals with a differential, intersectional and of human rights for a comprehensive police reform. This document, the result of a coordinated process of participation and discussion, was delivered to the government of President Gustavo Petro in order to serve as input for the discussion of the reform in the country.
Repression in the Sight: List of Proposals for a Comprehensive Police Reformexplains the need to, as a minimum, demilitarize the National Police; modify its general structure and functions; reform the admission, career and promotion system; limit the use of force by members of the National Police; install control mechanisms for police activity and citizen oversight; and guarantee truth, justice and reparation for victims of police violence.
“In Colombia National Police regularly use excessive force against those who protest in order to inflict fear, discourage peaceful protest and punish those who demand change in the country. The Colombian government must initiate a comprehensive police reform with a human rights approach and the National Police must refrain from violating the rights of those who speak out,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International. “The events recorded during the great mobilizations and protests of recent years should never be repeated. The Colombian State must take determined steps towards the construction of a National Police that guarantees the rights of all people.”
Likewise, Amnesty International has launched the “25 rules for the use of kinetic impact projectiles”, a document that summarizes the international standards for the proper use of said projectiles. Since its use carries considerable risks of causing serious damage, its use must be mediated by a careful analysis of its operational necessity in each scenario. The document calls on governments to recognize their human rights obligations and to use kinetic-impact projectiles only in exceptional situations, when duly justified, and in a careful manner that avoids excessive damage. No.should never be used as a means to disperse a protest, nor against people who behave peacefully or simply put up passive resistance or run away. The use of multiple projectiles should be prohibited.
Context information
Amnesty International documented serious human rights violations against peaceful protesters during the 2021 National Strike, including excessive use of force, inappropriate use of less-lethal weapons, acts of torture and cruel and inhuman treatment and sexual violence and gender-based violence against women and LGBTIQ+ people and attacks against people natives. In addition, it verified the long-term impacts of these violations, as in the case of young people who suffered eye trauma due to the inappropriate use of kinetic impact projectiles.
In the July 2021 report, Cali: At the epicenter of repressionAmnesty International documented how violations of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, urban paramilitarism, arbitrary arrests, and the torture and ill-treatment of peaceful protesters in Cali instilled fear, discouraged peaceful protest, and ultimately punished who demanded a change in the country.
In November 2021, Amnesty International presented the report shots on sight, published in conjunction with the Colombian organizations Temblores and PAIIS. This report documents 12 cases of eye injuries and analyzes more than 300 audiovisual pieces that document the illegal actions of the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD) of the National Police between April 28 and October 20, 2021, all of them verified by the National Police. of Digital Verification of Amnesty International. The report concludes that in the context of the National Strike in Colombia, ESMAD agents violated the human rights of protesters in a widespread manner by inflicting eye injuries as a result of the disproportionate use of less lethal weapons.
In December 2022, Amnesty International presented the report The police don’t take care of me: sexual violence and other gender-based violence in the 2021 National Strikewhere reveals repeated and widespread practices of violence against women, girls and LGBTIQ+ people by Colombian security forces, through the documentation of 28 cases of gender-based violence, including sexual violence, among hundreds of complaints received during the National Strike of 2021.
The organizations that accompany the list of proposals published today in collaboration with Amnesty International are:
Association for Social Research, NOMADESC, Caribbean Affirmative, Modep, Ilex legal action, DeJusticia, Racial Justice Collective, Justice and DemocracyNational Movement of Victims of State Crimes, Defend Freedom Campaign, Trenza Foundation, Solidarity Committee Foundation with Political PrisonersBonds of Dignity Foundation, Coordination Colombia Europe United States, Jose Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective, Colombian Commission of Jurists, Current Humanity, Race & Equality, Network against the abuse of authority, Mocao, Tremors NGO.
More information:
Repression in the Sight: List of Proposals for a Comprehensive Police Reform (Research, March 2, 2023).
25 rules for the use of kinetic impact projectiles – Amnesty International (Research, March 2, 2023).
Kinetic impact projectiles – Amnesty International position paper (Research, March 2, 2023).
Colombia: The Police don’t take care of me: Sexual violence and other gender-based violence in the 2021 National Strike (Research, December 1, 2022).
Colombia: Shots at sight: eye traumas in the framework of the National Strike (Research, November 26, 2021).
Colombia: Cali: At the epicenter of repression (Research, July 30, 2021).