Exerpts on paramilitarism from the:



Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Office in Colombia

Informe del Alto Comisionado sobre la situacion de Derechos Humanos en Colombia




April 14, 2000

108. As the High Commissioner has already stated in previous reports, the Colombian State bears undeniable historical responsibility for the origin and development of paramilitarism, which was protected by law from 1965 to 1989. Although the so-called "self-defence groups" were then declared unconstitutional, 10 years have passed and they have not been dismantled. In the same historical context, the military forces bear special responsibility because they were in charge of promoting, selecting, organizing, training, arming and providing logistical support to the "self-defence groups" during the long period when they were protected by law in the general framework of support for the security forces in their struggle against the guerrillas.

109. The same trend was also apparent in Extraordinary Decree No. 356 of 1994, which established the Special Vigilante and Private Security Services, better known as the "Convivir" associations. In 1997 and 1998, the Office observed how the proliferation of these organizations in various regions of the country was organized and encouraged, without any adequate means of monitoring and supervision. Well-known members of paramilitary groups became leaders of some of these associations; consequently, the Office strongly advised the Colombian State that it was inappropriate to maintain them.

110. The fact that most serious human rights violations are committed by paramilitary groups should lead the Government to make it a priority to combat them effectively. The continued existence of direct links between some members of the security forces and paramilitary groups, revealed by disciplinary and judicial investigations, is a cause of great concern. Examples in the course of 1999 included cases relating to the activities of the dismantled army intelligence Brigade XX and the incidents occurring during the massacre of 29 May in Tibú (Norte de Santander). In some regions of the country, these links were strengthened and the authorities responsible for penalizing them failed to take decisive action. The paramilitary groups also continue to maintain links with and enjoy the support of some sectors of the local and regional political and economic elite. The paramilitary organizations have expanded their recruitment activities to embrace persons who desert the guerrillas and who operate not only as combatants, but also as informers whose accusations serve as a basis for attacks on the civilian population.