The Issue Of Exrtajudicial Killings In Colombia

Although being a state allows Colombia to use violence as needed to suppress rebellions, there is a limit of how much violence the government can use until it becomes a major violation to human rights. The extrajudicial killings were a major issue in the history of Colombia. The mass illegal killings carried out by the government military struck the international public with horror in the mid 2000s. The events became a giant mark on the Colombian history for its major violation of human rights. Many were arrested and trialed for the gruesome murders, however, recent reports have shown that extrajudicial killings are still in action.

Colombia has been at civil war for 52 years with the government and the FARC rebel group being the major contributors. Both sides have been involved in violence and killings that have terrorized the streets of Colombia. In the mid 2000s, there was a series of extrajudicial killings that were known as “false positives”. The scandal is referred to civilians that were killed and presented to authorities as combat guerilla killed in conflict. The victim would be lured to a secreted location in hopes of work and were dressed in guerilla uniform after being killed. According to Colombia Reports, a 2018 study has reported that around 10,000 civilians were murdered between 2002 and 2010 and more than 8,000 civilians were a part of the “false positives”. The purpose of the killings was to increase body counts and exaggerate the government’s success in fighting the rebels. Soldiers would also be rewarded with extra holidays and pay with their increase in combat kills, which triggered the gruesome practice even more. Around 900 low-ranked officials has been arrested for the extrajudicial killings and around 23 generals that were investigated.

However, of those 23 generals, none of them were charged. Human Rights Watch published a report in 2015 that carefully analyzed the illegal killings and the investigations that took place right after. The international non-governmental organization reported that some of the commanders that were in charge of the divisions responsible for such killings were in fact promoted. This suggests that the killings were not done by simply a group of bad soldiers, but a series of strategic planning that was mediated by those with higher ranks. Many evidences have erupted that linked senior army officers to the extrajudicial killings, but due to the lack of participation from the military, many of the officers were not convicted. There were also reports of core witnesses being threatened by military personnel that left the officers leaving unscathed. Although many soldiers has been arrested for carrying out the illegal killings, many higher officers were not convicted but were instead promoted; meaning that such killings can still happen today under their supervision. In 2016, the government and members of the FARC signed a peace accord that ended the long war and president Duque took office in 2018.

The peace deal was struck in 2016 but despite the agreement made between the two groups, some rebels are not happy with the outcome and are rearming. According to an article written by The New York Times, around 3,000 militants have gone back to fighting; blaming the government that, “many of the promises made are not being honored”. International Crisis Group indicates that violence between the military and the rebel group is still high as of today. With the rebels rearming and protesting, the Colombian government has no choice but to use their power to repress the group. On April 22nd, a demobilized FARC member was killed by a Colombian soldier. The incident was first presented as an accident during a struggle between the victim and the soldier, but further evidence was brought forth revealing that the soldier was planning to discard the body in a hole. The soldier was then charged with homicide and the judge ruled the incident as an extrajudicial killing. According to InSight Crime, there has been 130 incidents of murder and disappearances of past FARC members and their relatives since the deal was established. However, these are only incidents that were reported which means there may be more extrajudicial killings that have occurred after 2016. In May, The New York Times made another report on an order given by the Colombian Defence Minister that sparked alarmly similarities to orders given during the killings in the mid 2000s.

Minister Guillermo Botero told his military leaders to, “double the number of criminals and militants they kill, capture or force to surrender in battle” and also “accept higher civilian casualties in the process” (Casey). This means that in the attempt to capture criminals, the safety of innocent civilians will not be protected. This also puts pressure on the soldiers to increase the body counts by performing their operations recklessly thus harming bystanders. A month after the controversial order was announced, General Nicacio Martinez Espinel came forward to clarify; claiming that they did not demanded an increase in body count and they never did. However, new documents emerged this year claiming that the newly appointed general may not be entirely truthful. An article from Human Rights Watch reported that General Espinel was the second-in-command during the “false positives” scandal. Documents have also shown that he has made questionable payments that were later discovered to benefit a soldier who is now arrested for civilian killings. With General Espinel’s past involvement in the horrid killings that took place in the 2000s and the new orders that were announced this year, many have feared that the dark incident would occur again. Human Right Watch came out with another report earlier in July this year that highlighted the unpublished documents that were possibly written at the beginning of June. The documents consisted of tables that ranked military units based on the amount of kills and captures that were reported this year. The article explains the details of the tables made and declared that “they resemble those that senior officers created during the false positive killings of the 2000s”. Although the main purpose of these tables has not been explained as of today, the existence of these tables may put pressure on the militaries causing them to disregard the safety of civilians.

With all the allegations being brought forth to President Duque’s government, the new leader was very adamant on announcing genuine concern when it comes to human rights. In June this year, Human Rights Watch published a report on the Colombian government downplaying the number of murders of human rights defenders. The government reported a 32% decrease in murders since President Duque took office when in reality there were more cases left unreported. By downplaying the number of human rights defenders murdered instead of putting in more effort to address the situation, the president’s concern for upholding the citizen’s human rights may not be as important as he declared. With the glaring similarities of today’s military situation and the controversial actions of the Colombian government, there has been fear of the reappearance of the “false positives scandals”.

An open investigation of the past generals and army officials that were once involved with the past killings should be conducted in order to fully prevent the toxic incident from happening again. However, just like before, military officials may not be willing to compile and evidence can be tampered. Because the Colombian government has sovereignty over its territory, there is a limit to how much other states can be involved in another state’s affairs.

Instead of directly attacking government officials to solve the issue, there can be actions taken to lower the violence caused by the rebels. The FARC rebels are rearming due to the lack of government action on fulfilling the promises made in the peace accord. The government promised better education and housing in rural places in Colombia but after almost 3 years, there has been little to no improvement. Other states can focus on helping by donating to set up schools and providing utilities for a better living situation. By doing so, it can help minimize the number of rebellion violence which in turn could decrease the number of extrajudicial killings done by suppressing the violence. Besides directly being involved in the issue, other states can document and publicly report the illegal killings by “naming and shaming”. Although Human Rights Watch has done intensive reports on the case, larger organizations such as the United Nations can publicly address the issue. This would put pressure on the Colombian government as this shows that the International audience is aware of such issue, causing the government to act more cautiously. Even though a series of extrajudicial killings such as the “false positives” scandal has not fully emerged in Colombia, there are still incidences of illegal murders that are regarded as “accidents” and “military errors” today. Therefore, precautions must be taken in order to decrease such incidences and to stop the reappearance of the past killing frenzy.