PRESS
RELEASE
No. 30/01
IACHR
BEGINS ON-SITE VISIT TO THE REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) will
conduct an on-site visit to the Republic of Colombia, at the
invitation of the Government,
from December 7 to 13, 2001. The
Commission will be visiting Colombia to observe the situation of human
rights in that country. The
IACHR is a principal organ of the Organization of American States
(OAS), composed of seven members elected in their individual capacity
by the OAS General Assembly. Its
mandate is to promote the observance of human rights in the Hemisphere
according to standards established in the American Convention on Human
Rights, to which Colombia has been a party since 1973.
Member states of the OAS and states parties to the Convention
have undertaken to extend to the IACHR all the facilities it needs in
order to carry out its observation missions with complete freedom in
the pursuit of its mandate. The
IACHR delegation that will visit Colombia as of Friday, December 7,
will be composed of its President, Dean Claudio Grossman; its
First Vice President, Dr. Juan E. Méndez; its Second Vice President,
Dr. Marta Altolaguirre; and its other members, Professor Robert K.
Goldman, Professor Hélio Bicudo, Mr. Peter Laurie, and Dr. Julio Prado
Vallejo. Technical
support to the Commission will be provided by its Executive Secretary,
Dr. Santiago A. Canton, and by attorneys Verónica Gómez, Mario López,
and Ignacio Alvarez. Administrative
support will be provided by Gabriela Hageman, Gloria Hansen, and
Gloria Molina. Also participating in the delegation will be Debora Benchoam
and Victoria Amato, representing the Office of the Special Rapporteur
for Freedom of Expression in the Americas, headed by Dr. Santiago A.
Canton. During
its seven-day stay in Colombia, the IACHR delegation will meet with
government officials and with representatives of various sectors of
civil society in the cities of Bogotá, Medellín, and Barrancabermeja.
The IACHR receives written reports of alleged human rights
violations during its visits. The
Commission will be housed at the Hotel Tequendama.
It will conclude its visit on December 13, 2001, with a press
conference at the Hotel Tequendama, in Bogotá, at 9:30 a.m. The
Commission is grateful for the cooperation and facilities extended by
the Government of Colombia and by nongovernmental organizations and
other civil society organizations in planning and preparing for this
visit. Washington, D.C., December 3, 2001 |