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PRESS
RELEASE
Nº 16/02
IACHR CONDEMNS ATTACK ON PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IN COLOMBIA
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) reiterates its
concern at the growing number of violent terrorist acts being perpetrated
against the civilian population in Colombia and at the threats, abductions,
and attacks aimed at candidates in the upcoming presidential election, all
of which are in violation of international humanitarian law. On
this occasion, the IACHR expresses its emphatic condemnation of the car-bomb
attack aimed at presidential candidate Alvaro Uribe Vélez on Sunday, April
14, 2002, in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia, which killed four people
and injured several others. The
Commission also sees fit to recall the abduction of candidate Ingrid
Betancourt and reiterate its repudiation of her current situation as a
victim of kidnapping by armed dissident groups. The Commission urges the parties involved in the armed conflict to
respect the provisions of international humanitarian law and refrain from
interfering in the electoral campaign; it similarly urges the Colombian
State to take the steps necessary to ensure the personal integrity of the
presidential candidates and to protect the right to direct or representative
political participation of Colombia’s citizens, thereby safeguarding the
electoral process and democratic values in Colombia. Washington D.C., April 16, 2002
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