Colombia Report Caravana 2012 published

On 21 May, the report of the third visit of the Caravana de Juristas to Colombia in 2012, in which L4L participates together with Judges for Judges, was published. On the same day, the report was presented to the Colombian ambassador in the Netherlands, Mr. Eduardo Pizarro Leongómez. The Caravana is a biannual international delegation of jurists.

From the report it becomes clear that the biggest concern is that the murders, threats and stigmatization of lawyers and judges in Colombia do not decrease. Because of this, lawyers cannot perform their profession, limiting the access to legal assistance of all citizens. Especially lawyers who defend those who are driven of their lands, victims of violence committed by military or police officers and family members of disappeared persons, are harassed systematically. The origin of the threats cannot always be pinpointed. The Colombian authorities fail to protect lawyers against the continuous threats. Judges and their families are threatened as well. A bigger danger for them and their independence is the lack of respect for them. Despite having promised otherwise, President Santos continues the habit of his predecessor to subvert judges and their decisions by criticizing them openly. Next to the overarching report ‘Protecting access to justice’ there is also a separate report concerning the alarming situation of the judiciary in Colombia, under the title ‘Judges at Risk’.

The published reports offer concrete recommendations to the Colombian authorities to improve the situation of lawyers and judges. In 2014, the next Caravana de Juristas will leave to Colombia to assess how the situation has developed by then. L4L participated in the Caravana for the second time, Judges for Judges for the first time.