Human rights commission meets with victims of and witnesses to police terror in Colombia​

Bogota, June 9 (RHC)-- An international mission is collecting testimonies in Popayán, Colombia, on the violation of human rights by state security agencies during the protests that began on April 28, based on the various complaints from organizations and actors who have participated in the National Strike.

Mayor Juan Carlos López Castrillón affirmed that they had the necessary support for the mission to fulfill its agenda, and indicated that two of the cases to be addressed by the international organization will be those of Alison Meléndez and Sebastián Quintero.

For her part, Valeria Mosquera, a member of the Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres and the Mesa Territorial de Garantías, explained that there was a change of discourse on the part of the government in the framework of the visit of the human rights mission, for which she demanded guarantees of follow-up.

"We are afraid that this will remain in the air because we know that, in the Prosecutor's Office, in terms of gender-based violence, the rate of resolution of cases and the level of impunity is very high," she said.

Regarding the case of Alison, the 17-year-old girl who committed suicide after denouncing sexual abuse by the security forces, Mosquera pointed out the importance of following the case so that the indictment has a gender focus.

In a report delivered by the Ombudsman's Office to the IACHR, it highlights that Colombian authorities are looking for 91 people reported missing in the framework of the protests and emphasizes that at least 20 people have died since April 28.

"The entity has received 783 reports of people not located, of which 317 reports were discarded (...) for having repeated names, because the people were located or because they lacked sufficient information," said the ombudsman, Carlos Camargo.