Key Points
- The UN warned that Colombia's new protest decree would encourage police violence and human rights violations.
- The decree expands the definition of "violence," potentially targeting peaceful protesters.
- The UN stated that road blockades do not strip protests of legitimacy, and private sector damages cannot serve as grounds for repression.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia issued a stern warning regarding the country's new protest regulation. The decree signed by Abelardo de la Espriella expands police intervention and ends mediation processes early. The UN stated that this change could lead to police violence and human rights violations.
The UN report emphasizes that the definition of "violence" is very broad and vague, exceeding international standards. Simple warnings or minor behaviors are equated with serious attacks. The UN reminded that carrying an object deemed dangerous does not make a person aggressive, and the nature of peaceful assemblies does not change.
Stating that road blockades do not give protests a hostile character, the UN warned that the concept of "serious and imminent danger" is being used as a pretext to disperse legitimate protests. It stressed that private sector profit loss or production damage cannot justify heavy-handed intervention by security forces, and demanded that the right to protest remain central in any legal change.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What does the new protest regulation in Colombia change?
- The decree expands police intervention, shortens mediation processes, and makes the definition of "violence" vague.
- What specific risks does the UN highlight?
- Vague definition of violence, targeting of peaceful protesters, use of road blockades as a pretext for repression, and use of private sector damages as justification for security force intervention.
- What does the UN demand from the Colombian government?
- It calls for clarification of the definition of violence, protection of the right to peaceful assembly, and for the right to protest to remain central in any legal changes.
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