The US Office on Colombia (USOC), Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Latin American Working Group (LAWG) are pleased to invite you to:
Extrajudicial Executions in Colombia[1]
Briefing
Since 2002, there have been an alarming number of extrajudicial executions of Colombian civilians by State security forces. This once overlooked phenomenon has now been documented by extensive case analysis by Colombian human rights organizations. There was a staggering 347 cases of illegal killings reported in 2007. From January 1 – March 31, 2008, another 36 killings have been reported. If this trend continues, there could be over 140 executions by the end of this year. Sadly, the vast majority of past cases never undergo serious judicial review or adjudication by Colombian authorities.
Please join us in a discussion on this important human rights issue and to listen to first-hand accounts and presentations by:
§ Alberto Yepes, Technical Secretary of the
Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Observatory of Coordinación Colombia-Europa-Estados Unidos
§ Martha Lucia Giraldo Villano
Daughter of extrajudicial executions victim José Orlando Giraldo Barrera
The presentations will be made in Spanish – with translation available, if necessary.
Date: Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Time: 2-3:30 pm
Place: Washington Office on Latin America (Note, new location)
1666 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20009
Please RSVP by Tuesday, July 22, 2008 to Rachel Robb at rrobb@wola.org or by phone at 202-797-2171.
We look forward to seeing you there!
[1] “Extrajudicial executions” are defined in international human rights law, as the arbitrary deprivation of the life of one or more people by the State.