The International Office for Human Rights Action on Colombia

Day: 23 January 2014

Press release – Protests in Europe about the critical situation for lawyers in Colombia

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On the “International Day of the Endangered Lawyer” genuine steps must be taken to combat attacks on those who fight for Colombians’ human rights.

Tomorrow, on January 24, European lawyers’ associations representing at least 10,000 lawyers will organise protests in various European cities about the danger their colleagues face in Colombia. According to figures from Colombia, in the last 10 years more than 700 lawyers have been murdered in this country and 4,400 have suffered different types of attacks. In the report from their last visit, the International Caravana of Jurists stresses that during all three missions they have organised to Colombia, delegates have heard about the high rate of impunity, which is still estimated at 97% for some crimes. The “International Day of the Endangered Lawyer”, as the initiative is known, has been organised in Europe since 2010, in favour of lawyers from Iran, Turkey and the Basque Country. This year the day focuses on the protection of Colombian lawyers.

Our solidarity is universal.

We are deeply concerned about all victims of armed conflict, repression and violence around the world — from Sudan to Syria, including the persecution of the Rohingya and so many other crises that often receive less international attention than they deserve. Each of these situations calls for solidarity, remembrance, justice and action.

However, we have decided to specifically highlight the message ‘Stop Genocide in Palestine’ because what is happening in Palestine represents not only a human tragedy of enormous magnitude, but also a direct challenge to the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and to the rules-based international system itself. The indifference and complicity of much of the international community in the face of the apartheid regime imposed by the Israeli government on the Palestinian people represent one of the greatest moral and political contradictions of our time.

The persistent violation of essential norms — such as the protection of the civilian population, the prohibition of collective punishment and respect for proportionality in the use of force — not only has devastating consequences for the Palestinian population, but also erodes the global mechanisms designed to limit the power of states and prevent abuses.

When these rules are repeatedly breached without any effective consequences, the framework that protects all populations in conflict situations, anywhere in the world, is weakened. Therefore, speaking out in this case does not mean ignoring other forms of suffering, but rather emphasising the urgency of defending an international order which, if it collapses, leaves everyone in a more vulnerable position.

Drawing attention to this situation is, therefore, an act consistent with the universal values we uphold: the protection of life, human dignity and respect for international law, without exception.

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