The International Office for Human Rights Action on Colombia

Citizen Security Law – Criminalization of protest and penalization of citizens’ lives

Document that analyses ho the Citizen Security Law penalizes different aspects of citizens’ lives in Colombia.

The promotion and protection of human rights in the context of pacific manifestatations is of concern in Colombia. Numerous cases of individual, arbitrary and massive detentions and judicializations of human rights defenders, who exerce their legitimate rights of pacific mobilisation and protest have been reported. These events emerge within a context where socio-environmental conflicts have multiplied in the rural areas of the country in response to the mining and energy “locomotive”, as well as other governmental initiatives within which the local population struggles to defend its rights and the environment against mining and infrastructuredevelopment projects, conflicts arount land and territory, as well as youth manifestations on education, among others. At the time when the colombian people manifest themselves to express their will to cease violence and in support of the peace process, it is particularly important that human rights are protected .
This document analizes the Citizen Security Law (Law 1453 june 2011), which penalises the different areas of the citizens’ lives and brings about years of reclusion for acts such as “the perturbation of public and official acts” and “the obstruction of public routes that disrubt public order”. These facilitat and contribute to the criminalization of people who protest in defense of their rights and creates disproportionate obstacles to the freedom of reunion and protest. Moreover, it opens the door to the judicialization of human rights defenders as well as other people that take part in any sort of public and pacific manifestation in favor of the protectiona and respect of their fundamental rights.

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