US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA8602

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 008602 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/09/2015 
TAGS: PHUM, PINR, PREL, PTER, CO 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH UNHCHR MICHAEL FRUHLING 
 
REF: A. (A) BOGOTA 3223 
     B. (B) BOGOTA 2306 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary: On September 8, the Ambassador met with 
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) 
Director in Colombia Michael Fruhling and his deputy, Amerigo 
Incalcaterra.  Fruhling raised several concerns about the 
implementation of the Law on Justice and Peace, and about 
human rights cases involving reports of arbitrary detention, 
torture, and extrajudicial executions.  The Ambassador 
repeatedly asked Fruhling to provide information on the human 
rights cases in order to follow-up but Fruhling did not 
commit to do so.  End summary. 
 
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Law on Justice and Peace 
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2. (C) Fruhling raised concerns about eligibility (Articles 
10-11, ref A), the interview process and recording of 
information, the penalty for lying (Article 25, ref A), and 
protection for the demobilized.  He said he had met with 
Prosecutor General ("Fiscal General") Mario Iguaran and other 
GOC representatives to discuss these concerns. 
 
3. (C) Regarding eligibility, Fruhling was concerned that it 
was not clear which state institutions would certify that the 
criteria for eligibility were being met, at various stages 
during the process.  The Ambassador echoed this concern, and 
added that Iguaran will need to spend the political capital 
he saved working as the VM for Justice for Uribe when he 
makes the first politically sensitive determinations on 
ineligibility.  The Ambassador said Iguaran will have to 
distinguish carefully between those who are eligible for 
benefits under Law 782 and those who are eligible under the 
Law on Justice and Peace because a mistake could be extremely 
embarrassing (see ref B). 
 
4. (C) Fruhling said he told Iguaran it was extremely 
important that he issue clear instructions to the 
investigators conducting the demobilization interviews in 
order to capture as much information as possible, and in a 
manner conducive to confession.  He also told Iguaran it 
would later be important to "map out" the information 
obtained in the interviews to establish a common history of 
what happened.  The Ambassador said he had asked the GOC to 
issue very clear interviewing instructions, and to send some 
people to the archives of local media to start constructing 
the public records of what happened in the conflict.  The 
records could be used at different points during the 
interview process to cross-check the veracity of a person's 
claim, and to give them a sense that the truth had already 
been revealed by someone else.  Both agreed that the creation 
of a database to house the records and testimony of the 
demobilized was critical.  Fruhling said his office could 
offer advisory services to set up a database, but Iguaran had 
to make the decision to get the project started first. 
 
5. (C) Regarding Article 25, Fruhling said he had asked 
Iguaran to add the clause saying the sentence of a 
demobilized person would be increased by 20 percent if it was 
discovered that s/he had unintentionally omitted something 
during testimony that was later discovered.  The Ambassador 
said he had pushed hard to have that language included, and 
agreed that toughening the penalty should send a clear 
message.  But he added that it is even more important that a 
candidate for demobilization understand that an admission of 
illegal acts will lead to protection, whereas a denial will 
lead to a rougher road under the civilian justice system. 
 
6. (C) Fruhling said he told Iguaran that it is important 
that he choose the leadership of the Prosecutor General's 
Office ("Fiscalia") protection unit very carefully, examining 
the qualifications of the candidates rigorously.  Since the 
demobilized will be under abnormally high risk, he said, this 
will be even more important.  The Ambassador countered that 
the risks are no higher for the demobilized than for members 
of any other criminal organization that falls apart, and the 
Fiscalia has to be pragmatic about how it divides its 
resources.  The USG will continue to provide training to 
protection units wherever possible. 
 
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Human Rights Abuse Allegations 
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7. (C) Fruhling was concerned about reports of high numbers 
of extrajudicial killings (he said between 30 and 35) in the 
first half of 2005 where either security forces were 
allegedly involved or the security forces appeared to be 
collaborating with paramilitaries.  He said he raised the 
issue with VP Santos and both Santos and President Uribe have 
expressed concern about the reports.  The Ambassador asked 
for the information about the reports so the embassy could 
follow-up but Fruhling did not commit to giving it. 
 
8. (C) Fruhling also said he was concerned about reports of 
high numbers of arbitrary detentions -- of individuals and 
groups -- and cases of severe mistreatment or torture.  The 
Ambassador asked for more information about these cases. 
When further pressed to give details about the reports to the 
embassy, Fruhling deflected the question, saying the numbers 
are not uncharacteristically high, but the issue is a 
recurring problem. 
DRUCKER