Question by Sahra Wagenknecht, 5 July 2005

The Colombian government has recently passed a law through Congress, with the resounding support of Members with links to paramilitary groups, guaranteeing paramilitaries de facto impunity and thus also enabling known drug traffickers to escape justice.

This law has been strongly criticised by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' representative in Colombia and by all human rights organisations.

At Cartagena the European Commission made it clear that the continuation of its aid to Colombia was conditional upon a legal framework for the demobilisation of paramilitaries.

What stance does the Commission intend to adopt following this decision by the Colombian government in support of the perpetrators of crimes against humanity and which represents a serious attack on the rights of victims to secure truth, justice and compensation?

Excerpt from Annex to Protocol of Debate on 8 September 2005

(EN)The Commission has taken note of the adoption on 22 June of the so-called "Justice and Peace" Law by the Colombian Congress.

The Commission and Member States are currently analysing the text and its political implications, taking into account the Council Conclusion of December 2004. Doing so, they consult widely, including inter alia with the Government of Colombia, civil society, the G24 and the United Nations.

The Commission is participating in this assessment and will be guided in this regard by the principles which continue to define its policy towards Colombia, namely respect for human rights and the rule of law.