Colombia has accepted the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court since 2002, in relation to crimes against Humanity, and since 2009 in relation to war crimes. Since 2004, the Prosecutor’s Office of the International Criminal Court has had Colombia under preliminary examination. Since then, Human Rights organizations such as ours have submitted several communications to this Prosecutor’s Office asking it to investigate these crimes that remain unpunished.
The negotiations between the FARC-EP and the National Government resulted, in matters of justice, in the creation of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP). This Jurisdiction is in charge of trials related to crimes committed during the conflict. It means that the Special Jurisdiction for Peace is limited, and does not address all the international crimes that have occurred in Colombia. Even in cases before the JEP, the victims are still waiting for those most responsible to come or be called by this jurisdiction and some who are already in it, have come to deny the commission of these crimes.
Meanwhile, State representative, who do not belong to Public Forces and third parties, such as financiers in the context of the conflict, only have recourse to the JEP if they wish to do so.
For all of the above reasons, the International Criminal Court should have opened an investigation in Colombia into all of these crimes that remain unpunished. However, what has happened is that it has chosen to close the preliminary examination that has been underway since 2004.
We deeply regret this decision because the victims had expectations, given the impunity in Colombia, of obtaining justice through the International Criminal Court. In the end, the perpetrators of these crimes, of these serious violations of Human Rights, of these crimes against humanity, win, and Colombia loses, Justice loses and the victims who had their hopes pinned on the intervention of the International Criminal Court lose.
