Given the circulation of pamphlets in several towns in the departments of Arauca and Casanare, in which illegal armed groups impose ‘rules’ and ‘coexistence manuals’ on the civilian population, the Ombudsman’s Office strongly rejects their content and urges the competent entities to establish whether or not they are true.
Similarly, affirms the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo Assis, institutional intervention is necessary in the territories that are the target of the circulation of this type of leaflets: “Because what must prevail is security, protection and the full exercise of the fundamental individual and collective rights of the inhabitants of the regions that could be at risk due to the manipulative, imposing, intimidating and violent actions of armed actors outside the law.
Likewise, it calls on illegal armed organizations committed to the peace processes in force with the National Government to respect the communities, not to involve them in the armed conflict, as well as to maintain in force the principles of international humanitarian law (IHL), whose central axis is respect for life.
The Ombudsman’s Office also calls on the communities of the municipal capitals and their rural jurisdictions to inform the authorities of any fact that represents a risk to their life and integrity, free mobility or any fundamental right.
The teams in the territory of the Regional Defender’s Offices of Casanare and Arauca, after making known the situation of vulnerability in which the residents are due to the pamphlets, have called and held meetings with national and local authorities, with the purpose to put in place measures that guarantee the effective protection of people.
Source: Ombudsman’s Office