UN denounces excessive use of force in Colombia and calls for calm in view of May 5

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The UN Office for Human Rights denounced today, May 4, that Colombian security forces have exercised an “excessive use of force” during the wave of protests that the country is experiencing, with at least 19 dead and 800 wounded, and called for calm given the call for demonstrations on May 5.

Officials of the UN agency’s mission in Cali, one of the cities where most violent incidents have occurred, “have witnessed the excessive use of force by the police,” said office spokesperson Marta Hurtado at a press conference.

The security forces “used live ammunition, beat demonstrators and made arrests, in the context of a tense and volatile situation in which some participants in the protests have also been violent,” added the spokeswoman for the office headed by High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet.

“Faced with the agitated situation, with soldiers and police deployed, we call for calm and remind the authorities of their responsibility to protect human rights,” the spokeswoman stressed, ahead of a general call for new demonstrations this Wednesday, May 5.

The office was “deeply alarmed” by last night’s events in the city of Cali, “in which police opened fire on demonstrators protesting tax reforms, causing several deaths and injuries”.

The high commissioner indicated that since the incidents began on April 28, she has received reports of at least 14 deaths, not counting those of last night in Cali, while the Colombian Ombudsman’s Office raises the figure to 19 deaths.

Although most of the deaths have occurred in Cali, the UN office has also received reports of deaths in Yumbo, another town in Valle del Cauca, and other areas of the country Ibague, Tolima, Pereira, Risaralda, Soacha, or Cundinamarca.

“Public security agents must comply with the principles of legality, precaution, necessity, and proportionality when controlling demonstrations, and firearms should be used only as a last resort against an imminent threat to life or danger of being seriously injured,” the spokeswoman reminded.

The protests, which arose in the midst of a pandemic with serious economic consequences for a good part of Colombian families, were triggered by a tax reform proposal that the Government has withdrawn, where Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla has resigned.

The tax reform contemplated the broadening of the tax base and the charging of a 19% VAT on public services, which was particularly detrimental to the middle and lower classes of the country.

Source: efe