From the website, MADRE Talking Points: Using International Law to Wage Peace in Colombia.
In recent decades, human rights advocates have won passage of a system of international human rights treaties, helping to address a wide range of social justice concerns. More and more, local activists are devising ways to use these international standards to make real change at home.
Each major international human rights treaty has a corresponding “treaty body” or committee responsible for monitoring whether its members are fulfilling their obligations. One of these important treaties is the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees such rights as the right to life, the right to be free from torture and the right to protection from unlawful imprisonment. The treaty body for the ICCPR is the Human Rights Committee, and as a member state, Colombia must regularly defend its record before that committee.
In July 2010, women human rights advocates will have the opportunity to participate in that international review of Colombia’s record. The people of Colombia have faced decades of armed conflict and rampant human rights violations. MADRE has joined with our partner organizations in Colombia to submit a report to the Human Rights Committee that gives voice to those lived experiences.
The sections below outline the evidence that we have gathered to challenge any attempt to diminish the severity of the human rights crises in Colombia. We call on the Human Rights Committee to respect the calls of Colombian women human rights advocates and to demand concrete action from the Colombian government.
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