CAT/C/CR/31/1
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B. Positive aspects
3.
The Committee notes with satisfaction the State party’s adoption of a number of domestic
laws of relevance to the prevention and suppression of torture and ill-treatment, in particular:
(a)
The new Penal Code (Act No. 599/2000), which defines the offences of torture,
genocide, forced disappearance and forced displacement and states that due obedience will not
be considered as justifying those offences;
(b)
The new Military Penal Code (Act No. 522/1999), which excludes the offences of
torture, genocide and forced disappearance from the jurisdiction of the military criminal courts
and regulates the principle of due obedience;
(c)
Act No. 548/1999, which prohibits the conscription of persons under 18 years
of age;
(d)
The new Code of Penal Procedure (Act No. 600/2000), title VI whereof provides
that illegally obtained evidence will be inadmissible.
4.
The Committee also welcomes:
(a)
Act No. 742/2000 approving the ratification of the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court, the instrument whereof was deposited on 5 August 2002;
(b)
Act No. 707/2001 approving the ratification of the Inter-American Convention on
Forced Disappearance of Persons.
5.
Similarly, the Committee expresses its satisfaction at:
(a)
The statement by the State party’s representative that there neither has been nor
will be any amnesty or clemency in the State party for acts of torture;
(b)
The positive role of the Constitutional Court in the defence of the rule of law in
the State party;
(c)
The ongoing cooperation between the office in Colombia of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Government of Colombia.
C. Factors and difficulties impeding the application of the Convention
6.
The Committee is aware of the difficulties with respect to human rights and international
humanitarian law arising from the current complex situation in the country, especially in a
context characterized by the activities of illegal armed groups. The Committee nonetheless
reiterates that, as stated in article 2 of the Convention, no exceptional circumstances whatsoever
may be invoked as a justification of torture.