CASE No - Inter-Parliamentary Union

- 29 - CL/183/SR.1
in the immediate future. It was also disappointing that the parliamentary working group that
had been established to see how the investigation could be revived had not been able to
function. The Committee was confident that the latest expression of support from the Speaker
of the Parliament of Burundi would rectify that.
Mr. D. Kiganahe (Burundi) said that his delegation had noted the resolutions pertaining
to Burundi and thanked the Committee for having taken the time to hear additional
information. He recalled that the cases before the Committee, particularly those regarding the
deaths of certain parliamentarians, were the result of some 10 years of warfare in Burundi.
Others had also died, but complaints had not been filed. The cases would be dealt with
satisfactorily in the context of the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was
currently being established in cooperation with the United Nations. He recalled that the cases
before the Committee reflected the fragile nature of the situation of the parliamentarians of
Burundi. He wished to inform the Governing Council that the National Assembly and the
authorities of Burundi were committed to continuing dialogue with the IPU to strengthen
national institutions and democracy in Burundi. The authorities were prepared to welcome an
IPU mission to help the Committee obtain first hand information on all those cases.
The Governing Council unanimously adopted the three draft resolutions relating to
the case of Mr. S. Mfayokurera, Mr. I. Ndikumana, Mr. G. Gahungu, Ms. L. Ntamutumba,
Mr. P. Sirahenda and Mr. G. Gisabwamana, to the case of Mr. Norbert Ndihokubwayo,
and to the case of 22 parliamentarians, which had been submitted to it by the Committee
on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians. 6
Colombia
In respect of Colombia, five of the six former Congress members who had been in the
hands of Colombia’s main guerrilla group FARC had been released, as had Ingrid Bettancourt
and 14 other hostages who had been held by the group. The Committee remained concerned
about Mr. Oscar Lizcano, the only former Congressman who remained in FARC hands, whose
health had seriously deteriorated. Efforts to obtain his release and the swift conclusion of a
humanitarian agreement leading to the release of all hostages held by FARC should be pursued
with resolve. In the case of the seven parliamentarians who belonged to the Patriotic Union
party, who had been assassinated or forced into exile, the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights had sent its preliminary conclusions to the Colombian Government. The
Committee urged that the Government should take all the necessary actions to ensure that
justice was done and would continue to follow the proceedings before the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court.
Security was a real concern for many Colombian Congressmen, such as Mr. Wilson
Borja. The only viable solution in such cases was to combine protection and action to identify
and punish the culprits. The Committee therefore urged the authorities to address the serious
concerns about his security details, and the actual enforcement of the prison sentences handed
down against those who had been responsible for the attack on his life in 2000. Mr. Borja was
being prosecuted for alleged links with FARC. The Committee was concerned about the highly
polarized climate in Colombia, in which some did not hesitate to label him "guilty" without
proof. It was essential that his rights should be fully respected during the course of the
investigation and proceedings.
In the case of former Congressman Jorge Tadeo Lozano Osorio, while the Committee
had been initially concerned about the fundamentally flawed proceedings to which he had
been subjected, it was becoming increasingly worried about his security and that of his family.
In July 2008 his son had been shot dead in the streets of Medellin. The Committee called on
6 See Annexes VII to IX for the texts of the resolutions.