Human rights in Colombia

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According to the U.S. Department of State’s 2003 human rights report, Colombia’s human rights record, despite significant improvements by police and military forces in some areas, remained poor. Although an increasingly small percentage of total human rights abuses reported were attributed to security forces, some members continued to commit serious abuses, including unlawful and extrajudicial killings. Some members collaborated with the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia paramilitary terrorist group, which has committed serious abuses. Allegations of forced disappearances and kidnappings remained. In 2003 there were allegations of arbitrary arrests and detentions, and prolonged pretrial detention remained a fundamental problem. Impunity remained at the core of the country's human rights problems. The constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. Individuals criticize the government both publicly and in private, and the media express a wide spectrum of political viewpoints and often sharply criticize the government, all without fear of government reprisal. However, journalists practice self-censorship to avoid retaliation and harassment by criminals and members of illegal armed groups. Colombia is one of the most dangerous countries in which to practice the profession of journalism; a number of journalists are killed almost every year, and journalists continue to work in an atmosphere of threats and intimidation, in some instances from corrupt local officials in collaboration with paramilitary groups, but primarily from terrorist groups. A key component of the government's "Democratic Security Strategy" to combat terrorism and restore order throughout the country is a network of civilian informants who are paid to identify terrorist activists and sympathizers. Many national and international human rights groups have criticized the network as vulnerable to abuse and as a threat to privacy and other civil liberties. The National Penitentiary Institute (Instituto Nacional Penitenciario y Carcelario—INPEC) is in charge of the prison system. Many of INPEC's 8,756 prison guards are poorly trained or corrupt. Police, prison guards, and military forces routinely mistreat detainees. Conditions in the severely overcrowded and under-funded prisons are harsh, especially for prisoners without significant outside support, and prisoners frequently rely on bribes for favorable treatment. The government does not hold political prisoners, although in 2003 it held approximately 6,800 prisoners accused of terrorism, rebellion, or aiding and abetting insurgency.