By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – Earlier this week, twenty-three Colombian lawmakers blocked a vote on a law intended to regulate compensation for victims of violence in the country.  The proposed law establishes a process of reparation and assistance available to the more than 4 million Colombians affected by the country’s violence committed by guerrillas, paramilitaries and government forces will all be eligible under the law.

Last week, international NGO International Organization for Migration weighed in with their support for the proposed legislation by signing a memorandum with Colombia’s Vice President Angelino Garzon.  The memorandum also illustrates an initiative to create an agenda for promoting human rights, protecting migrant populations and preventing children from involvement in armed conflict.  Garzon went on record to say “the victims law would be an invaluable tool, but could have ended up being a dead letter if not for the support of international bodies such as the OIM.”

Although the law has seen significant support from international organizations, and perhaps most importantly from current Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, members of the Colombian Legislature blocked the bill from moving forward citing a “conflict of interest.”  Elias Raad, one of the representatives who blocked the vote, said that he couldn’t vote because the husband of a fourth cousin would benefit from the law.

The majority of representatives responsible for blocking the vote are supporters of former President Alvaro Uribe, who publicly opposed the law.  Uribe refused to support the bill because it includes compensation for victims of state violence and Uribe simply found that these reparations would be “too expensive.”

Interior and Justice Minister German Vargas Lleras and Agriculture Minister Juan Camilo Restrepo were vocal in their anger about the congressmen’s blocking of the vote.  Restrepo called the legislators’ actions “filibuster politics,” claiming the only aim is to obstruct the approval of the law by delaying the necessary voting rounds.  Vargas Lleras claimed that he would call “extraordinary sessions” if the House wasn’t able to vote on the bill within its legal time limit.

For more information, please see:

Colombia Reports – Lawmakers Block Victims Law Vote – 8 December 2010

Colombia Reports – International NGO Supports Victims Law – 3 December 2010

Colombia Reports – Santos to Personally Defend Victims Law – 27 September 2010