#SAVEIACHR
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is facing a budget crisis provoked by member states of the Organization of American States that do not give it enough funds to do its job.
Read MoreThe Silent Checkmate against the IACHR
To read this post in English click here.
The current IACHR budget crisis means that the Commission will no longer be able to process new petitions, human rights monitoring in a third of the region will be suspended, and the capacity to issue precautionary measures will be reduced by 80%.
Read MorePopular Vote and Peace
Northern Ireland had an armed conflict that seemed impossible to solve, but accomplished a sustainable negotiated peace. The poular vote of the agreement was a decisive element in the success of the process. This story can thus be instructive for us in Colombia.
Read MoreHow Are We Going to Design the Political Strategy for Peace?
Much has been said recently about the constitutional protection of the peace accords, which will be signed by the Colombian goverment and the FARC in the coming days.
Read MoreThe Stasi
This week I was visiting facilities of the most important prison for political prisoners in former East Berlin.
Read MoreIn Favor of Civil Resistance
I must thank Uribismo for having broached the topic about “civil resistance.”
Letter to the Solicitor General
Mr. Solicitor General:
In Praise of Noise
The Policing Code that is currently being debated in Congress restricts a central democratic right: the right to peaceful social protest.
Read MoreWho Breaks a Butterfly on a Wheel?
Dictators will try to defeat art that opposes its vision of the world, but the resilience of art is inherent in its nature. Dictators can try to stifle it, imprison it, but history shows that it is impossible to fully wipe out or control art. In the end, you cannot break a butterfly on a wheel.
Read MoreThe Necessary Civic Endorsement
The step the FARC and the Government took, to define the peace agreement has to be approved by Congress and reviewed by the Constitutional Court to gain legal force, which is very important. But it is insufficient if not accompanied by civic endorsement.
Read MoreThe Role of the Global South in the Future of Human Rights
Dejusticia asked participants of the First Global Action-Research Workshop what role the Global South will play in the human rights movement.
Read MoreEffects of the Global Action-Research Workshop
Dejusticia asked participants of the First Global Action-Research Workshop what effects they think the workshop will have.
Read MoreCan the Inspector General remove Petro from office?
Two reasons why the answer would be “no”. It is practically a done deal the the Inspector General will apply disciplinary sanctions in Gustavo Petro’s case. The mayor will not only be removed from office, he will also be unable to hold public office for a good amount of time (10, 15, 18 years).
Read MoreScholars and Journalists
It is regrettable that the debate about academic fraud in Colombia has broken out surrounding the case of the scientist Raúl Cuero. But it would be even more regrettable if the debate turned against the researcher Rodrigo Bernal, who did nothing more than what his job demands: to rigorously investigate and publish what he finds (in this case, Cuero’s real record).
Read MoreA Court Scandal?
Is it, as several analysts have pointed out, an abuse, an excessive formalism or cowardice that the Constitutional Court decided to strike down the reform that broadens military jurisdiction because of a procedural problem?
Read MorePrison for Protesting?
It had been a long time since such an objectionable, anti-democratic and unconstitutional piece of legislation, like the one presented by the Minister of Defense, meant to punish with jail time those who go out in to the streets to protest, was presented in Congress.
Read MoreThe Inspector General’s Office: Unnecessary or Dangerous?
The Constitutional Court´s approval of the disciplinary measures against Piedad Córdoba shows the Inspector General´s enormous power. It is an unchecked power, since not even the Court can impose clear limits on it.
Read MoreThe Tea Party without a State
An article in the New Yorker from last weeks tells the story of how members of the Tea Party – the radical branch of the American Republican Party – began to doubt their decision to block the passage of the federal budget as a way to oppose the implementation of Obamacare, when they saw that this lead to fewer police officers on duty and the closure of the World War II monument.
Read MoreHard Strike Against Sophisticated Strategies
The devious interpretation of the lawyers from Brigard y Urrutia of Law 160 of 1994, which allowed the accumulation of previously vacant lots by companies like Riopaila, has provoked different reactions. One of those was support from Senator Armando Benedetti, who said that, while the transaction was morally reprehensible, there was no doubt that it was legal.
Read MoreGoverning with trial and error
There is no modern country without a census of its inhabitants.
Read More