Robinson 'regrets' Colombian officials' press attacks on UN rights work

Reacting to critical media statements by Colombian officials, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has voiced full backing to the work of UN rights experts in the strife-torn Latin American nation.

In a statement released in Geneva on Friday, Mary Robinson said she "deeply regrets the attacks in the press from high ranking Colombian officials against the work carried out by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia (OHCHR) in connection with the monitoring mission undertaken by OHCHR after the massacres in the Department of Choco."

The High Commissioner expressed her "firm support" for the work carried out by OHCHR and its Director, Anders Kompass. This mission, she pointed out, "was undertaken within the mandate entrusted by the Government to OHCHR in Colombia."

Mrs. Robinson said she "looks to the Government of Colombia to support the integrity of her Office and its staff in Colombia in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding with the Government."

The Office has been operating in Colombia since April 1997, carrying out a variety of functions ranging from monitoring to technical cooperation. It in part has processed hundreds of complaints on human rights violations and/or breaches of humanitarian law, taking them up with the concerned authorities. Through its visits to the field, the Office has helped to monitor the situation of internally displaced Colombians and has brought to the attention of the authorities imminent human rights violations as well as possible breaches of international humanitarian law.