as disappearances, summary executions of persons and groups and other atrocious acts, which are considered in this report.”16 19. following: Regarding the concrete acts of violence against political parties, the IACHR has stated the On the same time, paramilitary groups threatened certain candidates and warned the residents of certain regions of the country to abstain from voting or participating in the elections in any way. The influence of paramilitary groups gained more significance in the region of the Atlantic coast, especially in Urabá, Córdoba, Magdalena and in the south of the Cesar department. The intervention of paramilitary groups blocked almost totally the inscription of left-wing parties in the elections in the regions of Urabá, where, in previous years, members of alternative political parties such as the Patriotic Union had gained notable political influence. (…) These incidents are recorded in a history of violence against elected officials which, according to official sources, includes the assassination of 28 mayors between 1995 and 1997. In 1995, 18 mayors were abducted. In 1996, the number rose to 23. Between November 1996 and September 1997, 41 mayors were abducted. Another 40 were victims of threats or aggressions. Between January 1995 and July 1997, 140 members of city councils were killed. The Commission is worried about the possibility that these constant attacks, which violate the international humanitarian law, may lead to a situation in which the Colombian citizens will be deprived of the effective access to the right to vote and to the direct or representative political participation. The Commission encourages the State to take the necessary measures to guarantee the protection of the rights to political participation, with the objective of making Colombia remain as a fully democratic State.17 20. Likewise, several national and international entities have recorded or informed about the situation of political violence in Colombia. In this way, in joint report from 1995 about their visit to Colombia, the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on torture and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, highlighted that during the last decades, the persons who have expressed themselves in a critical way about political, economic or social conditions, have been victims of human rights violations. 18 In this sense, they indicated that political dissent has been considered by traditional sectors and drug-trafficking as a threat to their interests, and is considered as a subversive activity not only by the militaries involved in counterinsurgency activities in rural areas, but also by a great number of civil authorities and State institutions.19 In this way, categorized as “guerrillas” or “internal enemies,” many members of the opposition live under constant threat and the alarming number of assassinations committed against them is really disturbing.20 21. For its part, the Colombian Constitutional Court has referred to the appearance of groups, movements and political parties as a result of the demobilization of former members of the guerrilla. It has highlighted that such situation “requires special protection and support by the State.” The institutionalization of the conflict, the abandonment of arms and its substitution by the active exercise of the political-democratic IACHR, Second Report on the Human Rights Situation in Colombia., October 14, 1993. Second Report on the Human Rights Situation in Colombia, OEA/Ser.L/V/II. 102 Doc. 9 rev. 1 dated February 26, 1999, Chapter IX, Freedom of Association and Political Rights, E. Alternative Political Parties, para. 36, 47 y 48. 18 United Nations, Joint Report of the visit to Colombia of the Special Rapporteur in charge of the torture matter, Mr. Nigel S. Rodley, and of the Special Rapporteur in charge of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Mr. Bacre Waly Ndiaye, E/CN.4/1995/111, January 16, 1995. 19 United Nations, Joint Report of the visit to Colombia of the Special Rapporteur in charge of the torture matter, Mr. Nigel S. Rodley, and of the Special Rapporteur in charge of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Mr. Bacre Waly Ndiaye, E/CN.4/1995/111, January 16, 1995. 20 United Nations, Joint Report of the visit to Colombia of the Special Rapporteur in charge of the torture matter, Mr. Nigel S. Rodley, and of the Special Rapporteur in charge of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Mr. Bacre Waly Ndiaye, E/CN.4/1995/111, January 16, 1995. 16 17 5