community of Río Seco and the village of Makugueka was of concern to the Kankuamo
Indigenous People, because they rode about on motorcycles, dressed in black “during the
night,” and this has been the modus operandi of members of illegal armed groups such as
“Self-Defense Patrols,” who have been accused of the murder of “around 150 members of
the Kankuamo Indigenous People.”
11.
The Commission took note of the information presented by the State and of its
efforts to coordinate with the representatives. However, it indicated that, in light of the
representatives’ observations, it did not have sufficient information regarding specific
elements related to the “facts of December 2009 and April 2010,” or the “other risk factors
that keep the people in a situation of extreme gravity and urgency” that has been
recognized by the Colombian Constitutional Court. In its last brief (supra fourth having seen
paragraph), it indicated that “it d[id] not have the representatives’ observations, and [was]
waiting to receive them in order to issue more conclusive observations.”
B.
To provide information about the investigation of the facts that gave rise to
these provisional measures (second operative paragraph of the order of April 3,
2009)
12.
In its initial reports, the State did not refer to this operative paragraph. However, in
more recent briefs the State informed the Court about the investigations that are being
conducted by the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Unit of the Prosecutor
General’s Office and its Sectional Unit in Valledupar.
13.
In the only briefs submitted by the representatives, they emphasized the lack of
information from the State regarding the investigations carried out into the facts that gave
rise to these provisional measures.
14.
The Inter-American Commission initially indicated that the State had not submitted
updated information on the investigations “into displacement, threats against the leaders [of
the Kankuamo Indigenous People], the events that gave rise to the protection measures,
and the masterminds of the events that had been occurring on Kankuamo territory.” In its
most recent brief, the Commission indicated that it was “awaiting the representatives’
observations in order to formulate more conclusive observations on the investigations
conducted by the State.”
C.
To guarantee the security conditions necessary to ensure respect for the
right to freedom of movement of the members of the Kankuamo Indigenous
People, and so that those who have been forced to displace to other regions can
return to their homes if they so wish (third operative paragraph of the order of
April 3, 2009)
15.
The State reported that the No. 10 Engineers Mobility and Counter-mobility Battalion
had carried out several tactical missions in order to thwart the actions of any illegal armed
group, thus guaranteeing the protection of the members of the Kankuamo Indigenous
People. In addition, it indicated that under the policy of attention and support for the
process of return of the displaced population, a “protocol to support the return or relocation
processes of the displaced population” had been defined and designed. In this context, the
State indicated that “the return of 50 families from the town of Río Seco and 35 families
from Murillo had been made possible.” It also referred to the measures taken through the
Departmental Committee to assist return in favor of the Kankuamo communities that
returned to these municipalities. Furthermore, the State underscored that, on August 10,
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