-97128. In this regard, the Court recalls that, in Colombia, the existence of numerous cases of links between the paramilitary groups and members of law enforcement bodies in relation to similar facts to those of the instant case have been documented for several years.204 According to the 1994 joint report of the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on the question of torture and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, “while considering it inappropriate to affirm the existence of a planned policy of ‘systematic violation’ of human rights, the Procuraduría General in its third report on human rights, stated nevertheless that the violations had been so numerous, frequent and serious over the years that they could not be dealt with as if they were just isolated or individual cases of misbehavior by middle- and lower-rank officers, without attaching any political responsibility to the civilian and military hierarchy. On the contrary, even if no decision had been taken in the sense of persecuting the unarmed civilian population, the Government and the high military command were still responsible for the actions and omissions of their subordinates.”205 In turn, the 1989 report of the Special Rapporteur on summary or arbitrary executions stated that: […] Additional information received by the Special Rapporteur would appear to indicate that the main regions where the paramilitary groups operate are those with a strong military presence and that there have been no reports so far of confrontations between such groups and the forces of law and order. […]the information available shows that the increase in summary or arbitrary executions in recent years is closely linked to the increase in paramilitary group activities. […] Collective assassinations, in which the victims are usually defenseless peasants, are a very recent development and an indication of the alarming increase in violence in Colombia. […]the chief victims of the massacres in 1988 and 1989 have been the peasants. In 1988, 50 of the 73 massacres were massacres of peasants, in other words, almost 70 per cent of the total. In 1989, 11 of the 21 massacres were massacres of peasants [six of them were in Antioquia]. […] The rural areas are the ones most torn by the violence […]206 129. In addition, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights makes a constant reference in his reports to the high level of impunity of the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed as a result of the 204 Cf. Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Colombia, E/CN.4/2001/15, March 20, 2001, paras. 131, 134 and 254; Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Colombia, E/CN.4/2005/10, February 28, 2005, paras. 9, 45, 61, 62, 73, 84, 87, 112 to 116; Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Colombia, E/CN.4/2004/13, February 17, 2004, paras. 22, 24, 26, 59, 65 and 73; Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Colombia, E/CN.4/2003/13, February 24, 2003, paras. 34, 74 and 77; Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Colombia, E/CN.4/2002/17, February 28, 2002, paras. 202, 211, 356 and 365; Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Colombia, E/CN.4/2000/11, March 9, 2000, paras. 25 and 111; Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Colombia, E/CN.4/1998, March 9, 1998/16, paras. 21 and 29; Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Colombia, E/CN.4/1998/16, March 9, 1998, paras. 27, 28, 29, 34, 42, 46 and 88. 205 Cf. Joint report of the Special Rapporteur for torture, Nigel S. Rodley, and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Bacre Waly Ndiaye, submitted in compliance with resolutions 1994/37 and 1994/82 of the Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Visit to the Republic of Colombia of the Special Rapporteurs from October 17 to 26, 1994, E/CN.4/1995/111 of January 16, 1995, para. 109. 206 Cf. Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Report on the visit to Colombia by the Special Rapporteur on summary or arbitrary executions (October 11, 1989), January 24, 1990, E/CN.4/1990/22/Add.1, paras. 20 and 26.