15
threats are ongoing, nor has it specified the measures that would be necessary to guard
against them (infra Considering clause 20).
17.
Concerning the events that have occurred over the last six months (supra
Having Seen 17), the Commission reported that Ms. Lina Paola Malagón had been the
target of surveillance in January 2010 by a “public transportation vehicle” and that other
members of the CCJ, like Alejandra Vega Rodríguez, had been the target of illicit
conduct on the part of DAS officials. However, it did so without providing further
evidence regarding how these alleged events occurred, as such information would
enable the Court to properly assess the situations in question (supra Considering clause
13).
18.
On the other hand, as far as protective measures are concerned, the State
claimed to have offered various security and protective measures to the CCJ members in
order to safeguard their lives and right to humane treatment, within the framework of
precautionary measures (supra Having Seen 7); nonetheless, the members rejected the
measures proposed. In the present proceeding, the State has indicated its willingness
to adopt specific measures to provide immediate and effective protection to the
members of the CCJ.
19.
In this regard, pursuant to the Court’s instruction (supra Having Seen 18), the
Commission indicated that the protection must take into account the particular
“circumstances, needs, and preferences of the beneficiaries,” and that CCJ members
would not accept traditional personal security measures owing to their having been
“used as an information-gathering tool for State intelligence services.” Consequently,
the Commission, echoing the claims of the beneficiaries, addressed to the Court its
request that the Court issue an order guaranteeing the cessation of the aforementioned
illegal surveillance activities on the part of State agents, or adopting measures that
ensure that intelligence services show respect for human rights and are subject to both
civilian and judicial controls (supra Having Seen 20).
20.
In consideration of the foregoing, the Court observes that in the face of these
alleged incidents of threats, harassment, and intimidation, the CCJ members have not
accepted the security and protective measures offered. These same services would be
necessary in the event of a real threat demonstrating extreme seriousness, urgency,
and the risk of irreparable harm. Thus, the measures would serve to protect and
guarantee the rights to life and humane treatment that the Commission has duly noted
are at issue in its request for provisional measures. The Tribunal notes that, when
presented with the alleged incidents of threats, harassment, and intimidation, the type
of measures the CCJ members have requested (supra Having Seen 20) are of a different
character that do not properly correspond to the present procedure, in which the
fundamental goal of the measures is the protection and efficacious preservation of an
individual’s life and right to humane treatment.
21.
Regarding the alleged harassment of the CCJ members from within the general
environment of hostility in which human rights defenders live in Colombia, this Court
finds, in accordance with the evidence presented, that these events do not per se meet
the necessary requirements for a situation of “extreme gravity,” urgency, and likely
irreparable harm. 15
15
Cf. Case of the Constitutional Court v. Peru. Provisional Measures regarding Peru. Order of the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights of March 14, 2001, Considering clause four; Matter of Carlos Nieto Palma et