REPORT Nº 86/06 PETITION 499-04 ADMISSIBILITY Marino lópez et al. (operation genesis) COLOMBIA October 21, 2006 I. SUMMARY 1. On June 1, 2004, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the IACHR” or “the Commission”) received a petition lodged by the Interecclesiastical Justice and Peace Commission (hereinafter “the petitioners”) alleging the responsibility of the Republic of Colombia (hereinafter “the State” or “the Colombian State”) in incidents known as “Operation Genesis” that took place between February 24 and 27, 1997, in the municipality of Riosucio, Chocó department, and that resulted in the murder of Mr. Marino López and the forced displacement of the members of 22 communities of African descent living along the banks of the River Cacarica. 2. During processing the petitioners claimed the State was responsible for violations of Articles 2 (domestic legal effects), 4.1 (right to life), 5.1 and 5.2 (humane treatment), 8 (fair trial), 17 (rights of the family), 19 (rights of the child), 21 (right to property), 22 (right not to be displaced), and 25 (judicial protection) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” or “the American Convention”), in conjunction with Article 1.1 thereof, as well as of Articles 1 and 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture. The petitioners claimed that their filing was admissible under the exceptions to the rule requiring the prior exhaustion of domestic remedies set out in Article 46.2.a and c of the American Convention. The State, in turn, argued that the Commission lacked competence to deal with certain aspects of the petition, and that the claim was inadmissible because domestic remedies had not been exhausted and because of the nature of the alleged facts in light of the fourth-instance doctrine. 3. After considering the parties’ claims, the Commission decided to declare the case admissible as regards Articles 4, 5, 8.1, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24, and 25 of the American Convention, in conjunction with Article 1.1 thereof, and as regards Articles 1 and 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, in accordance with the requirements set out in Articles 46 and 47; to notify the parties of that decision; and to publish the decision in its Annual Report. II. PROCESSING BY THE COMMISSION 4. The IACHR registered the petition under No. 499-04 and, after a preliminary analysis, conveyed to the State a copy of the pertinent parts on September 29, 2004, along with a deadline of two months in which to submit information on the allegations contained therein, in compliance with Article 30.2 of the IACHR’s Rules of Procedure. On November 29, 2004, the Colombian State asked the Commission for a 30-day extension of the deadline for its reply. On December 7, 2004, the Commission granted that extension. The deadline passed without the State having submitted its reply. 5. On January 24, 2005, the Commission again asked the Colombian State to submit information, but received no response. On March 9, 2006, the Commission received a “summary and clarification” of the petition from the petitioners. On April 4, 2006, the Commission sent the State the relevant parts of that submission, with a deadline of 30 days in which to submit its comments. On April 18, 2006, the State finally presented its reply to the initial petition and, on June 8, 2006, also presented its comments on the petitioners’ submission forwarded to it on March 6, 2006. In the latter communication, the State asked the IACHR to “clarify whether the main petition in this case is the one [conveyed by the IACHR on] [...] September 29, 2004, or on April 4, 2006.”1 The Commission explained that the “summary 1 Note DDH. GOI/28080/1361 from the Directorate of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law at the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dated June 8, 2006, p. 1. 1