104
Yazmín (son), Oscar Darío (son), Migdalia Andrea Hoyos Ospina (daughter) and Fabio Alberto Rodríguez
Buriticá (son-in-law).
3.
Investigation into threats, forced displacement, and destruction of residence of
Miryam Eugenia Rúa Figueroa and her next of kin
355. According to information produced by the State, the 18th Special Prosecutor, under the
Human Rights Unit of the Office of the Attorney General, is pursuing as file No. 4016 an investigation
into the alleged crime of forced displacement of which Ms. Rúa was a victim.517 That investigation, in
the preliminary stage, is under seal, and no one has been identified as one of the persons responsible
for that conduct.518 When Ms. Rúa reported the facts to the authorities on July 8, 2002, she noted as the
persons responsible the autodefensas operating in her neighborhood.519 The IACHR has no information
indicating that investigations have been carried out by the disciplinary jurisdiction; or that any measures
have been taken to remedy the context of insecurity that makes it impossible for Ms. Rúa to return to
Comuna 13.
356. In view of the foregoing, the Commission notes that with more than ten years having
elapsed since the incidents that are the subject of this claim took place, the threats and forced
displacement of Mrs. Rua and her family members have remained in impunity. Pursuant to the abovecited international standards, the IACHR reiterates that as a general rule an investigation must be
conducted promptly and without delay in order to protect the interests of the victims, preserve the
evidence, and even safeguard the rights of everyone who, in the context of the investigation, may be
considered a suspect. Both the Inter-American Commission and the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights have consistently issued statements on the high level of impunity in human rights
violations committed by members of the public security forces and paramilitary groups in Colombia, and
the significant number of criminal proceedings and of open disciplinary investigations against these
officers, which do not result in establishing guilt, much less the appropriate punishment of those
responsible.520
357. By virtue of these considerations, the Commission finds that the State failed in its duty
to act with due diligence to investigate and punish promptly and adequately those responsible for the
facts pertaining to the threats, forced displacement, and occupation and destruction of the property of
Ms. Rúa, in breach of Articles 8.1 and 25 of the same instrument, in connection with Article 1.1 thereof,
and Article 7 of the Convention of Belém do Pará. It further finds that the State violated Articles 8.1 and
25 of the American Convention, in connection with Article 1.1, to the detriment of the next of kin of Ms.
Rúa, identified as Gustavo de Jesús Tobón (permanent companion), Bárbara del Sol (daughter), Úrsula
Manuela (daughter) and Valentina (daughter).
4.
Investigation into the arbitrary detentions of Mery Naranjo, Maria del Socorro
Mosquera Londoño, and Ana Teresa Yarce
517
Note DIDHD/GOI No. 77119/2954 from the Colombian State, November 15, 2012, pp.59-60.
518
Note DIDHD/GOI No. 77119/2954 from the Colombian State, November 15, 2012, pp.59-60.
519
Note DIDHD/GOI No. 77119/2954 from the Colombian State, November 15, 2012, pp.59.
520
IACHR, Merits Report No. 64/11, Case 12.573, Marino López et al (Operation Genesis), Colombia, March 31, 2011,
par. 404; IACHR, Merits Report No. 75/06, Jesús Maria Valle Jaramillo October 16, 2006, par. 68.