VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #8367/01 3391912
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051912Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0393
INFO RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 9599
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ DEC LIMA 5679
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 6370
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4195
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS BOGOTA 008367 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KJUS CO
SUBJECT: MINISTRY OF DEFENSE DIRECTIVE TAKES STRONG 
MEASURES AGAINST EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  The Ministry of Defense (MOD) issued a directive on 
November 20 ordering military commanders to give greater 
weight to the demobilization or capture of illegal combatants 
than to kills (bajas) in evaluating the success of military 
operations.  The directive addresses human rights groups' 
concerns that a previous emphasis on bajas to measure results 
encouraged extrajudicial killings.  In January 2008, the 
military will assign 120 recently trained legal advisors to 
military units, including the battalion level, to advise 
commanders on the legality of military operations.  In 2007, 
the Military Justice system has so far transferred 572 
alleged human rights cases to civilian courts, up from 33 in 
¶2006.  155 of these cases involve alleged extrajudicial 
killings. End Summary 
 
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NEW DIRECTIVE CHANGES RESULTS STANDARDS 
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¶2.  The MOD's Directive 300-28, issued on November 20, orders 
the commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force--as well as 
joint commands--to give greater weight to the demobilization 
or capture of enemy combatants than to kills (bajas) in 
evaluating the success of military operations.  The directive 
also instructs commanders to take into account economic, 
political, and social factors when assessing military 
operations' contribution to establishing territorial control. 
To track implementation, it orders commanders to provide 
monthly reports to the Chief of Joint Military Operations on 
combat kills as well as progress on establishing security. 
For kills, commanders are required to report the name, age, 
group membership, and position within the illegal group of 
the deceased. 
 
¶3.  Directive 300-28 responds to criticism by the local UN 
High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) office and human 
rights groups that the military's previous use of bajas as 
the primary measure of success has promoted extrajudicial 
killings by security forces.  The UNHCHR will visit the seven 
divisions within the Colombian Army in December to review all 
reported cases of extrajudicial killings with local 
commanders.  The visits follow a similar UNHCHR exercise in 
August. 
 
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MOD IMPROVES LEGAL ADVICE AVAILABLE TO FIELD COMMANDERS 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶4.  The MOD is also improving the legal advice available to 
field commanders.  In January 2008, the MOD will assign 120 
newly trained legal advisors to field commanders to ensure 
that all military operations conform to Colombian and 
international law.  The MOD plans to extend such advisors to 
the battalion level.  In addition, starting in October 2007, 
the MOD initiated--with USG support--a series of operational 
law workshops for military justice personnel, military 
commanders, and civilian investigators and prosecutors to 
improve interagency communication and understanding of the 
law of war. 
 
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MILITARY AND CIVILIAN JUSTICE COOPERATION 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  The MOD continues to work to improve cooperation between 
civilian legal authorities and military personnel, as well as 
to reduce jurisdictional disputes between civilian and 
military courts.  On November 2, the MOD issued Directive 19 
which reiterates an earlier order to military commanders to 
exhaust all available resources to help civilian 
investigators to arrive at the scene of any combat deaths. It 
also recognizes that civilians should serve as primary 
evidence collectors.  Lastly, Directive 19 makes military 
commanders responsible for the actions of their soldiers, and 
provides for disciplinary action if any commander is involved 
in a cover-up of an extrajudicial killing. 
 
¶6.  The MOD is also working with the Military Justice system 
to facilitate the transfer of cases involving alleged human 
rights violations from military to civilian courts. In 2005 
and 2006, the military courts transferred seven cases and 33 
cases to the civilian system respectively.  In contrast, so 
 
far in 2007 the military courts have transferred 572 cases, 
155 of which involve alleged homicides.  The increase 
reflects the effort of Military Justice Director Luz Marin 
Gil, as well as the impact of the high-level committee set up 
in June under Directive 10 to address the problem of 
extrajudicial killings. 
Nichols