Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Colombia: Protests

Tuesday 20 July 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Clive Efford asked the Minister about discussions with the Colombian Government regarding protests and violence against protesters.
  • The Minister expressed concern over human rights violations during recent protests in Colombia and confirmed speaking with the acting Foreign Minister to discuss these issues.
  • Efford questioned the UK Government's provision of extensive training and support to Colombian police despite reports of brutality, including allegations of murder and sexual assault.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Clive Efford Lab Eltham and Chislehurst
Policing & Resources Foreign Affairs
Context

The question addresses concerns about human rights violations during protests in Colombia, where there have been reports of excessive use of force by the police.

Question

What recent discussions he has had with the Colombian Government on the policing of protests and incidents of violence against protesters in that country.

Answer from Wendy Morton

We remain concerned about reports of human rights violations in relation to recent protests in Colombia, and we regularly raise our concerns with the relevant state actors. I spoke with the then Colombian acting Foreign Minister Adriana Mejía on 14 May to express my concerns and to welcome Colombia's commitment to transparent investigations into allegations of excessive use of force by the police. I also spoke with the Colombian ambassador to the UK on 12 July to ask for an update on investigations. I was pleased to learn that more than 200 investigations into alleged misconduct by the police are now open.

Answered
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Q2 Clive Efford Lab Eltham and Chislehurst
Foreign Affairs
Context

The UK Government is providing extensive training and support to the Colombian police, despite evidence of human rights violations. The questioner seeks commitment to publish full overseas security and justice assessments.

Question

I am grateful for that answer, but the truth is that the UK Government are providing extensive training and support to Colombian police, despite evidence of extensive police brutality, with up to 43 people allegedly murdered, a catalogue of sexual assaults and people being blinded by having tear gas canisters fired in their face. Will the Minister commit to publishing full overseas security and justice assessments for activities under this programme, so that the House can satisfy itself that the Government are not contributing to further abuses of human rights in Colombia?

Answer from Wendy Morton

On police training, our conflict, stability and security fund's Colombia peace and stabilisation programme launched the £2.1 million police innovations for stabilisation in Colombia project in 2021. The project is supporting the transformation of the Colombian national police, but we are not aware of any police units in Colombia that have received UK training support being involved in human rights violations. Colombia is a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office human rights priority country. We take the growing levels of violence against social leaders and human rights defenders extremely seriously, and we consistently raise our concerns with the Colombian Government and in multilateral forums.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not commit to publishing full overseas security and justice assessments for activities under the programme as requested.

How: We Are Not Aware Of Any Police Units Involved In Human Rights Violations, Consistently Raising Concerns With Colombian Government

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