Court Watch
surrounding the Cacarica River Basin became a strategic corridor for drugs and weapons traffick- ing. Illegal armed guerilla groups like the Revolu- tionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC), and paramilitaries like the United Self-Defense Forces of Columbia (AUC) and the Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Córdoba and Urabá (ACCU), fought con- stantly for control of the territory, but once the Co- lumbian military decided to intervene, the situation devolved into an actual armed conflict.
From February 24 - 27 1997, the Columbian mili- tary launched a counter-insurgency operation (Op- eration Genesis) aimed at eradicating the FARC presence in the Choco region. The Afro-descen- dants inhabiting the Cacarica River Basin during this time claimed they were affected by a series of bombardments, attacks on their property, and threatening behavior that led to the displacement of their communities. Additionally, they claimed that the Columbian military’s bombardments and raids were carried out with direct involvement from
8
paramilitaries bearing AUC and ACCU insignia. The Afro-descendants also alleged that Marino Lopez was tortured and decapitated as part of Operation Genesis.
Over the course of their displacement, residents lived in precarious conditions. After an on-site visit to one of the encampments, the Commission handed down precautionary measures for their protection. Finally in June 2004, the Commission received a petition from the Interecclesiastical Jus- tice and Peace Commission (the petitioners) alleg- ing that the incidents surrounding Operation Gen- esis constituted violations of the right to life and to human treatment, of the rights of family and chil- dren, of property, of freedom from expulsion, and the right of judicial protection, as enshrined in the Convention. They also maintained that the torture and extrajudicial killing of Columbian citizen Marino Lopez violated Articles 1 and 8 of the Inter-Ameri- can Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture.
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Columbia, an OAS member state, maintained that Operation Genesis was an authorized military op- eration carried out under a legally issued opera- tional order, and that it sought the legitimate goal of pursuing groups guilty of criminal acts in the region. The State also disputed the death of Ma- rino Lopez, and contended that the displacements were not caused by Operation Genesis, but were instead the result of the ongoing criminal activities of guerilla groups like the FARC. Furthermore, Co- lumbia stated that the petition was not admissible since there were domestic investigations still pend- ing for a military general and paramilitary members involved with the operation.
But in October 2006, the Commission concluded that the acts of Operation Genesis, including the forced displacement of Afro-descendants, consti- tuted crimes against humanity since they were part of a pattern of massive, systematic, and wide- spread violence carried out in the context of the armed conflict. They also determined that the do- mestic investigations carried out and still pending
ILSA Quarterly » volume 20 » issue 3 » February 2012
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