A press briefing on extrajudicial executions in Colombia.
PRESS ADVISORY
COLOMBIAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES SPEAK ON RISE IN KILLINGS BY SECURITY FORCES
Thursday, October 18th at 10am
WOLA Conference Room
Targeted killings of civilians by security forces in Colombia have risen sharply in the last five years, according to figures compiled by a coalition of over 100 Colombian human rights groups. Such killings, known as extrajudicial executions, claimed 955 lives in the five years up to June 2007.
To call attention to this alarming trend, leaders of two internationally respected human rights groups will offer a discussion for the press and public. The two advocates, Liliana Uribe of the Freedom Legal Corporation (CJL) and Agustín Jimenez of the Political Prisoners' Solidarity Committee (CSPP), are visiting Washington to testify before the Inter-American Human Rights Commission of the OAS.
WHAT: A discussion with Colombian human rights advocates Liliana Uribe and Agustín Jimenez
WHERE: Washington Office on Latin America, 1630 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC
WHEN: Thursday, October 18, 2007, at 10 a.m.
WHO: Liliana Uribe is a lawyer with Corporación Juridica Libertad, a legal services non-profit specializing in human rights cases, based in Medellín. She has worked in documenting cases of extrajudicial executions and coordinated a recent international mission in Colombia.
Agustín Jimenez is president of the Comité en Solidaridad con Presos Politicos, which works to defend the rights of people imprisoned for political reasons. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the main coalition of Colombian human rights organizations and has presented cases before the UN and Inter-American Human Rights Commission.
Also speaking will be WOLA Executive Director Joy Olson and the director of the Latin American Working Group, Lisa Hauggard.
The event is sponsored by WOLA, the Center for International Policy, Latin American Working Group, and the U.S. Office on Colombia.
