The government criticizes the lack of rigor of the organization, which denounced the existence of 20 thousand unidentified bodies
Sputnik, Prensa Latina and Ap
La Jornada Newspaper
Saturday, December 7, 2024, p. 17
Bogota. The government of Colombia rejected the statements issued the day before by the United Nations Committee against Forced Disappearances about the alleged existence of 20,000 unidentified bodies in a hangar at the El Dorado airport in Bogotá and warned that these types of assertions put people at risk. the credibility and rigor of the specialized mechanisms of the international organization.
The Colombian Foreign Ministry assured that the claims are unfounded and have generated confusion and controversy in the country, while issuing a note of protest to said committee demanding clear and precise explanations about the origin of this information.
According to the group of experts, the information was provided by the Colombian Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, an organization that yesterday denied being the source of the alleged revelation and confirmed that it had no knowledge of said place, in addition to having received no requests to the analysis of cases related to an alleged forensic service warehouse.
The Attorney General’s Office sent a commission to the air terminal to inspect the 27 hangars of El Dorado, and concluded that the entire area corresponds to places specific to airport operations and? The presence of facilities intended for the conservation of human remains was not evident..
The existence of this pile of bodies was also denied by Opain, the company that manages the most important airport in the coffee-growing nation.
The United Nations team in Colombia also issued a statement about the controversial report, in which it clarified that the Committee is a collegiate body that includes 10 independent experts, appointed by the states that make up the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons. against Forced Disappearances, among these Colombia.
Carlos Ruiz Massieu, highest representative of the UN in Colombia, declared that the one who directs It is an independent committee that does not represent the Secretary General, nor any entity of the United Nations.and stated that its members act as experts.
Failure to verify
The Colombian government, on the other hand, recognized the seriousness of the forced disappearance that afflicts the country and reiterated its unwavering commitment to eradicate this crime.
In addition, he highlighted the importance of working together with UN agencies in Colombia, but stated that Rigorous verification of information is essential to preserve the confidence and effectiveness of United Nations mechanisms.