Comments
On August 6, 2019, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Report No. 109/19 approving the friendly settlement agreement in Case 11,144, Gerson Jairzinho González Arroyo. As noted in the press release, the IACHR received a petition on April 7, 1993, “alleging that the Republic of Colombia bore international responsibility for the forced disappearance of Gerson Jairzinho González Arroyo on November 20, 1992 in the city of Sincelejo, in the department of Sucre, and for the lack of due diligence of judicial authorities in charge of investigating those events and punishing the people responsible for them.” On December 5, 2016, the parties signed a friendly settlement agreement in which Colombia agreed to take the following measures: “(1) develop a plan to search for the victim’s remains; (2) request a review of the legal decisions that led to the preclusion on the investigation into these events and to the acquittal of one suspect; (3) hold an event to publicly acknowledge responsibility; (4) unveil two plaques in memory of the victim, in agreement with his family; (5) dedicate a remembrance site featuring the victim’s photograph and story; (6) take educational measures to prevent these events from happening again in the future; (7) grant financial aid to support the education of the victim’s siblings; (8) adopt measures to support health recovery for the victim’s relatives; and (9) grant financial compensation, in accordance with Law 288 of 1996.” In its report, the Commission noted that there has been substantial compliance with the friendly settlement agreement (full compliance with five measures, partial compliance with one, and progress on the remaining measures) and “observed progress concerning justice.” The Commission will continue to monitor the four measures that are still being implemented.