The approval of the new Military Criminal Code and the setting up of the Special Committee for the oversight of investigations into Human Rights violations are evidence of the Colombians unwavering decision to right the serious humanitarian crisis from which we have been suffering for many years. Among the participants in this iniciative are non-governmental organizations (NGO's), a number of state agencies, such as the Offices of the Procurador General (the Procurador in Colombia is an independent official elected by Congress with the power of investigating the actions of all public officials) and the Fiscal General (the Fiscal in Colombia is an independent official elected by Congress with the power of investigating and accussing criminal actions), with the decisive involvement of the present administration.

The reform of the military criminal justice system is an important step in Human Rights management, designed to prevent and sanction possible Human Rights violations on the part of members of the Armed Forces and Police, as well as to curtail any links with vigilante groups. The reform offers positive straightening of civilian jurisdiction. The new code expressly introduces the topic of Human Rights into legislation of military or martial law.

The Colombian Government has also created the Special Committee for the oversight of investigations into Human Rights violations and oversight and infractions of International Humanitarian Law, by virtue of Decree 2429 of December 1, 1998. The Committee is made up of the Vice-President of the Republic as High Presidential Counselor on Human Rights, the Minister of the Interior, the Procurador and the Fiscal. This Committee has been created to improve the coordination of the different agencies responsible for investigations and to fight impunity. At the very highets level, this Committee has been entrusted with the task of following investigations, ensuring the rapid resolution of inquiries, facilitating the performance and the articulation of the agencies responsible. The Committee will work closely with NGO's concerned with Human Rights.

The Committee has taken up a series of cases considered critical in terms of serious Human Rights violations and it has dedicated itself to orchestrating a series of tasks to facilitate their satisfactory judicial conclusion.

The assurance of Human Rights protection as part of Colombian justice is not limited to the punishment of the guilty, but also seeks to help the victims. The programs of integral restitution include efforts, in part economic assistance, to help family groups as well as the communities affected by Human Rights violations, within the framework of reaching 'amicable solutions' before the Inter-American Human Rights Commission.

The institutions responsible for investigations and sanctions are making progress in terms of curtailing impunity. The Procurador has set up a group of 25 Human Rights advisors who report directly to him and who have been given the specific oversight of Human Rights investigations. The Human Rights Unit of the Fiscalía has also delivered positive results in this area.

The efforts of the Colombian Government to promote Human Rights are beginning to be recogmized. On June 9, Lord Waverley, Member of the British Parliament, made a prsentation before that body on the steps taken by the Colombian Government to strengthen our fight for Human Rights. Spanish organizations have also recognized these efforts, through the award to President Andrés Pastrana of the "Premio a la Convivencia" of the Miguel Angel Blanco Human Rights Foundation. The work done by the Human Rights Unit of the Fiscalía was also explicity recognized by the Inter-American Human Rights Commission of the Organization of American States (OAS).