One primary objective of the Government's Policy on the Promotion, Guarantee
and Respect for Human Rights and the application of International Humanitarian
Law is to maintain and intensify an ambitious program of modernization of
the military forces, within the bounds of a strict observance of Human Rights.
Law 578 of 2000, approved by Congress in the second half of 1999, granted
the President extraordinary powers to carry out far-reaching reforms of
the labor and disciplinary regulations governing the military forces.
The Decree-Laws reorganizing the internal structures of the armed forces
were issued on September 14. This legislation incorporates the regulations
needed to readjust the internal mechanisms controlling the Military Forces
and the National Police, in order to modernize and dynamize the military
career, ensure an appropriate conduct on the part of active personnel,
promote their competivity spirit and respect for their duty, and protect
service personnel through fair procedures as regards dismissals and promotion.
The objective of the Decree-Laws on the careers of military and police
officers and non-commissioned officers is to promote professionalism.
Adequate mechanisms are now in place to reward those who excel in acts
of heroism in action, or, on the other hand, to facilitate the dismissal
of those who fail to properly perform their duty, or those who fall into
inappropriate behavior. As regards the military forces, the discretionary
dismissal of unsuitable professionals at any time in their careers -a
measure already existing among the Police, is now possible. This allows
a more effective control with respect to Human Rights. Furthermore, to
improve the quality of cadres, university graduates are being encouraged
to join the forces. They will be admitted to the officers' career. Improvements
were made in connection with the assessment and ranking of military and
police officers and non-commissioned officers. Objective, measurable criteria
were introduced to establish the requirements for promotion or dismissal,
or for the granting of awards and the offering of opportunities for specialization
studies. Disciplinary regulations, separately adopted for the military
and the police, constitute a very useful tool of the protection of Human
Rights (see the list of decrees).
Decrees 1790 and 1794 of 2000, in particular, lay down the rules concerning
permanent and temporary dismissals of officers, and define the conducts
that constitute serious Human Rights violations in the disciplinary code.
Other steps have been taken in addition to the rules mentioned above,
with the aim of ensuring the strict observance of Human Rights among the
military forces and the police. These include the intensification of the
educational effort with regard to Human Rights and International Humanitarian
Law, the transfer of cases of serious Human Rights violations to ordinary
courts, the adoption of a new Military Penal Code, and the removal of
all minors from the Armed Forces. This dynamic has resulted in a clear
fall in the number of accusations of alleged Human Rights violations by
members of the armed forces or the police, a fall now approaching 98%,
between 1995 and 1999.
As far as the military justice system is concerned, Presidential Directive
No. 01 of August 17, 2000, was issued following the adoption of the new
Military Penal Code. It orders the Commander General of the Military Forces
and the Director General of the Police to strictly apply military justice
regulations and the rulings of the Constitutional Court regarding the
jurisdiction of ordinary justice in cases of Human Rights violations.
The process of modernization and professionalization of the armed forces,
which is currently taking place, runs parallel with the promotion of a
culture of respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law
among the armed forces and the police.
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