Human Rights Watch: Report on the Heirs of the Paramilitary

Folks,

Human Rights Watch released an important report this past week about the emergence of a new wave of paramilitary groups in Colombia that have in essence replaced the recently "dismantled" paramilitary umbrella organization AUC. Here is the link to the full report.

MAMA

Paramilitaries’ Heirs

The New Face of Violence in Colombia

February 3, 2010

This 122-page report documents widespread and serious abuses by successor groups to the paramilitary coalition known as the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC). The successor groups regularly commit massacres, killings, forced displacement, rape, and extortion, and create a threatening atmosphere in the communities they control. Often, they target human rights defenders, trade unionists, victims of the paramilitaries who are seeking justice, and community members who do not follow their orders. The report is accompanied by a multimedia presentation that includes photos and audio of some of the Colombians targeted by the successor groups.