H.E. Ms Patricia Cortés Ortiz:

I thank the Chairman, Mr. Archila and Deputy Brady. As I said, I have had previous meetings with the committee and I have tried to provide contextual information, which I think is important. I invite Deputy Brady and all of the members to consider the contextual information on the process, not only one side but the whole reality. Unfortunately, these protests, which have seen more than 10,000 activities and social protests, have been affected by violence. I do not want to add to what Mr. Archila said, but I invite members to take into account that there has been a lot of vandalism and this violence has heavily affected our policemen.

In my recent communications, I shared with the members of the committee the specific words of President Duque, in which he highlights the solidarity with all the victims in Colombia during this protest. I want to highlight this point, so I will repeat what he said and I have shared it with the committee previously. President Duque said that we genuinely and wholeheartedly unite with all the victims of violence and express our solidarity with them. The message is clear. Colombia must unite to overcome the ravages of the pandemic and reject violent acts and unlawful ways.

I have shared with the committee members information on the investigations that are currently ongoing in terms of the public purse, with more than 163 investigations having been opened. Yesterday, I shared with the committee information on one formal complaint about missing persons dealt with by the Fiscalía General, which is our authority. There is a unit search for some 200 people who are missing but where there is not a formal complaint. It has already established where they are through that unit search body, given it is not only a fiscalía but contains other institutions.

It is important that I invite the committee members to keep this in mind. We understand the role of social media and how media outlets may support democracy. It is a reality. However, it is interesting that in supporting democracy and freedom, social media often does not provide the necessary context that needs to be understood when looking at any issue. It is no different anywhere and I have seen it here in Europe sometimes, although not necessarily in Ireland. As I share with the committee members information not only on this moment of the protests but what we are doing, it is important to read that part as well. This is an invitation to all the members.

The same probably applies to the implementation. I remember my first meeting with the committee and we have had virtual meetings, although, unfortunately, we have not always been able to meet personally. We always share not only what we are doing and the level of engagement and commitment but, when we have this conversation, some of the committee members have mentioned how impressive it is what Colombia has done and how difficult it has been for Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement was signed but it took close to ten years for the arms surrender and there has been another ten years or more since then. We understand there might be different contexts. That is why I always highlight that I am happy to be here because the committee members can definitely understand the challenges and understand that it takes a long-term process. In Colombia, we would all love to see everything done in two, three or five years but what is very clear is the commitment, in particular the commitment of the government.

I want to highlight the presence of Mr. Archila and say how much we are always committed to sharing information with the committee on where we are. I will not add much more. I mention the visit of the current Vice President and Foreign Minister of Colombia, Ms Ramírez, to Washington.

She had a very comprehensive visit with members of government, civil society, the US Congress, the US Secretary of State, Mr. Blinken, and Samantha Power, who is of Irish origin. In one of these meetings she met the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, IACHR, and she was very clear in extending an invitation to the IACHR. At present, the institutions in Colombia, including the prosecutor's office, the attorney general's office and the ombudsman's office, have this on the agenda. A delegation has already accepted an invitation to Colombia between 8 and 11 June.

To respond to Deputy Brady, perhaps Colombia is different from many other countries in the region. I do not know whether he has been in the region but Colombia is a very open country. It is always open to having this type of transparency and scrutiny. We also have strong institutions that are working. This is why I always highlight the constructive approach. I guess the committee has experience of what it means.

I want to speak more about the pandemic. It is important to understand the context. We are very heavily economically affected by the pandemic. People are tired of lockdowns. We saw protests here against lockdowns but there was respect and statements in support of the Garda because some protestors had flares and fireworks. People are tired and we see this in Colombia. Of course, it can happen in any country of the world. We are working on this. Mr. Archila Peñalosa took time out of his work to share this with the committee.