IACHR welcomes progress made in 2024 in friendly settlements about Colombia

August 15, 2025

Washington, DC—The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is pleased to report that the State of Colombia took various measures in 2024 to support negotiations toward friendly settlement agreements and to encourage compliance with friendly settlement agreements.

In 2024, the IACHR approved and published seven friendly settlement agreements signed by various petitioners and the Colombian State. Most of those agreements involved human rights violations committed in the context of armed conflict in the country, and all of them had attained partial compliance. In its 2024 Annual Report, the IACHR noted that the State of Colombia was among the countries that had made the most progress in terms of redress measures, attaining compliance with a total of 82 such measures (43 involving full compliance, 20 involving substantial partial compliance, and 19 involving partial compliance).

The IACHR declared that full compliance had been attained in six friendly settlement agreements, involving Petition 799-06—Isidoro León Ramírez Ciro et al.; Case 13,370—Luis Horacio Patiño Agudelo; Case 13,642—Édgar José Sánchez Duarte; Case 13,758—Franklin Bustamante Restrepo and Family; Case 13,775—Gabriel Ángel Gómez Martínez and Family; and Case 13,436—José Oleaguer Correa Castrillón. The IACHR therefore stopped monitoring those cases.

The IACHR acknowledged commended the State on the design of a microsite to raise awareness about the transformative impact of friendly settlements in Colombia. This microsite, embedded in the National Legal Defense Agency website, contains information about cases being addressed by the IACHR friendly settlement mechanism and about compliance with IACHR recommendations.

The IACHR also highlighted as a positive move the launch of a podcast and an annual newsletter with information about the friendly settlement mechanism that also monitor the implementation of high-impact measures, efforts to preserve historical memory about these cases, measures adopted to dignify victims, and measures of non-recurrence targeting these human rights violations.

The IACHR noted the State policy of using Internet-based platforms and social media at events where friendly settlement agreements are signed and/or State responsibility is acknowledged. This policy has enabled greater involvement by victims and their families and representatives, as well as increased IACHR support through Country Rapporteur José Luis Caballero and the IACHR's technical staff.

The Commission appreciates the efforts made by the State of Colombia and congratulates it on progress made to implement friendly settlements and on compliance with IACHR decisions to approve such settlements.

The IACHR is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 164/25

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