United Nations and Rights Activists Slam Colombia's New Anti-Terror Law

Bogotá, December 13 (RHC) - The United Nations and rights activists have slammed new anti-terror powers given to Colombia's military, calling them incompatible with international law.

The measures - including the right to make arrests without warrants, tap phones and collect evidence in remote war zones where civil prosecutors are not present - were approved by Colombian lawmakers earlier this week after months of debate.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Office in Bogotá said Colombian authorities will have to honour their international commitments regarding the protection and guarantee of human rights. Rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, said they were outraged by the legislation, which changed Colombia's constitution to grant the new armed forces powers.

Eric Olson, of Amnesty International USA, termed as "amazing" that the Colombian military, with its poor human rights record and a history of collaborating with rightwing death squads, would be given the authority to investigate and detain civilians. Olson said that the granting of such judicial police power is in clear violation of international human rights treaties to which Colombia is signatory.

Human Rights Watch said that it has documented several cases of military officers tampering with evidence about battles or mass killings by death squads.

The country's Constitutional Court, which last year struck down similar emergency powers decreed by President Álvaro Uribe, must also give its seal of approval for the law, which would run for four years.