The announcement includes the strengthening of training in human rights, change in the color of uniforms and a modernization of the Ministry of Defense.
Photo: Getty Images
For: BBC News World
Thursday, November 28
Iván Duque announces a series of reforms to the police in Colombia
The president of Colombia, Iván Duque, announced this Sunday a series of reforms to the Ministry of Defense and the National Police.
Duque’s announcement It occurs when there has been more than a month of social protests in different parts of Colombia, in which repression by the authorities in charge of security has been denounced.
Duque pointed out, within the framework of a ceremony at the Police Cadet School in Bogotá, that there will be a “comprehensive transformation of the police”.
“ In this process we strengthen the human rights policy and raise standards in the provision of services to citizens
“, said the Colombian president.
And he added: “In order to achieve excellence we are going to have a new Disciplinary Statute, we will restructure the General Inspection and we will create a new system to receive complaints and reports. We will also improve the conditions of the members of the institution. ”
The Colombian police, unlike the forces of other countries in the region , is under the government of the Ministry of Defense, an entity that will also be reformed.
The national police force has been pointed out in recent weeks to be behind organize a strong repression against the protesters who have taken to the streets.
The organic modernization of the @ mindefensa and the transformation of @ PoliciaColombia will be done at zero cost to give citizen security an unquestionable emphasis. In this way, and with the contribution of experts, we will get closer to the citizen and we will achieve excellence in service. pic.twitter.com/OUkPPS4n8Y
– Iván Duque 🇨🇴 (@IvanDuque) June 6, 2021
According to official reports, during the mobilizations in Colombia , which started last 28 have died at least 27 people (some Human Rights organizations indicate that there would be more than 40), while more than 80 are missing.
For that reason, the emphasis of Duque’s announcement focused on strengthening training around human rights within the institution.
“ To continue advancing in the process of a Police closer to the citizen, we will strengthen the education and training of its men and women. We will implement professional standards on issues such as the use of force, human rights, citizen service and police procedures, ”said Duque.
In addition, the modernization of the Ministry of Defense was announced – which will be renamed the Ministry of Defense and Citizen Security-, the creation of the Vice Ministry of Defense Policies and Citizen Security and the Education Directorate of the National Police.
President Duque also indicated that the color of the police uniform will be changed from the traditional green to a blue one, “to comply with international standards.”
But despite that the reform of the police has been a constant request in different political places in Colombia, the decision received several criticisms.
The representative to the Chamber for the opposition party Alianza Green, Juanita Goebertus , pointed out that the reform needs to be more profound.
“The president is wrong announcing reforms to the Police without a broad process of listening and discussion with all sectors. In the announced measures there are some necessary and other cosmetic, “he wrote on his Twitter account.
“ The reform goes through clarify violations and remove the police from the Ministry of Defense “, he added.
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