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	UN warns of Civilian Killings by Colombian Military by Constanza Vieira Inter Press Service Colombia   Nov 4, 2008   The extrajudicial executions that are being committed by government forces in Colombia constitute crimes against humanity, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said at the end of her six-day fact-finding tour of this South American country.   "An offense becomes a crime against humanity if it is widespread and systematic against the civilian population. We are observing and keeping a record of the number of extrajudicial killings, and it does appear systematic and widespread in my view," Pillay said in answer to a question from IPS in her only meeting with the press in Colombia, on Saturday Nov. 1.   According to the Observatory of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law of the Colombia-Europe-United States Coordination Group (CCEEU) -- a coalition formed by some 200 humanitarian organizations -- from January 2007 to June 2008 "one person died every day in extrajudicial executions" committed directly by government security forces.   The same source indicates that the number of summary executions has tripled since right-wing President Álvaro Uribe took office in August 2002. And the killings are occurring in every region of the country, as evidenced by statistics from the Colombian Commission of Jurists, a prominent human rights group that forms part of the CCEEU. Pillay spoke of "continuing levels of extrajudicial executions," which she described as "very alarming."   But the implicated military officers may not have to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) given that the Colombian government has started to bring actions against the culprits, she noted.   "The goal is to have the national authorities investigate these crimes and prosecute the perpetrators," Pillay explained. "It"s only when a country is unable and unwilling that the International Criminal Court, for instance, would have the power to intervene."   Midway through Pillay"s visit to Colombia, on Oct. 29, the Uribe administration dismissed 20 officers, including three generals, and seven non-commissioned officers, for alleged involvement in forced disappearances and summary executions of civilians.   The UN high commissioner, however, said that in her meetings with Defense Ministry officials she "noted that in accordance with international standards, a superior may be criminally responsible for crimes committed by subordinates, under his or her effective authority and control, and as a result of his or her failure to exercise control properly over such subordinates. So this is the basis on which this government has acted," she continued, "and I am encouraging that the process of investigation be followed consistently through the ranks," until those who are directly responsible are found.   She added that she "supports the commitment expressed by the highest civilian and military authorities of the country that progress in security should be achieved with full adherence to legality and respect for human rights."
	UN Votes in support of lifting Embargo on Cuba by Agence France Presse (AFP)   October 30, 2008   The UN General Assembly on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly for the 17th year in a row in favor of lifting the 46-year-old US trade embargo on communist-ruled Cuba, as Havana hoped for better ties with a new US administration.   Some 185 of the assembly"s 192 members approved a resolution, which reiterated a "call upon all states to refrain from promulgating and applying laws and measures (such as those in the US embargo) in conformity with their obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and international law."   The United States, Israel and Palau voted against the resolution, while Micronesia and the Marshall Islands abstained.   The margin of support for ending the embargo has grown steadily since 1992, when 59 countries voted in favor of the resolution. The figure was 179 in 2004, 182 in 2005 and 184 in 2007.   Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque welcomed the vote but also looked ahead to future US-Cuban relations with President elect Democrat Barack Obama.   The US economic, trade and financial sanctions were imposed 46 years. Noting that the US embargo is "older than Barack Obama and my entire generation," Perez Roque said the new US president "will have to decide whether he continues, to try to wear out the Cuban people with hunger and diseases."   A national survey by the Zogby polling organization, released on October 2, noted that 60 percent of Americans believe the White House should change its policy towards Cuba.   Speaking on behalf of the European Union, France"s UN deputy ambassador Jean-Pierre Lacroix meanwhile said the 27-member pan-European bloc rejects "all unilateral measures against Cuba which are contrary to common accepted rules of international trade."   He said the EU believes that "the lifting of the US trade embargo would open Cuba"s economy to the benefit of the Cuban people."   Antigua and Barbuda"s UN Ambassador John Ashe, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said the 132-nation alliance renewed its call on Washington to lift sanctions.   The embargo not only undermines the principles enshrined in the UN Charter and international law, but also acts to "severely threaten the freedom of trade and investment."
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