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OAS CONDEMNS KIDNAPPING IN COLOMBIA

  November 14, 2002

Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General César Gaviria has issued a statement strongly condemning the recent kidnapping in Colombia of Monsignor Jorge Jiménez Carvajal, Bishop of Zipaquirá, who is also President of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM).

“On behalf of the Organization that I represent, and as a Colombian citizen, I strongly condemn the kidnapping of Monsignor Jiménez,” Gaviria stated, adding that “the group responsible for this act has committed a flagrant human rights violation.”

Gaviria said that, given his high standing in society as a religious and spiritual leader, “Monsignor Jiménez embodies the highest values of Colombia and Latin America¾which makes the crime all the more heinous.”

Speaking of behalf of the international community and the inter-American human rights system, the Secretary General called on the perpetrators to “respect Monsignor Jiménez’s life and release him immediately.” He also called for respect for the lives of the other kidnapping victims.

Reference: E-224/02