Public Ceremony of State Responsibility recognition in the Nelson Carvajal - Kerry Kennedy

REMARKS

By Kerry Kennedy

Good Morning. My name is Kerry Kennedy, and I am the president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.

It is a great honor to join all of you today. Don Jairo y Doña Ana Francisca (parents); Janeth Cristina, Paola Andrea and María Alejandra (daughters); Judith, Ruth, Gloria, Fernando, Luz, Saul, and Miriam (siblings) and Cristhian, Cesar, Oscar y Diego (Nephews), thank you for inviting me to join you. Representatives of the Colombian Government, the inter-American Commission on Human Rights, our partners at Inter American Press Association, our lead attorney, Angelita Baeyens, Ladies and gentleman.

Today's ceremony marks an extraordinary milestone in the march for justice by the family of Nelson Carvajal, and by the members of the press who so admired the courage of this teacher, investigative journalist, father, brother, son, and patriot.

It has been a great privilege for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, to join the Inter-American Press Association and the Carvajal family in their quest for truth and justice and to honor Nelson's memory and work. When Ricardo Trotti, IAPA's Executive director, asked us to take the Nelson Carvajal case before the Inter American Court, we immediately and emphatically agreed.

We saw an opportunity to fight for justice and redress for this remarkable family, and that, was enough. But we also wanted to fight against impunity. And to bolster the work of the hundreds of journalists who have faced and continue to face violence and intimidation simply for doing their job. And then, we wanted to buttress democracy, because we all know that democracy cannot survive without a free press, without dissent.

That work is particularly important now, when journalists are demeaned and targeted with increasing rage, not only by demagogues, tyrants, and organized criminals; but also by leaders of the free world.

I am deeply moved to join you today. Many beautiful things have been said about Nelson Carvajal. About the way he inspired his students. About his love for his incredibly close knit family. About his dogged determination to rout out the corruption that was destroying his community and harming his country. About his bravery to continue to ask questions even after his life was threatened. About how Nelson, in his fight for justice, and his belief in the freedom of the press, not only fought for Pitalito, but also fought for freedom of the press across Colombia and around the world.

Some of the work that Nelson started has been carried on by people like Ricardo Trotti and those who share Nelson's dream of justice and peace. And we all take courage in knowing that so many people share his vision of the work we need to do, and give of themselves daily to do it.

But as the daughter of a man who was, like Nelson, murdered in retaliation for his moral courage, I know first hand, that part of Nelson's work can never be done by others. His work as a loving husband. His work as a father to Janeth Cristina, Paola Andrea & María Alejandra. His work as an uncle, a brother, a son. This is one of murder's greatest cruelties—it leaves the work of love, undone.

Dear Carvajal family, your resilience and determination to find justice despite all the risks and obstacles you have faced in these past 20 years is an example to the world. I know that Nelson and my dad are looking proudly over all of you.

It is almost impossible to describe the pain of losing your father to a senseless murder, or the anger and fear of knowing the killer is free. Because of the failure of the police and prosecutors, the Carvajal family was left to investigate this heinous crime on their own. And then they were victimized again—threatened so seriously they were forced to leave not only their community, but forced into exile overseas, breaking apart the family yet again.

The Government of Colombia has an opportunity to set things right and to demonstrate that it is willing to tackle the corrosive impunity that surrounds the cases of violence against journalists.

We applaud the government of Colombia for taking the first step towards justice today, by recognizing their wrong and taking responsibility for its failure to act.

That is a first step, but it must not be the last.

Next, the government must investigate the case, and assure that those responsible for Nelson Carvajal's murder are identified and punished.

That duty of investigating the facts is not limited to Nelson's murder. It must include investigation of and accountability for all the subsequent threats suffered by the members of the Carvajal family.

The judgment issued by the Inter-American Court in this case a year ago is an important roadmap for the Government to follow, and the reparation measures ordered by the Court are very clear. We will continue to be working alongside the Carvajal family and the Inter-American Press Association to ensure the judgment is fully complied with. The family deserves it, and Colombian society merits no less.

Colombia is at an incredible juncture right now. Despite its shortcomings, the peace agreement with the FARC is an extremely important achievement, for Colombia and for our world.

Colombia has the opportunity to build a future of peace and inclusion, an opportunity to right the wrongs and create a safe and enabling environment for civil society and journalists.

We cannot stay silent in view of the alarming numbers of social leaders who have been killed this year alone. This is not the peace we yearn for.

The Government must ensure that human rights defenders and journalists are effectively protected. This is the only way to repair the fabric of society and rebuild trust in State institutions, trust in the administration of justice and trust in the Government's will to ensure that the voices that speak truth to power, just as Nelson did during his lifetime, are protected from those that have an interest in silencing them.

Reflecting on the lives of Nelson Carvajal and Robert Kennedy I'd like to end with these lines from Stephen Spender:

I think continuously of those who were truly great

The names of those who in their lives fought for life,

Who wore at their hearts the fire's centre.

Born of the sun, they travelled a short while toward the sun

And left the vivid air signed with their honour.

Thank you -