Helping Colombia investigate deaths.

• Author: Conaway, Janelle
• Position: Brief article

RESPONDING TO A request by the government of Colombia, the OAS said it would establish an international forensic commission to help investigate the violent deaths of eleven Colombian lawmakers. The victims, representatives of the Departmental Assembly of Valle del Cauca, had been held as hostages by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for more than five years when they were killed by gunfire in June.

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In announcing the decision to put together an investigative commission, the OAS said that the team would be led by a forensic doctor selected by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and that Prance, Spain, and Switzerland--as well as the International Red Cross--would be invited to designate specialists for the effort.

News of the lawmakers' deaths drew wide-ringing condemnation from the international community. OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza described the tragedy as "one of the most serious obstacles imposed on the peace...