During the opening ceremony of the World Law Congress 2021, “Rule of Law: development for nations”, which takes place in Barranquilla (Atlántico), the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, highlighted the entity’s mission to administer justice to uphold the rule of law and the fundamental role that it represents for the country due to its direct relationship with democracy: “If there is no justice, democracy cannot be upheld in a territory”, he said.
In his speech, the Attorney General referred to four main issues: integration and coordination between States in the fight against organized crime; the reform of the accusatory system; the entity’s competence to investigate, including in electoral processes; and respect for institutions.
Concerning the first axis, the Attorney General Barbosa recalled the harmonious work that has been carried out with 13 countries in the region that led to the signing of two declarations, both in Panama and Cartagena, to combat the scourge of migrant smuggling that affects Latin America and to dismantle the criminal organizations responsible for this conduct.
On the other hand, concerning the Accusatory Criminal System, he stressed, as in other occasions, that it is necessary to propose a reform so that “justice can be prompt for citizens(…) It is necessary to think about the time it takes for the criminal justice to reach convictions, to reach the end of the process. Also, to think about the use of mechanisms to end a process in advance, which have to do with preliminary agreements or principles of opportunity, in order to dismantle criminal structures ”.
Regarding the third issue about the alleged interference in electoral processes by the institution, the Attorney General pointed out that “The Office of the Attorney General is the one that leads the criminal policy in these cases and not the criminals in Colombia. Nobody in this country is going to make the Attorney General commit a breach of duty for fear of media lynchings”.
He added that “No one is going to refrain the Office of the Attorney General´s actions against crime. (…) We do not interfere in electoral processes. If crime and delinquency interfere with the electoral processes, the of the Attorney General´s Office will exercise its powers any time, without limits ”.
Finally, the Attorney General Barbosa referred to the importance of scenarios for dialogue and meetings such as the World Law Congress because the institutional framework is strengthened. “We are committed to the confrontation of actors who have tried to weaken the institutions. (…) I think it is an important message that the institutions in this country are much stronger than those that seek to destabilize them. On the critiques strengthen us, the critiques make us improve”, he concluded.