industrial projects known as Zones of Rural Development, Economic and Social Interest (ZIDRES). Critics argued these could undermine the land rights of rural communities. In February, the Constitutional Court ruled that legislation stipulating that land restitution claims would not be permitted in areas denominated Projects of National and Strategic Interest (PINES) was unconstitutional. It ruled that such lands could be expropriated by the state, but that land claimants would have the right to a formal expropriation hearing and to compensation set by the courts. On 9 June, the Constitutional Court made public its December 2015 ruling annulling three resolutions by the National Mining Agency and Ministry of Mines and Energy declaring over 20 million hectares of land, including Indigenous and Afro-descendant territories, as Strategic Mining Areas (SMAs). The Court stated that delimitation of any SMAs was dependent on seeking the prior consent of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities living in these areas. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS Allegations of crimes of sexual violence continued to be levelled against all parties to the conflict. By 1 December, the Victims’ Unit had registered more than 17,500 victims of conflict-related crimes against sexual integrity since 1985. In March, the NGO Follow-up Working Group on the Constitutional Court’s Judicial Decrees (Autos) 092 of 2008 and 009 of 2015 issued a report on the state’s implementation of the two Decrees. The Decrees highlighted the prevalence of conflict-related sexual violence against women and ordered the state to combat these crimes and bring to justice those suspected of criminal responsibility. The report concluded that although the state had made some progress in investigating these crimes, it had failed to take effective action to ensure the right of survivors to truth, justice and reparation. The vast majority of those suspected of criminal responsibility for these Amnesty International Report 2016/17 crimes had yet to be brought to justice by the end of the year. In August, the government issued Decree 1314 creating a commission to develop a Comprehensive Programme of Guarantees for Women Leaders and Human Rights Defenders, which would include prevention and protection mechanisms. In June, the Office of the Attorney General issued a Resolution adopting a protocol for the investigation of crimes of sexual violence. INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY In March the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report which congratulated the government and the FARC on the progress made to reach a peace agreement. However, the High Commissioner warned that paramilitary groups (referred to as “post-demobilization groups” in the report) “constantly undermine human rights and citizen security, the administration of justice and peacebuilding, including land restitution. Dismantling the groups that control stolen land through the use or threat of violence represents a permanent challenge to peace”. In its concluding observations on Colombia, published in October, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances acknowledged the efforts made by the Colombian authorities and noted the reduction in cases of enforced disappearance in recent years. However, it expressed concern about Colombia’s continued failure to recognize the competence of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of victims as well as the failure to make meaningful progress in investigating such crimes. In November, the UN Human Rights Council noted the significant reduction in the conflict’s impact on civilians. However, it expressed concern about ongoing violations, including arbitrary deprivations of life, enforced disappearances, torture, and the persistence of impunity. It also expressed concern about abuses by “illegal armed groups that emerged after the demobilization of paramilitary organizations” and allegations 127