By Jeremy McDermott BBC Bogota correspondent

The report will make uncomfortable reading for President Uribe

It makes chilling reading, showing even worse figures than last year when Colombia was rated one of the most dangerous nations on Earth.

The murder figures are higher than many countries in the midst of a full-scale war.

COLOMBIA VIOLENCE 2002 32,000 homicides 5,500 politically motivated 5,000 right-wing killings 30 murders per 100,000

The news will not be welcomed by the government of President Alvaro Uribe, elected on the back of a promise to bring law and order to a country entering its 39th year of civil conflict.

But it will be able to say that since he only took over last August he cannot shoulder the blame.

There were over 32,000 homicides last year - 5,500 of them politically motivated and another 5,000 part of "social cleansing operations" usually carried out by right-wing paramilitaries who target drug addicts, prostitutes and homosexuals.

Worked out as murders per 100,000 of the population, Colombia has now touched 78.

As a comparison, the US averages seven per 100,000 and Europe even less.

However, human rights groups indicate this year looks even worse as government offensives against Marxist rebels have simply resulted in yet more violence.