On 21 March, ABColombia sent a letter to the UK Minister of State Sir Alan Duncan about the delay in accrediting a new Representative of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Colombia. In the letter, ABColombia asked the Minister to raise this issue directly with the Colombian Government.
[Download the full letter in English by clicking on the button below.]
Dear Minister Duncan
The UK Government, we are pleased to say, has always supported the UN OHCHR. According to your statement last December UK funding to this office has increased. Therefore, I am sure you will be concerned to learn that the Colombian Foreign Affairs Ministry has refused to accredit the new Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia, stating that they want to await the inauguration of the new government. If this happens, the UN Office will be without a head and without a public spokesperson for at least five months. ABColombia considers this to be especially worrying since we understand that the UN Office presented a candidate to the Colombian Government in October 2017, who was rejected.
Civil society organisations in the UK and Colombia have been concerned for a few years that the Colombian Government wants to shut the UN OHCHR in Colombia. These delays, the rejection of the previous candidate, combined with their refusal to accredit the newly appointed High Commissioner, suggest the Colombian government does not consider the UN OHCHR a priority, at a time when it is needed more than ever. In addition, despite the critical human rights situation that the country continues to experience, and requests for official visits from various UN Rapporteurs, including the UN Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, no official invitation has been extended to any UN Rapporteur in the last eight years.
Colombia is facing a critical situation in respect to the violations of human rights and the increase in attacks and killings of human rights defenders. In 2017, the UN OHCHR registered a total of 441 attacks including 121 killings of human rights defenders, which includes 84 human rights defenders with leadership roles, 23 members of social and political movements, and 14 people killed during social protests. OHCHR also recorded 41 attempted killings; 213 threats; four forced disappearances; and the rape of a female activist. This is therefore the worst possible moment for the UN OHCHR to be weakened.
The situation requires immediate action on the part of all those who support human rights in Colombia. We are therefore asking that the UK Government raises this directly with the Colombian Government.
On 16 March 2018, 27 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) sent a letter to the Colombian Government to express concerns about the increase in assassinations and aggressions against human rights defenders (HRDs), environmental defenders and social and community leaders. In the letter, the MEPs highlight the serious increase in assassinations of those who defend their own or collective rights and those who are involved in the implementation of the Peace Accord.
It concerns us that the majority of these assassinations occurred after repeated reports of previous threats made to the victim, meaning that many of these crimes could have been avoided. There is still a lack of adequate planned prevention programmes; and many of the programmes that do exist are not capable of providing the necessary guarantees for the defence of human rights because they lack the application of a territorial, differentiated and gender-orientated approach and that respond to challenges in the current context.
Reiterating the European Parliament’s continued support for the implementation of the Peace Accord, the MEPs emphasised the importance of making progress in the implementation of collective measures that respond to current challenges. As examples of these challenges they mentioned the assassinations of the land restitution leaders Mario Castaño Bravo and Hernan Bedoya in Uraba at the end of 2017, as well as the assassination of Temistocles Machado in Buenaventura on 27 January 2018. These three leaders had previously reported death threats made against them; however, the State failed to implement safeguarding measures to protect their lives.
The results in terms of the investigation, trial and sanctioning of those responsible still do not seem sufficient to ensure the non-repetition of the crimes and end the high-rates of impunity that still surround these types of crimes. We are aware that Colombia is facing multiple challenges in the context of the implementation of the Peace Agreement; however, we have noted with great concern, the proliferation of illegal armed groups in all parts of Colombia. Parallel to this, we have seen a lack of adequate response on behalf of the Colombian state.
In addition, the MEPs expressed concerns regarding reports of links between sectors of the Security Forces, political and economic elites and paramilitary successor groups.
ABColombia is pleased that six UK and Irish MEPs have signed this letter:
Martina Anderson, United Kingdom
Lynn Boylan, Ireland
Matt Carthy, Ireland
Liadh Ní Riada, Ireland
Keith Taylor, United Kingdom
Julie Ward, United Kingdom
You can download the full letter in English and Spanish by clicking on the buttons below. More information can be found on Oidhaco’s website.
Colombia will engage in a third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process in May 2018. The UK made some important recommendations to Colombia during the first and second review process. These covered issues such as tackling poverty, specifically amongst vulnerable groups, security for human rights defenders (HRDs), addressing impunity, forced displacement, illegal armed groups and human rights issues in the military justice system. All these areas are referred to in this document.
The full briefing can be downloaded by clicking on the button below.
The briefing and recommendations address key issues related to:
Peace Process
Situation of Human Rights Defenders
Impunity for Crimes against Human Rights Defenders
Enforced Disappearances
Extrajudicial Killings
Women and Women Human Rights Defenders
Business and Human Rights
Conflict, Poverty and Inequality
Forced Displacement and Land Restitution
The recommendations at a glance:
That the Colombian Government ensures that there are sufficient resources assigned to the Special Unit in the Public Prosecutor’s Office on crimes against Human Rights Defenders; that the Colombian Government ensures that this Special Unit traces the patterns of killings of Human Rights Defenders in order to identify and prosecute not just the perpetrators but also the authors of these crimes.
That Colombia invites the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders to Colombia on an official visit.
That Colombia recognises the competence of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances to receive and examine communications – from or in favour of victims – as well as from other State Parties.
Ensure that the investigation and prosecution against commanding officers in the Security Forces for ‘false positive’ extrajudicial killings are prioritised and adequately resourced.
To ensure effective implementation of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz-JEP) specifically in cases of conflict-related sexual violence. By strengthening measures to prevent, sanction and eradicate violence and discrimination against women exacerbated by the armed conflict, including concrete efforts to fulfil the commitments made in the Peace Accord to: investigate, sanction and provide reparation for human rights violations against women who have suffered from conflict related gender-based violence.
Enhance access to justice for victims of gender-based violence in the framework of the ordinary justice system.
That the Colombian Government extends the period of time to implement the Land Restitution Law 1448.
To ensure there are adequate resources for Popular Consultations (Consulta Popular) and Free, Prior, and Informed, Consent (ILO Convention 169) processes, in order that they can promote and strengthens citizen participation and inclusive development. As well as, respecting and implementing the outcomes of the popular consultations that have been held so far, like that in Cajamarca.
Design and develop mechanisms to ensure that communities and stakeholders receive, as early as possible, all relevant information regarding mining and other large-scale projects including impact assessments in order that they can make informed decisions in prior consultation processes and leave open the option that some projects may not be viable.
That the Colombian Government ensures that the ethnic protection plans for indigenous peoples that are at risk of physical and cultural extinction and populations’ of African descent that are extremely vulnerable own development plans are incorporated into the PDETs.
That the Colombian Government fully implements the Agrarian Chapter of the Peace Accord which prioritise access to land and resources for rural women from marginalised and vulnerable groups.
Click on the button below to download the full briefing document.
On 8 March 2018, International Women’s Day, ABColombia pays tribute to all the courageous Human Rights Defenders it works with and those who have been killed for defending the rights of others.
Colombian women defenders come from all walks of life; they are indigenous and afro-Colombian women living in remote areas, trade unionists, internally displaced persons (IDPs), human rights lawyers defending victims of the conflict, lesbians and transgender women resisting and against discrimination, journalists, mothers, daughters and sisters of the victims of extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances, and survivors of sexual violence. In the Colombian context women are carrying out a fundamental role as defenders of human rights and “builders of peace and democracy.
In 2017, according to Somos Defensores 106 human rights defenders were killed in Colombia. Front Line’s 2017 Report documented 312 HRDs killed globally in 2017. Therefore 1 in every 3 defenders killed worldwide were Colombian; making Colombia the most dangerous country for HRDs to carry out their work. According to a recent presentation to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights impunity for crimes against HRDs is over 90 percent. [1] The UN Verification Mission to Colombia 2018 report expresses concern for the growing number of murders of social leaders, human rights defenders, land restitution advocates and promoters of coca substitution programmes.
As a result of lack of State protection communities and human rights defenders have been developing their own self-protection mechanisms. This is an example of what indigenous women are doing in Colombia and their wholistic approach to security and protection. For other examples read ABColombia’s report
Indigenous Women Defenders Self-Protection Mechanisms
For indigenous women to assume the role of HRDs it is an extension of the task of caring for and defending the lives of sons and daughters and all of their Peoples. Self-protection is viewed from a broad and comprehensive perspective: protection of the individual, the collective (community) and the territory which they share with all beings that inhabit it, as they have done traditionally.
The process of organisation, resistance and defence of indigenous territories, recently has been assumed in greater numbers and with greater force by women leaders, as traditional authorities, governors, council members in the resguardo (territories collectively owned) and as leaders of indigenous organisations. The Nasa women from ACIN – Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca – have repeatedly reported that this leadership has increasingly exposed them to risks, and that they receive constant threats and attacks on account of the work they are undertaking in defending of human and collective rights. [2]
Wounaan Indigenous Governor
A recurring feature of threats directed at women is that they extend to, or contact, their families in order to intimidate and silence them. Those who threaten indigenous women are knowledgeable about indigenous communities, about the courage and love the women have for their children and the sacrifices they are willing to make, and they use this in a strategy of intimidation.
Indigenous women use some practices for self-protection that are common to women HRDs, such as, public denouncements shared with their Indigenous networks, the International Community and International organisations; and registered with judicial and state officials.
They also use measures that are widely practised to ensure safe mobility, such as, making changes to their normal routines, activating communication networks, working with International and National solidarity organisations whose focus is the protection of women, and in the case of Indigenous Peoples accompaniment from the Guardia Indígena.
But perhaps most important for Indigenous women HRDs is the strengthening of traditional protection practices accompanied by traditional medicine and doctors who, from their traditional knowledge, perform rituals in sacred places that are identified in each Pueblo (village) where they perform refreshment and harmonization rituals; rituals that are needed to balance and harmonize the whole person, body and soul and invoke the protective powers of spirits and superior beings who care for life and territory: self-protection is the concept that is the basis of these practices: to be well means you are able to work well.
Protection and self-protection of Indigenous women HRDs is an internalised practice, the fact of being indigenous, being part of a people with an identity, a culture and particular practices permeates the protection of HRDs in their own style according to their own culture and traditions of care.
Notes
[1] 165th Session of the Inter-America Commission of Human Rights, Investigaciones de graves violaciones de derechos humanos y la implementación del Acuerdo de Paz en Colombia: Between 2009 -2016 there was approximately, 90 per cent impunity rate in relation to the crimes against HRDs.
[2] This information was given to ABColombia by CODACOP who is a partner organisation of one of ABColombia members. CODACOP work with Nasa Women in Cauca.
On 31 January 2018, ABColombia held an event in the UK Parliament hosted by Baroness Jean Cousins and the Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG) to discuss the progress and obstacles to sustainable peace in Colombia, with particular emphasis on the current situation in Chocó on the north-western Pacific coast of Colombia. Two Colombian human rights defenders (HRDs) from the Chocó region, Bernadino Mosquera, an environmental human rights defender and Río Quito community leader, and Father Sterlin Londoño from the Dioceses of Quibdó, provided first-hand insight into the continued risks that HRDs and ethnic communities face along the River Atrato.
The Rio Atrato
Situated in Chocó, one of the world’s top ten biodiversity hotspots, and yet one of Colombia’s poorest regions, the Atrato River, which runs the length of Choco, constitutes the central life-source for numerous afro-descendant and indigenous communities along its banks.
A year on from the signing of the Peace Accord between the FARC and the Colombian Government, little impact has been made on the lack of services and the humanitarian crisis that exists in Chocó, where 60 percent of the population have been registered as victims of the armed conflict. Rather, the continued presence of the ELN and neo-paramilitary groups, such as the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC), who protect the miners in control of the Atrato’s gold deposits, thus fueling illegal mining activities within the Atrato Basin and escalating the violence.
Father Sterlin Londoño and Bernadino Mosquera both explained that the social and economic abandonment by the State in Chocó has caused a severe humanitarian crisis, which has led to departmental-wide social protests. The long-standing lack of provision by the state of basic services has left local communities with little-to-no basic sanitation, health services, education, fresh-water facilities, protection nor support. As a result, the Atrato River has become a dumping ground for both human and chemical waste which have caused a variety of serious health problems. Furthermore, illegal mining activities and combats between armed groups have increased forced displacements throughout Chocó.
Protecting, defending, and preserving the Atrato River has thus fallen on local communities, social leaders, and environmental defenders who risk attack, threats and assassination for their work to uphold social justice.
Guardians of the Atrato
The Afro-descendant communities along the Atrato River, together with the Interethnic Solidarity Forum of Choco (FISCH) and Tierra Digna, achieved a landmark ruling in 2017, which recognised the Atrato as a holder of legal personhood and environmental rights that must be safeguarded alongside the communities’ bio-cultural rights. This placed direct responsibility on the State to ensure its protection, maintenance, conservation and restoration. The Constitutional Court ordered that two “Guardians of the Atrato” be appointed to monitor the implementation of the sentence (T-622) and to keep the communities along the 750 kilometers of the River Quito informed. However, the communities decided that the work involved would be too much for just one community leader, as a result they formed a group called the “Guardianes y Guardianas del Atrato” (Guardians of the Atrato). This group consists of fourteen delegates (seven men and seven women) from the ethnic communities along the river. This group is coordinated by the FISCH.
Bernadino Mosquera is one of the Guardians he is the afro-Colombian leader of one of the communities in the River Atrato and he undertakes vital work towards:
Preserving the natural resources along the river;
Integrating local communities into initiatives involving the Atrato’s protection, maintenance, conservation, and restoration;
Defending the rights of the communities by denouncing the issues present as a result of persistent social exclusion and the armed conflict;
Advocating for the accomplishment of the High Court ruling.
In the Diocese of Quibdó, Father Sterlin Londoño works hand-in-hand with these affected communities, social leaders, and civil society organisations to advocate for the path towards peace to be maintained. However, the mechanisms for guaranteeing the implementation of the Constitutional Court’s judgement present a challenge. One of the main challenges will be to ensure that the consultation envisioned in this sentence with the communities is fully implemented. The communities need to be fully involved in the planning, design and implementation of the sentence.
The Colombian government claims that it “includes” us, but it does not really include us, because the State decides when to include minorities in decision-making processes and when not.
– Father Sterlin Londoño
Another challenge is that of security for the communities and their leaders. There is a continued threat to personal security of HRDs. As Father Sterlin made evident, within recent months the situation for HRDs has reached a critical level. Whilst the ruling aims to protect the human rights of social leaders most remain targets of serious threats from groups operating within the Basin as efforts towards essential transformations are being made.
Bernadino’s security risk has been assessed as high by the National Protection Unit and he is receiving threats for the work he has been doing promoting of the rights of the river, advocating for implementation of the sentence T-622 and defending the rights of the communities. Community leaders have been killed from the Chocó region in just the last month (January 2018). It is an extremely dangerous region to be a HRD. The protection measures awarded to Bernardino from the State are a mobile phone, a bullet proof vest and some transport costs. The phone has not worked for a year and despite the State being aware of this it still has not been replaced. A lack of political will to protect the defenders appears to be the only reason why, since he has been told there are no resources to replace this.
Patrick Grady MP showing support for the Guardians of the Atrato.
The Importance of International Advocacy
Cooperation of the international community is needed together with the strengthening of alliances across international organisations to create awareness about the Afro-descendant communities’ capacity to lead innovative processes like those related to the Atrato River sentence T-622.
It will be essential for the State to fully implement this decision if it is going to build confidence in its relationship with the communities, as part of this confidence building, the State will need to ensuring resources for the Guardianes of the Atrato to monitor the implementation of the decision and to keep a constant communication and consultation process with the communities covered by this decision regarding its implementation.
The international community, especially here in Great Britain, can make recommendations that human rights are not just for set classes, but for all social classes. […] We need the rights-bearing State to be present in our territories too.
– Bernadino Mosquera
Recommendations to the UK and EU
ABColombia strongly recommend to the UK who is a contributor to the EU Trust Fund for Colombia and to the EU that they fully support the implementation of this Constitutional Court decision T-622, and fully support, both politically and financially the Guardianes of the Atrato. This sentence is central to the implementation of the Ethnic Agenda for Peace, which consists of:
Ask your MP to write to the UK Government asking whether they will recommend that the EU Trust Fund supports the Guardians of the Atrato River – “Guardianes del Atrato”.
Share this article on social media using #GuardianAtrato and raise awareness among your friends and family of the situation in Chocó.
To hear in Spanish Bernadino talking about his visit to the UK, see below:
On 26 January 2018, Eleázar Tequia Vitucay, the coordinator of the Indigenous Guard (Guardia Indígena) of the Embera Katío people in Chocó, was killed allegedly by members of the Colombian armed forces. Two other members of the Guardia Indígena were injured in the incident. For more than ten years, Tequia Vitucay was an Indigenous Guard (Guardia Mayor) in Choco. Tequia Vitucay leaves behind a wife and five young children.
The killing of an Indigenous Guard [1] constitutes a serious violation of indigenous autonomy. General Mauricio Moreno and the Governor of Chocó issued a public apology for the killing of Tequia Vitucay. However, in light of continuing violence against community leaders and ethnic minorities in Chocó, structural changes are needed to protect their physical and cultural integrity and the right to life of Indigenous People.
When we take away the weapons of the armed forces or of any armed actor, we do this in self-defence and to avoid harm.
– Eleazar Tequia Vitucay (5 August 1976 – 26 January 2018), Indigenous Guard Mayor of the Embera Katío People
The National Indigenous Organisation of Colombia (ONIC) reported that on 26 January 2018, members of the Colombian armed forces shot and killed indigenous leader Eleazar Tequia Vitucay while he was travelling home on the road that connects Quibdó and Medellín. Tequia Vitucay was the coordinator of the Indigenous Guard, an unarmed indigenous authority in charge of protecting the cultural and spiritual integrity of the indigenous community and its ancestral lands.
“[As indigenous guards] our responsibility is to protect our territory and make sure no armed actors enter our Resguardo.
– Eleazar Tequia Vitucay
The death of Tequia Vitucay constitutes a severe infringement of indigenous autonomy because of the level of authority Tequia Vitucay represented in his community as Guardia Mayor. The seriousness of the offence of killing an Indigenous Guard is culturally comparable with the killing of a person authorised by the State to protect the lives of others. At the same time – if put into the context of historical and systemic discrimination against ethnic minorities – this is evidence of the deficient human rights protection for Indigenous People in Colombia. It is all the more concerning that this was not an isolated incident: The ONIC reported that Tequia Vitucay was one of three indigenous people who were killed by the Armed Forces in one week.
The danger of being involved in social protest in Colombia
Tequia Vitucay was killed in the context of a peaceful protest of the Indigenous Peoples, during which members of the Embera Katío people were blocking a key road between Medellín and Quibdó, demanding access to education for their children. According to the indigenous authorities, 21,000 indigenous children currently do not have access to education in Chocó.
The systemic marginalisation of ethnic minorities in Chocó led to this social protest on important motorways, which is a tool of direct action used by indigenous communities. During demonstrations and blockades, the Indigenous Guards to which Tequia Vitucay belonged, ensured that indigenous protestors remained peaceful.
Protests (Mingas) are often the only means open for indigenous communities to peacefully demand the fulfilment of their basic human rights. However, these social protests are considered a threat by the state and are increasingly addressed with excessive repression and violence from Security Forces.
When there is a blockade, our task is to defend the protesters on site. We coordinate the protection, to protect them from armed confrontations. Sometimes gangs come to abuse the protesters. That’s why we are there, to provide protection.
– Eleazar Tequia Vitucay
Shooting at peaceful protesters must be condemned as an excessive use of force; it is also a severe violation of the fundamental right to protest and freedom of association. Therefore, ABColombia calls for the Colombian Government to fully investigate and bring to justice those members of the Armed Forces responsible for the death of Eleazar Tequia Vitucay.
Public Apology
The indigenous community demanded a public apology for the killing of their leader. On 31 January, the Governor of Chocó, Jhoany Carlos Alberto Palacios Mosquera, and Army General Mauricio Moreno publicly apologised for the death of Eleazar Tequia Vitucay. The General further indicated that Tequia Vitucay’s family would receive compensation.
Even though this apology must be welcomed as gesture of respect for the indigenous community and Tequia Vitucay’s family, structural changes are urgently needed to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. A first step must be to improve access to basic human rights for indigenous and afro-Colombian communities in Chocó, including the right to peaceful protest and education.
In times of heightened insecurity and continued presence of the ELN and paramilitaries [2] in afro-Colombian and indigenous territories [3], violent acts by the State threaten to undermine the faith of communities in the peace process. Without mutual trust, respect and support between communities and Security Forces, it is hard to see how the Government can ensure the full implementation of the Peace Accord [4], enhance security and to work towards sustainable peace in the regions.
ABColombia calls for the Colombian Government to
fully investigate and prosecute those in the Armed Forces responsible for the death of Tequia Vitucay.
take immediate measures to address the needs of the communities and individuals affected by the violence of 26 January 2018, in accordance the Victims Law 4633 of 2011.
guarantee the protection of the members of the unarmed Guardia Indigena of the Embera Katío and support their work in providing security for indigenous communities.
ensure that the Ministry of the Interior adopts all necessary measures to guarantee the right to life of indigenous leaders and communities.
Fully implement the Planes de Salvaguardia of the Indigenous Groups at risk of physical and cultural extinction and guarantee the personal integrity of their leaders throughout the peace process.
guarantee full access to public services and cultural, social and economic rights for communities in Chocó, including the right to education.
ensure the constitutional right to peaceful protest is respected at all times.
[1] The Indigenous Guard is an indigenous self-protection mechanism based on traditional teachings aimed at abstaining from violence whilst asserting the community’s rights. The community appoints women, men and young people committed to defending the rights of the community without the use of firearms, even at the expense of their own lives. They assert their neutrality, patrol their territories and demand that armed actors leave the territory.
[2] Armed actors in Chocó: Following the departure of the FARC-EP from Chocó territories, the dynamics of the conflict between the illegal armed groups, paramilitary successors, FARC dissidents and the National Liberation Army (ELN) have changed, due to increased dispute for territorial control. With a lack of effective State presence in the region, confrontations continue to cause breaches of International Humanitarian Law. Civil society activists and ethnic-territorial and social organisations in Chocó have put forward a proposed humanitarian agreement directed at the national Government and the ELN following continued human rights violations.
[3] Violence against Indigenous People in Chocó: In 2017, many indigenous communities in Chocó were being forced to displace due to combats between the ELN and neo-paramilitary group the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC). ABColombia has also expressed concerns about recent escalations of violence against Indigenous People in other departments, such as Northern Cauca.
[4] Peace Accord: Following the initial signing of the Peace Accord on 26 September 2016 between the Government of Colombia and the FARC, the Accord was put to a referendum on 2 October 2016. By a very narrow majority of less than 0.5 per cent the “No” vote rejecting the Peace Accord won. On 24 November 2016, the Government and the FARC reached a final revised agreement, which was then ratified by the Colombian Congress.
ABColombia, alongside more than 60 international civil society organisations, has signed a letter to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, drawing attention to the situation of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, as well as the serious risks faced by those who defend human rights due to the presence of neo-paramilitary groups in the region of Urabá. The letter calls for measures to ensure the security and physical integrity of the members of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó.
The Peace Community of San José de Apartadó has been the beneficiary of precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights since 1997. Since 2000, it has been the beneficiary of provisional measures from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. On 6 December 2016, the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights declared the case of presumed responsibility of the Colombian State in the multiple human rights violations suffered by the Peace Community since 1997 admissible.
In this letter ABColombia and more than 60 other European and international civil society organisations express their concern that attacks like the one against the legal representative of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, Germán Graciano Posso, which took place Urabá on 29 December 2017, might happen again in the coming weeks and months, due to the upcoming elections. To read the full letter and see which organisations have signed it, click on the buttons below.
The signatories request that the Court once again insists that the Colombian state fulfills its national and international obligations, that it respects the orders relating to the Peace Community issued by the Constitutional Court, as well as the provisional measures, and that it immediately:
Carries out an investigation that establishes the responsibilities in all the denounced incidents regarding the complicity between members of the XVII Brigade of the National Army of Colombia and the National Police of Urabá with paramilitary structures and / or other criminal structures that operate in San José de Apartadó.
Carries out an investigation leading to sanctions for public servants who operate in contrary to Directive 002 of the Office of the Attorney General and continue to stigmatize the work of human rights defenders.
Complying with Court Order 164/2012 issued by the Constitutional Court, takes adequate and concerted measures to guarantee the life, security and physical integrity of the members of the Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado; and in general, social leaders and human rights defenders in Colombia.
Copies of this letter were sent to:
The President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Human Rights Rapporteur of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in Colombia
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders
The Colombian Government is moving forward in the implementation of the Peace Accord with the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force (FARC) political party and is working to secure a peace deal with the National Liberation Army (ELN). However, both processes are experiencing difficulties.
On 31 January 2018, ABColombia held an Event in Westminster Palace hosted by Baroness Jean Cousins and the Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG) to discuss the progress and obstacles to sustainable peace in Colombia, with particular emphasis on the current situation in Chocó on the north-western Pacific coast of Colombia. Two Colombian human rights defenders (HRDs) from the Chocó region, Bernadino Mosquera, an environmental human rights defender and Río Quito community leader, and Father Sterlin Londoño from the Dioceses of Quibdó, provided first-hand insight into the continued risks that HRDs and ethnic communities face along the River Atrato
Date: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Venue: Committee Room 4, Westminster Palace, London SW1A 0AA
Time: 18:00-20:00
Tickets: Free event. Email registration is required, please contactevents@abcolombia.org.uk.
Baroness Jean Coussins, crossbench peer in the House of Lords and member of the International Relations Select Committee
Speakers
Padre Sterlin Londoño, director of the Diocesan Pastoral Action work with Afro-descendant communities in the Diocese of Quibdó and has been a key figure throughout some of the worst years of the conflict. The Diocese of Quibdó, at the request of the Colombian Government and the ELN Guerrillas, are engaged in supporting the ELN – Colombian Government Peace Talks.
Bernadino Mosquera Palacios, president of the Community Council of Paimadó, which is Afro-Colombian collectively owned territory. He is on the front-line of the struggle to protect human, community and environmental rights in Paimadó. He has tried to stop illegal miners who are protected by illegal armed groups from damaging the community’s territory, and to get state institutions to fulfil their obligations to protect community rights. Last year he was appointed as one of 14 Guardians of the Atrato River, an institution set up following a court order by the Colombian Constitutional Court.
H. E. Nestor Osorio, Colombian Ambassador to the UK (tbc)
Nigel Baker, Deputy Head of the Americas, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (tbc)
Louise Winstanley, Programme and Advocacy Manager, ABColombia
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Discussion
The progress and the obstacles to sustainable peace in relation to the FARC and ELN Peace Processes.
Hear first-hand from Bernadino Mosquera Palacios, an environmental defender and community leader, about his community’s experience in their attempt to achieve peace with social justice.
Get up-to-date information from Father Sterlin (Diocese of Quibdó) on the Peace Processes. The Diocese of Quibdó is engaged at the request of the Colombian State and ELN in supporting the Peace Talks in Quito.
Find out how the UK and UK politicians can support the achievement of sustainable peace in Colombia.
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[cmsms_heading type=”h2″ font_weight=”400″ font_style=”normal” text_align=”left” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ animation_delay=”0″]This event was organised by ABColombia in association with [/cmsms_heading][cmsms_clients columns=”1″ layout=”slider” height=”170″ animation_delay=”0″][cmsms_client logo=”6088|https://www.abcolombia.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/APPG-300×68.png|medium”]APPG on Human Rights [/cmsms_client][/cmsms_clients]
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On 20 December 2017, ABColombia sent a letter to Sir Alan Duncan, UK Minister of State for Europe and the Americas, expressing concerns regarding the situation of human rights defenders (HRDs) in Colombia. In the letter, ABColombia asked the Minister to ensure a statement is made at the UN Security Council regarding the extremely high levels of killings of Colombian HRDs and that the UK strongly requests the Colombian Government to officially invite Michel Forst, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, to Colombia.
In his response from 17 January 2018, Minister Sir Alan Duncan wrote:
[…] I share your concern about the increasing violence against human rights defenders in Colombia. As you mention in your letter, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has confirmed that 73 social leaders were killed last year. It is verifying a further 11 cases. A disproportionate number of those killed are linked to disputes concerning land restitution. Some also appear to have been targeted for speaking out for the rights of local and indigenous communities. Please be assured that our Embassy in Bogota continues to monitor the situation on the ground closely.
As you know, Colombia is designated a Human Rights Priority Country by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and protection of human rights defenders is a priority focus for our work. I regularly raise violence against human rights defenders during my meetings with Colombian Ministers and the Colombian Ambassador […]
To read the letter that ABColombia sent and the full response by Minister Alan Duncan, please click on the buttons below.
On 22 January 2018, Frontline Defenders launched their Annual Report on Human Rights Defenders at Risk in 2017. In this annual report, Front Line Defenders documented cases of HRDs from 27 countries worldwide. The report makes for shocking reading, especially regarding the situation of HRDs in Colombia. It highlights that 80% of the documented killings of HRDs were in just four countries: Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines. Below is a summary of the evidence related to Colombia.
Frontline documented 312 HRDs killed globally in 2017 – of these 30% were Colombian (94 defenders killed) and 212 were killed in the Americas. This means that:
44% of all defenders killed in the Americas were Colombian
Whilst homicides in general have decreased in Colombia since the signing of the Peace Accord between the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the number of killings of HRDs has dramatically increased, with most of the defenders dying at the hands of neo-paramilitary or ‘unidentified’ armed actors.
Nearly one in three defenders killed globally was Colombian
Land and Human Rights Defenders
67% of defenders killed globally were engaged in the defence of land, environmental and indigenous peoples’ rights and nearly always in the context of mega projects, extractive industry and big business.
Land has been at the root of Colombia’s armed conflict. Therefore, without the full implementation of rural reforms promised in the Peace Accord, alongside the dismantling of neo-paramilitary and other armed groups, it is likely that this pattern of killing of those defenders working on land and victims’ rights will continue.
Business and Human Rights Defenders
Despite Colombia having a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, Front Line Defenders found that in cases involving land and mega-projects “countries, governments and security forces were, at best, unresponsive to threats and attacks faced by HRDs and, at worst, state security forces were themselves responsible for the killings.” (page 6)
Although the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, John Ruggie, launched a Framework for Business and Human Rights in 2008, Frontline Defenders found that:
…international investors and parent companies, whose funding and support initiated and enabled [mega projects, extractives and other big business projects], still do not regard local community leaders and HRDs as key actors to consult when planning projects. This lack of consultation increases the risk of confrontation further down the line and it denies companies early warning signals when conflict in local areas does emerge…
State Responsibilities
Frontline reports that globally, there was a weak response from both national governments and the international community in relation to threats, attacks and killings of HRDs. In 84% of killings, Frontline documented a lack of response from the State to information they had received in relation to previous threats, where they considered, “if preventive action were taken … at an early stage, attacks against HRDs could be dramatically reduced” (page 6).
Impunity for acts of violence against HRDs continues to enable an environment of frequent killings. Among those cases for which Frontline Defenders has collected data, only 12% globally resulted in the arrest of suspects.
Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) and LGBTI
The number and frequency of attacks against WHRDs also rose. These threats and attacks often included elements related, not only to their work, but also to their gender. A gendered dynamic to the targeting of WHRDs was prevalent in every region documented by Frontline Defenders (page 7).
In April, a friend of peasant farmer HRD Marylen Serna Salinas was abducted and sexually assaulted by three unidentified men in Popayán, Colombia. The men stated the reason for the attack was Marylen’s work (page 13).
Children of WHRDs were also threatened, as was the case with the daughter of Maria Leonilda Ravelo Grimaldo in Colombia, who had a gun pointed at her by two men on a motorcycle (page 7).
WHRDs also experienced discrimination from within the human rights movement when they challenged cultural and social norms as part of their human rights work (page 7).
During the course of the year, Frontline Defenders also received reports of an alarming increase in homophobic and transphobic attacks in Colombia (page 13).
Criminalisation of Defenders
Filing baseless lawsuits against HRDs was still one of the most common strategies used by both governments and non-state actors. Peru, Colombia, Guatemala, Ecuador, Honduras and Mexico accounted for most of the cases reported to Frontline Defenders in 2017
Cyber Attacks
Throughout the Americas, there have been persistent reports of cyber attacks targeting HRDs’ work. Most common have been distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. In 2017, Front Line Defenders documented such attacks in Colombia.
Frontline Defenders documented the following HRDs killed in COLOMBIA
