ABColombia remains gravely concerned about the situation of human rights defenders (HRDs) in Colombia. According to INDEPAZ, 116 HRDs and community leaders were killed in the first eight months of 2024. Global Witness reported that Colombia had the highest number of land and environmental defenders killed worldwide in 2023– with a record 79 killed in Colombia, followed by Brazil (25), Mexico (18) and Honduras (18).

It is essential that the Colombian Government addresses this situation and ensures that there are sufficient resources concentrated on investigation and bringing to justice the perpetrators of these crimes.

Justice Maybe Possible due to Lawyer and Family’s Courageous Actions

It is only due to the courage of Luz Marina Arteaga Henao’s family and lawyer, Brayan Cardenas, that the prosecution of the two perpetrators of this heinous crime of the torture and killing of Luz Marina Arteaga Henao is likely to result in a conviction.

The next stage of the trial of Jaumer Piravan Barrios and Hernando Melo Tovar for the torture and killing of Luz Marina Arteaga Henao took place between 24 September and 3 October 2024.

They are alleged to have kidnapped, tortured, and killed Luz Marina Arteaga Henao. Further investigation is also needed into the author behind this crime and the reasons why it was carried out.

Luz Marina was an amazing, dedicated community leader, working to uphold the rights of others. A land restitution leader in Orocué, Casanare, a human rights defender and peasant leader. She was involved in a land restitution claim on behalf of herself and her community. She also monitored the public finances (Veedora Pública de los dineros del municipio de Orocué) of the municipality of Orocué, which caused her considerable problems. According to a witness at the trial, Luz Marina had said that the mayor of the municipality, Monchy Yovany Moreno Gualdrón, had called and threatened her, saying that she should not get involved in things that didn’t concern her (para que no se metiera en cosas que no debias).

This vibrant and active social leader’s lifeless body was recovered from the River Meta in Orocué, Casanare, Colombia on 18 January 2022.

Her case must not remain in impunity.

In the three-day hearing, according to courageous lawyer Brayan Cardenas, a lot of valuable and relevant information has come out about the causes of her torture and subsequent murder. Listen to Brayan on RCN radio below:

So many are impacted and left grieving by the death of social leaders and HRDs, not least their families. These family members are also working tirelessly and courageously to ensure that the deaths of their loved ones do not remain in impunity.

On 26 September 2024, in the Interactive Dialogue Session with the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Dora Muñoz- wife of indigenous leader and HRD, José Miller Correa who was killed in March 2022, made a public statement regarding the on-going impunity and lack of rigorous investigation not only in the case of Jose Miller Corea, her husband, but also the many other indigenous leaders and human rights defenders that have been killed.

Oral statement by Dora Muñoz- wife of indigenous HRD José Miller Correa

We appreciate the report of the Expert Mechanism and agree with the importance of the proposal related to the protection of indigenous defenders and leaders. As recognised in your report, defenders of the human and collective rights of indigenous peoples face a critical situation, as in the case of my husband, Miller Correa, who was assassinated.

Jose Miller Corea, community leader, authority and Colombian human rights defender of the Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca, was assassinated on 14 March 2022 in the exercise of his work as a traditional authority. More than two years have passed, and no adequate progress has been made in the investigation nor the punishment of those responsible for Miller’s murder, so we fear that this case will remain in impunity.

Attacks against indigenous leaders and authorities harm the unity of the people. The assassination of a representative authority such as Miller is a systematic and direct extermination attack against our people that aims to damage our collective processes.

As requested by the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we ask this Council to insist on accountability through prompt, effective and impartial investigations of the assassinations of Indigenous defenders.

Impunity for killings during the 2021 National Strikes Continues

Three years on from Colombia’s national strike, independent UN experts –  Mr. Morris Tidball-Binz (Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions); Ms. Irene Khan (Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression); Ms. Gina Romero (Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association); and Ms. Mary Lawlor (Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders) say that there remains an urgent need to establish truth, justice and accountability for killings and other human rights violations resulting from excessive police force against demonstrators, and a failure to prevent violence and further deprivation of life caused by anti-strike agitators.

The experts recognised that the Petro Government had taken two indisputable steps along the path to justice – the first being establishing the Permanent Inter-institutional Technical Table to address cases of human rights violations in contexts of social protests, and secondly with the recently adopted directive of the National Prosecutor’s Office for the recognition, guarantee and protection of the right to protest.

They went on to say “[w]hile we acknowledge these positive steps, the stagnation of the work of the Technical Table, failures in the regulation of the use of less lethal weapons in the context of protests, the delay in the changes of the Prosecutor’s framework, and the delay in the justice process could amount to a denial of justice.”

It is therefore essential that the Petro Government continues along the path of ensuring justice by acting promptly to address these issues. See the letter sent to the Colombian Government (Spanish only).