International Organisations release parallel report for the Universal Periodic Review on Colombia

On 10 May 2018, during the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Colombia’s compliance with its international human rights obligations will be examined under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). ABColombia, together with Oidhaco and a coalition of more than 40 European and international organisations, submitted a parallel report.

The parallel report, to which ABColombia has contributed, documents numerous aspects of human rights, and has been sent to the UN to offer information for the UPR process, along with other reports from Colombian civil society organisations, the United Nations and the Colombian State.

This is the third time that Colombia will undergo this process, in which all Member States of the United Nations are called upon to analyse the human rights situation and make recommendations. The first two reviews on Colombia took place in 2008 and 2013.

At the last UPR in 2013, Colombia accepted 33 recommendations from its peers on the subject of human rights defenders (HRDs). Nevertheless, there has been an increase in violence against HRDs since the Peace Accord with the FARC was signed in 2016. Those who oppose extractive projects and defend land and victims’ rights have been attacked, threatened and killed in ever increasing numbers. In 2017, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCR) registered 441 attacks and 121 killings of HRDs in Colombia. In fact, one in every three HRDs killed globally in 2017 was Colombian and crimes against HRDs still enjoy high levels of impunity.

Other serious human rights violations also persist, including sexual violence. Every day in Colombia 21 girls between 10 and 14 years of age become victims of sexual violence.

The full report can be downloaded by clicking on the button below. The report is also available in Spanish – El informe también está disponible en Español.

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