Brussels/London, 13 May 2019. ABColombia, alongside more than 25 European and international organisations and networks, signed a public statement rejecting the murder attempt against leaders from Afro-Colombian collectives in Northern Cauca: ACONC, PCN and ASOM. The statement also highlights international concerns about threats against the Indigenous human rights organisation Fuerza de Mujeres Wayúu in La...
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UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Briefing note on Colombia
Geneva, 10 May 2019: Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has published a statement saying that the UN is “alarmed” by the “strikingly high” levels of violence against Human Rights Defenders and Social Leaders in Colombia. In 2018, the UN recorded at least 115 killings of Human Rights Defenders in...
Threats against Indigenous Human Rights Defenders in La Guajira, Colombia
On 29 April 2019, Fuerza Mujeres Wayuu received death threats from a group identifying itself as Águilas Negras – Bloque Capital D.C. The following leaders were listed as particular targets: Karmen Ramírez, Miguel Iván Ramírez, Jakeline Romero, Deris Paz, Luis Misael Socarra and Dulcy Cotes. Moreover, members of the Wayúu community have reported the presence...
ZIDRES: Areas of Interest for Rural, Economic and Social Development
The Areas of Interest for Rural, Economic and Social Development (Zonas de Interés de Desarrollo Rural, Económico y Social – ZIDRES) were created by Law 1776 on 29 January 2016 to promote competitive economic development in rural farming areas in Colombia; there are over seven million hectares of land identified for ZIDRES projects. ZIDRES are...
Colombia: Las mujeres y el Capítulo Étnico en el Acuerdo de Paz
Lo siguiente es un capítulo del informe de ABColombia “Hacia un cambio transformador: las mujeres y la implementación del Acuerdo de Paz colombiano”. El informe completo está disponible en español y en inglés aquí. Las mujeres indígenas quieren la paz, pero no de cualquier forma, o de manera incompleta. Para nosotras, la paz significa garantías...
Inspired by Colombian Women Human Rights Defenders
8 March 2019. Women in Colombia are peacebuilders, human rights defenders, land and environmental activists. Every defender has her own story. Women defenders come from all walks of life: they are Afro-Colombian or Indigenous women; LGBTI activists; lawyers; journalists and campesinas. Many women became human rights defenders as a result of their experience of being...
Colombian Human Rights Defenders continue to be killed at an alarming rate
On average, in the first three weeks of January 2019, one Human Rights Defender (HRD) was killed every three days in Colombia.[1] As 2019 starts, Colombian Civil Society Organisations face a continuing and escalating number of threats and attacks. The number of defenders killed continues to rise and the extremely high levels of impunity for...
Only 4% of gender-based agreements have been fully implemented in Colombia
To address the main challenges and progress with the peace agreement’s implementation, ABColombia is hosting an event focused on women’s rights in London, bringing victims, researchers and activists together to debate the issue. London – 25 February 2019: Colombia has a unique opportunity, in the implementation of the Final Peace Accord (FPA), to renegotiate women’s...
Communities in Chocó call on all armed actors in the Colombian conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law
Indigenous and Afro-Colombian citizens living in Chocó are living in the midst of a continuing conflict despite the ongoing Peace Process with the FARC Guerrilla. Armed neo-paramilitary and Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional (ELN) guerrilla groups continue in the region and are fighting for control of illicit economies. Communities have been reporting an increase in the...
A River with Rights: Community Response to Illegal Gold Mining in Chocó, Colombia
Introduction The Afro-descendant and Indigenous communities living along the River Atrato in Chocó, as a result of the state’s failure to act to protect their rights, chose to use constitutional law, a “Tutela”, in an attempt to force the state to comply with its obligations to protect their fundamental rights and the rights of the...