[Spanish] Tejiendo saberes por la defensa de nuestros derechos
Colombia es uno de los países donde más se vulneran los derechos de las mujeres y de las personas defensoras de los derechos humanos: asesinatos, desapariciones forzadas, amenazas, agresiones sexuales contra las mujeres, estigmatización, criminalización, abuso policial y cooptación de liderazgos, son solo algunas de las violaciones que día a día viven en el país. […]
WHRDs Day 2021: Interview with Aída Pesquera
29 November & 10 December 2021 Interview with Aída Pesquera Country Representative for PI in Colombia and Brazil On the occasion of International Women Human Rights Defenders Day (29 November) and Human Rights Day (10 December) we asked some of the women human rights defenders working for PI about their experiences, passions and visions for […]
Support from the International Community is Crucial for the Peace Agreement in Colombia
[Brussels] 10 November 2021 The organizations that have signed this press release celebrate the fact that 24 November 2021 marks the fifth anniversary of the Peace Agreement between the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP), which put an end to an internal armed conflict that left more than […]
Increased Risk to Human Rights Defenders and the Humanitarian Crisis in Chocó
Oidhaco and the Undersigned Organisations Express Concern about the Increased Risk to Human Rights Defenders and the Humanitarian Crisis in Chocó Brussels, 25 October 2021. The undersigned organisations alert the international community to the escalating armed conflict, killings and mass displacements currently taking place in the region of Chocó, Colombia: a geo-strategic region bordering Panama […]
Basic elements of computer security for defenders
The current situation of insecurity and the computer-related risks that people who are conducting activities in defence of human rights experience daily have increased during the crisis caused by COVID-19. Social isolation and mobility-restricting measures have led us to carry out most of our activities online, in many cases from our own homes and with […]
The Importance of the IACHR Report on the Right to Social Protest in Colombia
A few days ago, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) published a report with recommendations on the human rights situation in Colombia in the context of the social protests that began on April 28. In this note, we highlight the main conclusions and explain the obligation of Colombia’s authorities to comply with the recommendations […]
Uprooted Yet Undeterred
Human rights defenders in Colombia continue to stand up for themselves and their communities regardless of forced displacement Dozens of refugees and internally displaced people are human rights defenders (HRDs), but they are not always effectively recognized as such. In this article, we tell some stories about these defenders in Colombia, the challenges their communities […]
Guarantees for the Exercise of the Right of Indigenous Peoples to Protest in Colombia
Bogota, May 21, 2021 – Protection International (PI) notes with concern that the Colombian government has failed to ensure the necessary guarantees for the exercise of the right to free association, freedom of expression, and peaceful protest. As it stands, Colombia’s official position does not correspond to the State obligations to respect, guarantee, and protect […]
Colombia: 650 Civil Society Organizations Call for Exhaustive Investigations of Repression of Protests and Call on the IACHR to Act
Colombia, 7 May 2021 The undersigned organizations condemn the excessive use of force by agents of the Colombian security forces in response to the protests that began on April 28 across the country. We call on Colombia to immediately cease the arbitrary and excessive use of force to avoid additional human rights violations against the […]
The Colombian State must Prevent Aggressions Against Indigenous Communities of the CRIC and other Participants of the Protests
The international NGOs subscribing to this statement express their concern for the acts of armed violence against the communities of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca – CRIC, who participated in the protests that took place yesterday in the city of Cali. On repeated occasions, armed men have fired weapons from pick-up trucks against members […]