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Human Rights in Colombia: How should defenders be protected?

During Colombia’s armed conflict, human rights defenders (HRDs) fought to promote human rights in the crosshairs of competing illegal armed groups. Often, the State was either absent or contributed to the problem.

By Xinia Bermúdez
Human Rights in Colombia: How should defenders be protected?
Images of missing and killed members of the Unión Patriotica (UP) displayed in Bogotá’s Bolivar Square, Colombia, October 29, 2018. PA Images (Photo by Daniel Garzon Herazo/NurPhoto/Sipa USA). All rights reserved.
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Despite the signing of the peace accords between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, for its Spanish initials) in 2016, the murder rate of HRDs in recent years has spiked across the nation.

According to Frontline Defenders, Colombia is the deadliest country in the world for HRDs. Since the signing of the peace agreement, the ombudsman's office has recorded at least 423 deaths through December 31, 2018.

Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants are among the most affected; of the 347 aggressions registered during 2018 against human rights defenders, 43% were committed against those belonging to ethnic groups, according to the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC).

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0