Posts Tagged ‘Carlos Camargo’

Colombia:215 human rights defenders murdered in 2022

May 15, 2024

Associated Press on 23 January 2023 informs us that Colombia’s human rights watchdog is reporting that 215 human rights advocates were killed last year, the highest death toll since a peace accord was signed with leftist rebels in 2016.

José Ricaurte Quintero, who founded the Maná Survivors Association, was one of the last victims of 2022. He was assassinated in the street in Armenia in December. His group supported families of people who disappeared during more than five decades of armed conflict in Colombia.

The ombudsman’s office says the murders coincide with places that are strategically important to organized crime groups involved in drug trafficking, illegal mining and contraband.

The government of Gustavo Petro — Colombia’s first-ever leftist president — has proposed in his “total peace” policy to initiate peace talks with armed groups such as the ELN guerrillas and to reach out to FARC dissidents who refused to sign the peace accord, as well as the Gulf Clan cartel, with whom the government announced a truce.

Ombudsman Carlos Camargo expressed hope that such talks would lead to a reduction in actions against leaders of human rights groups.

https://uk.style.yahoo.com/news/colombia-reports-215-human-rights-200946762.html

see also: https://latinamericareports.com/colombia-again-tops-list-of-most-dangerous-countries-for-rights-defenders-report/9041/

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Colombia: 52 activists killed in 3 months

April 29, 2022

In Summary:

• Most of the victims are targeted because they clash with the interests of illegal armed groups, including drug trafficking gangs, according to Colombia’s human rights ombudsman.

• The victims include 28 land rights and community rights activists, nine indigenous activists and four farming activists, Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reports. 

A total of 52 Colombian human rights activists and community leaders have been killed in the first three months of this year, authorities say.

It is a significant increase from 2021, which saw 145 murders all year.

Most of the victims are targeted because they clash with the interests of illegal armed groups, including drug trafficking gangs, according to Colombia’s human rights ombudsman.

The country is one of the world’s most dangerous for activists, monitors say.

The victims include 28 land rights and community rights activists, nine indigenous activists and four farming activists, Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reports. Of the victims, 48 ​​were men and four were women.

One of the most shocking cases was that of Breiner David Cucuñame, a 14-year-old indigenous activist who was shot dead in January while on patrol with an unarmed group that seeks to protect indigenous lands.

Colombia is officially at peace after signing a deal with the largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), in 2016. But other armed gangs continue to operate in the country, the world’s largest cocaine producer.

Violence started increasing towards the end of last year due to disputes over territory and resources involving dissident Farc rebels and members of another Marxist guerrilla group – the National Liberation Army (ELN) – as well as right-wing paramilitary groups and criminal gangs such as the Gulf Clan.

“The homicides against social leaders and human rights defenders seriously affect the foundations of democracy,” said Carlos Camargo, the human rights ombudsman.

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/world/2022-04-27-colombia-reports-52-activists-killed-in-three-months/

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