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Colombia: more than 120 human rights defenders murdered since the beginning of 2022

2022-08-19T21:18:14.860Z


At least 122 human rights defenders were killed in the first seven months of the year in Colombia, a figure higher than...


At least 122 human rights defenders have been killed in the first seven months of the year in Colombia, a figure higher than that recorded during the same period of 2021, we learned on Friday from a source. official.

"Between January 1 and July 31, 2022, there were 122 murders of social leaders and human rights defenders

," the Office of the People's Ombudsman said in a statement.

"Serious attack on democracy"

During the same period in 2021, there had been 90 murders of activists and over the whole of last year the toll had reached 145 homicides, according to the same source.

27 of those murdered in 2022 are indigenous leaders.

“The murders of social leaders and human rights defenders represent a serious attack on communities and democracy.

They are the representatives and the voice of the most vulnerable people”

, underlined the mediator, Carlos Camargo, quoted in the press release.

Social and community leaders, human rights and environmental defenders are the target of many armed groups active in rural areas of Colombia, a country that has experienced a resurgence of violence in recent years.

Dissidents of the FARC, guerrillas of the ELN (National Liberation Army), paramilitary groups and drug traffickers are designated as the main responsible for these attacks, but also sometimes agents of the State, according to NGOs.

The most affected departments are Cauca (19), Nariño (17), Antioquia (12) and Putumayo (11), where armed groups are vying for control of drug trafficking.

Colombia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for activists, representatives and other civil society activists, according to NGOs such as the international organization Global Witness.

The new Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, elected in June as the first left-wing president in the country's history, has repeatedly expressed his wish that the security forces mobilize to better protect social leaders and activists under threat.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-08-19

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