Two of Colombia’s leading trade union and human rights activists, Gustavo Rengifo and Deivin Hurtado, will be visiting the UK in April 2016 to highlight the targeting of political activists in Colombia. On Tuesday 12 April they will speak in the British Parliament, at an event hosted by Justice for Colombia and which will be chaired by Labour Shadow Minister Ian Lavery MP, Chair of Trade Union Group and Vice Chair Parliamentary Friends of Colombia.
As peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla group under way since 2012 reach their final stages, the killing of activists has spiked in recent weeks. The speakers will discuss the current situation in Colombia and what the international community can do to help achieve peace.
At the event in the House of Commons on Tuesday 12 April, Justice for Colombia will also be releasing a briefing, Silenced: The Murder of Political Activists in Colombia, which details the horrifying number of political activists killed over the past five years.
Mariela Kohon, Director of Justice for Colombia said:
“It is unacceptable that political activists continue to be targeted in Colombia, particularly by paramilitaries. The figures in this report are truly shocking and contradict the advances being made in the peace process. This targeting has continued with at least 10 political activists killed in March alone. If the British government is serious about supporting peace in Colombia it needs to urge its counterparts in Bogotá to take much greater action against the paramilitaries and to protect all political activists.”
Key findings of the briefing include:
- Between 2011 and 2015 at least 534 political activists were killed in Colombia - an average of over two a week.
- Those targeted include community activists, peasant activists, indigenous activists, LGBT activists, land rights leaders, victims’ leaders, peace campaigners, environmental campaigners and trade unionists.
- Murders were recorded in 26 of Colombia’s 32 Departments.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- Gustavo Rengifo and Deivin Hurtado are available for interview. Justice for Colombia Director Mariela Kohon is also available for interview. For further information, please contact: Hasan Dodwell, onhasan@justiceforcolombia.org / +44 (0)7859 934 234
- The event, ‘Colombia: Human Rights and Peace’, will take place on Tuesday 12 April 2016 in London, at the British House of Commons. More information about the event can be found at: http://justiceforcolombia.org/events/43/Colombia:-Human-Rights-and-Peace
Address: Committee Room 14, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
The time of the event is 17:30 - 19:30.
- Gustavo Rengifo and Deivin Hurtado will be visiting the UK between 12 and 29 April 2016.
- Gustavo Rengifo, a trade union activist from the FENSUAGRO Agricultural workers union, was kidnapped and tortured in May 2015 by paramilitaries, who threatened to murder him and his family if he refused to work as an informant. Since then he has been in hiding and is in grave danger.
- Deivin Hurtado is a leading human rights defender in the south western region of Cauca, an area where some of the worst human rights abuses have occurred in recent years. He was seriously wounded with a grenade at the hands of the police and army during the national strike of 2013, and since then has been the target of death threats.
- Silenced: The Murder of Political Activists in Colombia compiles data from five Colombian organisations monitoring violence against political activists in Colombia. These organisations are: CINEP, CUT, ENS, Marcha Patriotica and Somos Defensores. The briefing is published by Justice for Colombia.
- Justice for Colombia (JFC) is a British NGO that campaigns for human rights, trade union rights and for peace with social justice in Colombia. Since the beginning of the Colombian peace talks JFC has facilitated meetings between Northern Irish politicians involved in the Good Friday Agreement and both the Colombian government and FARC negotiating teams. JFC is an official advisor to the peace talks.
Address: 4th Floor, 75-77 St John St, London EC1M 4NN
Phone: 020 7324 2490
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JFColombia
Twitter: www.twitter.com/JFColombia
www.justiceforcolombia.org
Así lo reveló un informe presentado este martes ante el Parlamento Británico por la ONG Justice for Colombia.
Por: Redacción Política El Espectador
Según el informe titulado “Silenciados: el asesinato de activistas políticos en Colombia”, de la organización británica Justice for Colombia, 534 activistas políticos fueron asesinados en el país entre 2011 y 2015, lo que implica un promedio de 90 activistas cada año y dos cada semana durante los últimos cinco años.
Los asesinatos se dieron en 26 de los 32 departamentos de Colombia.Antioquia fue el lugar más violento del país con 94 asesinatos durante los cinco años. Cauca le siguió con 59.
El informe fue presentado ante el Parlamento Británico en Londres, en un evento organizado por varios congresistas que forman parte del grupo parlamentario Amigos de Colombia. En él se reúne información de cinco organizaciones colombianas que han ido registrando la violencia contra diferentes activistas: CINEP, CUT, ENS, Marcha Patriótica y Somos Defensores.
Mariela Kohon, directora de Justice for Colombia, calificó como“inaceptable” que los activistas sigan siendo asesinados en Colombia, particularmente por grupos paramilitares. “Las cifras en este informe son horrorosas, y de preocupación especial es el hecho de que más de 300 activistas hayan sido asesinados desde el principio del proceso de paz en 2012. Es de inmensa importancia para el futuro de paz en Colombia que el Gobierno tome las medidas necesarias contra los paramilitares y proteja a los activistas políticos”, señaló.
El informe señala que entre los asesinados hay activistas comunitarios, campesinos, indígenas, sindicales, ambientales, miembros del movimiento LGBT, además de activistas de restitución de tierras y por los derechos de las víctimas.
Justice for Colombia es una ONG británica creada en 2002 y que dice hacer campaña por la paz y la justicia social en Colombia, incluyendo el proceso de negociación con las Farc de La Habana, en el que además actúa como asesora, aunque no se específica para cuál de las partes.
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