The number of social leaders and human rights defenders murdered in Colombia in 2023 was 181, 16% less than the previous year, according to data published this Tuesday by the Ombudsman’s Office.
Defending human rights and exercising social leadership continues to be extremely dangerous in Colombia and last year it cost the lives of 160 men and 21 women, despite the decrease in 34 homicides compared to the 215 murders recorded in 2022.
“It is an unacceptable situation that every two days of the previous year, on average, a social leader or human rights defender was murdered in Colombia. Every life lost is a tragedy for their families, for the communities and for the defense of fundamental rights in the country,” said the ombudsman, Carlos Camargo, quoted in a statement.
Indigenous people, the main victims
Indigenous leaders and authorities, along with community members, were the most victimized sectors, with 37 homicides each, followed by peasants (13), Afro-descendants (10) and LGTBIQ+ leaders (7).
In addition, three departments of the country – Cauca, Antioquia and Nariño – accounted for 41% of the homicides.
For this reason, the defender considered that we must “redouble our efforts to protect human rights defenders in Colombia. “We cannot allow fear and violence to silence the brave voices fighting for a more just and secure country.”
“It is the responsibility of state entities to implement public plans and policies regarding prevention and guarantees for those who defend human rights,” Camargo stressed.
A call to protect leaders
The defender called for “focused strategies” in the departments with the most homicides and “strong work in places where illegal armed actors dispute the strategic corridors of illicit economies.”
Since 2016, when the peace agreement was signed with the former FARC guerrilla, the Ombudsman’s Office has recorded 1,294 murders of social leaders, with 2020, with 182 homicides, being the deadliest year.
The figures provided today by the Ombudsman’s Office – the only state entity that makes a specific count of this type of violence – are similar to those of other organizations, such as the observatory of the NGO Indepaz, which counted 188 murders last year, in addition to homicide of 44 signatories of the peace agreement and 94 massacres. With EFE