A new report from the Ombudsman’s Office on the homicides of murdered social leaders and human rights defenders placed southwestern Colombia among the five regions with the most cases in 2022.
Of the 215 assassinated leaders, Nariño presented more cases with 35 violent deaths, followed by Cauca with 26.
Likewise, Valle del Cauca entered the group of five affected departments with twelve cases.
Half of the violent deaths reported by the Ombudsman occurred in Nariño, Cauca, Antioquia, Putumayo and Valle del Cauca.
The report
The Ombudsman’s report registered a total of 215 homicides of social leaders and human rights defenders in the national territory during 2022, being the year with the highest number of cases since 2016, when the Early Warning System SAT began the systematic recording of this vulneratory behavior.
The Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo, said that “it is not just about figures, we must think of 215 families hard hit and the affected communities that are left without the people who fight for their rights. This is a serious impact on the basis of democracy because these are leaders who take up the concerns of the people, they are their spokespersons and those who work for a country where human rights are respected”.
Of the 215 homicides that occurred during the last year, the type of leadership that was most affected was that of community leaders (63 murdered), indigenous leaders (47), community leaders (36), peasant or agrarian leaders (18), Afro-descendants (12), unions (8), human rights activists (7), cultural or sports (5), leaders of the population with diverse sexual orientation and gender identity – SOGID (4), public servants (3), among others.
Photo: Ombudsman’s Office
Comments