The Justice and Peace Commission has reported: “Last Saturday, July 23, the leader Jani Silva was forced to move from the urban area of the municipality of Puerto Asis, after learning in the city of Bogota of a plan to be killed by a sicarial [hitmen] group of Border Commandos. This group of assassins would have already begun their work with the knowledge of her routines, follow-ups and lifting of a plan.”

“[This] coincides with strange movements, which have developed in recent weeks around Jani’s home that have forced her to change her daily life.”

Justice and Peace adds: “The government’s disdain for peace with legality has not provided any response for three years to the population of the Amazon Pearl Peasant Reserve Zone to protect their rights to freedom, association, expression, a healthy environment, and in particular their leaders, including Jani Silva.”

Silva is the president of the Association for the Integral Sustainable Development of the Perla Amazónica (ADISPA), the association that manages the Perla Amazónica Peasant Reserve Zone (ZRCPA). The ZRCPA is located near Puerto Asis in the department of Putumayo, which is situated in south-west Colombia near the border with Ecuador.

This past April, Amnesty International launched this video and a campaign to demand that Colombian authorities immediately take effective measures to guarantee the safety of Jani who has experienced multiple threats.

Amnesty International has highlighted: “Jani Silva has dedicated her life to protecting the Amazon and the life that exists in it from efforts by armed groups and multinational companies to take control of her territory.”

Jani Silva is accompanied by the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission, which in turn has been accompanied by the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project since 1994.

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2021 is Peace Brigades International’s 40th Year Anniversary! 

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