PBI-Canada to host virtual meetings with MPs, officials, allies and Colombian human rights defenders during pandemic
Article by PBI-Canada
Article by PBI-Canada
Peace Brigades International has endorsed the Escazú Agreement. PBI-Mexico has also called on the European Union to encourage Mexican authorities to “Take all necessary steps to ratify the Escazú Agreement through the competent national bodies.”
On April 3, the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project signed this joint communique that supports the call for a ceasefire in Colombia.
That statement also highlighted, “With great concern, we note and warn about the continuation of killings against people who defend peace and human rights, including those who signed the Final Peace Agreement with the FARC-Ep.”
“PBI´s accompaniment has been fundamental to the work of human rights defenders in Colombia, particularly to myself, David Ravelo Crespo, as a human rights defender in Barrancabermeja and in the Magdalena Medio region, the accompaniment has allowed our work to be protected in the whole region and has enabled us to attend many different spaces and has guaranteed our lives.
On April 3, the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project tweeted, “@PBIColombia with organizations from the @espaciopazencol [the Cooperation Space for Peace] has signed a statement supporting the call from @ONUHumanRights [UN Human Rights Colombia] for a ceasefire in Colombia and calling attention to the continued assassinations of and threats towards human rights defen
“PBI’s accompaniment is extremely important in the country because the Colombian State has not provided guarantees for human rights defenders to carry out our work. PBI’s accompaniment enables many defenders to stay in the country and not have to abandon our work.”
- Jorge Molano, lawyer and human rights defender
“I arrived at PBI a long time ago and I pass by the house a lot to visit. These visits give me the strength to continue fighting for justice – the hugs and conversations with the PBI volunteers are like a vitamin for me that gives me strength”
- Doña Blanca, member of the Victims of State Crimes Movement, MOVICE and victim from La Guajira where paramilitaries killed her husband and daughter.
The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project is drawing attention to the situation of continued violence and threats against human rights defenders during the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting quarantine measures.
Marco Rivadeneira, Ángel Ovidio Quintero, and Ivo Humberto Bracamonte killed
At the beginning of the New Year in 2019, there were concerns about the situation of defenders in Colombia. 2018 had been a particularly violent year, in which figures related to violence increased to an alarming extent, including reported attacks, killings and forced displacement[1]. This pattern sadly continued throughout the year.