Urgent Action: INVESTIGATE THREATS AND ATTACKS AGAINST DEFENDERS (Colombia 12.24)

On February 13, a grenade was thrown inside the home of a member of CREDHOS, hurting members of her family. This attack came after serious threats against civil society organizations working to defend human rights, territory, land, and the environment in the Magdalena Medio region of Colombia, including CREDHOS and FEDEPESAN, during January and the beginning of February. We call on the Colombian authorities to address these threats and attacks, including by carrying out robust and effective investigations to determine who is responsible and to take the suspected perpetrators to justice, as well as to provide timely and comprehensive protection for these organizations.

take action:

• Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
• Click here to let us know the actions you took on Second Urgent Action 12.24. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

contact information:

sample letter:

Dear Director, 

I am writing to express my deep concern with the impunity regarding the continued threats and attacks against human rights, territory, land, and environmental defenders in Colombia, particularly those affiliated with the organizations Federación de Pescadores Artesanales Ambientalistas y Turísticos del Departamento de Santander (FEDEPESAN) and Corporación Regional para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (CREDHOS), located in the city of Barrancabermeja. These organizations have received direct threats from armed groups operating in this region, being declared a “military objective”, and stigmatized as collaborators with other criminal groups. We are particularly concerned by the attack against a member of CREDHOS in Barrancabermeja on February 13, 2024, when a grenade was thrown inside her home, hurting members of her family.

Amnesty International has documented the human rights defense work and the risk situation of these organizations since 2020. Despite public appeals, including both in face-to-face meetings with authorities and through actions on social and digital platforms, these individuals and communities continue to be attacked for defending their rights.

I urge you to exercise the utmost diligence in effectively fulfilling the Attorney General’s Office’s duty to investigate the threats and attacks against members of CREDHOS and FEDEPESAN, to establish who is responsible for ordering and carrying out these attacks, and to bring them to justice in fair trials to prevent further attacks to those who defend human rights in the Magdalena Medio region.

Yours sincerely,   

[YOUR NAME]

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

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