Urgent Action: Protect Environmental Defenders at Risk (Colombia: UA 18.21)
February 16, 2021On 8 February, unidentified persons distributed threatening pamphlets giving 72 hours for Luis Alberto González López to leave the territory before the military would place a target near his residence in the city of Barrancabermeja. Luis González López is the vice-president of FEDEPESAN, an organization that protects the environment in the Magdalena medio region (central Colombia). The pamphlet was signed by the National Liberation Army (ELN). Since September 2020, armed groups sent at least 5 threaening messages to the members of FEDEPESAN. We urge the Ministry of Interior to grant FEDEPESAN members collective protection measures in consultation and agreement with their members.