• Urgent Action

Urgent Action: Protect Human Rights Organization at Risk (Colombia: UA 17.21)

February 16, 2021

On 10 February, a civil society organization received a verified report of an ongoing plan to kill or displace Association for the Integral and Sustainable Development of the Amazonian Pearl (ADISPA) members, an organization protecting the rights of hundreds of peasants (campesinos) in the Putumayo region (South West). The plan would entail the deployment of the armed group called “Border Command” that are threatening the communities in the area to undermine their activities to the armed group’s will or leave their territories if they refuse. We demand authorities provide ADISPA with collective protection measures in consultation with them.

TAKE ACTION:
  1. 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.
  2. Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 17.21. 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
Daniel Palacios Director of the Minister of interior Carrera 8 No. 7 – 83, Bogotá D.C., Colombia Email: [email protected]
Ambassador Francisco Santos Embassy of Colombia 1724 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington DC 20036 Phone: 202 387 8338 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ColombiaEmbUSA @PachoSantosC Facebook: @ColombiaEmbassyUS Salutation: Dear Ambassador
SAMPLE LETTER Dear Mr. Palacios, I am writing to express concern for the safety of the members of the Association for the Integral and Sustainable Development of the Amazon Pearl (ADISPA), a human rights organization that defends the rights of 700 families and the Amazonian environment in the Putumayo region. Since 2020 the legal representative of ADISPA, Jani Silva, has faced at least 6 different incidents. At the same time, other ADISPA members have faced threats to their lives. On 10 February, the Inter-ecclesial Commission of Justice and Peace received information of an ongoing plan to kill or displace ADISPA members from the region. The communities are already reporting the presence of an armed group threatening them. I urge you to grant ADISPA members collective protection measurements, in consultation and in agreement with them. Yours sincerely, [YOUR NAME] ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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