Colombia Remains The Deadliest Place To Live For Environmental Activists

Colombia was named as the world’s most dangerous place to live in for human rights defenders as they are being targeted based on a study that monitors violence done to activists. The Front Line Defenders (FLD) tracks violence aimed at social leaders and it found that Colombia is the deadliest place for them.

In its 2019 global analysis report, Front Line Defenders (FLD), an international non-governmental organization, revealed that 304 human rights defenders were killed last year and Colombia recorded the highest number with 106 deaths. It was said that in most cases, 85% of the activists who were killed were previously threatened individually or as part of the group that they worked in.

This is more than twice the number of human rights defenders who were put down in the Philippines which recorded the second highest number with 43 deaths in 2019. In 2018, Colombia also ranked first as the world’s most dangerous country for human rights advocates in the world. Although the number of victims went down from 126 to 106 last year, the country nicknamed the “gateway to South America” remained the deadliest based on the study.

It was said that there could be more deaths than what was recorded as it still does not include the homicide cases involving HRD. As reported, the mass killing of people who fights for human rights is part of the “assassination wave” that has been firing at all social activists including those who help protect land and other natural resources in Colombia.

According to the Colombian peace-building non-profit organization, Indepaz, via NBC News, since January this year alone, over 40 HRD and community leaders have already been killed. The victims include indigenous rights and environmental activists, and a national park ranger.

FLD stated that cases of violence and killings involving human rights and environmental defenders in Colombia are getting worse because of the trend that painted the activists who criticize the government leaders as the enemies of the state. It was further divulged that activists are also killed when they oppose economic interest. Moreover, indigenous leaders and leaders of African descent are among the targets in Colombia.

The said NGO condemns the Colombian government for its failure to execute a peace process with the FARC-EP. It should be noted that the killings of the HRDs increased since the Peace Agreement was signed and this is due to the fact that the state is unable to abide and fulfill most of its obligations as part of the agreement with the said guerilla group.