A congressional hearing hosted by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission is warning that a surge in violence against Colombian human rights defenders and social leaders threatens to unravel years of progress toward peace.
Commission Chairman Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said “the violence would only go away once the underlying root problems are addressed,” in his opening remarks. He expressed concern that Colombia’s peace process is “moving in the wrong direction” and criticized U.S. policy shifts for weakening peacebuilding efforts.
Since January, 88 social leaders have been killed, with Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities disproportionately affected.
“We’ve seen a 45% increase in violent events compared to the same period from last year,” said Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli, who is Director for the Andes at the Washington Office on Latin America. She testified at the virtual congressional hearing on Wednesday.
She described a “sobering picture” of impunity and fragmented armed groups battling for control in rural regions.
“Hundreds of social leaders and human rights defenders have been killed,” Sánchez-Garzoli said, calling for renewed U.S. support for Colombia’s transitional justice system and grassroots peacebuilders.
Despite setbacks, Sánchez-Garzoli praised the resilience of local organizers. “I remain deeply inspired by the courage and resilience of our partners on the ground,” she said.
Said McGovern: “We cannot afford to abandon Colombians, and we should continue to support the peace process. It is essential that we continue to lift up the protection of human rights defenders whose lives are at risk.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who leads the South American country's first leftist government, has staged peace talks with numerous rebel groups and drug gangs in an effort to improve security in rural areas, where groups like the FARC-EMC have filled the void left by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the guerrilla group that made peace with the government in 2016.
But the talks have yielded few results so far, with human rights groups saying that extortion, forced displacement and the recruitment of children are on the rise.
The country drew international media attention in June when a conservative Colombian senator and presidential candidate was shot and seriously injured. Miguel Uribe Turbay was attacked in broad daylight on June 7.
