Victims Representatives: The Dangers Faced for Defending Others.

Leaders like Maritza Quiroz and Luis Carlos Hernandez were murdered for their work with victims of the armed conflict.

Human Rights Defenders have an important role in society and are considered agents for positive change and development. “Human Rights Defender” is a term that describes people who work promoting and protecting Human Rights, and this work can be done either individually or in groups, according to the definition provided by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Defenders also promote, according to the Latin American Working Group, peace, humanitarian rather than military assistance, dialogue as a solution to the conflict and they encourage approaches that address the root causes for issues like migration, refugees, and internally displaced persons. Furthermore, within the Colombian context, we could say that they encourage accountability for human rights violations and corruption, with an emphasis on defending the rights of Indigenous, Afro-descendants, and other marginalized communities. Nevertheless, when it comes to the term “social leader”, there is a lot of confusion around it, especially in Colombia. However, as stated by Somos Defensores, a social leader is “any person who is dedicated to the defense, promotion, respect, and protection of Human Rights at the national and international level”. That being said, we can go so far as to describe a human rights defender as a social leader and vice versa in the context of this article. Despite the recognition and support that these Human Rights defenders have worldwide, the current situation of social leaders and Human Rights defenders in Colombia is critical. In order to demonstrate that, as maintained by Human Rights Watch, since 2016 more than 400 human rights defenders have been killed in Colombia (other organisations based in Colombia have the figure as high as double this). This wave of violence has intensified since the signing of the peace agreement between the government and the FARC guerrillas in 2016, but had been steadily increasing in the years leading up to it in relation to themes like greater inclusion in political participation and land restitution to victims of the conflict. The victims of this violence are those involved in leadership at local and regional levels, but certain groups are in more danger than others. Certainly, the conditions for the Representatives of Victims’ Rights are highly precarious, especially when it comes to the process of land restitution, as many armed groups try to threaten them in order to keep them from claiming the land to which they are entitled in the agreement with the Land Restitution Unit.

For the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “Within the activities carried out by defenders, it is possible to include monitoring, information disclosure, reporting, advocacy and education of human rights, among others”. In other words, the work made by defenders is crucial for many communities, as they often live in marginalized situations, hence their actions help these communities to have enough knowledge about the circumstances they are experiencing at first hand, in order to be able to address it and raise awareness when necessary. However, despite the valuable work defenders carry out, their outlook in Colombia is bleak. For instance, according to Marta Hurtado (spokesperson for the UN Office for Human Rights), during the first 13 days of 2020, at least 10 human rights defenders were reported as murdered in Colombia. Leaders who work on victims rights issues such as reparations or land restitution are in a particularly perilous situation given resistance to these processes in several parts of the country from local elites and illegal groups.

In the years leading up to the 2016 peace agreement, there had been important developments in the legal sphere in relation to victims rights and the idea of an integral solution to the many complex land issues at the heart of the Colombian conflict was central to the agreement. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, people who were displaced from their lands due to the armed conflict from 1991 to 2021 have the right to restitution of their fields. Nevertheless, this process has been highly criticized for being excessively slow. For instance, as maintained by the Center for Research and Popular Education (CINEP), in the last 7 years, only 6% of the solicitudes for land restitution have been answered. Therefore, given this situation, many social leaders start taking action towards speeding up this slow process. Nonetheless, this kind of social leader from many regions of Colombia faces a substantial complication and it is the presence of armed groups in the lands they are trying to get back, which obviously aggravates their situation. As an example of the critical situation many representatives of victims rights are going through, the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia stated in a report of 2018 that homicides against land claimants had tripled between 2015 and 2017, especially after the signing of the peace agreement. Internationally, the United Nations through UNHCR and the UN Office for Human Rights recognizes the challenges that the processes of the Victims and Land Restitution Law carry, especially for the protection of all the people involved in the proceedings. In many ways, the increase in violence towards social leaders and human rights defenders in Colombia since 2016 can be seen as an attack on greater participation from long marginalized sectors of society.

It is known that Colombia is the Latin American country with the most assassinations of social leaders and human rights defenders. Even though the aforementioned 2016 peace agreement, between the guerrilla Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government was meant to be a “new era” for the country and its citizens, social leaders defending human rights, access to land, and economic development in their communities have yet to experience this new beginning. To illustrate this, the UN registered that “at least 133 human rights defenders were murdered in Colombia in 2020, a 23% increase from 2019”. This also includes Representatives of Victims’ Rights. According to Amnesty International, in recent years they have received information on continuing threats against and killings of those campaigning for land restitution and representing displaced communities. Illegal groups target not only vulnerable communities but also – and especially – those who represent them, so it is also important to mention how land restitution laws are not effective in providing the safety of representatives and these communities. Additionally, the regions that account for over half of these assassinations are Antioquia, Cauca, and Norte de Santander, according to the International Crisis Group. However, it is important to point out that these assassinations have occurred in 29 of Colombia’s 32 departments, including the Caribbean Region, where four armed conflicts remain active and give no truce (South of Cesar, south of Bolivar, south of Cordoba, and the Sierra Nevada region in Magdalena). These ongoing conflicts and the illegal groups who wage them mean that work in defense of victims is particularly dangerous in those areas.

One of the cases that occurred in the Caribbean region was the case of Maritza Quiroz, a defender of peace, of dialogue, and of conciliation; a woman who always tried to help all others who had suffered like she had. Maritza and her five children had been forced to flee their farm in the Sierra Nevada area following the murder of her husband by guerrilla forces during the 1990s. Upon establishing a home for herself and her kids in Santa Marta, Maritza focused her attention on helping other victims of the conflict in the region. For 16 years, Maritza toured the most vulnerable neighborhoods of Santa Marta, supporting the victims of displacement, trying to learn everything she could and help as much as possible only to be murdered just when she was trying to resume her life in the countryside. The people who killed her not only wanted to end her life, they also wanted to end her dreams, her projects, and silence her voice. Despite all that, she led a remarkable life, full of obstacles but also of determination, which today inspires others to promote, support, and defend what she -and many others- died fighting for.

Another case which allows us to understand and analyze the dynamics that our country faces in relation to the situation of social leaders and Representatives of Victims’ Rights is the case of Luis Carlos Hernández. Luis Carlos was a social leader from Curumaní, a town located in the middle of the department of Cesar. He was also a representative of the departmental board of victims’ participation. Like Maritza, Luis Carlos was trying to help and contribute to his community. He was involved in many projects, one of them related to the “improvement of the lives of people who suffered violence in that territory, by offering assistance via legal avenues”. He was working on a project regarding access to educational services so that victims of conflict would be able to acquire new capabilities. Despite all the projects and the improvements he was making in his community, Luis Carlos represented a stumbling block for the interests of illegal groups in the region, as his work was related to the empowerment of long marginalized sectors of society. He was shot to death by unidentified armed actors in December 2019. There was a reward offered by the municipal authorities in order to clarify the motives of the crime but this case remains unsolved. And just like Maritza and Luis Carlos Hernández, there are countless other cases that have been left unpunished and forgotten. The lack of response from the State only helps to aggravate the situation, given that the people and groups that threaten the lives of social leaders see how these crimes are not harshly punished and therefore do not feel the risk of being caught.

Given the importance and public derision that the various cases of defenders of victims’ rights have caused, the national government has had to make public statements and take action. Thus, the Ministry of the Interior announced a strategy to stop the massive killings of social leaders in the Colombian territory with the assistance of regional and local rulers, as well as social institutions. Likewise, in 2020, the government released a report addressing this issue where it stated that the intimidation of social leaders by armed or criminal groups occurs due to, among other things, those groups seeking to retain territorial control. In the same report, 13 different recommendations are shared, such as the generation of an inter-institutional apparatus for the management of the information regarding the situation and to help the legal investigations. Nevertheless, the government’s policies in response to the systematic murders of social leaders have been described as “slowly and poorly implemented” by Human Rights Watch. And the situation is so critical that it has also attracted the attention of international actors, some of whom have made recommendations. For instance, Michel Forst (Special Rapporteur for Human Rights) suggests using the Peace Agreement with the FARC as a mechanism to protect social leaders. Human Rights Watch criticizes the government’s actions declaring that the Duque government must make “genuine efforts” to execute its policies in respect of this concern. Additionally, in an article presented by Amnesty International, there are some recommendations that we consider the government should implement, such as taking determining action to warrant the security of the people campaigning for land restitution and the rights of displaced people. The national government needs to fully address concerns and create functional solutions in order to eliminate the systematic violation of human rights in the country because, otherwise, this deliberate silence only makes the current situation worse.

In conclusion, as it is feasible to discern, the outlook for the representatives of victims’ rights, as well as for the other social leaders is very discouraging in Colombia. It is possible to reach this conclusion having analysed the data, statistics, and reports shared by the multiple agencies and organizations mentioned above. Therefore, it is pivotal to recognize, promote, support, and defend the work done by victims and survivors of this ongoing war. Furthermore, it is essential that the government ensures that their lives will be protected while they carry out their work. Now more than ever it is mandatory the state intervenes in these areas and that they take into account all the recommendations that have been made in order to give appropriate responses given that the rate of deaths of Human Rights Defenders in our country is sky-rocketing. Therefore, the final reflection of this article is to encourage the Colombian government to take forceful measures, as well as calling on international actors to exert pressure on the national government in relation to this critical situation.

*Article written by Marcela Valencia & Saray Nuncira

References

Amnesty International. (2012). COLOMBIA: THE VICTIMS AND LAND RESTITUTION LAW. https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4f99029f2.pdf

Amnesty International. (n.d.). COLOMBIA 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/colombia/report-colombia/

BBC News Mundo. (2020, March 4). ONU en Colombia | “Los asesinatos de líderes sociales son crímenes políticos”: Michel Forst, relator especial para los derechos humanos. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-51745651

CINEP. (n.d.). Las regiones se unen para analizar la restitución de tierras. Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://www.cinep.org.co/Home2/component/k2/tag/Reclamantes.html

Consejería Presidencial para los derechos humanos y asuntos internacionales. (2020, July 9). El Gobierno revela avances en la protección de líderes sociales [Press release]. http://www.derechoshumanos.gov.co/Prensa/2020/Paginas/segundo-informe-ls-2020.aspx

Consejería Presidencial para los derechos humanos y los asuntos internacionales. (2016, April 14). Oficina de la ONU para los Derechos Humanos y ACNUR respaldan la Ley de Víctimas y la Restitución de Tierras [Press release]. http://www.derechoshumanos.gov.co/Prensa/2016/Paginas/Oficina-ONU-Derechos-Humanos-ACNUR-respaldan-Ley-Victimas-Restitucion-Tierras.aspx

Corredor, S. (2018, April 11). ¿Qué es un líder social? La Paz en el Terreno. https://www.lapazenelterreno.com/es-lider-social-20180411

El Tiempo. (2020, July 10). ¿Qué acciones ha tomado el Gobierno frente a asesinato de líderes? El Tiempo. https://www.eltiempo.com/politica/gobierno/asesinato-de-lideres-sociales-gobierno-explica-medidas-516612

Gómez, J. (2018, October 5). Reclamante de tierras en Colombia: riesgo inminente. LA PAZ EN EL TERRENO. https://www.lapazenelterreno.com/reclamante-tierras-colombia-riesgo-inminente-20181005

Human Rights Watch. (2021, February 10). Colombia: Graves deficiencias en la protección de líderes sociales [Press release]. https://www.hrw.org/es/news/2021/02/10/colombia-graves-deficiencias-en-la-proteccion-de-lideres-sociales

Human Rights Watch. (2021b, February 10). Left Undefended. https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/02/10/left-undefended/killings-rights-defenders-colombias-remote-communities

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights & Organization of American States. (2019, December). Informe sobre la situación de personas defensoras de derechos humanos y líderes sociales en Colombia. CIDH. http://www.oas.org/es/cidh/informes/pdfs/DefensoresColombia.pdf

International Crisis Group. (2020, October). Leaders under Fire: Defending Colombia’s Front Line of Peace (No. 82). https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/andes/colombia/82-leaders-under-fire-defending-colombias-front-line-peace

La Libertad Sublime (2020, May 8). Slain leaders like luis carlos hernández represent the visible face of our sad reality. La Libertad Sublime. https://lalibertadsublime.home.blog/2020/05/08/slain-leaders-like-luis-carlos-hernandez-represent-the-visible-face-of-our-sad-reality/

La Libertad Sublime. (2019, March 8). Maritza quiroz: The tireless champion of victim´s rights in the sierra nevada. https://lalibertadsublime.home.blog/2019/03/08/maritza-quiroz-the-tireless-champion-of-victims-rights-in-the-sierra-nevada/

Ministerio de Agricultura. (n.d.). Restitución de Tierras [Press release]. https://www.minagricultura.gov.co/atencion-ciudadano/preguntas-frecuentes/Paginas/Restitucion-de-Tierras.aspx#:~:text=%C2%BFQui%C3%A9nes%20tienen%20derecho%20a%20la,10%20de%20junio%20de%202021

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2020, January 14). Colombia: Human rights activists killings [Press release]. https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25461&LangID=E

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. (n.d.). About human rights defenders [Press release]. Retrieved March 29, 2021, from https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/srhrdefenders/pages/defender.aspx

Osman, M. (2019, December 13). Matan a tiros a líder social en curumaní. El Heraldo. https://www.elheraldo.co/cesar/matan-tiros-lider-social-en-curumani-687225

United Nations. (2020, January 14). Colombia: ‘Staggering number’ of human rights defenders killed in 2019 [Press release]. https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/01/1055272

Arcangel Pantoja & Omar Agudelo: two more lives extinguished by the violence which reigns in the south of Córdoba

Arcangel Pantoja & Omar Agudelo represented rural communities in Puerto Libertador, Córdoba

Violence in Colombia has not stopped for a long time. Despite the signing of a peace agreement with the country’s main armed group, the FARC guerrilla organisation, many insurgent groups and illegal armed groups continue to be present in different territories, maintaining drug trafficking and, of course, violence as a result of their struggle for power and territory. The consequences of violence are reflected in the violation of human rights, most recently with the wave of violence towards social leaders who seek to defend their communities and change the situation. This article covers the case of two peasant leaders murdered in the south of Córdoba, the context in which it occurred and what relationship there is of this event with other factors such as the peace agreement, and drug trafficking, among others.

Regardless of the signing of the peace treaty in 2016, the south of Córdoba continues to be affected by violence due to its geographical location , since it connects growing areas and centers for the production and storage of cocaine hydrochloride with transport routes and points of export (Irreño and Martínez, 2018; Trejos et al. 2019), and the strong presence of armed groups such as the Caparrós, the Clan del Golfo (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia / AGC), and the Rastrojos, among others that for their political and economic interests , keep the region in armed conflict in which the violation of human rights and the murder of social leaders is present to a greater extent.

According to Trejos & Badillo (2020), the conflict in the south of Cordoba is determined by three factors: firstly by the constant confrontation between the security forces and the armed actors. Secondly the dispute over territorial power between the armed groups, and finally by the situation of violence that comes from Bajo Cauca, which directly affects the dynamic in the sub region. All these factors have determined the current situation in this region of the department of Cordoba. According to data from different sources such as the Ombudsmans Office, “Somos Defensores”, “Misión de observación Electoral” (MOE), “Consultoría para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento” (CODHES), “Fundación Paz y Reconciliación” (Pares), from the signing of the agreement in November 2016 to March 2020, there have been at least 111 attacks on leaders of the south of Córdoba: 76 cases of threats, 33 murders and two attacks (El Espectador, 2020). Behind every statistic of course, lies a story of human loss.

One example of the previously mentioned violence is the death of two peasant leaders Arcangel Pantoja and Omar Agudelo. The events occurred in the municipality of Puerto Libertador, in the south of Córdoba. They were both founder members of the Asociación de Campesinos al Sur de Córdoba (ACSOCOR), which is a non-profit peasant social organization, and defender of human rights and international humanitarian law that promotes the peace agreement. Omar was also part of the Communal Action Board of the village of Río Sucio. Within a short time on the 1st of June, their murders occurred in the same way: they were forced to leave their homes, moved nearby and shot several times. Although the case was reported by the organization to which they both belonged, the authorities have not yet clarified the facts nor found the whereabouts of those responsible. However, Camilo Barrocal, Cordoba’s secretary of interior and citizen participation pointed out the hypothesis that the group that may be behind the murders could be the Clan del Golfo (AGC). The peasants in the area blame the government for the lack of guarantees in the protection of their rights and demand the preservation of the community’s well-being in the face of the imminent threat they face in the middle of territorial disputes between armed groups. The community complains about the numerous murders of social leaders in addition to that of Omar and Arcangel. The case of the murder of Luis Darío Rodríguez is added to the list. He was part of different associations to serve their community, and to protect and denounce the situation in Córdoba. Similarly, the voice of María del Pilar Hurtado, who represented her community by claiming land rights in Tierralta, was silenced along with that of 42 other peasants following the signing of the peace agreement according to the Cordobexia Foundation.

Taking into account the power vacuum in the region and the huge amount of power that dangerous groups have, there must be someone taking care of the lives of the communities there. These suggestions are good steps to begin with the solution of the problem as a whole and are a goal we all must look up to achieve soon. In order to change and begin improving the situation related to social leaders and human rights defenders it is important to apply these recommendations suggested by different entities (UNHCHR & UNCaribe). Given the lack of state presence and the presence of armed groups in the south of Córdoba region, what can be done in order to protect the threatened communities there? First, it is important to respect and promote accords that have already been made with armed groups since 2016. Not only this but, it is also relevant to be open to negotiate new accords directly with the illegal groups that lead and dominate these territories in which the attacks, killings and persecution occurs. This must be done through mechanisms of resolution of conflicts to finally be able to establish some new limits that cannot be overlooked or broken and that can protect to some degree the integrity of social leaders and human rights defenders. Secondly, international cooperation, organizations, and institutions can be useful to supervise and manage the conflict from another perspective. For example, institutions such as the church can fulfil a role of peacemakers and mediators. Thirdly, two main institutions must be strengthened and supported. The first one is the “Comision Nacional de Garantías de la Seguridad” [National Commission on Security Assurances] whose main function is to promote and be in charge of the protection and safety of human rights defenders and social leaders. This is achieved through the planning of strategies of security and protections for the possible targets. The second institution is the UNP (Unidad Nacional de Protección/National Protection Unit) and its main function is to analyze and evaluate situations regarding human rights and vulnerable communities in the country. Their function can be exponentially faster and more efficient if it receives more financing and resources. And last but not least there are other relevant suggestions regarding this topic and they involve: working and developing real solutions alongside with local and regional governors, to stop increasing the military presence in conflictive areas, to act instantly and preventatively when the Ombudsman’s Office warns of any possible attack or damage, and always develop the social leaders security and integrity with other projects that promote the social, economic , cultural and political development of the areas. Making actions such as these can make a huge impact in the life of the communities of Cordoba and other regions of Colombia, and will for sure reduce the amount of victims that faced a terrible fate like Omar Agudelo and Arcangel Pantoja.

To conclude, in the southern area of the department of Cordoba, several actors such as armed and illegal groups have been systematically threatening the integrity of social leaders to fullfill their own interests. In other terms, the situation there is entirely defined by the social, economic and political interests of groups outside of the law whose only purpose is to establish their own domain in the territory. This is only to take advantage of the resources of the department for illegal cultivation , while committing murder, threats and violence against leaders whose only purpose is to defend the lives, interests and needs of their people. All of this has culminated in the insecurity and constant fear for the community, not allowing them to develop in a climate of peace.

*Article researched and written by Isabella Boyano, Gabriella Quintero & Gabriela Urango

Information sourced from:

Alvarado, W. (2020, 09 09). Cordoberxia: Van 45 líderes asesinados en Córdoba desde el Acuerdo de Paz. La piragua. https://www.lapiragua.co/cordoberxia-van-45-lideres-asesinados-en-cordoba-desde-el-acuerdo-de-paz/cordoba/

Blu radio. (2020, 06 02). Asesinan a dos líderes campesinos en Puerto Libertador, sur de Córdoba. Blu Radio. https://www.bluradio.com/nacion/asesinan-a-dos-lideres-campesinos-en-puerto-libertador-sur-de-cordoba

CINEP. (2018, 10). ¿Cuáles son los patrones ? Asesinato de líderes sociales en el post acuerdo. https://www.cinep.org.co/publicaciones/PDFS/20181202_cuales_son_los_patrones.pdf

El Espectador. (2020, 06 02). Ante la ola de crímenes, campesinos del sur de Córdoba denuncian olvido estatal. El Espectador. https://www.elespectador.com/noticias/nacional/asesinatos-a-campesinos-en-el-sur-de-cordoba/

El Espectador. (2020, 08 18). ¿Quiénes amenazan y asesinan a los líderes sociales en el sur de Córdoba? El Espectador. https://www.elespectador.com/colombia2020/pais/quienes-amenazan-y-asesinan-a-los-lideres-sociales-en-el-sur-de-cordoba/

La libertad sublime. (2020, 05 03). The Dynamics of Violence. La libertad sublime. https://lalibertadsublime.home.blog/2020/05/03/the-dynamics-of-violence-in-cordoba/

La libertad sublime. (2020, 05 18). La libertad sublime. The role of Luis Dario Rodriguez in the south of Córdoba: A Social Leader to Remember. https://lalibertadsublime.home.blog/2020/05/18/the-role-of-luis-dario-rodriguez-in-the-south-of-cordoba-a-social-leader-to-remember/

Trejos, L. F., & Sarmiento, R. B. (2020, 06). Los cuatro conflictos del Caribe colombiano: Balance de la confrontación armada durante el primer semestre del 2020. Universidad del Norte. https://www.uninorte.edu.co/documents/12067923/14752905/Los+cuatro+conflictos+del+Caribe+-+Informe+del+primer+semestre+%282020%29.pdf/6babd784-dec2-4b44-a1b5-d49b9c02de90United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights*. (2020, 02 26). Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Colombia.

Image retrieved from https://larazon.co/temas-del-dia/asesinaron-en-sur-de-cordoba-a-dos-miembros-de-organizacion-campesina/

The killing of Edwin Acosta and the situation in the south of Bolívar

The killing of social leaders in Colombia has perpetuated the violent roots and power vacuum at the heart of the armed conflict of Colombia. From November 24 2016 to July 15 2020, there were a reported 971 indigenous, peasants, Afro, trade unionists, environmentalists, and women leaders killed by armed groups (Indepaz, 2020). One of the causes lies in the fact that uniformed armed combatants operating in rural areas find the accomplishment of one of their principal interests: activities of illegal mining and appropriation of land for their gain or to finance activities. That is the case in the south of Bolivar where there is a presence of armed groups which have established a power status. Consequently, the role of social leaders is to be agents that fight to safeguard the autonomy of peoples, diversity, land rights, and access to resources that begin to emerge, and be a link with national or regional entities. Inasmuch as their role starts to be visible, the armed groups attack leaders in order to keep their power hierarchy and send a warning to other such leaders. To explore this dynamic, this article will explore the situation of violence in Bolivar by looking at the case of Edwin Acosta, a rural leader in that department.

Firstly, it is important to know why the township of Tiquisio (Bolivar) and its social leaders are targeted by some armed actors. Tiquisio is located in the south of Bolivar and is characterized by the fertility of the soil, richness of resources such as gold and wood, and its strategic location in the country. Those factors have been the root of conflict in the area and have triggered illegal mining and the presence of armed groups. The Ombudsman’s Office reports that violence has escalated since 2009 when an alliance emerged between the criminal gang Los Urabeños (now known as the Clan del Golfo or Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia/AGC), the Águilas Negras, and the 37th Front of the FARC. The purpose of the alliance was to commercialize drugs and to put the ELN out of business, sowing a dispute of territory.

In 2012, AGC paramilitaries arrived at the headquarters of the communitary mill or ´trapiche´ in the village of Antojo in the Municipality of Tiquisio. They have been there ever since despite that community asking the government to carry out investigations and increase security. At the same time, the territory has a strategic corridor to connect with other townships of Bolivar, Sucre, Antioquia, and even Venezuela through bridle paths, and even maritime ports to transport drugs. Whereby, it has created three dimensions of conflict: territorial dispute, warfare dynamics, and resistance from the community. The last dimension has created a set of leaders working in defense of their territory, as was Edwin Acosta.

Edwin Emiro Acosta Ochoa was a social leader and miner native of Magangué, Bolívar. He was a husband and the father of three children. He was involved in groups of local peacebuilding and rural economic and legal activities such as the Comisión de Interlocución del Sur de Bolívar, Centro y Sur del Cesar (CISBCSC), Asociación Agrominera de Tiquisio, and Sociedad de Economía Mixta Ambiental Agropecuaria Minera (SEMAAM SAS). The principles of such organizations are focused on the governmental and social dialogue, defense of community interests, and human rights linked with local economic activities. In that sense, the social role of Edwin made him a Human Rights Defender, understood here, as “individuals, groups, and associations … contributing to … the effective elimination of all violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of peoples and individuals” (Declaration on human right defenders, 1998).

The events of his death occurred on the afternoon of May 26 2020, when three men (still unidentified) arrived at the leader’s residence and fired 4 shots, causing his death. In the days before his death, several deaths of social leaders had been registered; in Montelíbano (Córdoba) the murder of social leader Manuel Marriaga was reported on May 23. In Barranquilla (Atlantico) the death of social leader Henry Blanco was reported on May 14. On May 22, Edwin Acosta had denounced the disappearance of the community leader of San Pablo (Bolivar), María Rocío Silva, since the government has not guaranteed the welfare of social leaders, providing only militarization.

The response from authorities to the murder of Edwin Acosta Ochoa and most of the social leaders in the country have been based on the militarization of the affected areas, without acknowledging that despite the militarization in the region, these types of events continue to occur, showing that the high militarization merely increases violence in those areas. The state’s response must revolve around looking for the central cause of the problem in order to provide a solution. Keeping in mind that there are other factors.

The past government processed guarantees for social leaders since the peace agreement, but these had little funding; while with the arrival of the new government (the government of Ivan Duque, since August 2018) more guarantees ended up buried; the lack of coordination between the state and the institutions creates gaps. Most of the time, the Ombudsman’s Office sends repeated warnings to the Ministery of the Interior about the threats to social leaders, yet the lack of response from the state means that leaders do not feel their support; these desperate calls that are frequently not heeded allow murders to be committed against social leaders like Edwin Acosta.

In conclusion, the murder of social leaders such as Edwin are happening throughout the country in different regions. Although the persecution of social leaders in Colombia has been repeatedly denounced by social organizations and human rights platforms, the state has not duly protected them or their rights, taking into account the Pact for Life announced by President Ivan Duque at the beginning of his term, which until now has not been fulfilled. In addition, the state should focus more on finding alternatives to militarization which could strengthen the state’s presence in terms of institutions and opportunities, in order to not allow that illegal groups exercise control in these areas.

*Article researched and written by Dafne Bohorquez, Talissa Curi & Leonela Nuñez

Information for this article sourced from:

https://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/asesinado-lider-social-en-mina-seca-corregimiento-de-tiquisio-sur-de-bolivar-GE2886228#:~:text=El%20l%C3%ADder%20fue%20identificado%20como,ese%20municipio%20y%20donde%20viv%C3%ADa.

https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/presuntos-paramilitares-asesinaron-a-lider-social-en-sur-del-bolivar/674125/

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://verdadabierta.com/tiquisio-un-pueblo-cercado-por-la-guerra/&sa=D&ust=1600701351471000&usg=AFQjCNFDffcyzmp2FO_Qa2nANBmui3kL4A

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.crisisgroup.org/es/latin-america-caribbean/andes/colombia/63-colombias-armed-groups-battle-spoils-peace&sa=D&ust=1600701351472000&usg=AFQjCNEWSBwT0M9c8GrqDdk5HTTzRXpnag

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://repository.javeriana.edu.co/handle/10554/41481&sa=D&ust=1600701351472000&usg=AFQjCNHUU6iYra5zh8lbwHorTcNTyrt0KA

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/srhrdefenders/pages/defender.aspx&sa=D&ust=1600701351463000&usg=AFQjCNGC3RJgBvhGMrK7HNm0YJRVggjr3g

https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.redcolombia.org/2012/07/09/no-cesan-los-hostigamientos-de-paramilitares-en-el-sur-de-bolivar/&sa=D&ust=1600701351468000&usg=AFQjCNEgJpFKwz6AX87sZmuZBfqrT5gb6g

https://caracol.com.co/emisora/2019/08/08/medellin/1565228865_793003.html

The killing of indigenous leader Oscar Domicó Domicó and an overview of the violent situation in the south of Córdoba

*Article researched and written by Astrid Daza & Sofia Garzón

The purpose of this article is to provide context on the situation in the southern region of Cordoba regarding the ongoing murders of social leaders, human rights violations and the presence of armed groups in the territory. Moreover, it aims to highlight the passing of Oscar Domicó last June and aims to present a relation between this case and the situation experienced in the region where he was killed. When referring to the human rights situation in Colombia, it has become unimaginable to omit the problematic situation regarding social leaders. Our intent is to focus on the situation of human rights defenders, who have suffered consequences due to “mysterious” circumstances not recognized by the State.

This situation has no precedent in terms of the nature of the people who are being killed, however, regrettably, some have more impact than others, for example: LGBTI defenders, and indigenous leaders, among others (UN Annual Report on Human Rights in Colombia, 2020). To our consideration, the previous premise allows for no justice to the valuable effort and input social leaders as a whole have set in society due to their efforts which built a legacy in the communities they supported. We consider that they help build a heritage of positivity in their communities. This is because regularly municipalities around conflicted areas are marked by a high level of multidimensional poverty, endemic violence, the presence of paramilitary groups and criminal groups, who fight to control drug trafficking, illegal mining and smuggling of migrants; so these social leaders provide a sense of hope to communities who need it most. However, even though they represent longing for peace and safety in the region, most of the time illegal interests have more weight than the population’s desires, but that does not mean that social leaders are not a threat to paramilitary and criminal groups since they have opposite interests for the region and its population. Evidently, the role of the social leader is linked to the protection of the community, and with the presence of these illegal actors in the area, that complicates the situation by generating a clash that often puts the lives of these people at risk.

As the UN Annual Report on Human Rights in Colombia (2020) expresses, to be an advocate for human rights in Colombia is: “… with no doubt considered a high-risk activity”. Moreover, in 2019 the OHCHR documented 108 killings of human rights defenders, including 15 women and two LGBTI defenders (UN Annual Report on Human Rights in Colombia, 2020). These statistics convey the gravity of the problem, since they contribute clear evidence of the violence against human rights defenders. Likewise, the report made by the OHCHR in 2019, found in the UN Annual Report on Human Rights in Colombia (2020), also mentions how people in vulnerable regions have no other option than to prepare themselves, in case the act of self defense was necessary at a given moment. On the other hand, it seems that increased militarization is inappropriate in such circumstances. According to police statistics, homicides have increased in municipalities such as Arauca, Norte de Cauca, Catatumbo and the south of Córdoba despite an increased military presence. It is this last region, the south of Córdoba, which is of most interest for the purpose of this article.

In Colombia, the region of Córdoba has had a background of influence of armed competition for criminal hegemony since it boasts many strategic places which have an importance in drug trafficking, for example, the Nudo del Paramillo. The previous region is a biodiverse network, rich in waters, fauna and flora, with unique species in the country, that occupies a wide area of the departments of Antioquia and Córdoba, representing a route for drugs and also due to its mountains, whose heights range between 800 and 2,500 meters above sea level a great place to cultivate and hide illicit crops. Even though Córdoba is known for those activities, its south, which is made up of five municipalities (Montelíbano, Puerto Libertador, Tierralta, Valencia and San José de Ure), is recognized as being particularly dangerous. According to Irréno and Martínez (2018) due to its geographical conditions, the South of Córdoba has been an axis subregion of the armed conflict, since it connects areas of crops and centers for the production and collection of cocaine hydrochloride with transport of routes for export. It has also had the presence of illegal groups such as the EPL, FARC-EP guerrillas, Autodefensas Campesinas de Córdoba y Urabá (ACCU) and the AUC and post-AUC groups like Los Rastrojos, AGC and Los Caparros. Moreover, Córdoba is one of the most abandoned territories of Colombia and is faced with several challenges such as inequality, corruption, and lack of infrastructure. We must take into account that the dynamics of violence were expected to settle down after the peace treaty but have not ceased. However, many mention that the Bajo Cauca area of Antioquia has an influence on the violent dynamics of the subregion since there is a natural connection to it.

It is important to consider that the conflict in the south of Cordoba is mainly determined by three elements. First, the permanent confrontation between public forces and the armed actors (specifically the AGC) in the middle of Operation Agamen on II. This is a police-military operation aimed at dismantling the AGC and which is being conducted mainly in the area of Uraba, the main base of this armed group. Secondly, because of the dispute over territorial control in which the three organized crime groups have had presence in the region. Finally, due to the violent situation that comes from Bajo Cauca, that necessarily affects the regional logic. Therefore, as well as in the south of Cesar, and south of Bolivar, armed violence holds independent logics which are not necessarily related directly with the rest of the conflicts that stay active in the Caribbean (Trejos, 2019). Unfortunately, the region of Córdoba is immersed in corruption as well since there have been several scandals surrounding this type of activities by representatives of the region, for example, Eleonora Pineda’s case as an ex-Congresswoman prosecuted for her relationship with para-militarism, the case of Carlos Nader Simmonds, an ex-congressman prosecuted in the United States for drug trafficking (El Tiempo, 2017) and Miguel A. De La Espriella, Cordoba’s representative in National Congress, who was accused of para-political related policy and illegal crop businesses due to the ex-Senator being linked with “Mancuso” and Carlos Castaño, both notorious former paramilitary leaders. In spite of the previous accusations, the national government has not made any sort of statement in regards to the situation lived by the population in the south of Córdoba nor their needs, which has fed the conspiracy theories of the government and its links to paramilitary groups or even drug trade activities. Thus, the possibility of the government being linked to these activities makes the work of indigenous and rural leaders particularly dangerous as well as faithless for many. One example, from the hundreds which sadly affect the country each year was the killing of Óscar Dicto Domicó Domicó.

Óscar Dicto Domicó Domicó, 40 years old, was an indigenous leader who worked as coordinator of the indigenous guard of the Embera reservation in Alto Sinú, Córdoba. He lived in the village of El Banquito, a rural area of the municipality of Tierralta, in the south of the department. He was stabbed to death by unknown assailants on June 3, 2020. Domicó belonged to several indigenous councils of the Embera community, and there were no known problems in relation to his leadership within the communities. He was also a hard-working person who depended on his crops such as yucca and rice. Although there are not many details about his death, the victim’s background includes a complaint for non-food assistance. This complaint was filed in connection with the promised food aid by the Interior Minister, Camilo Berrocal in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. People in the region had no resources to support their needs and with their situation critical as they had to observe the quarantine in their homes. Of course the quarantine experience for ethnic and community leaders in Colombia contained an additional factor; they continued to be targeted and attacked. El Tiempo pointed out that “from March 6 (date when the first case of Covid-19 was registered in Colombia) to May 7, 32 social leaders and human rights defenders have been killed with 19 since the national confinement on 23 March”. However, such figures tend to coincide with the worrying statistics regarding such attacks over the past few years with almost 1,000 social leaders, human rights defenders, trade unionists and ex-combatants of the FARC being killed since the signing of the peace agreement in 2016 (Indepaz). Of the social leaders killed, indigenous leaders make up 25% of the total. While most of these killings have taken place in the departments of Cauca, Chocó and Nariño, Córdoba has suffered too with close to 45 leaders murdered. Although many of these cases have involved community and rural leaders, indigenous leaders have also been killed with one previous example being the murder of Julio Cesar Monsalvo in June 2018 near to Montelíbano, Córdoba. Córdoba, and in particular the south of the department, is characterized by a rigid and dangerous environment, where inequality and corruption allow illicit and illegal activities to be carried out constantly. Leaders who try to protect the interests of their communities in this scenario face a very really threat of violence, and many end up dead as Oscar did.

In conclusion, this article has allowed us to make a broad study based on the information found about social leaders and the human rights violations in Córdoba, as well as, the geography and vacuum of power that has had an impact on the region and its population. To create an environment in which the State is notable for its absence, adding guerrillas and paramilitary groups only jeopardizes the lives of many who live in the south of Cordoba and in other regions with similar characteristics. For starters, we focused on how the statistics show us the large number of victims since there are many social leaders that have gone through this situation, which sets the premise of how being an advocate for human rights or simply trying to represent your community’s best interests is without doubt a high-risk activity in Colombia . Afterwards, we reviewed the passing of the indigenous leader Óscar Dicto Domicó Domicó, an indigenous leader that worked as coordinator of the indigenous guard of the Embera reservation in Alto Sinú where he was murdered by unknown assailants on June 3, 2020. There are many debates of whether his cause of death was due to a complaint filed by him for non-food assistance to the State or illegal armed groups who are present and active in the region. In fact, it is important to mention that the region of Córdoba, where Domicó lived, has had a background of influence of armed competition for criminal hegemony since it has many strategic places which have an importance in drug trafficking. As Colombian citizens there are many questions that arise from this issue. After having taken a look at the situation of social leaders in Colombia, there are many gaps in the state’s lack of attention to not only the death of Oscar Domicó, but also the more than 100 social leaders killed so far this year. There is the question of whether the cause of Oscar Domicó’s is related to the abandonment of the State or if it is in regards to illicit and illegal activities which put him in jeopardy in the region. And finally there’s the question of who holds responsibility for the murders that have happened. Unfortunately, those are only a few of the many questions Colombians have in regards to the killings, however the most important one is regarding whether they will ever have justice.

Information sourced from:

El Tiempo. “Indepaz: 94 líderes sociales y 24 ex-Farc han sido asesinados este año”. 7 de mayo de 2020. https://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/delitos/indepaz-94-lideres-asesinados-en-los-cuatro-primeros-meses-del-ano-492776

El Paramillo: Un Nudo difícil de Deshacer, (2016) Retrieved from: https://verdadabierta.com/el-paramillo-un-nudo-dificil-de-deshacer/

Irreno, Y., y Martínez, F. (2018). Dinámicas del Conflicto Armado en el Sur de Córdoba. Barranquilla: Centro de Pensamiento UNCaribe, Universidad del Norte.

Trejos, L., Badillo, R. Irreño, Y. (2019a). El Caribe colombiano: entre la construcción de paz y la persistencia del conflicto. JUŔIDICAS CUC, 15(1). 9-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.17981/juridcuc.15.1.2019.01

United Nations. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2009). Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (No. 64). UN.

https://www.aa.com.tr/es/mundo/indepaz-en-colombia-971-l%C3%ADderes-han-sido-asesinados-desde-la-firma-del-acuerdo-de-paz/1924456

Carlota Salinas defended the rights of women and the most vulnerable in San Pablo, Bolívar: silence over her killing, and those of other leaders cannot be accepted

Carlota Salinas: The murdered leader defended the rights of women and her community in San Pablo, Bolívar

*Article researched and written by Gabriela Alvarez, Maria Jose Nardey & Enrique Perez

According to the Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH) or the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) (2019), a social leader is anyone who promotes the accomplishment of Human Rights and fundamental liberties and is recognized at the national or the international level for this work. This broad definition includes professional activities as well as personal and social activities promoting human rights (even if it is occasional). Any person, no matter his or her age, social group, gender, beliefs, or ethnicity can be a social leader, and the international consensus to determine this relies only on whether the person defends human rights or not in his or her activity.

According to the same source, social leaders are essential for maintaining democracy and the rule of law in Colombia, so we could say their insight and activism are necessary. In spite of this, as the Commission points out, they are going through a worrying situation, increasingly being targeted and killed after the peace accord with the FARC (Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces) was signed. Social leaders and the promotion of their communities’ rights is triggering all kinds of violent responses towards them, namely: murders, threats, attacks, harassment, stigmatization, criminalization, and a lack of proper investigation of their cases.

An especially vulnerable group within the social leaders in Colombia are women. Their gender exacerbates an already violent situation, and they are more vulnerable to being killed because of the causes they choose to fight for (especially if they have to do with women’s rights, or working with women who have been displaced or have suffered violations of their rights). The number of murders, torture, sexual violence, and threats against these women has increased. Between January of 2017 and February of 2018, 23 female social leaders were killed, and 142 were threatened. These threats (as opposed to the threats male social leaders receive) contain sexist and obscene language. This dangerous situation has sadly forced several of these women away from their families, out of their communities, and out of their political activism (IACHR, 2019).

To illustrate this preoccupying situation, this article will analyze the case of Carlota Isabel Salinas, who was murdered on March 24th, 2020. She was a social leader in San Pablo, in the department of Bolívar, who defended women’s rights and worked at the Organización Popular Femenina (OPF). This organization is the oldest one in Colombia that represents women’s rights. It was founded in 1960 following the creation of clubs for housewives by Ecclesiastes, with the purpose of helping them to address social violence by learning to sew. The OPF has faced issues and threats that have ranged from Pablo Escobar to paramilitaries and current guerrillas. They have documented around 150 aggressions against their organisation in the prosecutor general´s office and the murders of many members such as Esperanza Amaris, Yamile Agudelo, and Diofanol Sierra Vargas (Lozano, 2017). Carlota Isabel had been part of the Organización Popular Femenina for ten years in a territory that is characterized by the confrontation between the ELN and the Clan del Golfo (also known as the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia or AGC). Therefore, violence has always been present in San Pablo and even in the midst of Covid-19 times, the deaths of social leaders such as Carlota have not stopped. According to Agencia FEE (2020), Carlota was forced by armed men to step outside of her house, where she was murdered. This social leader was the mother of three children, and before being killed, she had been helping to collect money for those affected in San Pablo by the Coronavirus. As we can see, social leaders have a vocational commitment with their communities, and what they receive in return is violence without justice. Having looked at Carlota’s case, it is necessary to take a look at the context in the region where she lived and carried out her work.

During 2020, Colombia’s rate of social leader assassinations has risen to more than 100 cases (Indepaz as published in Semana), and since 2016, after the peace agreement was signed between the government and the FARC, 971 social leaders and ex FARC militants have been murdered (Semana, 2020). The region that surrounds the department of Bolivar has suffered from a huge wave of violence throughout the years of conflict, and this is due to its strategic location which is used for illegal drug crops and smuggling routes. There are several risk factors like narco-trafficking, illicit exploitation of mining deposits and natural resources, and also forced displacement which affect the region. This fact causes violence and murder rates to rise due to internal disputes for control and access of illegal drugs. The threats in this region come mainly from organized criminal structures that violate the human rights of the population living there. They act against community leaders, syndicates, politicians, farmers, indigenous people, land rights defenders, and Afro-Colombian communities (El Tiempo, 2020).

The case of Carlotta Salinas is not the only one that needs to be highlighted in the region. There are more cases like those of Fernando de Jesús Gaviria, who was the leader of the local community action board, and Omaira Alcatraz (La FM, 2020). Both were also from San Pablo, Bolivar. They were peace leaders, killed supposedly by illegal armed groups because they were defending farmers’ rights to live and make use of their lands. Social leaders and peacekeepers are being murdered for keeping up with their duties and their social work which is to bring peace to their communities and solve a long generational conflict that has taken thousands of lives and destroyed families. This conflict has negatively affected the region’s economy in terms of tourism, land use, and also by putting off international and private investment. It is clear that the region is balancing a difficult situation regarding illegal groups. There is a lot of tension and violence going on, which can cause confusion or even obstruction of justice. What is the government doing about this?

It was difficult to find information regarding Carlota’s case. Some sources considered it femicide, suggesting that the motive that led those who took her life had to do with a marital row, rather than her activism in Organización Popular Femenina (OPF), or her political views. But why so fast? What happened to the due investigation? The dismissive attitude that the Colombian government has shown toward this constant issue could be a first possible explanation. Without measuring the consequences his words could have, the former Minister of Defense Luis Carlos Villegas said in 2017 that the majority of the social leader’s assassinations had to do with illicit rent, property, and “líos de faldas” (or the fuss caused by romantic relationships or affairs). This dismissed the importance of these cases, and also denied the fact that they happen because of systematic violence and organized criminal groups. The current Minister of Defense made an affirmation that went even further than that. He accused protesters and activists of being financed by narcotrafficking. He cataloged these movements as the “real mafia”, and as a “supranational mafia” (Caracol Radio, 2018).

The easy acceptance of the femicide theory for Carlota’s case can also have a possible explanation in the fact that these cases are not unusual in Colombia and the pandemic that forced everyone to stay home only made violence towards women increase. Between January 1st and June 18th of this year (2020), there had been 99 femicide cases. The majority of these were committed by partners, ex-partners, neighbors, or fathers, many of them simply labelled as “crimes of passion.” The investigation processes have not yet been completed (El Tiempo, 2020). It is depressing that prevalent cases of femicides like these ones are offered as a more likely alternative to Carlota’s case, given that in Colombia it is a real possibility that a female social leader such as Carlota could be killed simply because of the valuable work she was doing.

It is important to pay more attention to cases like Carlota’s, because the killing of social leaders, particularly women, is a situation that we witness repeatedly in this country. For example, last year (2019) Maria del Pilar Hurtado was murdered in Tierra Alta (Córdoba), and a year after the crime was committed there is still no justice for her, or her young son who witnessed the terrible crime. Days after the murder, authorities were investigating whether the motive was the fact that she had been a social leader, but different hypotheses emerged, and to date, the crime remains unsolved and the perpetrators remain unpunished (El Espectador, 2020).

Karina García is another case (a more high-profile one) that showcases the dangers that female social leaders go through in Colombia. She was a candidate to the Suarez municipality in Cauca for the Liberal party (Partido Liberal). She was ambushed, shot at several times, and murdered on September 1st, 2019. Her body and those of her companions were incinerated afterward by the perpetrators (Noticias Caracol, 2019). This happened even when Karina had received direct threats against her integrity and her life. The government fell short and was not able to protect her life. She had been provided with security staff (only one of them survived after the ambush), but there were irregularities in the protocol that the murderers profited from to commit their crime. This shows us that social leaders are so vulnerable and are such targets for violence, that not even with government protection are they safe in some regions of Colombia. What is there to expect for other not so high-profile leaders?

In conclusion, being a social leader in Colombia transforms people into targets in the middle of the confusing violence surrounding the country. All the valuable contributions that these people bring to their communities and to the country regarding democracy, rule of law, and human rights should be more recognized and, especially, given gthe protection their work merits. Carlota Isabel Salinas is an example of an individual that had a lot to offer with her work and activism, and it is horrible to witness that this is precisely the most likely motive for her murder. It is sad to think that someone who is constantly worried about her community and the most vulnerable people in San Pablo (like women who suffered from abuse, and people affected by Covid-19) was killed. Violence against female social leaders like Carlota is a systemic problem in Colombia, and it should be addressed as such by the government. She is just one of the many cases that remain unsolved, so this repetitive situation has to change. Colombia’s government has to stop acting like these are isolated cases, or “crimes of passion”. The government and the news media have to urgently address the lack of information and the bias regarding the investigation process when a social leader is murdered. And as Colombian citizens, we cannot become used to this circle of violence where social leader’s lives are seen as mere numbers. Since the criminals who do this benefit from silence and fear, we have to keep investigating, signing petitions, creating awareness, and holding the government accountable for a change to happen.

References

Agencia Fee. (March 25th, 2017). Asesinan a la lideresa Carlota Salinas Pérez en Bolívar antes de la cuarentena. El Heraldo. Recovered from: https://www.elheraldo.co/judicial/asesinan-la-lideresa-carlota-salinas-perez-en-bolivar-antes-de-la-cuarentena-712263

Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos. (2019). Informe sobre la situación de personas defensoras de derechos humanos y líderes sociales en Colombia. Retrieved from http://www.oas.org/es/cidh/informes/pdfs/DefensoresColombia.pdf.

Caracol Radio. MinDefensa: Los grupos armados organizados financian la protesta social. Retrieved from https://caracol.com.co/radio/2018/09/14/nacional/1536884994_828575.html.

El Espectador. (2020). Después de un año del asesinato de María del Pilar Hurtado, poco o nada se conoce de su caso. Retrieved from https://www.elespectador.com/noticias/judicial/despues-de-un-ano-de-la-muerte-de-maria-del-pilar-hurtado-poco-o-nada-se-conoce-de-su-caso/

El Tiempo. (2020). En 2020 han sido asesinados 37 líderes sociales: Gobierno. Retrieved from https://www.eltiempo.com/politica/gobierno/cuantos-lideres-sociales-han-sido-asesinados-en-colombia-516050

La FM. (2020). Asesinan a dos nuevos líderes sociales de Bolívar. Retrieved from https://www.lafm.com.co/colombia/asesinan-dos-nuevos-lideres-sociales-de-bolivar

Lozano, W. L. (June 1st, 2017). La historia tras la ONG de mujeres más antigua en Colombia. El Tiempo. Recovered from: https://www.eltiempo.com/politica/proceso-de-paz/historia-de-la-organizacion-femenina-popular-en-barrancabermeja-92106

Noticias Caracol. (2019). ¿Quién era Karina García, la candidata a la Alcaldía de Suárez que fue víctima de una masacre? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug0fPua7n1U

Semana. (2020). Van 152 asesinatos en 2020 de líderes, defensores de DD.HH. y exmiembros de Farc. Retrieved from https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/asesinato-de-lideres-sociales-en-colombia-cifras-durante-cuarentena-covid-19/686859/

Torres, L.A. & Montoya, A.M. (2020). Pandemia del Feminicidio: 99 mujeres asesinadas en lo corrido del 2020. El Tiempo. Retrieved from https://www.eltiempo.com/bogota/pandemia-del-feminicidio-99-mujeres-asesinadas-en-lo-corrido-del-2020-509910

*Image retrieved from https://pares.com.co/2020/03/25/asesinato-de-lideres-la-otra-pandemia-nacional/

Working for your community can mean a death sentence in Colombia: The case of Aramis Arenas Bayona

*Article researched and written by Rosangelica Barrios, Keylin Mercado & Maria Angelica Roa

Essential State attributes such as legitimacy are dependent on the State achieving effectiveness in the territories, and as long as this is not the case, violence will remain present. In Colombia, there is a State unable to adapt to modernization processes, where each attempt at political change has been followed by intense periods of violence: after the National Front, the violence of the 80s; after the UP, the violence of the 90s-2000; the patriotic plan. More recently, one can observe the multiple massacres and attacks, especially against social leaders following the peace agreement in 2016. In general, the situation of social leaders, who according to the OHCHR (2020) are people who seek the fulfillment and protection of human rights, has been ignored by the Colombian government, without suitable attempts to investigate the facts surrounding each case, thus leaving a country at the mercy of illegal violence. This article will explore the case of Aramis Arenas Bayona, a social leader who was killed on his own farm for being involved in land improvement projects to promote rural tourism, and it will seek to explain to a certain extent the problems that the Colombian context presents, focusing particularly on the situation faced by social leaders.

Aramis Arenas Bayonas was a social leader who was assassinated in Becerril, a town in the department of Cesar in the North of Colombia, specifically in the township of “Estados Unidos”. Since the 1980s, the community from this town have been dealing with violence. According to reports, that was when the Marxist guerrilla group the FARC assumed control of the territory. Also, following the FARC in the 1990s the “Bloque Norte ” (an extension of the AUC right-wing paramilitaries) tried to push the guerrilla out but this only ended in more violence for the township of Estados Unidos. During the period of violence, many people abandoned their homes, farms and work. Yet when they tried to come back, they found that mining and palm oil companies were dominating the town. Later in the 2000s the company “Prodeco” helped families to reintegrate and also gave work to them. This was the first time where a mining company got involved with a community and its problems with violence. In order to compensate for the lack of state assistance, social leaders started to assume important roles in generating citizen participation in Colombia, and Estados Unidos was not the exception. Aramis Arenas Bayonas was an activist of Becerril. He wanted to improve rural tourism and since 10 years before his death, he had worked in the area and thanks to his efforts, he had become a leading member of the “Junta de Acción Comunal” (Community Action Board) which is a civic corporation composed of neighbours of a determined territory, who meet to try to solve the main necessities of the community. After all his efforts to create a better community, he was found dead of gunshot wounds on May 19 2020; so far no one has been found responsible for his killing.

It is important to highlight that the case of Aramis Arenas is not an exception in Cesar. Henry Cuello was a rancher and social leader in Rincón Ahondó (a jurisdiction in Chiriguana, Cesar). Cuello had been kidnapped twice because of his work as an active member of the “Junta de Acción Comunal (JAC)”. At the beginning of January, 2020, he was found dead. In December 2019, Luis Carlos Hernandez, a leader who had worked with victims of the conflict was shot dead in Curumaní, Cesar. Before that, Wilson Chaustre who had been an active social leader with a lot of influence in Pueblo Bello, Cesar, was assassinated on his farm . He had been the president of the local JAC for three and a half years and despite not having made a formal complaint, had been threatened several times through phone calls in which he was warned to stop managing local projects or he would end up like so many other social leaders who dared to improve the lives of their community.

Cesar is one of 32 departments in Colombia. It is located in the northeast of the country, has an area of 22,905 km² and a population of 1,041,203 inhabitants. Located in the north-eastern part of the country, its capital is Valledupar. Since the 2000s, Cesar has been one those departments affected by paramilitaries and AUC presence, especially in the north of the department. The “AUC” or Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia was a paramilitary group that operated in Colombia between 1997 and 2006. This group committed violations of human rights and their principal financial method was drug trafficking. This group was labelled as a terrorist group by the international community because of its acts. Nowadays, the department of Cesar has new groups operating in the zone. Some of these were formed from the demobilized AUC such as the Golf Clan (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia / AGC). Furthermore, the department also has the presence of ELN guerrillas, in addition to several other criminal organisations. Basically, these groups focus their presence in the rural part of the department where there is low state presence and sow fear in the territory to control them. The main factor for the violence in the region is the low progress in the economy of the region, making it vulnerable to violence and inequality. Also, illegal mining in this region is a big issue because almost 44% of the total of Cesar’s economy depends on mining, so that the illegal use of these resources represents a big loss to the region. On the other hand, ranching is another big contributor to the economy of Cesar. More than 500.000 heads of cattle are in Cesar’s territory without forgetting that Klaren’s (a national brand of dairy products from Cesar) represents the industrial potential of the department. However, the wealth generated from these sectors is concentrated among a small minority of the department’s population and has done little to alleviate the level of poverty throughout Cesar.

The cases of Cesar are part of the 322 social leaders (some estimates have the figure as even higher) who have been killed following the implementation of the peace accords, among whom we find rural leaders, indigenous people, students, and presidents of communal action boards, among others (Pacifista, 2020). According to the report “¿Cuáles son los patrones? Asesinatos de Líderes Sociales en el Post Acuerdo” (created by various NGOs with the “Universidad Nacional”), the victims are mostly people in a condition of socio-economic vulnerability, placed at a disadvantage in asymmetric power relations belonging to ethnic groups historically discriminated; sectors that have been seen as an obstacle for illegal and legal economic groups, who hold the economic power in these long marginalized regions. This situation is alarming and has been a challenge for the current government, which has not yet taken adequate action to protect them and save their lives. In Colombia, these people represented a voice for those marginalized by the state, for the peripheral areas where the state presence is just a facade of buildings without officials, for those most affected by the collateral actions that the long armed conflict has brought, the people. It seems that the territorial dynamics with the presence of illegal armed groups and illegal economies, in addition to to the mining interests and the ranches of Cesar (two sectors with a history of links to illegal paramilitary groups in the region) are leading to the killing of social leaders such as Aramis, and other leaders from Cesar. It appears as though these leaders, along with their community support projects, are identified as an obstacle to the interests of other actors in the region. These killings generate little action at a judicial level thanks in part to the limited interest of the government, meaning the elimination of these “obstacles” is easy and frequently go unpunished.

Finally, one must come to the conclusion that Aramis Arenas Bayona, like many other leaders, was killed for trying to improve the living conditions of his community through the defense and the use of land to promote rural tourism. The state abandonment in Cesar and the slow economic development are the main reasons that give way to the illegality present in the department. At the same time, the illegal use of its resources affects the community since its economy is mostly based on these same resources, a fact which puts Cesar in a vicious cycle of illegality, slow development and violence. This cycle causes anyone who wants to improve the situation to be seen as an obstacle to the various illegal interests, and in many cases to end up dead. Arenas Bayona is not an isolated case, nor is it an extraordinary situation. It is something that sadly has become common in the country and a problem that the state has not put enough effort into resolving, allowing such violence, which was expected to end with the signing of the agreements, to continue.

Information in the article sourced from:

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/Defender.aspx

http://cesar.gov.co/d/index.php/es/mainmeneldpto/mendeppre

https://distintaslatitudes.net/explicadores/por-que-asesinan-a-los-lideres-sociales-en-colombia

https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/asesinan-en-a-aramis-arenas-defensor-de-derechos-humanos/672515/ (image retrieved from this article)

https://www.elheraldo.co/cesar/asesinan-lider-social-en-el-cesar-546778

Gustavo Pérez: The ex-combatant who worked for victim’s rights

Social leaders are people that fight for human rights and have recognition in the community to operate, coordinate and support projects that are for the collective good, such as, improving living conditions and the construction of a fair and equitable society. Nevertheless these actions are aimed at protecting human rights, their land, and defending their culture, etc.

Here in Colombia there is a mass and systematic killing of social leaders due to criminal groups, elites, economic and political interest and the Colombian government fails to have an impact by not wanting to acknowledge and the issue and denying this problem. According to Indepaz (Institute of Studies for Development and Peace), in 2019, 226 social leaders and Human Rights defenders were killed in approximately 112 different towns of Colombia and in the first few months of 2020, 57 people have been killed (as of time of writing).

In this paper we are going to focus on the specific case of a social leader in Bolivar named Gustavo Pérez Arevalo and how this case can allow us to understand and reflect about social leaders and this difficult situation that is facing our country.

First, it is necessary to learn a little about Gustavo Pérez. According to the HRD (Human Rights Defenders) memorial, a website that is dedicated for those who were killed defending Human Rights, Gustavo Pérez was a social leader that was part of the Santa Rita association and the Sembrando Futuro de Paz association. He was also a delegate of the local Mesa de Víctimas (Victim´s Board) in La Candelaria, Bolivar. Gustavo Pérez had previously requested protection from the Colombian State due to threats from paramilitary groups. However, his request was not answered and eventually he was shot on Friday, September 13 2019 while he was in the Palma Chica village in the area of Los Canelos in Santa Rosa del Sur, Bolívar. He died at the age of 58 and his death has attributed to neo-paramilitary forces in the region.

As a matter of fact, The High Council for the Rights of Victims, Peace and Reconciliation of the Bogotá Mayor’s office said that Perez was a leader of the Victims Participation Board since 2015. As well, Gustavo had contributed to public policy of victims and the concentration of Victim Law in 2011 and he had also been in favor of the victims public policy and also to the establishment of the Victims Law on the same year.

However, some sources rejected the claim he was a social leader, and part of the community is dissatisfied and outraged because they refused to accept the idea that Gustavo was a social leader and reject the comments made by the senator Gustavo Bolivar on his twitter page, where he says that Gustavo Pérez Arévalo was a human right defender. They say that Gustavo was an ex-guerrillero of the ELN and accused him of killing, extortion, kidnapping and displacing many people of his village.

According to an article in El Universal, it was suggested that he was part of the insurgent group, the ELN (National Liberation Army) as a commandant, that “Gustavo Torres” was his alias and that in the eighties and nineties he had been a feared guerrillero who was responsible in the past for some deaths, kidnappings and displacement in the region of Simiti, Santa Rosa del Sur, Morales, Rioviejo, San Martín de Loba, Barranco de Loba and Tiquisio. Sources in the area also claimed that he had been responsible for the death of the mayor of San Martín de Loba in 1998 and the kidnapping of teachers Ramón Rodríguez Gahona and José de Dios Botello Ríos. These arguments over whether Gustavo was a social leader or simply an ex-combatant are pertinent given the political polarisation in Colombia. For this reason, it is important to have a clear understanding of what a leader is and most importantly focus on those regions that are being affected by this problem because at first sight we can denote the lack of the Colombian State and the current government due to the fact that after the peace agreement signed with the FARC guerrilla organisation in 2016, there has not been much interest in the recognition of the conflict or in truly guaranteeing people’s lives.

Being a social leader, according to the United Nations, basically covers all those people who work for the defense of Human Rights. This work of “social leader” can be carried out individually or together with other people, and the main objective which they will take into account throughout their journey is the promotion and protection of the rights, whether it be a specific community or territory, or a special topic. Gustavo Perez’s case has not been totally clarified in this regard and this specific case has not been studied by the UN. However, the inhabitants of their community have spoken, demanding coherence from the institutions and demanding clarity regarding everything that happened with the case of this leader, a case in which there are many loose ends. All this also serves to give a general analysis of everything that has happened with respect to the social leaders, and it is that just like Gustavo’s case, there have been hundreds of leaders who have been assassinated and, likewise, they do not take a case study and do not provide due importance nor the interest required to have a thorough investigation of these cases.

There is no reason why an ex-combatant of armed groups cannot subsequently become a social leader, since according to the information presented by the United Nations, any person or group that works firmly in the promotion of Human Rights, whether through intergovernmental organizations, or through projects and work in their communities, can be an advocate. However, the case of Gustavo Pérez was quite particular since, due to the accusations of him being a ex-combatant of the ELN, his death did not have the same reach in society as those leaders whose constant projects and activities were highlighted during their trajectory as social leaders. According to reports, Gustavo Pérez had previously requested protection from the Colombian State due to threats he had received from paramilitary groups, but his request was not met.

Regarding this case, the Prosecutor’s Office refuses to receive complaints for victims of Human Rights in the south of Bolívar and there is an evident lack of presence of the Defensoría del Pueblo (Ombudsman’s Office) and accompaniment during these processes. For this reason, inhabitants are demanding coherence on the part of the State institutions: “we are waiting for coherence in the state discourse and that it provides real guarantees to Human Rights defenders”.

In conclusion, social leaders are being killed and no one is actually doing anything to stop this. Thanks to the work of social leaders, it is possible to establish fairer societies and they are the representation of the people and their voice in the midst of so many injustices that occur daily. Unfortunately, for carrying out their work in everything that has to do in the field of Human Rights, they are the target of threats in societies as unjust as ours, and there is also usually a complete indifference regarding their murders.

Gustavo Pérez was just one of many people that die fighting for a cause. For some people he was simply a guerrillero and for others he was a defender of Human Rights. However, no matter who he was, the important thing is that he was fighting for the community rights and participated in many projects in order to construct peace in the region. It sometimes seems that people cannot raise their voice to denounce the things that are bad or try to make positive changes in order to improve community conditions. All of us, as members of Colombian society, have to change our mind and work together to make progress along the path to peace. Social leaders are important and they work for people to have a better life, protecting and defending people from abuse. Social leaders are fighting against corruption and the interests of armed groups, and they don’t deserve to be punished unfairly and killed for simply raising their voices.

*Article written by Daniela Araujo, Lilian Caro & Gabriela Castañeda

Information sourced from:

https://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/otras-ciudades/el-mapa-de-los-lideres-sociales-asesinados-en-colombia-184408

Paz al Liderazgo Social

https://www.lafm.com.co/colombia/onu-dice-que-ser-lider-social-en-colombia-es-extremadamente-peligroso

https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-51745651

https://colombiacheck.com/investigaciones/explicador-que-es-un-lider-social

Image retrieved from https://hrdmemorial.org/es/hrdrecord/gustavo-perez-arevalo/

Jorge Luis Betancourt & the dangers of defending Human Rights in the south of Córdoba

Córdoba is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located on the Caribbean coast. It is known for being a livestock territory (typically cattle farming) and for its crops of corn, cotton, yam, yuca and banana, among others. However, it is also recognized for being one of the territories most affected by the internal armed conflict. Its inhabitants have been confronted by guerrilla groups, paramilitaries, criminal gangs and drug traffickers. There is good reason why Córdoba has suffered during the conflict; the department is considered geopolitically important due to its coasts facing the Caribbean Sea and its proximity to the department of Antioquia, as well as the fact that Córdoba’s lands are very rich in minerals such as alluvial gold and also perfect for illicit crops such as coca; meaning the department is attractive for both legal and illegal economies. On the other hand, Córdoba has also been victim to the largest corruption scandals; some of its most important political figures have been investigated for having links with illegal groups; perhaps the most shocking was “the Ralito pact” signed in 2001 between right-wing paramilitaries and politicians from all the Caribbean departments including Córdoba. The objective of this pact was the creation a unified national movement; Paramilitaries were looking to accumulate more political power. All these social problems and dynamics make Córdoba a dangerous place for those who live there and above all for those who dare to defend their lands and rights. The peace agreement between the government and the FARC promised to stop the violence in these territories, but the truth is that the assassinations of social leaders have been increasing since the agreement was signed in 2016. This article will explore these issues by telling the story of Jorge Luis Betancourt, the first social leader assassinated in the department this year.

Jorge Luis Betancourt was a 42 year old man based in Montelíbano, Córdoba, where he lived with his wife and kids. Jorge worked as a rural leader and was the president of the community action board (civilian organizations established by departments and run by communities to address local problems) in the village of San Francisco del Rayo, on the outskirts of Montelíbano. One of his principal functions was to coordinate sport events for his community. As the president of the community action board, he was in charge of being the legal representation to defend and ensure the interests of his community. He was also responsible for the accountability of their board and for concluding and establishing the legality of checks and documents for the minimum wage and contracts with public and privates entities. With this role Jorge Betancourt was able to help his marginalized community to face various issues. He was murdered on January 13th of this year in San Francisco del Rayo by members of an unidentified armed group in the region. He was considered a social leader in his community for being part of the action board and constantly defending the human rights of the inhabitants of San Francisco del Rayo, a village with a notorious power vacuum, meaning therefore a lack of tools for Jorge to actually exercise his responsibilities. His role was also challenged by other factors in the regional context. According to the police, the Clan del Golfo (the Gulf Clan and also known as the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia), a criminal group established by former paramilitaries, could be responsible for his murder even though the last security council meeting (meetings that are arranged by a monitoring body to address or recommend issues in terms of public safety) had warned of threats to social leaders belonging to this board due to the presence of illegal groups such as the Clan del Golfo in the region

The department of Córdoba, but specifically the south, is one of the most affected regions in Colombia by the armed conflict. This territory is very rich in minerals such as alluvial gold and its lands are perfect for coca cultivation: factors which mean the presence of many illegal groups who fight to take the control of those lands. The groups with the greatest presence in the territory are “El Clan del Golfo”, Los Caparros (who before the signing of the peace agreement were part of “El Clan del Golfo, but in 2017 decided to separate from them and fight against them for more territory, drug trafficking routes and mining business), ex Farc members (frente 18) and probably other unidentified armed groups. In addition to this, there have been huge cases of corruption involving some notable political figures which seriously affect the government’s capacity in the territory and weaken the confidence of the inhabitants in the State institutions. This was the situation in which Jorge Betancourt had to work, situations which restrict the action of several social leaders like Jorge to complete their objectives of restoring peace in their lands. Issues such as illegal crops (coca), illegal mining (gold), and Parapolítica (corruption scandals involving connections between paramilitaries and politicians), are the source of financing for all illegal groups in the territory (according to the preventive report of the attorney general about illegal mining this activity is usually related with sponsorship of other illegal activities such as terrorist financing and criminal gangs) and have made social leader work for people like Jorge more difficult and dangerous. The vulnerable conditions that characterize the affected territory for illegal crops have facilitated the emergence of new forms of illegality, many of them sponsored by drug traffickers and public officials, and these different actors establish pacts between themselves to safeguard their interests. The peace agreement signed with the FARC was supposed to put a stop to the violence in territories most affected by the conflict, including Córdoba, and in particular the south of the department, but unfortunately the breach of agreement has allowed the arrival of more illegal groups with the purpose of filling the power vacuum that the FARC left. This situation shaped the behaviour of social leaders that were forced to be more aware of their actions because of dangerous coalitions between illegal armed groups and political & economic actors in the region; the collusion of illegal groups with legal sectors aimed to neutralize leader´s actions. Thus, leaders like Jorge had to choose between fighting for their communities and being targeted by these coalitions or keeping quiet and remaining at a disadvantage. The south of Córdoba is not the only region that suffers this kind of conflict; all the Caribbean coast has problems with illegal groups and illicit activities, and unfortunately many other regions in Colombia face similar challenges, and many leaders face danger similar to Jorge’s. The persecution against social leaders has been traced meticulously by several NGO’s, some newspapers, independent social leaders and the UN. The Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz) claims that at the time of writing, in 2020, 71 social leaders or human rights defenders have been killed. This shows that the levels of violence increases despite the denunciation of the communities and the early warnings of the Ombudsman’s Office. According to Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders: “Social leaders that defend human rights, environmental rights, the peace agreement with FARC and native community rights are those who are most at risk”. Since 2016, social activists have become more relevant to local democracy and Human Rights defence. Other social leader cases have similarities with Betancourt’s, leading to the assumption that these cases are systematic, rather than random; some cases have more information than others, but the lack of more information leaves us with loose ends.

One such example was the case of Jose Yimer Cartagena, who was murdered in Carepa, Antioquia on January 10th 2017. It can be noticed how political activities, work and what they represent can make them a target. Jose was a pedagogue for peace. He worked in “Pedagogias de paz” (a project in the south of Cordoba) and crop substitution around the area of the “Nudo del Paramillo”. His activities involved him in local political groups, being vice president of “ASODECAS” (Farmers association for development in the “alto sinu” region)

Hernán Agamez Flórez was murdered on January 20th of 2017 in Tierradentro, near Montelibano, Cordoba. He had been an active member of Marcha Patriotica, a left-wing political group, and was the treasurer of the local community action board. His crime was committed one week after Jose Yilmer Cartagena’s.

Luis Dario Rodriguez was a leader who worked on crop substitution in Tierralta, Córdoba. According to Cordobexia, which is an organization that constantly publishes reports of allegations of threats and murders of social leaders in the department, Rodriguez was working on land restitution rights for families affected by the construction and operation of the local hydroelectric plant, Represa de Urrá, located in Tierralta, and was murdered on January 17th of this year in Tierralta by hitmen. He was a member of “Asociación Unión de Familias Desplazadas y Vulnerables de Tierra Alta (Unified Association of Displaced Families” and the Human Rights Network in the south of Córdoba.

These murders reveal that Córdoba has a mix of many complex problems. It is especially rich in natural minerals and it has very fertile land but in addition to this, it is also known as one of the most affected departments by the armed conflict and for the constant struggle of its inhabitants against illegal armed groups to defend their rights and lands. In this kind of territory, social leaders like Jorge Luis play an important role for their communities. They have become communication links between the most vulnerable communities and the State institutions that have made criminal investigations possible against these illegal actors as well as bringing social programs to these communities such as the restitution of illegal crops. Jorge Luis’s work, just as that of many other social leaders, represents an obstacle to the criminal interests of the different armed groups that are present in the territory. The signing of the peace agreement promised to end the violence and provide guarantees to victims and social leaders, but unfortunately since 2016 there has been an increase in threats and murders of social leaders and human rights defenders. It is necessary that the Government and different local institutions in the affected departments take measures to help reduce violence in those territories such as increasing the budget for the safety of social leaders, and also allowing the proper conduct of criminal investigations against illegal actors and stopping the corruption that does not allow the department to obtain sufficient resources to guarantee the security and well-being of its inhabitants.

*Article written by Camila Orozco, Javier Jaraba, Dayana Gamarra

Information sourced from:

● Image retrieved from https://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/otras-ciudades/asesinan-a-jorge-luis-betancourt-lider-social-en-montelibano-cordoba-451618

http://historico.derechoshumanos.gov.co/Observatorio/Publicaciones/documents/201 0/Estu_Regionales/DinamicaViolecia_Cordoba.pdf

● https://verdadabierta.com/la-historia-detras-del-del-pacto-de-ralito/

● https://pacifista.tv/notas/quienes-que-son-los-caparrapos-caparros/

● https://www.unodc.org/documents/colombia/2016/junio/Explotacion_de_Oro_de_Aluv

ion.pdf

● http://iepri.unal.edu.co/fileadmin/user_upload/iepri_content/boletin/patrones6.pdf

● https://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/otras-ciudades/asesinan-a-lider-social-luis-dario- rodriguez-en-tierralta-cordoba-453208

Luis Eduardo Caldera Villamizar and the dangers faced by social leaders in the south of Bolívar

What would you do if your life were constantly threatened because you are helping your community? This is the situation of hundreds if not thousands of people in Colombia, whose life is in danger every day just because they are defending the rights of people who do not have the opportunity of doing it themselves. They are doing the right thing but their lives are at risk. The situation is illustrated by the fact that the first report published this year by Indepaz, The Institute for Development and Peace Studies, showed than in the first 13 days of 2020, 17 social leaders had been killed on Colombian territory, having more murders than days elapsed in the year at that point. While the government does admit there is a problem, and that even one activist’s death is too many, they continue to argue that the rate of killings is decreasing, but this does not coincide with reality. Additionally, there is not enough media attention covering what is happening. And according to Camilo Gonzalez Posso, director of Indepaz, “The situation is critical in Tumaco, Cauca, Huila, Chocó, and Antioquia […]”. But the killings of social leaders and human rights defenders has been happening all over the country, in departments which show poverty and high crime rates, such as Bolivar. This article will explore the issue of violence against social leaders by focusing on the case of Luis Eduardo Caldera Villamizar from that department.

Luis Eduardo Calderas Villamizar was the former President of the Community Action Board of San Jacinto del Cauca, located in the south of Bolivar. He was found dead on August 15th last year; his body floating with his hands tied in the Cauca river. As the President of the Community Action Board, which is a civic non-profit corporation integrated by people in the same community that join forces to work for the community well being, Luis Eduardo worked for the security and promotion of human rights. Additionally, he was also running for the Council of San Jacinto. Achieving this could have helped him to become a link between the community and the government and the authorities which should be protecting the community, a beneficial scenario for San Jacinto where the State presence is minimal. Despite being considered as a social leader and all the risk this label could bring, his death was unexpected, because he never received a threat. There are some assumptions about the perpetrators; certain reports say it could be “ El Clan del Golfo” which is a criminal group in Colombia recognized for its paramilitary structure, drug trafficking capacity and violent acts. For this reason, they had a clear motive to attack Luis Eduardo, especially when his focus was the maintenance of peace and security, which was the opposite purpose of the criminal group, meaning he could be perceived as a clear threat to their illegal activities. ¿Cuáles son los Patrones?, a study carried out by the Colombian Commission of Jurists and the Institute of Political Studies and International Relations of the National University revealed patterns of systematicity in the crimes of social leaders. There it is shown that one of the characteristics of the social leaders that have been murdered is the fact that they are involved in social or civic organizations, like the Community Action Board where people assume responsibility for local leadership. The report refers to these organizations as the the most affected by violence and the ones with the highest homicide rate among the various types of leaders who are being assassinated. These leaders represent an obstacle to illegal groups and illegal activities, dynamics which are sadly a problem for many departments.

Bolivar is a department located in the north of Colombia, limited northwest by the Caribbean Sea, west by the Cauca River, and east by the Magdalena River. In the north of the department, we have one of the most important cities of the country: Cartagena, which is the capital city of Bolivar and the main touristic focus of Colombia, recognized for the important role it has in history and its traditional architecture that makes the city glamorous and beautiful, the reason why thousands of tourists travel there every year. ‎‎Nevertheless, in general conditions, this department is a poor one, especially in its south where San Jacinto del Cauca is located and where there does not exist a big touristic flow. There, economic and social backwardness are a huge problem for the population, and major issues like insecurity, robbery, and micro trafficking affect their lives daily, which places them in a dangerous position. The population has stated that they they have not been at ease for years. An article from RCN shows the manner in which people living in San Jacinto have reported many cases in relation to the above, but the government has not taken real actions on the matter. This shows the contrast between Cartagena and San Jacinto del Cauca, and other parts of the department of Bolivar: the government’s lack of presence in the latter makes us infer that the authorities consider there are lives more valuable than others just because of tourism, and the fact that one can represent more monetary income than the other. But it should not be that way; all cities and towns in all departments should enjoy the same level of State presence because no life is worth more than others. Therefore, it is easy to infer that conditions such as the absence of the state and the frequency in which delinquency affects the inhabitants of this department makes it really important to have figures like Luis Eduardo, whose life was taken due to exactly the same reasons.

Even though there are reasons for all the deaths to be systematic, there are facts that show the contrary; one of the latter is the lack of only one aggressor. The UN and the above-mentioned report ¿Cuales son los patrones? state that there is a variety of possible actors behind the murders such as groups of members of the former left wing guerrillas groups: FARC and EP, paramilitary groups, security forces, the ELN (still active guerrilla group) and unidentified armed groups. Wradio reported that in the case of Luis Eduardo Caldera the authorities suspect that his murderers were members of “El Clan del Golfo”, which is a drug cartel that formerly was a right-wing neo-paramilitary group, now known as the biggest and most powerful cartel in South America. Throughout the last few years, in the department of Bolivar, the authorities have captured a large amount of members of this group, which states its presence in the territory. On the other hand, San Jacinto del Cauca is among the zones in the department in which the population has reported the conflicts some paramilitary groups are causing. Actions such as extortion put the population in an awful position. They risk their lives everyday and that is why leaders like Luis Eduardo are needed, taking responsibility for the rights of their community and mainly providing them security, because often when there is need of the government’s hand, there is no answer from it. That is why, Caldera represented a huge threat to the paramilitary groups in San Jacinto, and why there is a reason for them to be responsible for his death. In an article from RCN Radio, people from the south of Bolivar stated that the main issue with paramilitaries is that they enforce their law and become an authority. Additionally, and something that is really outrageous, the former governor of Bolivar recognized that 30% of the department presents really difficult conditions due to the presence of ELN, criminal gangs and common delinquency. We see how vulnerable Luis Eduardo was, in a dangerous zone of the country where the government is not present, surrounded by paramilitary groups, the ELN and all types of groups looking for space to carry out illegal activities, where everyone is scared to say something and those who are not, are murdered for standing up and trying to help.

In conclusion, Colombia’s government has left power vacuums that are often filled by leaders who are brave enough to stand up for their communities and help them to obtain the rights they have as Colombians, because there are no other ways in which local communities may see progress. That was Luis Eduardo Caldera Villamizar’s role. He looked forward to improving the conditions of San Jacinto del Cauca by resolving and eliminating issues caused by the unstable security, the lack of quality in public services, and the mismanagement of resources the inhabitants of San Jacinto have to live with. But we see how in the end, playing that role is what put him at risk and ended his life. He became a target because the people behind all these illegal activities, those who put in danger the civil population, felt threatened by him . His death clearly shows that living as a social leader in a place like Colombia means to be in a constant fear even when the respectful labor made by the social defenders is a small hope for all the communities in vulnerable situations. Our duty as Colombian citizens is to pay attention to these people and try to understand their intentions, attempt to follow their examples with appropriate actions in order to improve the situation and especially create awareness. Being a social leader is not a crime and it should not be a death warrant.

*Article written by Maria Daniela Jiménez, Maria Claudia Padilla & Valeria Romero

Information sourced from:

https://latinamericanpost.com/31699-colombia-there-are-more-social-leaders-killed-than-days-of-the-year-2020

https://m.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/luego-de-tres-meses-asesinan-a-otro-aspirante-a-concejo-en-el-sur-de-bolivar-YM1592427

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/17-social-leaders-killed-in-colombia-this-year-ngo/1701562

https://www.rcnradio.com/colombia/caribe/paramilitarismo-sur-bolivar-resurgimiento-continua-presencia

https://www.wradio.com.co/noticias/regionales/asesinan-a-lider-social-y-aspirante-al-concejo-de-san-jacinto-del-cauca-sur-de-bolivar/20190819/nota/3942052.aspx https://www.coljuristas.org/documentos/libros_e_informes/cuales_son_los_patrones.pdf

Cesar: Inequality and absence of State allows violence against social leaders

Cesar faces violence against social leaders

Over the years, Colombia has faced different problems such as the war between the state and the guerrilla forces and the inequality among its inhabitants; in recent years, after the signing of the peace agreement between the government and the FARC in 2016, other problems have been unleashed, such as the assassination of social leaders who have been threatened for defending their communities rights by armed groups which want to take control of the zones where in the past were the guerrilla forces of the FARC.

The department of Cesar is an example of this situation because of the different dynamics that are evident in the territory. It is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, and it is located in the northeast of the country. Cesar reaches its limits in the north with the departments of La Guajira and Magdalena; to the south, with Bolivar, Santander and Norte de Santander; and to the east, with Norte de Santander and Venezuela. Cesar has become one of the Colombian territories with the lowest levels of economic and social development, and with a strong presence of illegality in many of its senses; factors which have caused the murder of many social leaders who have demanded better management of the situation. This article will explore topics like poverty, illegality, underdevelopment and of course the murder of social leaders in this department. Cesar is one of the departments with the greatest presence of illegality, despite not being one of the largest. The illegality present in the department includes illegal mining, illegal groups and political clans who contribute to practices of corruption.

The first issue is illegal mining, which is affecting 24 of the 25 municipalities in Cesar. The department is projected today as the primary coal producer in Colombia. Mining went from representing 8% of the departmental gross domestic product in 1990 to 33.1% in 2005. For 2018, according to the Colombian Ministry of Commerce, in the gross domestic product of the department, mining represents 44% of the total, and because of that we can see a maintenance in Cesar’s economy, even if in general the GDP of the department is notoriously lower than the GDP of the country. Despite this, 58 illegal mining companies that devastate rivers and forests have been identified. In the same way, 680 families subsist from illegal mining in 33 brickyards and 31 quarries.

The next issue concerns the illegal groups which are another critical factor in the department. Due to the position of the department and its proximity to the Venezuelan border, the absence of the state has allowed illegal groups to fill this power vacuum. Before the Peace Agreement, armed groups like the FARC and the ELN, in addition to paramilitaries, had established a presence in this department. The FARC arrived in the 1980s and consolidated to the north and center, while the ELN, which arrived in the 1970s, dominated the south. For their part, the paramilitaries, with groups such as the AUC (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia) and the AUSC (Autodefensas Campesinas del Sur del Cesar) managed to locate themselves throughout the territory. Currently, the FARC have demobilized, but there remains some of its members who rejected the peace deal and are still doing the things that they did before, in addition to the presence of other criminal organisations made up of former paramilitaries.

These groups even intervene in democratic exercises such as the local elections threatening candidates and intimidating the community in order to prevent them from voting. In the same way they have carried out massacres and displaced people from their lands; all this to gain power and control zones through violence.

The final factor to highlight regards the political clans such as the Gneccos, the Araujos and the Castros, who are generally the ones who take turns in the public offices of the department. These clans want to gain power and money and because of that try to control the territory in political matters and also economically under corrupt and illegal practices but they do not make a significant enough contribution for the community despite running candidates in every local election. Furthermore, they configure a political factor that does not allow the free political development of the territory. These peculiarities are the result of the weak presence of the state in this territory and an expression of a questionable democracy. It makes it difficult for these municipalities and departments to interact competitively with all other regions of the country in social, political and economic terms.

Cesar shows a problematic social situation that places it as one of the least developed regions and one of the regions with the greatest challenges in Colombia, despite having an important mining reserve that is the power of its entire economy. In this sense, we can mention the inequity within their society and the backwardness of basic services, infrastructure, health and education in which much of the population lives in the face of the country’s development possibilities. Also, Cesarean society, traditionally a rural society, poor and isolated from trade flows, has been slowly transforming and in recent decades the community has been migrating towards populated centers. Cesar’s urbanization process, however, has been slower than the national one.

According to The National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE, for its initials in Spanish) dimensional poverty in the department, although it has decreased compared to 2005, which showed 55%, as opposed to 33.2% in 2018, is still higher than the national total that was for that year 19.6%. It is necessary to specify that this index is made up of 5 dimensions: health, work, the conditions of childhood and youth, educational conditions, and the conditions of housing and public services, although national government statistics show that there has been an increase in the department’s GDP, thanks especially to the exploitation of coal. When the GINI indicator, which shows the inequality index in a given population in terms of their incomes, is observed, it is seen that it is not being distributed, with a percentage of 0,488%. (DANE,2018)

These dynamics present in the department make the absence of the state increasingly noticeable and how this has meant a lack of opportunities and social development for the department and the quality of life for the citizens. Here, where the State has not reached, illegality has played at its whim with citizens doing with them what they want regardless of anything, and citizens have had to endure all this to be able to have at least their basic needs satisfied.

The situation in the department has made many people claim and demand the presence of the State in this area that has been characteristically forgotten. However, the actions of this group of people (activists, human rights defenders and social leaders) have often been abruptly and violently interrupted. The presence of illegal groups and interests, coupled with a lack of true state presence and a problematic social situation, is leaving social leaders and rights defenders in a vulnerable situation in Cesar. The assassination of social leaders is a huge problem that crosses the department, and in the last years since the peace agreement the situation of violence against leaders in Cesar is increasing.

There are three cases to highlight. In first place, the case of Luis Vera Gamboa who was a peasant leader and was also the vice-president of the Communal Action Board in the village of El Desengaño. He was shot dead alongside another man in Chimichagua, Cesar on August 23rd, 2018. His partner was wounded in the attack and his 13 year old step-daughter survived the attack by hiding under a bed. In second place, Wilson Chaustre Parada, a demobilized ex-paramilitary, was shot dead on September 26th 2018 at his farm in the municipality of Pueblo Bello, Cesar. Wilson was the president of the Communal Action Board in the area of Casa de Zinc. According to his sister he was threatened many times through intimidating calls telling him to leave the area because they were going to kill him but he ignored these threats. Finally, the case of Luis Carlos Hernandez, a social leader of the municipality of Curumaní, who was a representative of the Departmental Table of Participation of Victims, and a former candidate for the council of Curumani. He was shot dead by unknown subjects in the hamlet of Los Ranchos, on December 12th 2019.

All of them have some things in common, like that they held an important position representing their community; an example being their representative position on the community action board. It is understood therefore that they represent and support the well-being of the population. They educate people about what is right and what is wrong in order to delegitimize violence and illegal practices. Community action boards also pressure the state to create efficient public policies and fight corruption. This could lead to the state taking actions against the illegal groups in the zone and can make those groups feel pressured and threatened, and this is one reason why leaders like these are being killed.

In the same way, these systematic murders demonstrate that there are groups interested in maintaining a specific order in Cesar and that they will not allow claims of any kind which might threaten their status quo. This has made the situation in the department increasingly stressful. It can be said that illegal practices in Colombia are more than notorious, especially in territories like Cesar that have a huge lack of State that allows the presence of other dynamics like illegalities; for example armed groups, political clans and illegal mining. Also the risk in the territory and for the citizens increases when we focus on the social situation of the department with a high level of poverty and undevelopment.

The combination of all these factors brings a difficult situation for some people that want to fight against the corruption and the irregularities. Social leaders in Cesar who rise up to fight are brutally assassinated in the department and suffer the worst consequences for trying to bring a better quality life.

*Article written by Franchesca Collante, Elissa Medel & Claudeth Ospina

Bibliography

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Barrios, M. (2016). Identifican a 58 mineras ilegales que devastan ríos y bosques en el Cesar. El Heraldo newspaper. Retrieved from: https://www.elheraldo.co/cesar/58-mineras-ilegales-devastan-rios-y-bosques-en-el-cesar-290075

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Redacción Regionales. (2019). En riesgo electoral 15 municipios en Cesar por grupos armados. El Heraldo newspaper. Retrieved from: https://www.elheraldo.co/cesar/en-riesgo-electoral-15-municipios-en-cesar-por-grupos-armados-662703

Sánchez, M. (2018). Asesinan a líder social en el Cesar. El Heraldo newspaper. Retrieved from: https://www.elheraldo.co/cesar/asesinan-lider-social-en-el-cesar-546778

(2018). Líder campesino fue atrozmente acribillado en Chimichagua, Cesar. Extra Boyacá newspaper. Retrieved from: https://boyaca.extra.com.co/noticias/judicial/lider-campesino-fue-atrozmente-acribillado-en-chimichagua-ce-451319