Colombia is by far the world’s most dangerous place for human rights defenders, according to Front Line Defenders, an international NGO that monitors violence targeting social leaders.
In its 2018 report, Front Line Defenders (FLD) said that 126 human rights defenders (HRDs) were killed in Colombia last year.
This is more than twice the HRD’s killed in Mexico, the second most dangerous country to defend human rights in the world.
World’s most dangerous countries for human rights defenders
FLD said that the Colombian numbers did not include December’s homicides, making it likely that the true number of killed human rights defenders is higher than reported.
The mass killing of HRDs in Colombia is part of a broader assassination wave that has been targeting all kinds of social activists.
The FLD slammed Colombia’s government for its chronic failures to implement a peace process with the FARC, in particular the elements related to victims and people living in areas that used to be controlled by the former guerrilla group.
Front Line Defenders
The international organization highlighted that in Colombia human rights defenders are also murdered when opposing economic interest, such as the controversial HidroItuango dam of Medellin energy EPM, whose predecessor has been accused of financing now-defunct paramilitary group AUC.
Ethnic minorities, such as indigenous leaders and leaders of African descend have been among the most targeted in Colombia like in the rest of the region.
According to FLD, the increase in violence in Colombia is also part of a regional trend that sees human rights defenders who criticize a sitting government are frequently stigmatized as “enemies of the state.”