One in ten of Colombia’s ombudsmen have received death threats since 2008, the president of the National Federation of Ombudsmen (FENALPER) said Tuesday.
According to FENALPER, three ombudsmen were assassinated in the past three years and one was disappeared and is feared dead.
Additionally, 100 ombudsmen were threatened in 2008, 96 in 2009, and 100 in 2010. “This represents approximately 10% of all ombudsmen,” FENALPER president Alfonso Campo told Colombia Reports.
The ombudsmen are “under threat” because “preventive and protective measures … are not being applied,” said Campo.
“The important aspect of these measures is to prevent because the ombudsmen are the principal network of human rights defenders of Colombia. Forms of measures are bulletproof vests, security protocol, and provided communication equipment. We have requested and continue to request to the national government that the measures be preventive,” the FENALPER director said.
Colombia counts 1,104 ombudsmen.