Colombia’s illegal armed groups violently expanded in 2021: UN

ELN guerrilla (Screenshot: YouTube)

The expansion of illegal armed groups is the main reason for increased violence in Colombia, according to the United Nations’ human rights agency HCHR.

In a press statement, HCRH director Juliette de Rivero expressed her support of the “solid” peace policy proposal of President-elect Gustavo Petro, who will take office on August 7.

The HCHR’s annual report confirmed a sharp increase in violence and armed conflict in 2021.

Particularly forced displacement surged last year for the first time since 2016 when former President Juan Manuel Santos and the now-defunct guerrilla group FARC made peace.

The number of victims of forced displacement went up from 26,191 in 2020 to 73,974 last year, according to the UN agency.

The HCHR confirmed the assassinations of 100 human rights defenders last year.

The UN agency stressed that four leaders of the indigenous Nasa people were assassinated in their native Cauca, a province in southwest Colombia in the first four months of 2022.

In the south of the country, the ongoing armed conflict is accelerating the extinction of the Jiw people who live along the banks of the Guaviare river.

In both regions, FARC dissident groups that oppose the peace process have taken control.

In the northeastern Arauca province, these groups are at war with guerrilla group ELN.

In the northwestern Choco and Antioquia provinces, violence is largely due to conflict between the ELN and paramilitary organization AGC.

The violence allowed massacres to double between 2016 and 2021.

“It is the State’s duty to protect the population, and to do so in a manner respecting international human rights law. This is why we are urging the Government to efficiently respond to and prevent further violence,” said the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.

“The military response is not enough to curb the violence,” De Rivero added.

The HCHR urged the government to implement the.2016 peace deal, policies that would allow the dismantling of illegal armed groups, and a more effective State presence in areas that have long been left at the mercy of illegal armed groups.

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