The UN’s Colombian Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights spoke out against the murder of Ever Cordero Oviedo, a land restitution activists, and demanded punitive action.
“This violent death is worrying because it is the second murder in the last two weeks that targeted land [restitution] leaders in Valencia,” said the office’s report.
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“Ever Cordero had a great path [before him] and was well known by the institutions and civil society for his leadership in the areas of land and victims,” the UN report added.
The spokesman for Fundacion Forjando Futuros, Gerardo Vega, told Colombia Reports that Cordero was killed while on his way to meet with land restitution claimants.
The UN urged the Colombian authorities “to investigate, prosecute, and punish those responsible for this crime and other crimes in recent years, because overcoming impunity is imperative to achieving real protection for victims.”