UN in Colombia received reports of assassinations of more than 450 social leaders

(Image: Damien Fellous / Mira-V Photojournalism)

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that his office received reports of the killing of more than 450 social leaders in Colombia since peace was signed between the state and FARC guerrillas.

Another 85 demobilized FARC guerrillas were assassinated in the first two years of the country’s peace process, Guterres said in his quarterly report on the 10-year process.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

The UN’s top boss confirmed reports by Colombia’s ombudsman’s office and social organizations that the victims of this violence are mainly land defenders, indigenous leaders and community leaders promoting the substitution of illicit crops like coca.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

Guterres’ numbers did not include the killings that took place in December.

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