At least 33 social leaders and human rights defenders were assassinated in Colombia between January and March 2023, revealed the acting deputy director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) for the Americas, Juan Pappier.
“In the first three months of 2023, we have documented 33 murders of human rights defenders and social leaders in Colombia,” Pappier wrote on Twitter. Of the total cases, 12 occurred in January, 8 in February and 13 in March, according to HRW’s deputy director for the Americas.
The Pacific region – in which dissidents of the FARC, the guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN) and criminal gangs such as the Clan del Golfo that fight for drug trafficking routes and territorial control operate – is where more leaders and defenders were murdered.
In this sense, HRW registered six cases in Nariño, five in Cauca, three in Valle del Cauca and one in Chocó, which are the four departments that make up the Pacific region.
Minorities at high risk
The rest of the cases occurred in Bolívar, César, Magdalena and Sucre, with two crimes each, and in Antioquia, Arauca, Atlántico, Boyacá, Caldas, Caquetá, La Guajira, Norte de Santander, Putumayo and Santander, with one murder in each. one.
Likewise, the document published by Pappier points out, among those murdered are community, indigenous, peasant, victim, LGBTIQ+, Afro-descendant and youth leaders, as well as an official from the Ombudsman’s Office.