The number should not be misleading. In 2021, “145 homicides of social leaders or human rights defenders” have been identified, said in a statement, the Office of the People’s Advocate, a public entity that monitors respect for human rights in the country.
If the balance sheet is down compared to the year 2020 during which 182 assassinations were recorded, it nevertheless confirms the resurgence of violence which has shaken Colombia since the signing of the peace agreement with the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. (FARC) in 2016. Since this agreement, murders against social leaders have been recurrent.
Drugs most often at the heart of conflicts
Social organizations accuse FARC dissidents, fighters from the National Liberation Army (ELN) – the last active guerrilla in Colombia – drug traffickers and paramilitary groups of being behind these murders. Three departments – Antioquia, Cauca and Valle del Cauca – corridors of drug trafficking, are particularly affected.
“We reject these facts which are mainly due to the criminal actions of illegal armed groups”, said the Defender of the People, Carlos Camargo, without giving details of the alleged perpetrators of these attacks. According to him, 32 indigenous representatives, 16 peasant leaders and seven trade unionists are among the victims in 2021.
Colombia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for activists, according to several NGOs. Global Witness identified it as the deadliest for environmental defenders (65 dead in 2020). The government of conservative President Ivan Duque accuses drug-related gangs of being behind the killings.