A spike in the number of human rights activists killed in the last month highlights the continuing dangers faced by those exposing ongoing abuses, said Amnesty International today as the much-delayed talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) get under way in Ecuador.

Amnesty is calling on the government to immediately provide effective protection to human rights activists at risk after at least 10 were killed in January alone, nearly double last year’s monthly average.

The talks come after the ELN released one of its high-profile hostages, Odín Sánchez, on 2 February, and follow the start of the implementation of the peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)

Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said:

“The peace process in Colombia is a bright light at the end of a long and dark tunnel that has already brought some tangible benefits to many Colombians. However, unless the killings of activists stop, this will leave an indelible stain on any resulting peace accord.

“These brave activists are being silenced by powerful local and regional economic and political interests, as well as various armed groups, including paramilitaries, for defending their rights or exposing the country’s tragic reality.”

The sharp drop in combat-related violence affecting civilians since the start of peace talks with the FARC has offered a glimpse of what a post-conflict Colombia could look like, said Amnesty. But the rise in killings of community leaders, land rights and environmental activists, with around 80 killed last year, as well as reports of increasing paramilitary activity in regions such as Urabá, in the north-west, could undermine such gains.

Killings this year have included those of Afro-descendant community leader Emilsen Manyoma and her partner Joe Javier Rodallega. They were last seen alive on 14 January and their bodies were discovered on 17 January in Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca Department.

Justice

The justice deal hammered out with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) last year, which is currently being debated in Congress, and which will also benefit members of the armed forces, and will likely be applied to the ELN, is a step forward in terms of realising victims’ right to truth, justice and reparation.

However, it falls short of compliance under international law, in part because the definition of command responsibility used in the agreement is too narrow and so would make it very difficult to bring guerrilla and security force commanders to justice for the crimes committed by their subordinates.

Erika Guevara Rosas said:

“True peace will only become a reality once all those suspected of criminal responsibility for some of the most horrific crimes imaginable are held properly to account in fair trials.

“Effective measures must be put in place to end the killing of human rights defenders, and guarantees given to ensure the safety of Indigenous, Afro-descendant and peasant farmer communities in many rural areas, who continue to be targeted, mainly by paramilitary groups.”