Woman defender

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2019-026-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2019
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 4.570868

Longitude: -74.297333

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Colombia
From Region
Type of record
Unnamed individual/group/organization
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Individual's/organization's activity

working on a program for the substitution of illicit crops

Type of rights defended
  • Economic/social rights
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal

In August 2018, during a field visit to Ituango (Antioquia), OHCHR, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the national human rights institutions and the UN Verification Mission in Colombia met with her

Engagement with UN body
  • OHCHR: OHCHR - General
  • UN Peace Operation / Political mission
  • UNHCR
Dates of engagement
August 2018
Type of attempted engagement
  • Meeting with UN officials during country visit / with locally present UN officials
Dates of mentioned reprisals
After meeting in August 2018
Location of mentioned reprisals
Ituango
Reprisal information

Further to this meeting, the woman received threats against her life from an illegal armed group if she was seen talking to the UN again. Due to this, the woman defender was forced to relocate. OHCHR reports that restrictions to engage with the UN in this area imposed by illegal armed groups are not limited to this one case, but rather extend to the entire community.

Types of reprisals suffered
  • Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
Alleged/likely perpetrators
Non-state actor(s)
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
Yes
Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
No
How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
0