Carlos Yamil Paez Diaz
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2013-021-001
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2013
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 4.570868
Longitude: -74.297333
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Colombia
- From Region
- Type of record
- Named individual
- Gender
- Male
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Individual's/organization's activity
a land restitution leader who worked for the organization Tierra y Vida y Forjando Futuros
- Type of rights defended
- Land rights/environment
- Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
on 4 July 2012, was threatened by the “Anti-restitution Army” in a pamphlet against human rights defenders active in his area of work. On 6 July 2012, the OHCHR Colombia office issued a press release on that threat;
- Engagement with UN body
- OHCHR: OHCHR Field office
- Dates of engagement
- 06 July 2012
- Type of attempted engagement
- UN raised case of person/organization
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- one week after 6 July 2012
- Reprisal information
On 6 July 2012, the OHCHR Colombia office issued a press release on that threat; one week later, Mr Paez received a handwritten death threat against himself and his family.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Family/friends/acquaintances targeted
- Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- Both state and non-state actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Further case development
Since then, he has benefited from a protection scheme comprising an armoured car and two bodyguards, with an additional bodyguard being added after the threat. While initially these measures were applied only during the day, following an intervention by OHCHR Colombia, the National Protection Unit under the Ministry of the Interior agreed that one of the escorts would provide night shift coverage.
- 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