The UN Office for Human Rights in Colombia presented its annual report on Wednesday, February 28th. In this document, the international organization highlights the intensification of violence in various regions of the country, the expansion of armed organizations and the recruitment of minors. How does the UN assess the actions of Gustavo Petro's government regarding human rights?
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Increase in violence in Colombia
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported in its annual report an increase of six massacres compared to 2022, with a total of 320 victims and the killing of 105 human rights defenders. Although in this last aspect there were 11 fewer cases than last year, the increase in numbers worries the representatives of the international organization.
“In our assessment of the situation in 2023, it is worrying that, despite a decline in some indicators of violence, territorial expansion and violent strategies of social and territorial control by non-state armed groups and criminal organizations continue, with serious consequences for human rights,” explained Juliette de Rivero , representative of this office in Colombia, presenting the report.
The delegate of U.N. He stressed that despite a 9.5% decrease in proven homicides against defenders, violence against them remains intolerable and continues to be the highest in the world.
In addition, the organization points to insufficient registration of children recruited into the armed conflict. In 2023, 134 cases (86 boys, 42 girls and 6 without gender confirmation) were registered in which minors were used by non-state armed groups and criminal organizations. Half of them were of indigenous origin.
How does the UN assess the Colombian government's measures to combat violence?
From that U.N.the measures taken by the government of Gustavo Petro carried out on the basis of the Human rights. “We recognize important decisions made by the government to combat inequality,” De Rivero said. The measures include the recognition of the peasantry as a legal subject, greater access to higher education for people of limited means and the effort to change the dynamics of social and economic investment in the areas most marginalized by social policies.
The representative emphasized “the human rights approach in the government’s new security, dismantling and drug policies,” but made clear that “these must be translated into strategic and territorial plans for their implementation.”
Which region of Colombia has the highest rate of violence?
The office of U.N. asks the government for attention in Tame, on the border with Venezuela. This community has the highest rate of violence in the country. However, the company must pay special attention to the situation in which it finds itself. NASA's Indigenous People in Cauca.
“There is a deliberate strategy to destroy leadership, ignore indigenous authority in the territories and destroy the social fabric. The same thing happens against Afro communities in the Pacific or with the Awá people in Nariño, to name a few,” said De Rivero.