No More Massacres in Colombia!
!No Mas Masacres en Colombia!
The following is a translation of the email in Spanish that we are asking you to send to Colombian authorities and international human rights organizations:
Political assassinations in Colombia must end now! Murders of social leaders, human rights defenders, or peace signatories, are occurring at a rate of more than one victim per day, the highest rate since the beginning of the peace process in 2012. On August 21, in just one day, at least 28 people were killed by groups armed outside the law in the departments of Cauca, Nariño, and Arauca. This political violence is a shame for Colombia, a violation of international law for life, a crime against humanity and a strong blow to our hope for peace in Colombia, South America and the world.
We demand that the Colombian government fulfill its commitments in the 2016 peace agreement and that the impunity of those guilty of these crimes end.
We demand that the Colombian government establish the mechanisms for a ceasefire with the ELN and begin dialogues on peace.
We demand that the Colombian Government guarantee the protection of the territories affected by this pandemic of violence, provide the necessary measures to protect the lives of social leaders, human rights defenders and peace signatories.
We demand that the United States government end its efforts to undermine Colombia's peace process, including its advocacy for the violent forced eradication of illicit crops and forced fumigation with the use of lethal glyphosate (banned in many countries, including the USA) instead of peaceful eradication in exchange for rural development and crop substitution.
This policy is one of the main causes of abuse, murder, and displacement in rural areas. We demand that international human rights institutions and organizations immediately investigate this epidemic of political violence in Colombia.