Amnesty International launches Urgent Action following death threats against PBI-Colombia accompanied CREDHOS

Clip from TV news report: “Death threats against CREDHOS, leaders demand guarantees”

Amnesty International has launched this Urgent Action in support of the Colombian human rights organization CREDHOS.

Amnesty International highlights: “On 24 March, the Santander’s (North) Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS in Spanish) received a threatening call from an unknown man self-identified as member of the Magdalena Medio Block of the armed group FARC-EP.”

That call said: “Stop making publications and being toadies, CREDHOS’ staff is a military objective, you have 48 hours to leave Barrancabermeja.”

A similar call was also received by Ivan Madero, the president of CREDHOS.

Amnesty International provides this sample letter you can email to the Director of the Unit for Attention and Integral Reparation of Victims in Bogotá.

That letter states: “We urge you to fully implement the integral plan of collective reparation (Plan Integral de Reparación Colectiva, PRIC) granted by your office to CREDHOS on 2016 that included the guarantee for full protection for the members of the organization.”

Please take action today!

Additionally, Ivan participated in a PBI-Canada organized advocacy tour in November 2019 with events and meetings in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Nanaimo and other communities. Among the issues he highlighted was opposition to fracking. He will be speaking about this again on April 29 on a webinar about the threats experienced by environmental defenders in the Magdalena Medio region. To register for that, click here.

On November 4, 2019, Ivan spoke at Amnesty International House in Ottawa, Canada. CREDHOS members have received at least 5 death threats since September 2020.