PBI-Colombia accompanies Corporation for Judicial Freedom and CAHUCOPANA at Embassy meetings about the humanitarian crisis in Antioquia

On April 4, PBI-Colombia tweeted:

“We thank the @EmbajadaEspCol [Embassy of Spain in Colombia] for today’s meeting with @CorpoJuridicaLi [Corporation for Judicial Freedom] in which the serious humanitarian crisis and lack of guarantees were discussed in #Antioquia, within the framework of a tour in Bogotá together with leaders of the territory organized by [the Spanish NGO] @Mundubat and [the Colombia-Europe-United States Coordination platform] @coeuropa.”

PBI-Colombia also tweeted:

“We appreciate the meeting with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs @francediplo and @CAHUCOPANA [the Humanitarian Action Corporation for Coexistence and Peace in Northeast Antioquia] to discuss serious humanitarian crisis in Northeast Antioquia where, in the absence of protection guarantees for leaders like @carlosnordeste [CAHUCOPANA president Carlos Morales], it is urgent to implement collective measures.”

The crisis in Antioquia

In January, Blu Radio reported: “Defenders said that they have made multiple alerts and have warned about the situation [in Antioquia] that has been presented by the presence of different actors of illegal armed groups [including the AGC and ELN], in addition, they denounced that the authorities have turned their backs on this situation.”

Last month, Community Peacemaking Teams (CPT) issued this Urgent Action, at the request of CAHUCOPANA, urging Colombian authorities to respond to the critical situation that is threatening the population of the Northeast Antioquia region.

1- Implement non-military actions that protect the civilian population and human rights organizations in the Northeast Antioquia region, seeking actions that effectively guarantee security for peace in the territory of the mining and farming communities.

2- To comply with and fully implement the Peace Agreements signed in 2016 and to generate new spaces for dialogue with the armed actors and involve the voices of the communities that resist in the midst of the conflict.

3- Provide guarantees for community leaders of Northeast Antioquia prosecuted since 2020.

4- Update the Early Warning Systems Report of the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office No. 052-18, which has not been reviewed since June 14, 2018.

5- Comply with and fully implement the Peace Agreements signed in 2016 and protect the lives of the signatories of the agreements who live in the Territorial Spaces for Training and Rehabilitation – ETCR of Carrizal.

Canada in Antioquia

PBI-Colombia has previously noted: “The abundance of natural resources in these lands and the arrival of multinational companies, such as the Canadian Gran Colombia Gold, has provided the illegal armed groups who are present in the region with an extremely lucrative funding source in mining.”

The Hidroituango hydroelectric dam is located in the department of Antioquia.

Above Ground has noted: “EPM, a Colombian state-owned enterprise, has twice benefitted from the support of [the Government of Canada financing agency] Export Development Canada (EDC) in recent years. In 2016 and 2017, EDC provided EPM with financing totalling between 500 million and one billion dollars.”

The Committee for Human Rights in Latin America (CDHAL) has also highlighted that the province of Quebec pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has provided financing for the hydroelectric dam.

Isabel Cristina Zuleta of the Rios Vivos movement says: “Since its launch in 1997, this megaproject has been imposed by violence and the forced displacement of the population, victims of the armed conflict.”

We continue to follow this situation.