PBI-Colombia accompanies CREDHOS on Humanitarian Mission in the municipality of Puerto Wilches

Published by Brent Patterson on May 13, 2024May 13, 2024

PBI-Colombia has posted:

“#PBI accompanies the community of Guayabo and @credhos_paz [the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights/ CREDHOS] who demand guarantees from the Governor’s Office for community leaders in compliance with decree 660. The community demands that the institutions provide the minimum conditions to maintain a dignified life in the communities: quality health and education.”

CREDHOS has also posted on May 10:

“At 6:30 AM, we began our Humanitarian Mission in the northern part of the municipality of Puerto Wilches, Santander. The mission was organised by the Magdalena Medio Regional Ombudsman’s Office, which we accompany as a human rights organisation.

The first stop was in the Guayabo district, municipality of Puerto Wilches, Santander, a territory with an agricultural and fishing vocation, in which an open dialogue was generated with the communities about their problems regarding the guarantee of Human Rights.

In the open dialogue, the Guayabo community explained the situation they have suffered for more than 15 years, with the intention of evicting their land and granting it to an individual. This dispute has brought with it state abandonment, since they lack an Aqueduct that allows them minimal access to drinking water, which is a fundamental right of the communities. In addition to the appalling conditions for accessing the right to education and health.

Then, we moved to the Vijagual district, jurisdiction of Puerto Wilches, Santander, where we spoke with the communities about their underlying problems in terms of education, health, sports and roads.

It is highlighted that the communities reported the presence of armed groups in the towns of El Guayabo, Vijagual and Bocas del Rosario.

This Humanitarian Mission was accompanied by State institutions, headed by the Government of Santander and the Mayor’s Office of Puerto Wilches, who assumed commitments to carry out concrete actions to guarantee the rights of the communities and their dignity.”

Decree 660

In July 2023, Pares explained:

“The Ministry of the Interior recently announced the approval and redesign of the Comprehensive Security and Protection Program for Communities and Organizations in the Territories (Decree 660 of 2018).

This program aims to provide protection to social organizations, ethnic populations, and environmental leaders who face risks due to their work. Through this initiative, it seeks to address one of the great debts that the Colombian State has in the peripheries: the collective defense of communities and territories.

The Comprehensive Security and Protection Program for Communities and Organizations in the Territories was created as part of the third point of the Peace Agreement in Colombia, with the aim of ending the conflict in the country.”

Accompaniment

PBI-Colombia has accompanied CREDHOS since 1994.