PBI-Colombia present as CREDHOS witnesses the socialization of the JEP decision on the Magdalena River
JEP video still from ceremony on May 11, 2025.
The Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS) has posted on Facebook:
“The River has its own voice and a space in transitional and restorative justice.
In Barrancabermeja, the victims of different collective and individual processes, the fishing communities and pilots of the Magdalena River, social organizations, human rights defenders, national institutions, departmental and local governments, and international organizations/mechanisms, witnessed the Socialization of the decision to accredit the Magdalena River as a victim and special intervener before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP).
In the midst of art, culture and the riparian communities’ own narratives, this space sought to vindicate the Magdalena River as a victim and recognize the need to work on a joint plan for its reparation and conservation.”
The JEP decision
On May 10, Infobae reported: “The Recognition Chamber of the JEP, in the judicial development of all the facts related to the armed conflict in Colombia, recognized the Magdalena River as a victim and subject of rights.”
PBI accompanied organizations
That Infobae article further highlights: “This measure was taken during the closure on Friday, May 9, 2025, and announced through an official statement. It responds to a request submitted by various social organizations, including the Regional Corporation for the Defense of Human Rights [CREDHOS], the Workers’ Union [USO], the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective [CCAJAR]; the Peasant Association of the Cimitarra River Valley [ACVC] and the Development and Peace Program of the Middle Magdalena, which came on December 5, 2024 to file the petition.”
Peace Brigades International accompanies CREDHOS, CCAJAR and ACVC.
Photo: PBI-Colombia was at the May 11 ceremony. Photo by CREDHOS.
The ceremony
Then on May 11, the JEP tweeted:
“Iván Madero, president of @Credhos_Paz spoke of the expectations generated in the communities by the recognition of the Magdalena River as a victim and special intervener in #Case08:
“Recognize the historical responsibility for the constant contamination, not only of the river, but of all that aquatic ecosystem connected to the Magdalena River. Strengthen artisanal fishing. We all have to do with the river; the river is part of our life and our being, and we must recognize it,” said Madero, who added that proposals for restorative actions for the region around the Magdalena River must now be promoted.“
The JEP also tweeted:
“In a symbolic act, the collectives of fishermen and pilots or motorists who work on the Magdalena River, presented a net with the colors of the National Flag to Magistrate Catalina Díaz Gómez.
“With this net we bring sustenance to our homes, but it is also the net of a whole country that has to unite with our great Magdalena River”, said Yuly Andrea Velásquez Briceño, from the Federation of Environmental, Artisanal and Tourist Fishermen of Santander (Fedespan).”
Significance of the JEP decision
In November 2024, El Espectador reported: “Yesid Payares [is] one of the peasant leaders of the township of El Guayabo who asked a few weeks ago that the Magdalena River be recognized by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) as a victim of the armed conflict in Colombia.”
That article adds: “If the Magdalena River is recognized as a victim, it would become an ecosystem under protection and it would be ensured that there are no effects such as in the dumping of chemicals or the diversion of its flow for other projects, as happened, for example, in Ituango with the construction of the hydroelectric plant.”
And it notes: “The CNMH [National Centre for Historical Memory] has pointed out that at least 1,080 people were thrown into 190 rivers in the country during the years of the conflict and that the figure could be even higher, taking into account that many of the bodies were mutilated in acts of torture.”
CREDHOS president Ivan Madero says: “The river has been used as a mass grave. Bodies were thrown into it to erase the traces of crimes. It has also been used as a corridor by all armed groups.”
We continue to follow this.
Further reading: PBI-Colombia accompanies CREDHOS as it organizes to have the Magdalena River recognized as a victim of the armed conflict (May 2, 2025).
Photo: CREDHOS president Ivan Madero, PBI-Colombia and PBI-Canada on the banks of the Magdalena River in Puerto Wilches, June 28, 2022.
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