The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has posted on social media:
“We participated in the meeting-discussion of the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission with the participation of diplomatic corps and cooperation organisations. The meeting was attended by leaders from different Colombian territories who expressed their concern about insecurity in their areas and asked for the support of the international community to move forward and comply with the agreements reached at the various negotiating tables held by the Colombian government with the different armed groups within the framework of the Total Peace Policy, as well as to accelerate the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement. We would like to thank the embassies of Canada, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Ireland and Germany, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner and the Somos Génesis Network for their participation and for the commitments made to the JyP Commission and the communities.”
The Inter-Church Commission for Peace and Justice (J&P) has also posted on social media:
“J&P, the SomosGenesis Network and PBI welcomed the international community to a breakfast for peace.
The voice of hope from the territories most affected by violence and the lack of human rights guarantees draws the world’s attention to the reality of their territories and their proposals for peacebuilding.”
Yesterday (December 10), the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) expressed “its deep concern over the humanitarian and human rights crisis in southwestern Colombia, and condemns the recent attacks against members of the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace.”
Their article highlighted: “In the course of a single week, the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace recorded four armed attacks and acts of intimidation against its collaborators in the region, particularly in the urban area of Buenaventura, the rural area of Bajo Calima and Bajo San Juan, as well as in areas of Putumayo and Cauca, where they carried out their work. All the people attacked are beneficiaries of the precautionary measure MC-629-03 of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, in addition to having protection schemes from the National Protection Unit.”
The OMCT has made several requests of the Colombian state in this regard including: “Strengthen and immediately adjust the protection schemes of the National Protection Unit for the members of the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace, ensuring that they respond to the risks documented in the territories and incorporate complementary actions to guarantee their safety.”
Accompaniment
Members of Justice and Peace have been the target of many security incidents since 1996, including serious threats to their personal integrity, being illegally followed and subjected to illegal wiretapping and surveillance, assassination plots, kidnappings and smear campaigns.
PBI-Colombia has previously noted: “On November 21, 2019, the day of the nationwide National Strike, the organisation denounced that during morning hours a drone of the National Police harassed the headquarters of the Commission in Bogotá, despite the fact that the government did not authorize the use of drones in the sector. J&P stressed that these events occurred at a time when ‘several raids against unions, leaders and social organisations have been staged by the Colombian State, thus limiting and violating the right to physical and symbolic protest and constituting an intimidating act that hinders our organisation’s work.’”
Peace Brigades International has been accompanying the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission since 1994.
Photo: Justice & Peace breakfast for peace, December 11, 2025.
