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PBI-Canada remains attentive to whether the CORE will be strengthened to protect human rights defenders

By
Brent Patterson
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Video: Green Party MP Elizabeth May asks in the House of Commons about the future of the CORE, October 20, 2025.

On September 29, PBI-Canada and PBI-Mexico accompanied two representatives from Espacio OSC at a meeting in Ottawa with Terrence Cowl, the Deputy Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE).

Then on September 30, the delegation met with Green Party leader Elizabeth May.

At those meetings, as well as at meetings with officials at Global Affairs Canada, other Members of Parliament, and civil society allies, the delegation asked about the future of the CORE and the need to strengthen the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists in Mexico.

On September 23, the PBI accompanied delegation also met with Marisol Guerra and Marta Muñoz, representatives from the Xinka Parliament in Guatemala. They were in Canada to call on the government to respect the Xinka People’s decision to seek the permanent closure of Pan American Silver’s Escobal mine.

May asks about the CORE

On October 20, May asked in the House of Commons: “I want to ask the honourable member questions that I initially put to the Minister of International Trade [on September 26 after a meeting with very brave Guatemalan indigenous women who had come to Canada to ask for our help in dealing with a Canadian mining company]. …When will the government appoint a new Canadian ombudsperson for responsible enterprise, and will the office be funded?”

Liberal MP Caroline Desrochers responded: “Established as part of Canada’s membership to the OECD, our national contact point is a top-tier dispute resolution mechanism that promotes the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises and helps mediate concerns related to Canadian companies abroad. Canada actively participates in the global network of 51 national contact points, sharing best practices and strengthening our collective approach to responsible business conduct.”

May then asked: “Will this government commit to continuing the Canadian ombudsperson for responsible enterprise? Will that position be filled, and will that office be given the tools required to investigate complaints, such as those of the Xinca people? Will they have their rights to ensure that testimony is actually required and that we can investigate properly and call our institutions to account?”

Desrochers did not directly answer these questions.

UN Special Rapporteur recommendation

On November 14, 2024, Mary Lawlor, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, posted comments she made earlier in the month “calling for the significant strengthening of the CORE.”

Lawlor highlighted: “I have long-standing concerns, however, as to the adequacy of the CORE, in its current form, to provide any adequate form of redress for human rights defenders and the communities they represent when their rights have been violated or been put at risk by Canadian companies operating abroad. This has been reflected in conversations I have had with human rights defenders since taking up my mandate, who, where aware of the CORE, have repeatedly told me they have no confidence in its effectiveness.”

Among her four recommendations, Lawlor calls on the Government of Canada to: “Provide the CORE with legally enforceable powers to compel evidence and testimony from companies, in line with international standards and best practice on ombudspersons’ offices, to enable effective investigations of all cases and overcome the barriers presented when companies refuse to meaningfully engage with the CORE.”

Photo: PBI-Canada joined this civil society meeting with Lawlor in Ottawa, June 2024.

Budget, November 4

PBI-Canada remains attentive to announcements about the future of the CORE, and in particular whether it will be mentioned when Finance minister François-Philippe Champagne tables the federal budget on November 4, 2025.

During their recent visit to Canada, Espacio OSC noted that the Government of Canada had announced in the Canada-Mexico Action Plan $9.9 million in funding for projects in Mexico.

They highlighted: “We believe that this could be supplemented by a similar amount allocated to strengthening the Protection Mechanism for human rights defenders and journalists over three years, focusing on the application of a gender, community, and Indigenous peoples and communities approach in risk assessments in multi-stakeholder spaces where civil society can participate alongside authorities and international organizations; to increase staffing levels; and to generate political awareness campaigns.”

Further reading: Alternative Federal Budget 2026 notes importance of Canada supporting human rights defenders (PBI-Canada, October 28, 2025).

PBI-Canada attentive to Neskantaga opposition to the Eagle’s Nest mining project in the Ring of Fire area of northern Ontario

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: The camp at the Eagle’s Nest project. Photo from Wyloo.

The Toronto Star reports: “Premier Doug Ford says he is ramping up plans to mine critical minerals in Ontario’s environmentally sensitive Ring of Fire after reaching a $39.5 million road-building partnership with a local First Nations community.”

“The partnership signed by Ford and Webequie First Nation Chief Cornelius Wabasse is a ‘critical’ step in the development of the proposed all-season Webequie Supply Road, the government said.”

The article adds: “The Webequie First Nation will submit its final environmental assessment in January 2026 and Ford called on Prime Minister Mark Carney to streamline approval processes, calling for ‘one project, one review, one decision’.”

Eagle’s Nest project could be the first Ring of Fire mine

The Toronto Star then notes: “To build on the premier’s desire for speed, Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford said he planned to call mining company Wyloo, located in the Ring of Fire region, to ask for the operations timeline on its Eagle’s Nest project. Wyloo has said it’s government approvals are the most advanced.”

Photo: Wyloo timeline for Eagle’s Nest mining project.

Neskantaga opposition to Eagle’s Nest

The Toronto Star also highlights: “After Ford’s announcement, the Neskantaga First Nation officially requested a federal impact assessment of the Eagle’s Nest region of mining claims, a process the premier is trying to alleviate.”

Chief Gary Quisess of the Neskantaga First Nation says: “Doug Ford’s government has been missing in action while our people face a six-month health crisis with no nursing station and unsafe drinking water. Now he wants to dismantle the only federal process that gives us a voice in what happens to our lands. That’s not leadership — it’s colonialism in 2025.”

Chief Quisess adds: “Our ancestors are buried along the Attawapiskat River. Our lives depend on these waters. We will not allow the province to fast-track development while our community is still fighting for clean water and adequate health care.”

Image from CBC News.

UN Special Rapporteurs on consent for the Ring of Fire

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, José Francisco Calí Tzay, has called on Canada to “suspend large-scale mining and other business activities in the Ring of Fire region … until the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous Peoples affected is secured”, and UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, Pedro Arrojo Aguda, has recommended: “Suspend large-scale mining … such as mining in the Ring of Fire … until the necessary processes of assessing the impact of long-term risks to human rights, the environment and biodiversity, and guaranteeing the right of the Indigenous Peoples concerned to respect for the principle of free, prior and informed consent, have been completed.”

Calls to shut down the Ring of Fire

In June 2025, Chris Moonias, a previous chief of the Neskantaga First Nation, stated: “We’re going to shut down the Ring of Fire. Whatever that means, whatever we can do, we’re going to shut it down. I promise you that.”

And Grand Chief Fiddler of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, a political territorial organization representing 49 First Nation communities within northern Ontario, has previously told CBC News: “There will be conflict on the ground, and those that oppose it will most likely end up in jail. That is where we’re heading.”

The risk of OPP violence

In response to the warning of Indigenous blockades, Premier Ford says: “You can’t break the law. Simple as that. … They need to move on or they’ll be dealt with appropriately.”

And Sudbury.com notes: “[NDP member of the provincial legislature Sol Mamakwa asks] ‘What is the OPP [Ontario Provincial Police] going to do to the First Nations, once they start fighting on the land? That’s the scary part.’”

Mining projects put land defenders at risk

In November 2023, PBI-Canada signed this open letter that highlights: “Mining always comes with risks of human rights and environmental abuses. Over 510 allegations of abuses associated with top-producing mining operations of cobalt, copper, nickel, manganese, lithium, and zinc have been documented in the past decade – with one in four associated with attacks against human rights defenders.”

That open letter that highlights the risks associated with “transition minerals” in the lead up to the COP28 climate summit called for “clear protection mechanisms for human rights and environmental defenders.”

The C-IRG as a “national best practice”

With the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG, now rebranded as CRU-BC) adopted as a “national best practice”, we express our concern about potential actions by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in response to peaceful Indigenous resistance to the Ring of Fire.

When PBI-Canada asked Elder Alex Moonias in July 2025 if he is concerned that the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) will intervene on Neskantaga lands just as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) raided Wet’suwet’en lands, he poignantly replied: “That is their way.”

Photo: Elder Alex Moonias.

We continue to follow this.

Photo: Neskantaga Elder Alex Moonias and Chief Gary Quisess meet with Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan leaders, in Gatineau, Quebec, July 17, 2025.

Photo: Neskantaga Chief Gary Quisess and Gitxsan hereditary leader Gwii Lok’im Gibuu, in Gatineau, Quebec, July 17, 2025.

PBI-Mexico monitoring the situation for Indigenous communities in Michoacán in the context of attacks by armed groups

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: “Armed attacks and risk of forced displacement in Coahuayula, El Ranchual and La Laguna de Calvillo, Michoacán”. Image from Red TDT.

The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project has posted on social media:

“We express our concern about the situation of violence in Coahuayula, Michoacán.

We reiterate the importance of safeguarding the security of communities in this territory.

PBI is monitoring this situation by accompanying the @redsolidariaDH [Human Rights Solidarity Network].”

PBI-Mexico also amplified the post from Red TDT that notes:

“Urgent appeal from the community of Coahuayula and neighboring indigenous communities that have been under siege by armed groups for hours.

It is urgent that the authorities activate protection protocols for the affected communities.”

Providing additional context, Infobae reports:

“The Human Rights Solidarity Network A.C. (Red TDT) calls for urgent actions from governments to protect the Nahua communities of Coahuayula, El Ranchual and La Laguna de Calvillo, located within the municipality of Chinicuila, Michoacán.

For this reason, the organization launched a call for citizens to join the demand for immediate protection of the affected communities with their signature. Its goal is to stop violence and prevent displacement.

According to press reports, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) operates in this town, which currently maintains an alliance with Los Viagras and its armed wing Los Blancos de Troya. On the other hand, local media indicate that the Aquila cartel also has a presence in the region.

To support the demand, the Network has the following link to sign. In its message, the Network pointed out the urgency for ‘governments to provide immediate protection to communities.’”

Accompaniment

The Human Rights Solidarity Network (Red Solidaria DH) is accompanied by the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project.

We continue to follow this situation.

Additional reading: Statement from the Human Rights Solidarity Network (Red Solidaria DH) and the National Network of Civil Human Rights Organizations “All Rights for All” (Red TDT) (October 21, 2025).

PBI-Honduras seeks field volunteers, deadline to apply is November 9 for placement in the field in 2026

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: A PBI-Honduras field volunteer meets with representatives of the LGBT Rainbow Association of Honduras in Tegucigalpa.

The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project is seeking field volunteers.

In their Call for Volunteers, they highlight that they offer “the possibility of obtaining first-hand experience and knowledge in relation to the human rights situation in Honduras and comprehensive accompaniment of defenders” as well as “”a one-year volunteer service agreement, with all expenses covered and a monthly stipend. Vacations and health insurance.”

PBI-Honduras adds that applicants need to keep in mind that they must:

-Possess a nationality other than Honduran.

-Have a high level of Spanish spoken, written and read.

-Have high motivation for volunteering following the principles of non-partisanship, non-violence, non-interference and international solidarity with the peoples.

-Respect and empathize with local struggles and idiosyncrasies.

-Commit to at least 12 months of volunteering in Honduras.

-And that volunteers are often over 25 years of age.

The key dates to keep in mind:

November 9: deadline for applications.

November 25 to December 13: interviews.

December 19 to February 8, 2026: self-training.

First week of March 2026: training week in Europe.

2026: PBI-Honduras adds: “Joining the Field Team is not immediate but sometimes takes several months. During this time, contact is maintained with PBI Honduras and training and exchange continues.”

All the details for the application process, plus a contact email for questions, can be found here.

Other PBI project teams

Throughout the year, the PBI teams in Colombia (most recently in March 2025), Mexico (in September 2025) and Guatemala (in October 2025) also seek field volunteers.

Stay tuned for their next Call for Volunteers.

 

Annual review: PBI-Canada’s “transformative proposition” of extending PBI’s protective accompaniment into a “Northern” territory

By
Brent Patterson
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Peace Brigades International has released its Annual Review for 2024 titled Together We Rise: Standing Up for Equality, Justice, and the Future of Our Planet.

Holistic protection

 It notes that “PBI takes a holistic view of protection” that includes:

Protective accompaniment: Highly trained volunteers from around the world physically accompany human rights defenders in situations of risk. Recognisable by their distinctive PBI vests, volunteers spend at least a year providing a protective presence and helping deter potential threats.

Advocacy: We connect human rights defenders with national and international actors, creating platforms to amplify their voices. These advocacy efforts ensure defenders are recognised and heard, encourage governments to fulfil their protection duties, and mobilise international support to help deter attacks.

Awareness raising: With four decades of experience behind us, we are a trusted source of information and expertise. We use this to raise awareness of human rights issues and mobilise support by sharing information in a range of creative formats.

In numbers

It further reports that PBI provided protective accompaniment to over 3,900 human rights defenders in 2024.

This includes 2,184 defenders fighting for land, environmental, and Indigenous Peoples’ rights, 1,014 defenders fighting for peace, justice, and the rule of law, and 702 defenders  fighting for women’s rights and gender equality.

PBI is comprised of 90 staff members from 38 different countries with 291 volunteers, 90 of whom provided direct protection to human rights defenders.

This was done on a budget of € 6.236.256 (CAD $10.08 million) of which €4.657.735  (CAD $7.53 million) was spent on holistic protection.

Standing Up for the Rights of Indigenous Defenders in Canada

The Annual Review also highlights:

“Another key aspect of this work is the recognition that human rights violations can happen anywhere.

The construction of a new gas pipeline through the unceded ancestral territory of the Wet’suwet’en Nation in northern British Columbia is a prime example. For the Wet’suwet’en people, this move didn’t just violate their legal right to consent. It was an assault on their spiritual and cultural heart.

For the people who come to the land’s defence, violence, forced evictions, raids, and murder — often carried out by the Canadian Mounted Police — are a daily reality.

 It is a fight PBI follows closely. Last year, we monitored court proceedings of three defenders charged with contempt, raising awareness of their case and the risks they and other Indigenous communities face. We also conducted research into the weapons used in historic attacks, met with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Water, published articles and held public events to highlight Canada’s constitutional failings.

This last year also saw our team in Canada begin developing a framework to extend PBI’s protective accompaniment into a “Northern” territory. This transformative proposition would mark a move away from traditional models and start to recognise and address the human rights abuses that threaten us all.”

The Peace Brigades International Annual Review 2024 can be read in full here.

PBI-Canada notes international court’s ruling that Honduras provide protection measures for Mabel Robledo, report by November 7

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: On October 31, 2024, PBI-Honduras and PBI-Canada visited with Mabel Robledo in Nueva Armenia on Garifuna territory in Honduras.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) has noted: “Mabel Robledo is quiet but firm, qualities she uses to lead the Nueva Armenia Land Defense Committee, a grassroots organization fighting to reclaim Garifuna lands. Her leadership has drawn attention – and significant risks.”

And IM-Defensoras says: “Mabel Robledo is member of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH) and president of the Armenia community board. …Mabel Robledo is beneficiary of the Protection Mechanism because she has been the victim of continuous harassment, persecution and threats for her work as a woman defender of territory, the commons and ancestral cultures.”

On October 24, Criterio.hn reported:

“On October 15, 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR Court) issued a resolution for provisional measures in the case of Garifuna Community Cayos Cochinos and its members v. Honduras, ordering the Honduran State to immediately and effectively protect the life and integrity of the human rights defender Ana Mabel Vílá Robledo, after verifying deficiencies and risks in the State’s protection.”

“The decision, the result of complaints filed by the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (Ofraneh), confirms a serious scenario of risk and structural violence against Garifuna communities and those who defend ancestral territory.”

The article further explains:

“The case was submitted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in November 2023 and addresses the situation of Garifuna leaders who face harassment, threats, and violence for their work in territorial defense. During the process, Mabel Robledo suffered – on June 21, 2025 – a police attack on her return from Nueva Armenia to Jutiapa, where armed agents intercepted her, shot, beat her and later took her to a police station, ignoring her status as a beneficiary of the National Protection Mechanism.”

The Inter-American Court’s resolution requires Honduras to “immediately adopt the necessary measures to effectively protect her life, integrity, and personal security” and “report to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights no later than November 7, 2025, on the provisional measures adopted to comply with this decision.”

We continue to follow this situation.

Further reading: Honduras: Armed attack and arbitrary detention of human rights defender Mabel Robledo (UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders).

PBI-Honduras observes court hearing of two police officers accused of falsifying evidence to protect those responsible for the murder of Berta Cáceres

By
Brent Patterson
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On October 28, the Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project posted on social media:

“Yesterday, we observed the hearing against Juan Carlos Cruz of the Police Directorate of Investigations (DPI) and the ex-police Miguel Arcangel Rosales, accused of covering up the murder of Berta Cáceres by crimes of misuse of records intended to serve as a means of evidence before the competent authority and falsification of public documents. We remain firm with our support to Copinh Honduras in their legitimate search for comprehensive justice for Berta Cáceres and the communities affected by the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project.”

Criterio.hn has previously reported on the court processes related to “two police officers who falsified evidence in the investigation of the case of the murder of environmentalist Berta Cáceres in order to protect those responsible.”

On October 27, COPINH also posted on social media:

“The trial against Juan Carlos Cruz and Miguel Arcángel Rosales continues, accused of rendering useless records intended to serve as evidence before the competent authority and of falsifying public documents to cover up the crime against our colleague #BertaCáceres.

From COPINH we continue to demand truth, justice and non-repetition in the face of the attempts of impunity in the crime against our sister Berta Cáceres. 9 years without Berta, not 10 without Justice.”

And Ambiente Sociocultural International explains:

#JusticiaParaBerta | Trial begins against police officers accused of falsifying evidence

On October 20, the trial began against Juan Carlos Cruz (DPI) and Miguel Arcángel Rosales (former policeman), who are accused of misusing records and falsifying public documents to cover up the crime against the co-founder of COPINH and defender of the Gualcarque river and the people of Lenca, Berta Cáceres.

Berta lives, and the fight continues.”

Accompaniment

Caceres, an Indigenous water protector and co-founder of the Civil Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) was murdered on March 2, 2016, for her opposition to the construction of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam on the Gualcarque River.

COPINH’s coordinators have been accompanied by Peace Brigades International since May 2016.

Further reading: COPINH celebrates “popular victory” as DESA manager sentenced as “instigator” in the murder of Berta Caceres (PBI-Canada, February 11, 2025) and PBI-Honduras accompanies COPINH at Supreme Court as co-author of murder of Berta Caceres sentenced to 22 years, 6 months (PBI-Canada, June 20, 2022).

PBI-Guatemala observes Mayan ceremony in honour of Ramón Cadena, lawyer criminalized in the USAC case

By
Brent Patterson
-

On October 24, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted on social media:

“Yesterday #PBI observed a Mayan ceremony in honor of the lawyer and defender of human rights Ramón Cadena. It was carried out by several indigenous communities and organizations and farmworkers which Ramón supported in the years of his long career as a lawyer committed to the social struggles of Guatemala. Today was scheduled for the third time their hearing of the first statement within the trial by the #CasoUSAC [the case of Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala]. Dozens of students, teachers and advocates of human rights are accused of their actions of resisting the inauguration – signified of several irregularities – of the current rector of the unit Public University in 2022 and 2023.

In the end it transcended that the hearing was suspended by the full agenda of the judge of the case, Victor Cruz, pointed out by the United States on the Engel List as a corrupt actor. The hearing is rescheduled for Jan. 26, 2026.”

Video: “Solidarity is growing in favor of the lawyer Ramón Cadena, who, along with dozens of defenders, is in exile after suffering criminalization. Cadena is accused of supporting the university demonstrations against electoral fraud at the public University of Guatemala.”

Next hearing in 2026

On October 23, Prensa Comunitaria reported: “Human rights lawyer, Ramón Cadena Rámila, and students from the University of San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC), Christopher Alexis Morales and Pedro Emanuel Ros Domingo, were once again unable to give their first statement in the case Toma Usac: Political Loot due to the suspension of the hearing scheduled for October 23. The students of the Faculty of Agronomy and the lawyer, who faces a criminalization process in the USAC case, will have to wait until January 27, 2026 to have access to a hearing.”

Ramón Cadena Rámila

A statement posted on the Front Line Defenders website further explains that “dozens of human rights organizations” were concerned about “the judicial hearing scheduled for 23 October 2025 against the lawyer and human rights defender Ramón Cadena Rámila, in the case labelled by the Public Prosecutor’s Office as ‘Botín Político USAC’ [Political Spoils University of San Carlos in Guatemala].”

“Ramón Cadena, aged 70, is a prominent Guatemalan human rights lawyer, internationally recognised for his work in the defence of human rights, especially in cases related to the rights of Indigenous peoples and communities, land rights, and environmental justice.”

That post also notes: “Mr. Cadena has been criminalised for his legal advisory work with students defending the right to academic freedom, a process that, nearly two years after it began, still lacks a final resolution.”

USAC occupation in 2022

In August 2025, El Faro reported that “the occupation of the facilities of the public University of San Carlos of Guatemala (USAC) in May 2022 [lasted] nearly 400 days in reaction to the fraudulent election of rector Walter Mazariegos —a political ally to President Alejandro Giammattei— in which dissident voters were barred from casting ballots.”

“Stemming from the occupation of the USAC, the office of Attorney General Consuelo Porras has accused dozens of students, professors, and other employees of crimes including destruction of cultural property, illicit association, and influence peddling. In November 2023, prosecutors carried out 33 raids and issued 27 arrest warrants…”

“[In May 2025], the Superior University Council of the USAC expelled 10 university students recognized for their academic excellence who had participated in the protests against Mazariegos.

Currently, the USAC case includes a total of 14 people, comprising students, academics, and union members.”

On October 23, 2025, Prensa Comunitaria reported: “There are currently 12 people linked to the process, the last one was Edmar Arriola who was arrested on September 26 and had to spend 12 days in preventive detention.”

Trade unionists criminalized

Those criminalized alongside Ramón Cadena include “the trade unionist and worker of the University, Martín Jorge Macario.”

Public Services International has noted: “Of the 31 warrants [executed on November 16, 2023], six are addressed to leaders and former leaders of the Union of Workers of the University of San Carlos de Guatemala (STUSC).”

We continue to follow this.

Further reading: PBI-Guatemala accompanies trial of union member, students, professors who opposed fraudulent election of university rector (PBI-Canada, February 15, 2024) and PBI-Guatemala observes University of San Carlos student association elections (PBI-Canada, October 11, 2019).

PBI-Kenya visits with the Indigenous Ogiek peoples, hears about erasure and forced displacement from ancestral lands

By
Brent Patterson
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The Peace Brigades International-Kenya Project visited the Ogiek community in Sasumwani, Narok County, in collaboration with the Ogiek People’s Development Programme, in early-July 2025.

PBI-Kenya visited to “support ongoing psychosocial healing and accompany community-based human rights defenders in their efforts.”

The PBI-Kenya article about this can be read at: No Land, No Justice: The Ogiek’s Resistance Against Forced Displacement And Erasure (October 27, 2025).

That article further highlights: “From the psychosocial follow-up sessions, key challenges emerged: mental health struggles and fragmented voices. Some demand financial compensation and new land; others refuse to settle for anything less than their ancestral home.”

Their article also notes:

“For the Ogiek indigenous tribe a community of approximately 52,590 people according to the 2019 Kenyan census, displacement and eviction are not just words; they are a painful legacy. Their struggle against forced removals stretches back to the British colonial era—a battle that has persisted for generations.

In the face of this erasure, the Ogiek People’s Development Program (OPDP) was founded [in 1999 and registered as an NGO in 2001] by Ogiek defenders as a steadfast pillar of the community. OPDP was founded to address the very historical injustices that have deprived the Ogiek of their rights as Kenyan citizens. It is dedicated to promoting the recognition of Indigenous culture, advocating for land rights, and protecting the environment that is central to the Ogiek identity.

Twice, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights has ruled in favor of the Ogiek—first in 2017, affirming their ancestral land rights, and again in 2022, ordering reparations for decades of harm. Yet these victories exist only on paper. The Kenyan government has dragged its feet, offering excuses but no action.

More significantly, over 700 Ogiek families were violently evicted from Sasumwani in November 2023.

During our visit to Sasumwani, we sat with Ogiek families displaced … in 2023, listening as they shared their stories in a breakout session.

Today, most of them remain homeless, unprotected, and ignored.

To secure that future, the Kenyan government must move beyond promises to tangible action by fully implementing the court’s decision, protecting their ancestral lands, and facilitating their rightful resettlement. This is not just a legal obligation, but a moral imperative.”

The full article can be read here.

PBI-Colombia accompanies Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation as it honours Yanette Bautista, launches network and campaign on Law 2364

By
Brent Patterson
-

The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has posted on social media:

“We accompany @fundacionnydiaerikabautista [the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation – FNEB] on National Women Searchers Day, in an act of recognition for those who have contributed tirelessly to uncovering the truth in Colombia.

We celebrate the strength of sisterhood among women who have transformed pain into the vindication of rights, promoting the creation of #Law2364, which recognizes and protects their search work from gender, intersectional, anti-racist, spiritual, and ancestral perspectives.

We also honor the creation of the National Network of Women Searchers, ‘Legacy of Yanette Bautista,’ a symbol of unity, resistance, and memory.

From PBI Colombia, we reiterate our support for FNEB to strengthen protective environments, support the implementation of #Law2364, and continue contributing to justice, truth, and peacebuilding.”

The Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation has also posted:

“In the framework of the National Day of Recognizing Women Searchers, we participate in various days of recognition and commemoration where we reaffirm our fight for the truth of our missing loved ones and our commitment to the legacy of our founder Yanette Bautista

In the event ‘Searching for Truth and Weaving Justice for Our Missing Loved Ones’ of the [human rights defender] Yanette Bautista was paid tribute with the installation of a plaque in her memory and the naming of the main auditorium of the Cundinamarca Headquarters after her.

During the day we visited our exhibition ‘The search has a woman’s face’, installed in the People’s Defender, a sample that collects the faces and stories of women searchers

Launch of the National Network of Searching Women. We realized one of our founder’s deepest dreams: to form a network to strengthen the legal, political and social framework for the protection and assurance of women seekers’ rights, in honor of her legacy.

In the act of recognition of the National Search System, we pay tribute to Yanette Bautista and women searchers. In this space we also launch the campaign ‘Until the Law of Searching Women is implemented’, a call to the State to fulfill its duty in the implementation of the Law 2364 of Searching Women

At the @unaloficial [National University of Colombia in Bogotá] we held an artistic day and a collective mural, where we portray and pay tribute to Yanette Bautista, as a way to reaffirm that she continues to walk with us, as the mother of the seekers, a symbol of love, stubbornness and resistance.

We are deeply grateful to all the women seekers, the Community of Hope, allied organizations, entities, cooperatives, artists and collectives who joined these days of remembrance and recognition.

Special thanks to @fndh_es [Norwegian Fund for Human Rights], @onuderechoshumanoscolombia [United Nations Human Rights in Colombia] @pbicolombia [PBI-Colombia] @amnistiaamericas [Amnesty International]

Every gesture reminds us that we are not alone, that the search is collective and that we keep walking together.

Until no woman has to search alone!”

Seeking full implementation of the legislation

On April 4, 2024, Bill No. 242 was approved in the Senate. Then on June 18, 2024, Law 2364 of 2024, the Comprehensive Law for the Protection of the Rights of Women Searchers, was ratified by President Gustavo Petro.

In March 2025, Blu Radio reported: “Lawyer Yanette Bautista, director and founder of the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation [explains that] the Law on the Protection of the Rights of Women Searchers, also known as Law 2364, represents a significant advance in the fight for justice and reparation for women who are searching for their missing loved ones. …Currently, [the law] is in a regulatory process that has presented several challenges. Although it was enacted in June 2024 and a deadline was set for its regulation, there are still articles that have not been implemented, according to [Bautista].”

On June 18, 2025, Amnesty International posted: “A year ago, the Colombian government passed Law 2364 of 2024, which recognizes and provides for the integral protection of the work and rights of women searchers for victims of enforced disappearance. The Congress of the Republic debated and approved this law following the advocacy initiative of organizations of women searchers throughout the country. Amnesty International joined the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation and the many other organizations of women searchers for forcibly disappeared persons in Colombia to demand that the law be implemented and the promise of state protection for the women who dedicate their lives to searching for their loved ones in the midst of violence be upheld.”

We continue to follow this.

Accompaniment

Peace Brigades International has been accompanying the “Nydia Erika Bautista” Foundation (FNEB) occasionally since 2007 and in full since 2016.

Further reading: PBI-Colombia accompanies the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation as implementation of Women Searchers Law faces delays (PBI-Canada, March 23, 2025).

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