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CCALCP seeks the implementation of the right to free, prior and informed consent in Colombia

By
Brent Patterson
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The Luis Carlos Perez Lawyers’ Collective (CCALCP), an organization of women human rights lawyers based in the Magdalena Medio and Catatumbo regions in north-eastern Colombia, has long sought the implementation of the historic T-880 court ruling.

Judgment T-880/2006 of the Constitutional Court of Colombia relates to “the right to free prior and informed consent, and the rights related to demarcation of land, as well as exploitation of natural resources.”

The ruling referenced the then-draft of the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Notably, Colombia abstained at the historic UN General Assembly vote on UNDRIP on September 13, 2007 (while Canada voted against UNDRIP).

Background on the ruling

The October 16, 2006 ruling involved a challenge in defence of the ancestral lands of the indigenous community Barí-Motilón in the Catatumbo region in the department of Norte de Santander in north-east Colombia near the border with Venezuela.

A Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project article provides the background that, “In 2002, the Colombian state company, Ecopetrol, entered the Catalaura indigenous reserve to carry out oil exploration and exploitation studies without the authorization of traditional Bari authorities or government environmental officials.”

“Due to several legal irregularities, in 2005 Ecopetrol obtained permission for the exploration and exploitation of what they called the Poplar Well I on the Socbakayra indigenous land within the Bari territory.”

“The Botilon Mari people filed a lawsuit demanding recognition of their rights and 18 months later the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of protecting and safeguarding the rights of indigenous people and forced Ecopetrol to leave their territory.”

That September 2010 PBI-Colombia bulletin also notes, “[Despite the ruling], Ecopetrol has announced other projects such as Alamo II, III and IV and Block Windows, all within the traditional Bari territory.”

Lack of implementation

A report in 2010 by James Anaya, who was at that time the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, highlighted that, “The development of effective consultation procedures that conform to international standards is one of the main challenges facing Colombia.”

That report then specifies, “In particular, the Constitutional Court has ordered several ministries to stop applying Decree 1320 of 1998 [which provides a framework for consultations with indigenous peoples] as it is contrary to the Constitution and the standards incorporated into domestic law. Decision T-880/06.”

New Decrees fall short

In 2014, Americas Quarterly noted Decree 2613/2013 and Presidential Directive 10/2013 seek to “provide more detailed steps on how to carry out consulta previa” than Decree 1320/1998 but  “because of institutional incapacity, much of the consultation process that the state is required to guarantee has been delegated, de facto, to the private sector – in violation of the fundamental principle of state responsibility under consulta previa.”

Petroleum in the Catatumbo region

In June 2018, Verdad Abierta both cautioned and commented, “The Catatumbo is bathed in oil and gasoline like no other. According to estimates from the national government, in the entire basin that makes up this vast area of ​​the north-east of the country there are proven reserves of 17 million barrels of oil.”

That article also highlighted, “According to the National Hydrocarbons Agency, by 2015 about 337 thousand hectares of land were committed for the production and exploitation of hydrocarbons, while some 224 thousand hectares waited to be concessioned to both domestic and foreign companies.”

Fracking and Indigenous rights

A July 2019 article in Petroleum Economist titled Colombian fracking edges closer to reality concludes with the sentence, “Unconventional assets are also often near indigenous lands, which could pose further headaches.”

As such, with the Colombian government reportedly on the cusp of approving fracking in that country in the coming months, Judgment T-880 continues to be significant ruling almost 13 years after it was first handed down.

CCALCP

In 2009, CCALCP noted that it has “accompanied the integral defence of life, nature, territory and culture of indigenous people and peasants in Catatumbo and from the legal accompaniment we have participated in the follow-up of compliance with this judgment [T-880] ensuring that the authorities and institutions act in a serious and respectful manner against the proposals and rights of the Bari people.”

Dr. Judith Maldonado Mojica, a lawyer with CCALCP until 2015, was deeply involved in this struggle and there have been security incidents related to this work. This article notes, “In March 2010, a voicemail left on her mobile phone threatened a bomb attack in response to CCALCP’s advocacy on behalf of the indigenous community of Motilón Bari.”

This coming November, Peace Brigades International-Canada and allies will be hosting Julia Figueroa and Andrea Nocove from CCALCP on a cross-country speaking tour where they will highlight issues relating to fracking and climate change.

PBI-Colombia has accompanied CCALCP since 2006.

PBI-Honduras at court hearing for Guapinol water defenders

By
Brent Patterson
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On August 26, the Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project posted on their Facebook page, “This morning we were present at the hearing for the presentation of the accused of 7 new defendants (for illegal association, robbery and aggravated fire) in the Guapinol case for the defence of natural assets.”

Their post then notes, “These seven people have been under judicial detention and were referred to the Tamara Penitentiary.” 

Radio América reports, “On March 4, a judge released 12 residents of Tocoa, who were also being criminalized by the same case in Guapinol.”

The mine is located inside the Carlos Escaleras National Park and is causing damage to the Guapinol River, the source of drinking water for about 42,000 people.

The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) has explained, “In August 2018, when development of the mine began to contaminate the drinking water for 14 nearby communities, residents of Guapinol erected a ‘Camp in Defense of Water and Life’.”

The camp was in place for 90 days. The UUSC notes, “In October 2018, 1,500 Honduran military and police officers violently attacked and evicted the camp.”

After that, 12 activists were subsequently charged with “usurpation of land”.

School of the Americas Watch has also commented, “On February 23 [of this year], 12 Honduran activists who have been defending the drinking water of numerous communities from a mine owned by members of Honduras’ powerful oligarchy were jailed in an extreme misuse of the justice system.”

The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee also notes, “The company behind the mining project, Inversiones Los Pinares, is also the largest landowner in Honduras; with close ties to the Honduran ruling party, they have previously been linked to attempts to kidnap and intimidate activists as well as bribe officials.”

And the InterReligious Task Force on Central America has commented, “It is conspicuous that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has filed illicit association charges against Guapinol human rights defenders but the same institution has repeatedly declined to file illicit association charges against the criminal structure that murdered Berta Cáceres and executed other crimes against the Lenca people despite multiple requests from the victims.”

This past February, PBI-Honduras accompanied the Committee for Freedom of Expression (C-Libre) to an information event about the impacts of mining on Guapinol. Now, after the jailing of the 7 water defenders, C-Libre has tweeted, “We call for national and international solidarity with fellow members of the community of Guapinol.”

PBI-Honduras notes, “The initial hearing will be this Thursday, August 29 at 9 a.m.”

#PBIacompaña #Guapinol

PBI-Canada and Labour Day 2019

By
Brent Patterson
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Monday September 2nd is Labour Day in Canada.

Peace Brigades International-Canada both recognizes and celebrates this day and affirms the critical role played by the labour movement in the advancement of human rights. We are thankful for the solidarity and support provided by Unifor and National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) to our work.

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has highlighted, “The first Monday in September has been an official holiday in Canada since 1894.”

The CLC adds, “But the origin of Labour Day came 20 years before that, when unions started holding parades and rallies in Toronto and Ottawa to celebrate the successful 1872 Toronto printers’ strike – the original ‘fight for fairness’ that won major changes including the decriminalization of unions in Canada.”

The struggle for workers rights continues in this country and around the world.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Assembly and Association Maina Kiai has defined any person or organization defending labour rights as a human rights defender, as articulated in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

The dangers that trade unionists face in countries where Peace Brigades International has staff and volunteers are still all too real.

In Colombia, 19 trade union activists were killed in 2017. In Honduras, 31 trade unionists were killed between 2009 and 2015. Between 2004 and 2017, 87 labour leaders were murdered in Guatemala. Many more were harassed and threatened.

Colombia

The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project accompanies NOMADESC (the Association for Research and Social Action).

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has noted that “Berenice Celeita [is the] leader of CUPE’s partner in Colombia, NOMADESC.”

She and members of the SintraEmcali union were targeted in 2004 in an assassination plot for their opposition to the privatization of Emcali, a state-owned company providing water, telecommunications, and electricity services in the city of Cali.

In an interview Celeita did with CUPE, she highlighted, “It’s very important to keep sending labour delegations to Colombia to visit us and see with your own eyes what is happening. I am convinced that I am alive today because of the actions of solidarity.”

PBI-Colombia has also accompanied the Foundation Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners (FCSPP) since 1998. The FCSPP was formed by several trade unions, social movement groups, and well-known Colombians in the context of the widespread persecution of political opposition, including union, social movement, and student leaders.

Overall, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) reminds us that despite the signing of the peace accord “violence, land grabs and dislocation” have not stopped in Colombia and that “regrettably some of these violent incidents are also associated with Canadian companies that have been emboldened by the 2008 Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.”

Mexico

The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project works closely with the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Project (ProDESC) and the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), two groups that are part of the Focal Group on Business and Human Rights.

The Focal Group works to ensure that the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are respected, including the “fundamental rights set out in the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.”

Guatemala

The Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project accompanied workers with the SITRALU (the Lunafil Thread Factory Workers Union) in the late 1980s. The workers at that factory located just outside of Guatemala City were told that they would have to work additional twelve-hour weekend shifts without overtime pay. During the strike that ensued, PBI-Guatemala provided protective accompaniment to the workers 24 hours a day from June 1987 until July 1988 when the strike was settled in favour of the union.

PBI-Guatemala has also paccompanied an agriculture workers union (Movimiento de Trabajadores Campesinos). This past May Day, PBI-Guatemala highlighted a report by CODECA (the Campesino Development Committee) that found that 90 per cent of agricultural workers in Guatemala earn a monthly salary below what the minimum wage should provide.

Indonesia

The Peace Brigades International-Indonesia Project has collaborated with labour in the Jakarta area through a program in which human rights defenders participate in internships with local organizations, including unions.

One intern researched the situation of dock workers in Jayapura, while another did a research project on the right to organize for factory workers in Manokwari.

Peace Brigades International accompanies the human rights struggle for decent work, dignity, and respect for all workers.

For a listing of Labour Day activities across the country this year, please see this Canadian Labour Congress webpage.

PBI-Canada observes the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances

By
Brent Patterson
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Friday August 30 is the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

The United Nations has explained, “On 21 December 2010, by its resolution 65/209 the UN General Assembly … decided to declare 30 August the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, to be observed beginning in 2011.”

The United Nations has also highlighted of particular concern “the ongoing harassment of human rights defenders, relatives of victims, witnesses and legal counsel dealing with cases of enforced disappearance.”

Peace Brigades International marks this day and accompanies human rights defenders working toward a world without enforced disappearances.

Colombia

On August 27, the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project tweeted, “Today in Pasto we accompanied the ‘Nydia Erika Bautista’ Foundation for Human Rights at an important ‘We Recognize Your Search’ event organized by the Truth Commission and UBPD Search Unit in tribute to women and relatives who look for their loved ones tirelessly.”

For more, please read our article PBI-Colombia accompanies Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation at Truth Commission event.

On August 17, PBI-Colombia tweeted that it accompanied Sister Maritze Trigos with AFAVIT (the Association of Relatives of Trujillo Victims) and Father Javier Giraldo (who founded the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission) at the Trujillo Monument Park. The Massacre of Trujillo refers to multiple and successive human rights violations committed between 1988 and 1994 including enforced disappearances.

For more, please read PBI-Colombia accompanies remembrance at Trujillo Monument Park.

And on June 14, PBI-Colombia posted this article about accompanying the Regional Corporation for the Defense of Human Rights (CREDHOS) to the dense forests of San Pablo in the San Lucas mountain area of the Sur de Bolívar region to locate the grave of a young man killed by an armed group likely 15 years ago.

For more, please read PBI-Colombia accompanies CREDHOS to find grave site.

Kenya

The Peace Brigades International-Kenya Project has joined with other groups to create an online platform called Missing Voices, with the aim of providing facts, figures and increased visibility on extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

For more on the situation in Kenya, please read PBI-Kenya accompanies human rights defenders in Nairobi’s informal settlements.

Mexico

The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project has posted, “In Saltillo, Coahuila, PBI accompanies groups of families in search of missing persons.” PBI-Mexico quoted relatives of the disappeared who say, “There is a lack of response from the government to the pain.”

For more, please read PBI-Mexico accompanies the search for the disappeared.

On May 29, PBI-Mexico posted, “Comité Cerezo is participating in a sit-in as part of the commemoration of the International Week of the Disappeared Detainee and the National Campaign against Enforced Disappearance in Mexico.” That international week this year was from Monday May 27 to Friday May 31.

For more, please read PBI-Canada and PBI-Mexico meet with Comite Cerezo and our Facebook post on the sit-in.

Guatemala

On June 21, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project observed a ceremony in which Indigenous Achi Mayan women commemorated the National Day of Forced Disappearance. An estimated 45,000 men, women and children were disappeared during the 36-year-long internal armed conflict in Guatemala.

For more, please read PBI-Guatemala observes National Day of Forced Disappearance ceremony.

PBI-Guatemala also accompanies the Human Rights Law Firm (BDH) in seeking justice relating to the violence and enforced disappearances that took place at CREOMPAZ/Military Zone 21, a military base located about 220 kilometres north-east of Guatemala City.

For more, please read PBI-Guatemala accompanies BDH at CREOMPAZ hearing.

On this day, as noted in the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, let us be “aware of the extreme seriousness of enforced disappearance, which constitutes a crime and, in certain circumstances defined in international law, a crime against humanity.”

And let us recommit “to prevent enforced disappearances and to combat impunity for the crime of enforced disappearance” and respect “the right of any person not to be subjected to enforced disappearance, the right of victims to justice and to reparation.”

#EnforcedDisappearances #StopDisappearances #DesaparicionForzada 

PBI-Honduras accompanies Asociación Arcoiris at LGBTQI+ pride march

By
Brent Patterson
-

On August 26, the Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project posted, “During the past weekend we accompanied Asociación Arcoiris (the Rainbow Association) to San Pedro Sula where a cultural night and an LGTBIQ+ pride march was held.”

PBI-Honduras adds in their Facebook post that, “Together with several organizations of sexual diversity (such as Afet Asociación feministra Trans, Frida Trans, Colectivo Unidad Color Rosa, Aprest o Kukulcan) they toured the streets to claim a habitable Honduras where human rights are respected for all.”

In their monthly newsletter posted last week, PBI-Honduras had noted, “At the end of this month, Arcoiris and other LGBTIQ+ organizations will participate in a pride march in the city of San Pedro Sula, claiming the rights of this community and in commemoration of Bessy Ferrera and other murdered human rights defenders.”

That newsletter had shared, “At the beginning of July, we received the news of the murder of the trans rights defender Bessy Ferrera, who worked with Asociación Arcoiris, [which has been] accompanied by PBI-Honduras [since July 2015].”

From June 2015 to March 2016, six members of Arcoíris were killed. PBI-Honduras has noted that Arcoíris activists have survived assassination attempts, while many others have faced intimidation, harassment and physical attacks.

Arcoíris coordinator Donny Reyes says, “The biggest problem that we face is the violence of the state security forces towards the LGBT+ community: the armed forces, the police, the criminal investigation police, military police, municipal police.”

Front Line Defenders has reported, “Threats and assassination attempts against the members of Arcoiris have not been taken seriously by the authorities in the past, sending a message of impunity to perpetrators.”

And a Washington Blade article has also made the connection that, “Violence, along with discrimination and poverty, has prompted many trans Hondurans to migrate to the U.S. and Mexico over the last two years.”

The Yogyakarta Principles on human rights and international law affirm that “sexual orientation and gender identity are integral to every person’s dignity and humanity and must not be the basis for discrimination or abuse.”

Principle 27 calls on all states to, “Ensure the protection of human rights defenders, working on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity, against any violence, threat, retaliation, de facto or de jure discrimination, pressure, or any other arbitrary action perpetrated by the State, or by non-State actors, in response to their human rights activities.”

Peace Brigades International has accompanied pride marches in Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico this year. You can read more than that in this article.

#PBIacompaña #Pride2019

The story of Karen Ridd, a PBI volunteer in El Salvador

By
Brent Patterson
-

Many may remember the extraordinary story of Karen Ridd, a Peace Brigades International volunteer in the late 1980s.

In December 1989, the Canadian news magazine Maclean’s reported, “Following a two-week trip to Nicaragua in 1986, Ridd decided to put her beliefs in social justice to work in Central America. She joined Peace Brigades International, going first to Guatemala in 1988 and, last February, to El Salvador.”

“As a volunteer, she received free room and board and about $60 a month for the often dangerous work of keeping watch over Salvadoran trade unionists and others whom the government and right-wing death squads consider subversive.”

“Suspected by Salvadoran authorities of aiding leftist rebels against the U.S.-backed right-wing government, the 28-year-old human rights activist from Winnipeg was abducted [on November 20, 1989], along with six other foreigners, by national guardsmen and later physically and verbally abused by the Treasury Police, known widely for their brutality.”

“Ridd showed remarkable courage throughout the ordeal: at one point, she even refused to leave jail unless a female colleague from Colombia was also freed.”

Karen is a member of the Quaker community in Winnipeg and is now an Instructor in Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies at Menno Simons College there. This past January, she spoke at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops about her peacemaking experiences in Israel, Palestine and Central America.

The Omega student newspaper reported, “She began her presentation by describing her intense experience in Panajachel, Guatemala where she witnessed a mother mourning the loss of her murdered son. The young man had happened to be employed by the Guardia de Hacienda or Treasury Police, a police agency responsible for atrocious human rights abuses.”

In the article Karen recounts, “It was a few years later that I found myself briefly imprisoned by the Treasury Police in El Salvador and it would be very easy to paint that young man as the other. He was emblematic of all that I stood in Guatemala against, yet I spent the night holding his mother’s pain and trying to save his life.”

Last year, Peace Brigades International placed 27 volunteers in Colombia, 10 volunteers in Guatemala, 10 volunteers in Mexico, 8 volunteers in Honduras, and 4 volunteers in Kenya to support the vital work of at-risk human rights defenders.  

We are currently seeking volunteers for our field projects in Honduras (application deadline September 15) and Colombia (application deadline October 11).

Join us and help make a difference!

Maclean’s photo by Dave Bonner.

PBI-Guatemala accompanies Cahabón complaint against building of Oxec III dam

By
Brent Patterson
-

On August 28, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted, “Today we accompanied representatives of the Peaceful Resistance of Cahabón during their complaint of the company Oxec for trying to build a third dam in its territory and for contributing to the criminalization of their partner, political prisoner Bernardo Caal Xol.”

The Oxec and Renace hydroelectric dam complexes have had a controversial and disruptive presence in the Cahabón River basin.

PBI-Guatemala has previously pointed out, “On the Cahabón River and its tributaries Oxec, Canlich and Chiacté, seven hydroelectric plants currently operate: Renace I, II, III, IV, Oxec, Oxec II, and Chichaic.”

The two most recently completed dams are Oxec II which began operation in September 2018 and Renace IV which became operational in January 2019.

Contrainformacion.es has noted, “The construction by ACS, a Florentino Pérez company, of a hydroelectric complex named Renace, and located in the basin of this river, is having a ‘serious impact on human rights’ for the 29,000 indigenous people living in this territory.”

Oxec was built prior to Renace and “already faced the same problems.”

That article also notes, “The people of the affected communities, most of them indigenous Mayan Q’eqchi’, have to pass a security check, by way of checkpoint, to drink water.”

Telesur has also reported, “The communities claim the Oxec and Renace hydroelectric projects are illegal because the local Indigenous Q’eqchi’ peoples were not properly consulted and informed about it, as established by Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization” and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

PBI-United Kingdom has posted, “In August 2017, PBI provided security support to the good-faith consultation in which the 195 communities of the Cahabón River overwhelmingly rejected the Oxec hydroelectric projects.”

Not long after that, in November 2018, Mayan Q’eqchi’ community leader Caal Xol was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison.

Telesur notes, “It was Caal Xol who filed three lawsuits against the Oxec construction company at different institutions, including accusations for failing to consult the local population, and illegally cutting down 15 hectares of trees.”

A May 2018 interview with Caal Xol conducted by PBI-Guatemala and published by PBI-UK in English can be read here.

PBI-Guatemala has accompanied the Resistance since July 2017.

Further reading

PBI-Guatemala accompanies the Peaceful Resistance of Cahabón in its struggle against dams (August 13, 2019)

PBI-Guatemala accompanies the Indigenous Resistance to dams on the Cahabón River (July 26, 2019)

PBI-Guatemala accompanies the Human Rights Law Firm to film screening (June 27, 2019)

PBI-Colombia accompanies Indigenous Wounaan verification mission

By
Brent Patterson
-

On August 23, the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project tweeted, “Today in San Juan after having been forcibly displaced from its territory Wounaan population of Pichima organized a verification mission accompanied by the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission and PBI-Colombia.”

A community of Indigenous Wounaan people were displaced from their territory on June 3 and are seeking to return to their land.

Contagio Radio has reported, “417 people were displaced from the Pichimá Quebrada indigenous reserve in Litoral del San Juan (South Chocó). This second displacement suffered by the Wounaan was the result of clashes between armed groups in the area.”

On August 9, the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) declared a “Humanitarian Emergency Situation” and stated, “An integral Verification and Support Mission will be organized immediately and before the ineffectiveness of the State entities, which will lead to the restoration of all the rights of the displaced population and the possible return to their communities.”

Armando Valbuena has written in El Espectador, “More than 22,532 indigenous people have suffered forced displacements, 12,066 have been violated their rights due to lack of attention and guarantees by the State, 116 indigenous people have been forcibly recruited, 16 were kidnapped and 11 indigenous were tortured.”

Valbuena highlights, “The current situation comes from the folly to exploit the land and the use of violence as a framework that allows it. It is about implementing extractive, legal or illegal projects that bleed our lives and impose bad death.”

The ONIC statement also notes, “We are currently faced with an increase in the demand for fossil materials and natural commons for the production and consumption of energy of the developed countries.”

It adds, “Public policies benefit transnational corporations which generate serious effects on communities and do not comply in full with the demands of 2016 agreements agreed within the framework of the consultation and the prior, free and informed consent.”

As noted in this PBI-Colombia backgrounder, the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission accompanies several Wounaan communities.

#PBIAcompaña

PBI-Honduras seeks volunteers! Apply by September 15!

By
Brent Patterson
-

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

Key qualifications include a fluency in Spanish, a commitment to at least 12 months of field work, and an ability to work in a horizontal structure where decisions are made through consensus.

PBI-Honduras will cover the following costs: a round trip ticket to Honduras and back, accommodation and medical insurance, an honorarium of about $285 CAD per month for personal costs and repatriation once you have finished your contract.

Key dates include:

Deadline for applications – September 15

Interviews – September 15 to October 6

Online training – October 15 to December 31

In-person training in Valladolid, Spain – January 12-18, 2020

In 2018, eight international volunteers accompanied members of six organizations and one human rights defender working on business and human rights, land rights, indigenous rights, freedom of expression, support to victims, women’s rights and LGBTI rights.

Volunteers are based in the capital city of Tegucigalpa.

All the information on how to apply to be a field volunteer in Honduras can be found here.

Please help spread the word!

PBI-Colombia seeks volunteers! Apply by October 11!

By
Brent Patterson
-

The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project is seeking volunteers for their field teams accompanying human rights defenders starting in July/August 2020. Volunteers are based in Bogotá, Barrancabermeja and Apartadó.

The deadline to apply is October 11.

Following that, key dates include:

Between November 2019 and January 2020 – interviews with candidates.

February, March and April 2020 – an online training program that seeks to provide candidates with a greater knowledge of the situation in Colombia and the work of the team.

June 6 to 13, 2020 (tbc) – an intensive training session in Spain.

PBI-Colombia notes, “The people selected at the end of the training/selection meeting will join our teams in the second half of 2020 or the beginning of 2021, as established from the project based on our human resources needs.”

Last year, twenty-seven PBI-Colombia volunteers accompanied members of thirteen organizations and two individual human rights defenders working on business and human rights and forced disappearances.

This 5-minute video with PBI-Colombia volunteer Sophia Kerridge helps to give the feeling of what it is like to be a PBI volunteer in that country. 

Earlier this year, Javier Ignacio Hoyos from Canada joined the PBI-Colombia team.

Javier says, “I applied to PBI Colombia because I value its principles, I believe in its mission and I admire its work over the last decades.”

He adds, “I sincerely believe that by accompanying these people and communities in their day to day work and protecting their spaces for action, I will in a small way be part of the collective construction of a more peaceful, fair and inclusive society.”

All of the information on how to apply can be found here.

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