Photo by El Tiempo. As concerns grow about the use of violence by Colombian national police against the ongoing national strike protests, questions are emerging about the possible use of Canadian made vehicles in human rights violations. In a virtual meeting with Global Affairs Canada and the Embassy of Canada Read more…
Canada exported 24 LAV III vehicles to Colombia in 2014 despite concerns being raised about the false positives scandal at that time. Daily national strike/paro nacional protests have gripped Colombia for the past eight days. The Bogota-based organization Tremblores has documented 239 violent interventions by the public forces (the military Read more…
On February 26, 2021, the PBI-Colombia accompanied organization CREDHOS tweeted: “Day against #BrutalidadPolicial [police brutality] in #Barrancabermeja we demand the dismantling of #ESMAD.” Photo by CREDHOS. On May 1, the British independent media outlet The Canary reported: “Over recent days, the Colombian national police have killed a number of civilians Read more…
On May 6, the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project posted: “Today PBI accompanied the Justice and Peace Commission in mobilizations at Portal de las Americas Kennedy where youth and grassroots organizations in the area have created a humanitarian space for participation in the social protests.” Portal de las Americas Kennedy is Read more…
Today, Thursday May 6, is the ninth day of National Strike protests in Colombia. Multiple news platforms have reported that one of the issues that has people on the streets is their opposition to the fracking pilot projects. Agence France-Presse reports: “Tens of thousands of Colombians have taken to the Read more…
Photo: PBI-Colombia accompanies the Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP) in Bogotá on April 28, the first day of the national strike. This morning, Wednesday May 5, the ongoing protests in Colombia are entering their eighth day since the national strike began on Wednesday April 28. The casualties The Bogota-based Read more…
On May 4, Marta Hurtado, Spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated: “We are deeply alarmed at developments in the city of Cali in Colombia overnight, where police opened fire on demonstrators protesting against tax reforms, reportedly killing and injuring a number of people.” Hurtado also Read more…
The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project accompanied Justice and Peace Commission is amplifying the call for international solidarity, the demilitarization of urban areas, and a dismantling of the ESMAD riot police. This is in the context of Temblores reporting that there have been 1,181 case of police violence, 26 deaths and Read more…
On May 3, PBI-Colombia tweeted: “PBI accompanies NOMADESC in monitoring mobilization points in [the city of] Cali within the framework of the [national strike]. The Defend Freedom Campaign has reported 21 homicides and 503 people arrested during the social protest in Colombia between April 28 and May 1.” On April Read more…
Image from Gran Tierra Energy promotional video for the Acordionero field. On April 29, Peace Brigades International in collaboration with CREDHOS and Above Ground hosted a webinar on extractivism in the Magdalena Medio region and the threats experienced by environmental defenders challenging that agenda. The video of that webinar (mostly Read more…