Since the signing of a peace deal ending the country’s armed conflict in November 2016, more than 80 Colombian human rights defenders have been killed, several of whom have been involved in implementing the peace process. According to a recent report on human rights, most of the victims were “indigenous rights activists, rural community representatives, and Afro-Colombian rights leaders.”

The 2016 Colombian Peace Accord ended the government’s armed conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army (FARC), which claimed the lives of more than 220,000 people and displaced millions. Many of the recent attacks on civil society leaders have reportedly taken place in isolated areas formerly occupied by the FARC, where criminal gangs have seized control and taken advantage of new “power vacuums.”

While civil society members hoped the peace deal would result in greater respect for human rights in the country, they now fear attacks on activists indicate a dangerous future for civic space. Responding to the attacks on civil society, the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy (REDLAD) issued a statement calling upon the Colombian government and Inter-American Human Rights System to investigate and address the increase in violence against human rights defenders in Colombia. Read and share the statement, available in English and Spanish.