Since 26th November 2007 the 20th February has been celebrated annually as the World Day of Social Justice.

The UN states that: “Social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations. We uphold the principles of social justice when we promote gender equality, or the rights of indigenous peoples and migrants”. The organization notes that “Social Justice cannot be attained…in the absence of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms”.

The UN’s World Day of Social Justice is coming up on the 20 February. The UN notes that: ‘We uphold the principles of social justice when we promote gender equality or the rights of indigenous peoples and migrants’ and that: ‘social justice cannot be attained in the absence of peace and security, or in the absence of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms’.

PBI supports human rights defenders in different parts of the world who push for social justice and respect for the rule of law.  This work often implies considerable risk.  PBI supports many defenders who have been crimianlised for the work they carry out, meaning the legal system is used against them in order to stop their resistance.  

(Article by PBI Canada)

On January 14, Front Line Defenders released its Global Analysis 2019 report.

Their analysis reports that 304 human rights defenders were killed last year, including 106 human rights defenders in Colombia, 31 in Honduras, 23 in Mexico, 15 in Guatemala, 3 in Indonesia and 2 in Kenya.

Last year PBI Colombia celebrated 25 years of offering protective accompaniment to human rights defenders across the country.  To celebrate, PBI Colombia produced a series of 25 videos, recounting the history of the project in the country from the voices of those who have been accompanied by PBI through the years.  See the videos here. 

The following is a short film produced by Manu Valcarce about human rights defenders across Latin America and the fundamental role they play in the construction of peaceful and fair societies.  Without defenders, there would be no human rights.  

This December, and continuously, PBI puts human rights defenders at the centre, in the position they deserve given the fundamental role they play in the protection of human rights and the construction of fair and peaceful societies.

Human rights defenders continue to provide voices for the voiceless, pushing for social justice. They often risk their lives to stand up for what they believe in, holding states to account and pushing for human rights to be respected, protected and fulfilled.

More than 250,000 Colombians went on continuous protests during the last two weeks of November over a series of issues that have set strong clashes against the current government. The protests began as a normal workers’ unions strike but was amplified due to President Duque’s lack of response to acknowledge workers’ demands.