Colombia

PBI publishes graphic novel about the history of the project and the organisations and individuals it accompanies in Colombia.

In August 2020, in a historic ruling for Colombia, the successor to the Administrative Department of Security (DAS), the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of the Interior were condemned for the threats, kidnapping and systematic psychological torture that journalist Claudia Julieta Duque was subjected to at the hands of the defunct DAS from 23 July 2001 to April 2010.

In 2009 various human rights defenders, among them the founder of DH Colombia, lawyer Jorge Molano, denounced that they were victims of a state policy to spy on human rights defenders, which was gravely affecting their guarantees to carry out their work, and their personal security.

Inspired by the Humanitarian Zones that were formed in regions such as Curbaradó and Cacarica in Urabá and accompanied by the Interchurch Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJP), the first Humanitarian Space  within an urban context was implemented in Buenaventura. These Zones are a community initiative which have the aim of allowed people to continue living in their territories, despite the dangers caused by the dynamics of the armed conflict. 

David Ravelo, a recognized human rights defender in Barrancabermeja and founding member of CREDHOS, was arrested, accused of being the mastermind of the murder, in 1991, of a local public official, a crime that he, according to his legal defence, never committed. In December 2012, after 26 months awaiting sentencing, he was condemned to 18 years in prison.

1996 was a year of political instability and increased risk and criminalization for HRDs in Colombia. PBI accompaniment helped ensure that lawyers from the Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CCAJAR) could continue their work in Colombia despite the high level of risk.