Since President Juan Manuel Santos took office in August 2010, expectations regarding the human rights situation in Colombia have been high. The new government’s discourse abroad has been focused on reassuring the international community that Colombia will respect human rights. To honor this promise, on June 1st, the Colombian Congress passed the ‘Victims and Land Restitution Law’, which constitutes the first piece of legislation enacted to redress the suffering caused to millions of victims and internally displaced persons by the country’s internal conflict. However, despite the passage of this law, the risks that human rights defenders face in Colombia remain grave, and in certain respects have worsened in the past year. Only last month Ana Fabricia Córdoba Cabrera, a leader of displaced persons in Colombia, was assassinated in Medellín. The implementation of the law is therefore likely to face enormous challenges, particularly regarding the safety and protection of victims and human rights defenders.

To address this issue, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) hosted an event on “Current Perspectives on Human Rights and the Victims and Land Restitution Law in Colombia.”  Two leading Colombia based Human Rights defenders shared their perspectives on the situation of human rights defenders in the current political context in Colombia.   Participants and sponsors of the discussion included (l-r in the photo): Virginia M. Bouvier, USIP; Kimberly Stanton, Project Counseling Services; Rafael Barrios, Jose Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CCJAR); Anthony Dest, Washington Office on Latin America; Lisa Haugaard, Latin America Working Group; and Viviana Kristicevic, CEJIL.

Speakers

• Rafael Barrios
  Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo (CCJAR)
• Kimbery Stanton
  Project Counselling Service (PCS)
  

Explore Further

• Read the event report