Activist Actions

Human Rights Report.  The second edition of "A Prophetic Call:  Colombian Churches Document their Suffering and their Hope" was released by a coalition of groups, including Justapaz, the Christian Center for Justice, Peace & Nonviolent Direct Action, and the Peace Commission of the Evangelical Council of Colombia.  The report presents a vivid picture of the sociopolitical violence-including 16 homicides in 2006-that evangelical and Protestant churches face because of the internal armed conflict that continues in Colombia.  In addition to reporting human rights abuses committed against the evangelical and Protestant communities, the report also draws attention to various peace-building activities sponsored by these communities.  Click here for the full report.

Senator Petro to Receive Award.  The Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award will commemorate the 31^st anniversary of the car bombing that took the lives of Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier and American Ronni Karpen Moffitt on September 21, 1976 in Washington, DC - a crime which FBI investigation linked to the highest levels of the Pinochet regime.  This year, Colombian Senator Gustavo Petro-leader of the country's main opposition party, the Democratic Pole-will be honored for challenging the deep permeation by paramilitaries into all facets of Colombian society.  His investigations have exposed several top-ranking government officials as having close ties with the paramilitaries and the drug cartels.  Because of his efforts, Petro has become both the most threatened man in the country, as well as one of the most popular.  To read more about the event, click 
here.

UNHCR Campaign.  The Office of the United Nations' High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) launched a $220 million campaign to educate 9 million children affected by armed conflict, particularly focusing on Darfur, Iraq, and Colombia, which are the three most severe cases of displacement crises.  The High Commissioner, António Guterres announced the campaign-which brings partners the UNHCR and private sector partners-at the annual Clinton Global Initiative on September 26, stating that the program would be a "means of ensuring that vulnerable children are fully able to realize their right to an education."  Read more about the UNHCR initiative here.  To access the Colombia page, click here.          

U.S. Media Coverage of Colombia

Indigenous Displacement.  Reuters reported on September 19 that 744 Awa tribe members were displaced by fighting between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas and reorganized factions of the paramilitaries. The combat took place on a reservation in Tumaco in the Narino province. The victims are seeking refuge in a local elementary school and say that they are afraid to go back, citing that the FARC may have planted landmines in the area.  Since the beginning of the year, there have been 18 separate instances of displacement in Narino.  As a result of the four-decade internal conflict, Colombia has more than 2 million internally displaced people.  Access the full article here.

Congressional Investigation.  A September 29 International Herald-Tribune article reports that Colombia's chief prosecutor-Mario Iguaran-has called on congress to investigate ex-President Belisario Betancur regarding the disappearance of several judicial workers in 1985.  In that year, the army stormed the Palace of Justice after it was raided by the leftist rebel organization, the M-19. Iguaran's request comes on the heels of a video surfacing that shows security forces carrying away the disappeared magistrates alive.  Many lower-ranking officers are imprisoned waiting for trial on human rights abuses during the siege.  President Betancur previously took political responsibility for the government operation, but was cleared of wrongdoing by a prior congressional investigation.  Read the full article here.