In the midst of COVID Crisis: call for ceasefire and protection of social leaders

International Civil Society Organizations support the call in favor of the United Nations Global Humanitarian Agreement and UN Mission in Colombia’s call for a ceasefire and we ask for the protection of the lives of all vulnerable people in the midst of the pandemic
Bogota, April 3, 2020. The International Civil Society Organizations that subscribe to this communiqué identify in the unilateral ceasefire ordered by the ELN starting on April 1, 2020, and in the reactivation of the figure of the peace managers (gestores de paz) by the government of Ivan Duque, a possibility to return to the path of dialogue with this guerrilla group; a path which must be prioritized over any other.
Also, with great concern, we note and warn about the continuation of killings against people who defend peace and human rights, including those who signed the Final Peace Agreement with the Farc-Ep.
We also warn about the aggressions and effects caused by the presence of illegal armed groups which have led to, according to a MAPP OAS report, „confinements and forced displacements of communities in Alto Baudó (Chocó), Roberto Payán (Nariño), Algeria and El Tambo (Cauca), as well as harassments at police stations in Northern Cauca which put civilians at high risk.“1 During the quarantine, eight people have been killed, three of them were in the process of reintegrating.
This is a time for, as the director of the UN Mission in Colombia says, consolidating efforts to protect the lives of the most vulnerable. The Colombian State must ensure that the measures taken to address the pandemic do not become a new factor that endangers and violates the rights of the country’s most impoverished people.

1 https://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/delitos/asesinatos-de-lideres-sociales-en-crisis-por- coronavirus478400

We call on the Colombian State to take all preventive measures to protect the lives of social leaders, people who reintegrated, people deprived of liberty, and in general those who live in areas impacted by violence and poverty.
We will remain vigilant, amid restrictions that we encourage to be observed closely, that the human rights of all people on Colombian territory are respected.
We continue our humanitarian and human rights work despite the restrictions emanating from the actions taken by the national government and by local governments.
It is an act of humanity to stop any violent action in the midst of the pandemic.
Life above all else!

signed by:

Adveniat

ABColombia

ask! Schweiz

Christian Aid

kolko – Menschenrechte für Kolumbien

Mundubat

Oxfam

terre des hommes – Suisse

Pax Christi Deutschland

Peace Brigades International – Colombia Project

Swefor

….

see pdf for full list of signatures

read full document:

English:200406English version Cese al fuego y llamamiento humanitario

Spanish: Llamamiento humanitario y cese al fuego

Contact

Maria Cristina Umbarila Chacón

Technical Secretary Cooperation Space for Peace

Cooppaz2016@gmail.com