YULY VELÁSQUEZ, CREDHOS, JANI SILVA, JOEL RODRÍGUEZ AND MARÍA CIRO DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS IN COLOMBIA. THEY FACE DEATH THREATS AND PERSECUTION FOR IT. READ THEIR STORIES!
Colombia is one of the countries in the world with the highest number of killings of human rights defenders and one of the most dangerous in which to carry out this work.
Who faces the most risk? Defenders who work to defend the land, territory, and environment in rural areas, in Indigenous, campesino (peasant farmer) and Afro-Colombian communities. They find themselves trapped between the violence caused by the armed conflict and disputes over land and natural resources.
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YULY VELÁSQUEZ, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDER IN MAGDALENA MEDIO
Yuly Velásquez considers herself amphibious as she is equally at home both in water and on land. Along with the marshes and other bodies of water that supply Barrancabermeja, in Magdalena Medio, she defends the livelihoods of fishing communities from pollution and violence. She is president of the Federation of Artisanal, Environmental and Tourist Fishermen of the Department of Santander (FEDEPESAN) and legal representative of the Association of Fishers and Guardians of the Water, Flora and Fauna (ASOGEAFF).
REGIONAL CORPORATION FOR THE DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS, CREDHOS
CREDHOS has a longer history and presence in Magdalena Medio than almost any other human rights organization. It has been working since 1987 to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law in the context of armed conflict and human rights. In recent years, CREDHOS has been notable for its participation in the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) and has been recognized as a collective victim of the internal armed conflict. It also provides support to organizations at risk such as FEDEPESAN.
JANI SILVA, AMAZONIAN ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDER
Jani was born in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. She is a brave campesina who has dedicated her life to defending our oxygen and our water. In 2008, Jani co-founded the Association for the Comprehensive and Sustainable Development of the Perla Amazónica (ADISPA). ADISPA and Jani defend the rights of more than 1,200 campesinos living in the “Perla Amazónica Peasant Farmer Reserve Area” in Putumayo, a uniquely diverse region in the south of Colombia.
JOEL CHIPIAJE, INDIGENOUS SIKUANI ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDER
Growing up among displacement and poverty, Joel heard stories of when his father and the elders in his Indigenous community, ASEINPOME, lived in their ancestral land full of natural resources, water, and food. They told the story of how armed individuals forced them to leave their home by committing violent acts against their race: the hunting and systematic killing of Indigenous people.
MARIA CIRO, CAMPESINA ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDER
Raised in the Colombia countryside, shaped by the work to produce food in the midst of the Colombian armed conflict, María Ciro is a campesina woman who has dedicated her life to showing that nature is not an object to be exploited but a living being which we rely upon.
