Shrinking Space: severe human rights violations of Awá people in Nariño – Colombia

The department of Nariño, in Colombia, is experiencing an increase of violence against the Awá community and constant violations of their human rights, in particular targeted at the young population. Despite the signature of the Peace Agreement, Colombia is undergoing levels of violence that are jeopardizing the agreement and the situation has worsened during the pandemic.

Colombian Congress members and several organisations, among them SOLIDAR member Movimiento por la Paz (MPDL), have launched a communication calling for local and national authorities as well as the international community to take all the measures to stop the escalation of violence and to protect the human rights of indigenous populations, who are being persecuted and murdered. 

SOLIDAR supports this communication and asks the European Union to engage with Colombian authorities to put an end to this terrorising environment. Moreover, the EU should also prioritise the support to indigenous people and their representative organisations, as part of the current programming process.