LAWG Blog - Latin America Working Group

Days of Prayer and Action 2009: Calling for Change, Making Displaced Colombians Visible

by Travis Wheeler on May 19, 2009

When we started working with faith-based and grassroots groups to plan this year's Days of Prayer and Action, Colombians were being forced to flee their homes at the staggering, almost unbelievable rate of 1,500 a day. By the time 2008 was said and done, nearly 400,000 had become internally displaced people (IDPs) and Colombia's displaced population had swelled to more than 4 million, overtaking Sudan in the seeming-blink-of-an-eye as the country with the world's most displaced people. We knew we had to do something to make this crisis visible to people here in the United State and to our government that has funded and supported so many of the policies that have exacerbated this humanitarian crisis.

:, 2009, Blog Posts, Colombia

The Problem of Baseless Persecutions of Human Rights Defenders in Colombia

by Travis Wheeler and Lisa Haugaard on April 07, 2009

While many of our readers know that Colombian human rights defenders are frequently targeted and stigmatized by public threats and innuendo that call the very legitimacy of their work—and sometimes their personal integrity—into question, what’s less well understood is how often the voices of those denouncing human rights abuses are stifled by baseless investigations and prosecutions.

:, Blog Posts, Lisa Haugaard

Shooting the Messengers

by Travis Wheeler and Lisa Haugaard on March 26, 2009

Speaking to reporters after a local “security council” meeting in Norte de Santander earlier this week, President Uribe claimed that only 22 of the many hundreds of cases of “false positives” civilian killings by the Colombian army in recent years have any “judicial foundation.”

:, Blog Posts, Lisa Haugaard

Colombia's Victims' Rights Act

by Adam Isacson on March 17, 2009

Here's a guest blog from LAWG colleague Adam Isacson at the Center for International Policy on the debate surrounding Colombia's victims' law. Colombia needs a strong, fair law on victims rights and meaningful reparations.

:Blog Posts, Colombia

Colombian Civil Society Leaders Go to Washington

by Travis Wheeler and Lisa Haugaard on March 03, 2009

Last week, Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos visited Washington, DC to meet with lawmakers and top Obama Administration officials, including Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Sec. Robert Gates, and National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones.

:, Blog Posts, Lisa Haugaard