November 17, 2006
Protect Human Rights Defenders

This year has seen a surge in death threats against defenders of human rights in Colombia. Union representatives, religious leaders, journalists, Afro-Colombian and indigenous community leaders, and members of national and local human rights groups have received threats for their work. Moreover, a number have been assassinated or disappeared in the past year. In response to this disturbing trend, members of the House of Representatives are circulating a letter to help protect Colombian human rights defenders. Encourage your member of Congress to sign this letter.

The congressional letter, sponsored by Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Joseph Pitts (R-PA), is addressed to the U.S. State Department, asking Secretary Rice and the U.S. embassy to pressure the Colombian government on this issue. The Colombian government should investigate and prosecute threats and attacks against defenders, make public statements regarding the legitimacy of human rights work, and improve protection measures for human rights defenders and other leaders at risk.

Take Action! Call your representative in the House to ask him/her to sign the bipartisan letter to protect human rights defenders in Colombia that is being circulated by Reps. McGovern and Pitts.

Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to be connected. Ask to speak with the foreign policy aide. If the aide is unable to answer your call, leave a message.

Here’s a sample script for your call:

I am calling from [your town or city] as a constituent of Rep.______‘s district. I would like him/her to sign the bipartisan letter being circulated by Reps. McGovern and Pitts that encourages the U.S. State Department to address the protection of human rights defenders with the Colombian government. Threats have dramatically increased this year, yet investigation into the origins of the death threats has thus far been inadequate. Some threats have resulted in assassinations and disappearances.

The United States should insist that the Colombian government recognize the legitimacy of human rights defenders, fully investigate threats against them, and provide protection for them when necessary. For these reasons I would like my representative to sign the McGovern-Pitts congressional letter.”

Go to www.house.gov to find out who your representative is, or to learn more about the person that is representing you in Congress.

Colombian human rights defenders are just like us – they believe in the freedom to speak their beliefs, to organize, and to demand justice and basic rights for their country and their people. But surrounded by war and violence, they are being denied these rights and freedoms. This is our chance to take action for the protection of our Colombian counterparts!

You can read the congressional letter at: http://www.lawg.org/docs/defenders06.pdf

You also may want to check out Amnesty International’s comprehensive report on human rights defenders, which was released in August 2006:

Colombia: Fear and Intimidation: The dangers of human rights work http://www.amnestyusa.org/escr/document.do?id=ENGAMR230332006

To learn more about human rights in Colombia see LAWG’s website:
http://www.lawg.org/countries/colombia/explore_hr.htm