PBI Colombia Annual report I August 2020
Annual report 2019 1
Articles
6
Achievements
30
PBI in the field
10
Walking with the defenders
32
Memory schools for non-repetition
16
Dialogue and advocacy
34
Raising awareness on human rights defenders’ work with Colombian state authorities and the international community
Perla AmazĂłnica, the struggle continues
36
Humanitarian crisis in JiguamiandĂł
20
2019: Escalation of threats and human rights violations against defenders
26
Publications and distribution Visibilizing the serious and ongoing threats and attacks against human rights defenders in Colombia
2
28
Support for the reconstruction of the social fabric
40
Human resources and financial report
46
Funding agencies
Who we are Peace Brigades International is an international non-governmental, non-confessional, and independent organization, recognized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia. Since 1994, we have carried out tasks related to international observation and accompaniment in Colombia. Our mission is to protect the work space of human rights defenders who face attacks due to their work in the defense and promotion of human rights and social justice. PBI works solely at the request of local organizations, and does seek to replace their initiatives, but instead to support them using a comprehensive protection model that includes: • Physical accompaniment and international observation in the field.
On-the-ground presence of international observers.
Dialogue with Colombian civilian and military authorities, the diplomatic corps in Colombia, international organisms and different EU and North American government authorities.
• Political advocacy within and outside of Colombia. • Dissemination of information and awareness raising on the human rights situation. • Facilitation of workshops to strengthen and reconstruct the Colombian social fabric. PBI Colombia’s efforts stem from a prevention and protection mandate, with a differential and inter-sectional approach that gives special attention to the situation of vulnerable groups, including women defenders and peasant, indigenous, and Afro-Colombian communities that nonviolently resist in their territories. To do this, PBI practices a differential analysis of the risks faced by these groups, so as to be able to develop specific and adequate protection mechanisms adapted to their needs.
Producing and distributing information on the organizations PBI accompanies and their protection needs.
Psychosocial support and repairing the social fabric through self-protection workshops.
3
- Cesar -
- Sucre - Bolivar -
- North of Santander -
- Apartadรณ - Bajo Atrato -
- Antioquia -
- Barrancabermeja - Santander -
- Chocรณ - Boyacรก -
- Valle del Cauca - Bogotรก -
- Cauca -
- Meta -
- Putumayo -
PBI Offices
Regions where PBI accompanies
4
- Casanare -
In 2019, PBI celebrated 25 years of international accompaniment in Colombia. Pictured, celebrations in Barrancabermeja.
Hermana Maritza, a renowned human rights defender who has been a victim of threats which have led her to leave the country on various occasions, shares memories of moments in which she has been accompanied by PBI.
Nathalie and JosÊ, members of PBI’s coordination team, prepare the welcome speech during the event in Bogota. 5
In the middle of the lonely exercise of human rights defense, being able to turn around and see the green vest and a friendly face accompanying you, you say to yourself “ok, it’s ok, we can continue, I’m not alone, we’re not alone in this.” German Romero, DH Colombia
6
Achievements
7
T
hree years after the signing of the Peace Agreement between the Colombia Government and the FARC-EP, PBI Colombia has analyzed the agreement’s impact on the defense of human rights (HR) and our work in the country. Far from seeing an improvement in the guarantees to defend HR, the numbers of attacks against defenders have progressively increased in the three years following the agreement’s signature, with a total of 627 murders during this period.1 Colombia continues to be the Latin American country with the highest numbers for murdered human rights defenders, and threats have sky rocketed, which is taking place in a context with high-level impunity, according to UN Special Rapporteur Michel Forst.2 In 2019, Front Line Defenders ranked Colombia as the most dangerous country in the world to carry out this work, with over a third of the total murders globally.3
Accompaniments and missions of international observation 2017
2018
222 8
2019
264
OHCHR, as an entity responsible for monitoring the HR situation, highlighted the following causes: the penetration of illegal armed groups in areas vacated by the FARC, the favoring of a military response from the Government, continuous challenges in implementing the peace agreement, especially the dismantling of paramilitary-linked groups, land restitution and rural reform, illicit crop substitution, and the fulfillment of victims’ rights.4 In response to the deteriorating security situation faced by HR defenders, in 2019, PBI Colombia strengthened its actions to protect and promote the mission of 18 organizations and communities, using physical, political, and psycho-social accompaniment. There actions were carried out by 35 international brigadistas from our three offices in Colombia. However, limited available resources threatens our capacity to respond to the elevated number of petitions we receive amid this alarming context.
Visits to offices and meetings with accompanied organisations 2017
302
2018
277
2019
330
362
Self-care and self-protection spaces 2017
2018
29
2019
2017
41
35
Meetings with the diplomatic community and multilateral organisations within Colombia 2017
2018
58
2019
2018
70
2019
71
456
1090
786
2018
76
2019
140
116
Advocacy tours with human rights defenders in Europe and North America 2017
78
2019
Meetings with the International community within and outwith Colombia
117
59
2018
2017
Meetings with authorities and multilateral agencies in Europe and North America 2017
Workshop participants
2018
5
2019
7
10 9
10
Walking with the defenders
11
P
BI Colombia’s accompaniment is fundamental, since the organizations and communities carry out high risk activities, either due to the complexity of the regions where they work or the issues they address. In 2019, those accompanied by PBI stated that they had experienced a rising number of security incidents, represented by threats that were carried out or an increase in malicious prosecution, among others. We are especially concerned by those incidents associated with gender violence. Sixty-four percent of organizations declared that women members had suffered some kind of attack or discrimination, based on their gender, in the context of their work to defend HR. There were some reports of sexual abuse or harassment, among other types of violence. During 2019, PBI Colombia implemented four types accompaniment modalities. Below we highlight, some noteworthy cases:
In the context of activities related to the Comprehensive System for Truth, Justice, Reparation, and Non-Repetiion (SIVJRNR, in Spanish), PBI has accompanied activities to recover memory and clarify the truth. Several accompanied organizations have carried out exhaustive documentation to prepare reports on HR violations, which are then presented to the different SIVJRNR bodies. One example of this is the report written by victims and organizations, including CCAJAR, called Telarañas de impunidad: Las voces de resiliencia frente a la violencia estatal-paramilitar en el Magdalena Medio (1998-2000)5 (Webs of Impunity: Resilient Voices on State-Paramilitary Violence in the Magdalena Medio (1998-2000)) which demonstrates the role of agents from the State Security Forces in the expansion of the paramilitary structure in the region. CREDHOS also worked to locate mass graves, in coordination with the Search Unit for Disappeared Personas (UBDP, in Spanish), while COSPACC and FCSPP researched extrajudicial executions and forced disappearance in Boyacá, with the aim of recovering memory and dignifying victims who continue to fight oblivion, a silencing of their voices, and impunity. Also, CIJP organized four Memory Festivals.6 The first was held Cacarica with participation from Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP, in Spanish) magistrates who held this tribunal’s first hearing in a rural area. In addition to communities from the Bajo Atrato, victimizers responsible for HR violations also participated, to share the truth about what happened during Operations Genesis and Black September. A space was created to dialogue about reconciliation and clarifying the truth. In order to provide security guarantees to the communities participating in the transitional justice process, the JEP granted precautionary measures to the inhabitants of the Curvaradó and Jiguamiandó river basins.7
12
in figures
259 Physical accompaniments
43 International observation missions
111 Visits of accompanied organizations
177 Monitoring meetings accompanied organizations
74 Meetings with accompanied organizations
75 Advocacy meetings
Humanitarian Caravan, north-east Antioquia. For 22 years, since the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó`s creation, it has continuously worked to make known its history and to fight against impunity. Due to these efforts, in May, the Supreme Court of Justice convicted six members of the Army’s Vélez Battalion of the 17th Brigade. They were sanctioned to 34 years in prison for their participation in the massacre of eight individuals from this community. In the context of the SIVJRNR, the Peace Community delivered a report to the Truth Commission (CEV, in Spanish) in 2019, documenting over 500 incidents of HR violations against the community in the context of the armed conflict. PBI Colombia’s accompaniment facilitated the participation of organizations in emblematic spaces, such as a tribute organized by the CEV and UNBPD in the city of Pasto, where the efforts of the “searching women” was recognized, with participation from the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation. On the other hand, PBI accompanied events and spaces to strengthen communities and leaders during peace-building initiatives carried out from the territories.
Among others, PBI accompanied the celebration of the fifth assembly of the Universidad Intercultural de los Pueblos (The People’s Inter-cultural University), a process to exchange knowledge and traditions of resistance, using education and research designed for HR defenders in southwestern Colombia, led by the organization NOMADESC. Again this year, we accompanied the ACVC in the Third Festival for Peasant Culture and Dignity, which brought together communities from the Sur de Bolívar and Magdalena Medio region to celebrate their cultural heritage as peasants and to vindicate their rights and identity. CAHUCOPANA organized a convening of women and gender schools in the Nordeste Antioqueño region. These spaces sought to identify patriarchal structures in the peasant society and to learn tools for women’s political participation in rural spaces. With our accompaniment, several organizations, such as CAHUCOPANA and CREDHOS gave workshops on community protection and International Humanitarian Law (ILL) in the northeastern region. Additionally, COSPACC gave workshops on HR and IHL with an environmental focus in diverse counties throughout the department of Casanare. 13
In the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó.
The Youth Festival Celebrating Life and Amazon Biodiversity, 19 Years of the Perla Amazónica Peasant Reserve Zone was held. Over a week, CIJP accompanied activities to strengthen the community structure so that youth could identify with and participate in the resistance initiatives in their community. Third, PBI accompanied initiatives to defend the right to freedom of expression, assembly, and civil society’s political participation. In 2019 this was particularly focused on the National Strike (Paro Nacional) demonstrations, that were convened starting on 21 November, among others. In the context of the Campaign Defender la Libertad un Asunto de Todas8 (Defending Freedom an Issue for Everyone), which seeks to denounce arbitrary detentions, judicial persecution, and the criminalization of social protests in Colombia, several accompanied organizations (FCSPP, CCAJAR, and DH Colombia) created the Comisiones de Verificación e Intervención para documentar casos y sistematizar información durante el Paro Nacional (Verification and Intervention Commissions to document cases and systematize information during the National Strike). With accompaniment from PBI, it contributed to guarantee a monitoring of HR violations during these demonstrations. 14
Claudia Julieta Duque was able to establish the whereabouts of a student detained in the context of the National Strike and demonstrate the abusive conditions under which the individual was held. With PBI’s accompaniment, in 2019, the journalist also advanced investigations on the impacts of the Ituango hydroelectric dam megaproject on the population and the environment. FCSPP and COSPACC have coordinated strategies to respond to the malicious prosecution of leaders as a strategy to break apart the social movement. Publications such as Criminalización de la defensa de los derechos humanos en Colombia: la judicialización a defensores/as de la tierra, el territorio, el medio ambiente y la paz (Criminalization of the Defense of Human Rights in Colombia: The malicious prosecution of defenders of land, territory, the environment, and peace), which documents the increasing risks, with the aim of backing civil society political participation. Another one of our work areas for 2019 continued to be the fight against impunity, by accompanying investigations and legal cases which entail a high risk for the organizations that defend victims’ rights.
CCALCP has continued its work to achieve an alternative boundary for the Santurbán high-altitude wetland (páramo), an important water source for many counties in the departments of Santander and Norte de Santander, which is threatened by a mining project.
Lastly, PBI continues accompanying initiatives in the territories to resist the land grabbing and displacement that threatens Colombia’s ancestral communities. We highlight the initiatives we seek to protect via our accompaniment to CIJP.
CREDHOS research demonstrated the environmental impacts of the oil industry on the marshes of Barrancabermeja, Colombia’s principle oil city.
The communities of Jiguamiandó (Chocó) suffered the advances and threats of illegal armed groups that clashed in their territory between February and March. The indigenous communities experienced serious violations to their territorial and human rights, contrary to the recognition of the civilian population enshrined in IHL. For twenty days, PBI permanently accompanied CIJP to verify the situation in the Humanitarian Zones, thus we additionally provided “umbrella” accompaniment to the community that managed to remain in its territories in spite of the illegal groups’ advances.
CIJP continued accompanying communities from the Bajo Atrato that have returned to their ancestral lands, providing legal council to support their land claims. Due to these efforts, in May, eight lots were returned to families, victims of displacement in the 90s, from the rural community of Guacamayas. The journalist Claudia Julieta Duque continues fighting impunity in the case of psychological torture, threats, espionage, and crimes against humanity carried out against the journalist by the former Colombian secret police (DAS). In July, the judge in that case banned the journalist from sharing her opinions and information on the case, causing the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP, in Spanish) to file a writ of protection (tutela) in favor of her constitutional right to freedom of expression. DH Colombia represents the family of Nicholas Neira, a young man who was 15 years old when he died during a 1 May, 2005 march, hit in the head with a tear gas capsule, shot by a member of the riot police. Similarly, FCSPP represents the family of Dilian Cruz, who experienced the same fate when a member of the riot police shot him in the head during National Strike protests in 2019.
CIJP accompanies the Nasa indigenous people and Perla Amazónica Peasant Reserve Zone in Putumayo as they defend their rights in the face of environmental impacts generated by oil operations in their territories. Through our accompaniment to this organization, it was possible to facilitate Jani Silva’s ongoing work in the field. Ms Silva was displaced due to threats in December of 2017. Ninety seven families from the Wounnan community of Pichimá Quebrada, Litoral San Juan (Chocó), returned to their territory after being forcibly displaced due to confrontations between illegal armed actors in June. PBI accompanied CIJP during a verification mission that confirmed the impacts of the armed confrontation within the indigenous reservation, as well as the precarious health and education conditions experienced by population located on the river’s headwaters. Also, PBI accompanied and increased visibility for their return, an extremely important and joyful time for all those who returned to their ancestral territory.
FOOTNOTES 1 Indepaz: Informe Parcial, 23 June, 2019 2 Reliefweb: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. Michael Forst, 26 December, 2019, 28 January, 2020 3 Front Line Defenders: Global Analysis 2019 4 OACNUDH: Press Briefing Note: ‘Staggering number’ of human rights defenders killed in 2019, 14 January, 2020. 5 CCAJAR: Víctimas del Magdalena Medio presentan informe sobre fuerza pública y paramilitarismo, 11 October, 2019 6 PBI: Verdad y memoria en el Bajo Atrato, 7 September, 2019 7 JEP: La JEP instala Comisión para verificar el cumplimiento de medidas cautelares en Jiguamiandó y Curvaradó, Chocó, 18 September, 2019 8 Campaign page for Defender la libertad
15
Meeting with Lars Bredhal, Deputy Chief of the European Union’s delegation in Colombia.
16
Dialogue and advocacy
Raising awareness on human rights defenders’ work with Colombian state authorities and the international community
17
A
n objective of PBI’s advocacy efforts is to facilitate spaces where HR defenders can strengthen their national and international support networks, whether that be with civil society organizations, governmental institutions, or multilateral entities. This is achieved through a holistic strategy that includes national and international advocacy missions, convenings to share with civil society organizations, meetings to facilitate dialogue with political stakeholders, and others. Below, we highlight some significant examples from 2019. Thanks to support from the European embassies in Colombia, seven individuals accompanied by PBI were sponsored through the “We Defend Life” program to increase visibility and back their work in defense of HR. In 2019, PBI Colombia joined the efforts of hundreds of national and international networks and organizations to request the renovation of the United Nations Office for Human Rights mandate in Colombia, highlighting this agency’s key role in supporting defenders. There were also coordinated actions with entities of the Comprehensive System for Truth, Justice, Reparation, and Guarantees of Non-repetition. PBI’s work to support peacebuilding and, therefore, the implementation of the Peace Agreements, resulted in several meetings with the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) with the aim of addressing protection measures for defenders and victims in the related judicial processes.
Nationally, PBI facilitated four advocacy missions in Bogotá with accompanied organizations. We organized meetings with members of the international community and Colombian institutions to request their support for prevention and protection measures. Additionally, this year, PBI organized four field visits for members of the international community to see firsthand the risks faced by communities in the regions. Internationally, nine advocacy missions were facilitated in Europe, the United States, and Canada, during which defenders created and strengthened their support networks and give witness to the HR situation in Colombia. For example, PBI Colombia designed a comprehensive strategy for Nomadesc, that accompanies Afro-Colombian, mestizo or mixed race, and indigenous communities in southwestern Colombia. In August, PBI organized a mission in Bogotá for members of this organization and the Civic Strike of Buenaventura after two of the members suffered an assassination and assassination attempt. PBI facilitated several days of meetings with seven Embassies, OHCHR, and national authorities. After the mission, Lars Bredal, Deputy Director of the EU Delegation, visited Buenaventura with PBI to receive testimonies and learn firsthand about the situation. To follow up, in September PBI coordinated a visit from five embassies and OHCHR to the port city, with the same aim. Finally, in November, Olga Araujo of Nomadesc participated in a European advocacy trip organized by PBI’s Latin American projects. The trip had several objectives, on the one hand,
25 years of pbi in colombia Maybe the most noteworthy achievement to build networks in 2019 were the events carried out to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of PBI in Colombia. In this context, events were designed to bring together accompanied organization and key national and regional actors in the defense of HR, both in the territories and the capital. In Bogotá, the event was organized around a panel on “Guarantees for Defenders in Colombia’s Post-Agreement Context- International Contributions” that opened up a space to reflect and dialogue with 161 participants, including defenders, members of the international community, and high-level regional experts. There was a regional gathering in Urabá, with 60 representatives from eight communities accompanied by PBI. This was a space to share experiences and strengthen networks.
18
to increase visibility on the situation of women land and environmental defenders in the region, and to strengthen coordination through ab exchange of differential protection and self-protection methods. Since former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez was called to testify by the Supreme Court of Justice there has been an increase in accusations and defamation against the organizations that represent the victims in the “12 Apostles” case, and against those involved in different cases against the ex-president, including CCAJAR and FCSPP. PBI has fulfilled its mission to keep the international community informed with the aim of ensuring guarantees for victims and their representatives, as well as judicial independence. These actions have helped to generate support from the international legal community –for example the Alliance for Lawyers at Risk– for organizations accompanied by PBI. 1Also, a parliamentary question was raised by Miguel Urban Crespo requesting judicial independence and EU actions to support three organizations, CIJP, CCAJAR, and FCSPP.2
in figures
137 Thanks to support from the European embassies in Colombia, seven individuals accompanied by PBI were sponsored through the “We Defend Life” program to increase visibility and back their work in defense of human rights.
Bilateral meetings with the international community
23 Multilateral meetings
26 Meetings with platforms and networks
143 Bridge meetings
44 Events attended Footnotes 1 Alliance for lawyers at risk: Human Rights Defenders Toolbox published, 2019 2 Palamento Europeo: Preguntas parlamentarias, 29 October 2019
9 Advocacy missions
19
20
2019: Escalation of threats and human rights violations against defenders 21
T
he attacks against defenders and social leaders, the limited advances in the Peace Agreement’s implementation, and an intensification of the armed conflict continue to be principle concerns related to the human rights situation in Colombia in 2019. The year began with a wave of violence, with the murder of six people who exercised a certain social leadership, just in the first week of the year, and an assassination attempts against prominent leaders, such as Alfamir Castillo,1 mother of a young victim of an extrajudicial execution, known as “false positives.” Ms. Castillo was demanding her rights to truth and justice in a Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) case, in particular, hearings involving retired General Mario Montoya. There were also attacks against the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation, that had the windows of its office broken out.2 The human rights organizations, representatives of victims of the armed conflict who continue to support the peace process, those that continue accompanying peasant, indigenous, and Afro-descendant communities facing threats, attacks, and harassment in their territories, continue to be the targets of attacks, accusations, and a delegitimization of their work. The Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, Michel Forst, highlighted in his report that Colombia continues to be the country with the highest number of defenders murdered.3 The NGO Front Line Defenders also demonstrated this concerning information in its 2019 annual report, which documented the murder of 106 human rights defenders.4 Nevertheless, there is a lack of concrete solutions to this tragedy and a holistic state response, which continues to respond with a strong militarization of the territories. In general, there have been several attacks against the peace agreement by the Colombian government due to non-compliance with their implementation. At the end of 2019, three years after the signing of the Agreement, only 25% of the 578 agreed upon provisions have been completely implemented.The most advanced point is the creation of the entities that make up the Comprehensive System for Truth, Justice, Reparation, and Non-repetition (SIVJRNP). After a complex and slow decision-making process in the Congress of the Republic, the JEP’s statutory law was sanctioned in June. This granted autonomy to the Comprehensive System, which opened seven macro-cases. On the other hand, during its first year, the Truth Commission (CEV) has collected 7,444 testimonies and the Search Unit for Disappeared Persons (UBPD) initiated its territorial consolidation in 17 locations, completing the registry of search requests for 4,817 individuals. Other points of the agreement saw few advances, with many obstacles from the Duque government itself. Point 4 on the “Solution to the illicit drug problem” has undergone a slow down while the Government has insisted on implementing forced eradication and has not complied with illicit crop substitution programs, leaving numerous peasants without an income or state protection. Point 5 on “Political Participation” has not advanced and generates major concerns in relation to the possibility of guaranteeing and achieving an expansion of democracy.5 22
After the National Liberation Army’s (ELN) 17 January attack at the General Santander Police Academy in Bogotá, the Government announced the termination of negotiations that had begun in 2017 and requested the immediate capture of the guerrilla delegation in Havana, Cuba.6 This decision generated international tension with the guarantor countries as it did not respect the protocols established with the Santos Government and led to an intensification of the conflict armed nationally. The state response has been to increase militarization in the territories, particularly in Cauca and Norte de Santander.7 In May, the U.S. newspaper “The New York Times” published several articles revealing a directive issued from the highest levels of the Colombian Army, ordering commanders to double the numbers for captures and deaths amid combat operations to improve the results from their efforts. This generated concern about a reappearance of extrajudicial executions, also called “false positives.”8 The Ministry of Defense, by means of then Minister Guillermo Botero and current Minister Carlos Holmes, declared that the information had been taken out of context and was partial and even though the army had knowledge of these documents, the then General Nicasio Martínez denied that he had ordered his commanders to double the results. The national scandal ended with the withdrawal and conclusion of this directive.9 Meanwhile, the ELN has been expanding throughout the country in an attempt to gain territorial control in the vacuum left by the former FARC, increasing confrontations not only against other illegal armed groups but also against State Forces. This fight for control has materialized in violent actions against the civilian population, which includes individual and collective threats, selective and multiple murders; confinement or restrictions to mobility; indiscriminate attacks with improvised explosive devices; enforced disappearances and mass and “drop by drop” displacements; forced recruitment and use of children and adolescents, and sexual violence against women. One of the areas with the greatest violence has been the Pacific region. On the one hand, the ELN has carried out fierce confrontations against the Gaitanista Self-dense Forces of Colombia (AGC) paramilitary group, as well as the so-called Gulf Clan and the National Army, putting the Afro-descendant and Indigenous communities that live in the Jiguamiandó river basin, and more generally, in the Bajo Atrato region in grave risk. Around 5,617 individuals from indigenous communities and 2,232 individuals from Afro-descendant communities have been affected. There was a nearly 300% increase in confinement and restrictions to mobility and a 230% increase in mass displacement10 compared to the previous year, aggravating the humanitarian crisis faced by these communities. On the other hand, in the county of Buenaventura, which is home to the country’s largest seaport, the risk was mainly focused in the urban area, where the ELN, post-FARC groups, and the AGC disputed control, using criminal gangs already operating there. In July, the
One of the areas with the greatest violence has been the Pacific region. On the one hand, the ELN has carried out fierce confrontations against the Gaitanista Self-dense Forces of Colombia (AGC) paramilitary group, as well as the so-called Gulf Clan and the National Army, putting the Afro-descendant and Indigenous communities that live in the Jiguamiandó river basin, and more generally, in the Bajo Atrato region in grave risk.
Human Rights Ombudsperson’s Office alerted to the risk faced by around 169,439 inhabitants of comunas (districts) 3, 4, 9, 10, and 12, affecting 32 of the 165 neighborhoods.11 The population most at risk are children, adolescents, and youth. 2019 has also had a historic date with justice. The Supreme Court summoned the ex-president of the Republic, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, for questioning on 8 October to answer to the alleged crimes of procedural fraud and witnesses tampering.12 In 2012, opposition senator Iván Cepeda launched a political control debate on Álvaro Uribe Vélez, presenting statements from several ex-paramilitary members, who assured that the ex-president and his brother, Santiago Uribe Vélez, had founded an organization that belonged to the paramilitary group United Self-defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). Álvaro Uribe Vélez filed a complaint against Iván Cepeda for the alleged use of false witnesses and abuse of his role as congressman by going into the prison to collect evidence. However, six
years later, in 2018, the Supreme Court closed the case against Cepeda and, instead, it began to investigate the ex-president for allegedly manipulating several ex-paramilitary members to change their statements. The Supreme Court of Justice has in its power almost 30 cases with accusations against Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Meanwhile, the congressional commission in charge of investigating high-level state employees has over 50 investigations against the former president. The ex-president has not been convicted in any of the cases. Also, the Iván Duque Government has failed to fulfill an agreement reached in 2017 with 32 universities to increase the budget by 1.2 trillion for the next four years. Additionally, it has proposed a labor reform that leaves 44% of workers with wages below the minimum wage, as well as a contracting model that could lead to the elimination of union organizations.
23
2019 was a year of increasing violence and armed conflict, minimal fulfillment of the Peace Agreement, murders of leaders, and a population that is tired of peacefully demanding effective solutions and security guarantees for the country’s development.
The situation of instability and violence has led to numerous nonviolent social protests throughout the year due to the systematic murder of leaders,13 labor reforms,14 or non-fulfillment of agreements with the education sector,15 which culminated in the National Strike convened for 21 November, where millions showed their discontent with different policies and the situation of violence in the country. The State response, far from granting guarantees to peacefully exercise the right to social protest, has been criminal prosecution, repression, and an abuse of force. In this context, an 18 year old named Dilan Cruz died from brain injuries. The Riot Police (ESMAD) of the National Police fired an artifact which hit him in the head on 26 November.16 24
The Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP) published an extensive report at the end of the year documenting the cases of 249 human rights defenders that have faced criminal prosecution in the context of nonviolent protests between 2012 and 2019; showing the State’s aim to criminalize protests. According to CSPP, “Criminalization through the unlawful use of criminal law is part of a range of attacks, aggressions, and obstacles that defenders face in Colombia, and which are often invisible.”17 2019 was a year of increasing violence and armed conflict, minimal fulfillment of the Peace Agreement, murders of leaders, and a population that is tired of peacefully demanding effective solutions and security guarantees for the country’s development.
The Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, Michel Forst, highlighted in his report that Colombia continues to be the country with the highest number of defenders murdered.
Footnotes 1 El Tiempo: Repudian atentado contra madre de víctima de ‘falsos positivos’, 13 January 2019 2 PBI Colombia: “No nos mueve la ideología, nos mueve el amor, un amor que se politiza, que adquiere consciencia social”: Yanette Bautista, 25 January 2019 3 Consejo de Derechos Humanos, 43er período de sesiones: Visita a Colombia, Informe del Relator Especial sobre la situación de los defensores de los derechos humanos, 26 December 2019 4 Front Line Defenders: Global analysis 2019, January 2020 5 Kroc Institute: Tres años después de la firma del Acuerdo Final de Colombia: hacia la transformación territorial, November 2019 6 El Espectador: Punto final a los diálogos con el Eln, 18 January 2019 7 El Espectador: La militarización del Cacua traerá más muertos: Guardia indígena, 3 November 2019 8 New York Times: Colombia Army´s New Kill Orders Send Chills Down Ranks, 18 May 2019
9 El Espectador: New York Times responde a carta del gobierno colombiano sobre artículo de falsos positivos, 23 May 2019 10 Fundación Paz & Reconciliación Continúa la amenaza paramilitar en Jiguamiandó, 26 June 2019 11 Defensoría del Pueblo: AT 007-19, julio de 2019 12 El Espectador: Terminó la indigatoria del senador Álvaro Uribe en la Corte Suprema, 8 October 2019 13 El Espectador: Así fue la mobilización por los líderes sociales en el país, 26 July 2019 14 El Tiempo: Minuto a minuto: así avanza el Paro Nacional en todo el país, 25 April 2019 15 Semana: ¿Por qué los estudiantes saldrán nuevamente a las calles el 10 de octubre?, 10 February 2019 16 El Tiempo: Muere Dilan Cruz, joven herido el sábado en marchas en Bogotá, 26 November 2019 17 CSPP: “Criminalización de la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos en Colombia”, December 2019
25
Interview Olga AraĂşjo, NOMADESC.
Publications and distribution Visibilizing the serious and ongoing threats and attacks against human rights defenders in Colombia 26
P
BI Colombia has become an international reference for information on the HR situation in Colombia. Our publications continue to have a high number of readers and our social media channels continue to grow. Throughout this year, 98,952 individuals consulted the 91 blogs published on our website, where we disseminate information on the work of those we accompany and the risks they face. To commemorate PBI in Colombia’s 25 years of accompaniment, we paid tribute to the valuable work of the people PBI has accompanied through a documentary series with 25 videos that chronologically tell the story of defending human rights in Colombia. For this project we had the support of Javier Bauluz, a Spanish photojournalist who has won the Pulitzer Prize (1995) and other HR awards. The videos had a huge impact on social media and were used in awareness raising and advocacy campaigns with the support of PBI entities in Europe and North America.
During 2019, we participated in two media campaigns coordinated by PBI international, one on women defenders –disseminating thematic videos made during the regional gatherings of women defenders– and the other on the profiles of defenders accompanied by PBI regionally, with photos and quotes to support their work and increase visibility on their risks, as well as the distribution of a documentary made by Manu Valcare called “The Defenders.” In relation to our restricted publications, which are directed towards our international support network, in 2019, we published six Human Rights Updates, in Spanish and English. These look to share detailed information on the human rights situation in Colombia and the threats received by accompanied organizations. Also, three Action Alerts were sent out to increase visibility on emergency situations resulting from high risk incidents faced by specific organizations and communities. The prior are in addition to the multiple documents written at the request of our political contacts, to provide greater context when they address the Colombian HR situation in international spaces.
To commemorate PBI in Colombia’s 25 years of accompaniment, we paid tribute to the valuable work of the people PBI has accompanied through a documentary series that chronologically tell the story of defending human rights in Colombia.
Interview with Fabian Laverde, COSPACC for the documentary series. 27
The PBI work area to Support the Reconstruction of the Social Fabric (ARTS, in Spanish) facilitates an exchange of protection, digital security, and psycho-social tools through collective workshops that use a differential approach.
Support for the reconstruction of the social fabric 28
T
he PBI work area to Support the Reconstruction of the Social Fabric (ARTS, in Spanish) facilitates an exchange of protection, digital security, and psycho-social tools through collective workshops that use a differential approach. These spaces provide support to design security and self-protection protocols that can reduce risks and mitigate the impacts suffered by individuals, organizations, and communities in the context of their work to defend HR. The requests for these spaces continues to increase. The historic moment experienced by Colombia since the signing of the Peace Agreement signifies a heavy burden for HR defenders that work in the context of the SIVJRNR. Also, their valuable work means that they are highly exposed and at risk at a time when socio-political violence and attacks against defenders are intensifying. Some spaces were requested in response to specific security incidents faced by the organizations. This was the case of Equitas, Cospacc, FNEB, and MOVICE. These spaces focused on facilitating risk analysis, identifying points of vulnerability for the organization, and mechanisms to strengthen their capacities –and hence diminish those vulnerabilities. We also offer psycho-social support tools to palliate the emotional impacts generated by the incidents. Other processes, such as those carried out with CCALCP, CJL, CCJ, or FCSPP were preventative and focused on creating security protocols. Since 2016, PBI accompanies the process of reconstructing the social fabric for a group of women, family members of victims of enforced disappearance in
Buenaventura, using collective coping mechanisms. This year, as an example of the strength they have aquired, the women organized themselves in a productive project, providing them with independence and cohesion. Through regular visits, in 2019, PBI facilitated a series of spaces with a group of youth from the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó. The space looks to strengthen the group’s social fabric. To do this, cooperative and action-based methodologies are used, which lead the group to reflect on the differential risks they face and how the young women and men can create specific self-protection measures. PBI facilitated a risk analysis with a differential approach with the Corporación Vamos Mujer and the organizations it accompanies. The space took into account gender, with all its intersectionalities, as a central element to create an action protocol in response to the gender violence suffered by women in the context of the armed conflict. The protocol was then replicated by the participants in their regions. The ARTS area of PBI also has the objective to strengthening networks between human rights organizations on a national and regional level. In 2019, PBI Colombia implemented a pilot Training for Trainers program with MOVICE, bringing together members of the regional chapters of this network of victims of state crimes. Similarly, the IV Convening of Women Defenders was held to exchange experiences and strategies related to risks faced by women defenders due to their work, the psycho-social impacts, and their coping skills.
In figures
41 Workshops (1090 participants, 749 were women)
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PBI in the field
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PBI’s area to Support the Reconstruction of the Social Fabric (ARTS) has facilitated reflections on risk scenarios and the development of self-protection measures as a coping mechanism.
Memory schools for non-repetition
32
I
n the context of the Peace Agreement between the Colombian State and the FARC-EP, in 2016 the “Memory Schools for Non-repetition”1 were created as an initiative focused on peacebuilding. It was designed by the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CCAJAR), the Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE), and the Permanent Committee for Human Rights (CPDH). Communities, organizations, and collectives of victims of state crimes from 13 departments meet with the aim of strengthening collective memory processes and the hope of contributing to the construction of a historical truth based on victims’ narratives. The idea is to present this narrative to the mechanisms of the Comprehensive System for Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-repetion (SIVJRNR) to promote civil society participation in peacebuilding. PBI’s area to Support the Reconstruction of the Social Fabric (ARTS) has facilitated reflections on risk scenarios and the development of self-protection measures as a coping mechanism. Specifically, PBI accompanied the Memory Schools in the departments of Valle del Cauca, Cauca, Santander, and the Montes de María region.
Of the achievements demonstrated during this process, we highlight the broad participation and commitment to these spaces over the years, as well as the appropriation of protection and self-protection elements to strengthen the collectives. In relation to the psycho-social work, focused on emotional accompaniment and self- and mutual care, we facilitated and opened spaces for the participants to have a safe space to process emotional impacts such as fear, in a manner that does not revictimize the participants and allows them to continue with their work, integrating the experience into their day-to-day lives on personal, family, and organizational levels. That is why PBI’s work in support of the reconstruction of the social fabric seeks to address fear and rifts in organizational initiatives, which in themselves are strategies and effects of the sociopolitical violence. Focusing on the coping mechanisms makes it possible to understand and resignify experiences, in addition to developing strategies for the organizations to move forward with their initiatives.
Footnote 1 CAJAR: Escuela de la memoria para la no repetición, 1 May 2018
Communities, organizations, and collectives of victims of state crimes from 13 departments meet with the aim of strengthening collective memory processes and the hope of contributing to the construction of a historical truth based on victims’ narratives. 33
Perla Amazรณnica, the struggle continues
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I
n response to an increase in the attacks and murders of environment and human rights defender in Putumayo,1 the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission (CIJP) requested accompaniment from PBI in this region that has been so hard hit by the armed conflict.2 Putumayo is a department where the presence of illegal armed actors,3 the non-fulfillment of the Peace Agreements, and the social-environmental impacts from the extractive industry have had a major impact on the communities4 that, for years, have been peacefully resisting so as to be able to remain in their territory. Thirty-six Nasa indigenous communities live in this context of violence, and they continue fighting for the recognition of their ancestral territorial rights, through indigenous reservations and the peasant reserve zones. This is the case of 800 families who inhabit the Perla Amazónica Peassant Reserve Zone (ZRCPA), made up by 24 rural communities that live along the Putumayo River and its tributaries.5 In addition, there is a presence of legal and illegal armed actors who expose Putumayo’s inhabitants to situations of confinement and displacement.67 90% of the Amazon’s oil exploration and extraction projects are in this region, with environmental impacts that affect the lifestyle of the Nasa communities and peasant populations in the ZRCPA.8
Carlos Fernández, a defender with CIJP, traveled to Europe in 2018 for an advocacy tour organized by PBI that brought together defenders from seven countries together to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on HR Defenders. In 2019, due to his work in the protection of human, environmental, and territorial rights of indigenous and peasant communities, he suffered serious threats, intimidation, and attacks forcing him to temporarily leave Putumayo.9 PBI sent an alert to inform our Support Network and, after a time outside of the department, PBI accompanied him in his return. PBI intensified its political, physical, and psycho-social accompaniment and it was possible for Carlos Fernández to continue his work in the defense of HR.
In Putumayo, CIJP accompanies Jani Silva, the legal representative of the Association for the Holistic Sustainable Development of the Perla Amazónica (ADISPA), a community organization responsible for reactivating and managing the Reserve Zone. Jani is an environmental leader and human rights defender who promotes the Peace Agreement’s implementation and reforestation initiatives, in addition to denouncing the social-environmental impacts of oil operations. Due to her work, she has received numerous threats, obligating her to abandon her home over a year ago. In 2019, PBI’s accompaniment helped to reduce her risk level, making it possible for her to return to the ZRCPA to carry out different activities with the community, such as cultural workshops, workshops to strengthen knowledge on their rights, or verification missions on the environmental damages, among others. Using political accompaniment tools, PBI increased visibility on the situation faced by the communities and their collective self-protection mechanisms. Among these efforts, we accompanied an Amnesty International mission that sought to learn about this reality, documenting to increase visibility on the communities protection mechanisms and the environmental impacts from extractive activities. Recently, the Superior Court of England and Wales ordered, preliminarily, that the oil company Amerisur Resources freeze three million pounds sterling, in response to lawsuits filed by the ZRCPA’s inhabitants.10 This judicial decision is an important advance to guarantee the rights of affected communities. The documentation of evidence for this case was carried out jointly by CIJP and the British Law Firm “Leigh Day.” PBI facilitated this contact during Carlos Fernández’s trip to Europe. Carlos recognizes that PBI’s work in Putumayo has made it possible to increase visibility and protect the local resistance and peacebuilding processes carried out by a community in a territory that is still disputed.
Footnotes 1 El Espectador: Defensa del medioambiente es motivo de más de 1.000 ataques en América Latina, 24 April 2019 2 El Espectador: Putumayo, a merced de una nueva ola de violencia, 21 December 2017 3 El Colombiano: Disidencias y narcotráfico responsables de la violencia en Putumayo, 16 April 2019 4 Cijp: Organizaciones de Putumayo denuncian incumplimientos en erradicación voluntaria, 30 January 2019 5 Zona de Reserva Campesina la Perla Amazónica, 31 January 2012 6 El Espectador: Ocha alertó sobre confinamiento de
411 familias en Puerto Asis, Putumayo, 26 August 2019 7 Indepaz: Alerta Temprana 040-19, 26 September 2019 8 Asociación Ambiente y Sociedad: Petróleo en la Amazonía: ¿Pueblos indígenas en peligro?, April 2019 9 Cijp: Amenaza a defensor de derechos humanos de Justicia y Paz, 27 June 2019 10 Contagio Radio: Por daños ambientales en Putumayo congelan millonaria cifra a petrolera Amerisur, 10 January 2020
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The Bajo Atrato region has a concentration of major extractive and economic interests, in addition to being a strategic corridor for drug trafficking.
Humanitarian crisis in Jiguamiandรณ
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D
uring the first semester of 2019, the ethnic communities of the Jiguamiandó and Curbaradó Rivers in the Bajo Atrato region found themselves in the middle of an armed conflict and a serious humanitarian crisis. The Gaitanista Self-defense Forces of Colombia (AGC) – a group arising from the paramilitary structure– and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla fought for several months to control the strategic corridor and water ways that reach the Pacific coast and Panama border. The AGC maintains a strong territorial and social control in the regions of Urabá and Córdoba, as well as in the Bajo Atrato, where they have been accused of serious human rights violations. Regardless of the existence of the National Security Guarantees Commission –created by point 3.4 of the Peace Agreement and responsible for dismantling the groups that have arisen from the paramilitary structure– the dismantling of this group has not been effective in the regions. The Bajo Atrato region has a concentration of major extractive and economic interests, in addition to being a strategic corridor for drug trafficking. This part of the department of Chocó is under the jurisdiction of the 15th Brigade of the Colombian National Army. However, the AGC has almost total control in these two river basins, where the so-called law of silence has been instated. That is to say, the AGC prohibits the communities from denouncing their presence and illegal activities. The social organizations, Catholic Church, and Truth Commission have recently highlighted the high
degree of connivance between the State Forces and the AGC in this region.1 The Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission (CIJP), an organization accompanied by PBI for over 20 years, has worked with the communities in this region since the violent displacements of the 90s,2 in particular in the creation of Humanitarian Zones starting in 2001. This is a figure to protect the civilian population amid the armed conflict and is recognized by International Humanitarian Law (IHL). At the end of December 2018, the Colombian Army carried out a bombing raid in the Jiguamiandó river basin, only a few meters from the Nueva Esperanza Humanitarian Zone,3 as part of an operative against the ELN, disregarding basic IHL principles. In February 2019, the territorial dispute between the AGC and ELN in the Jiguamiandó and Curbaradó river basins turned into an armed confrontation between the two groups, resulting in military actions against a civilian population that was trapped in the middle of the armed conflict. These actions include assassination attempts, kidnappings, threats, and incursions carried out by both armed groups in different Humanitarian Zones, while PBI was present.4 Also, in the Uradá-Jiguamiandó indigenous reservation approximately 356 indigenous people were confined, meaning restrictions to their mobility, access to healthcare services, food provisions, hence putting their well-being at risks.5 This confinement created an acute hu-
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“Thanks to PBI’s work, we persist and we hope that new generations can continue promoting and defending human rights.” Danilo Rueda, Executive Secretary of the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission
manitarian crisis that was compounded by a malaria epidemic and other diseases, resulting in the death of at least four babies.6 During this period, PBI provided comprehensive accompanied to CIJP, and the communities affected, through our permanent presence in the humanitarian zones for almost a month straight, and later with regular visits throughout the year. In addition to our presence in the field, PBI helped to reduce the risks faced by the population by increasing visibility on HR violations and accompanying verification missions. In turn, national advocacy actions were carried out with state entities and the diplomatic corp, as well regularly updates on the grave situation for our international support network. Thanks to these activities, it was possible to call the country’s attention to the crisis the communities from these two river basins were experiencing and, in the weeks that followed the confrontations, there were humanitarian missions from state entities and other international organizations. Finally, in June, PBI coordinated a field visit from the embassies of the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, and 38
Ireland to the Nueva Esperanza Humanitarian Zone, along with the UN Verification Mission and the MAPPOAS.7 In the context of this visit, diplomatic representatives met with the affected communities and the state security forces with a jurisdiction in the area. Thanks to the visibility generated around this situation and due to the serious risk levels in the Bajo Atrato territories, on 30 July, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) issued its first collective precautionary measures to protect the inhabitants of the Humanitarian Zones and Biodiversity Zones in the Jiguamiandó and Curbaradó river basins,8 who had also provided their testimonies for case 004 within the transitional justice system.9 The precautionary measures are a JEP urgent response mechanism that requires continuous reporting from the state institutions in charge of protection. This initiative has been accompanied by several of the embassies that participated in the field visit in June and has made it possible to provide significant support for advances in the protection process over the last year. PBI has also promoted the presence of international observers at the hearings to follow up on the measures and continues doing advocacy work to support the fulfillment of these measures.
The Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission, an organization accompanied by PBI for over 20 years, has worked with the communities in this region since the violent displacements of the 90s, in particular in the creation of Humanitarian Zones starting in 2001. This is a figure to protect the civilian population amid the armed conflict and is recognized by International Humanitarian Law.
Footnotes 1 El Tiempo: Arzobispos y obispos del Pacífico claman por acuerdo de paz con el Eln, 13 January 2020; Comisión de la Verdad: tweet. Comisión de la Verdad, 30 January 2020 2 CINEP: El retorno al Bajo Atrato de víctimas del conflicto, 26 April 2016 3 CIJP: Bombardeos afectan comunidades en Territorio Colectivo de Jiguamiandó, 8 December 2018 4 CIJP: Sitiamiento por AGC en Zonas Humanitarias, 24 de Febrero 2019; CIJP: ELN deja en libertad a los jóvenes que se llevó sobre la 1:50 p.m., 19 February 2019 5 OCHA: Flash Update No. 1–Confinamientoen Jiguamiandó -Carmen del Darién(Chocó), 7 March 2019
6 El Espectador: El confinamiento provocó la muerte de cuatro niños: alcalde de Carmen del Darién, 14 March 2019 7 PBI Colombia: La comunidad internacional se hace presente en el Bajo Atrato, 4 July 2019 8 Colombia Juristas: Auto SRVR 175 del 30 de julio de 2019 9 Currently there are seven macro-cases within the Special Jurisdiction for Peace; case 004 focuses on human rights violations in the Urabá region. This case has registered at least 3,523 incidents of massacres, enforced disappearances, illegal land appropriation, gender-based violence, and sexual violence.
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Human resources and financial report
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hroughout 2019, we have had 22 field volunteers or brigadistas (5 men and 15 women) distributed in three teams (Barrancabermeja, Bogotá, and Urabá), 12 support brigadistas, who focus on the administrative and operational coordination from our office in Bogotá, including two people in Europe (3 men and 9 women). PBI’s team comes from Italy, France, Spain, Mexico, Holland, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Chile, Paraguay, Germany, Bolivia and Switzerland. PBI Colombia’s international structure is supported by local staff (6 women and 1 man) who carry out tasks related to accounting, logistics, and domestic services. We received 101 applications for field brigadistas (77% women and 23% men), of which 44 were interviewed and 20 were invited to participate in the weeklong training and selection convening. The result was the selection of 19 individuals (15 women and 4 men). In 2019, PBI has incorporated or improved its gender perspective in the training and selection process for field brigadistas. This has meant including, throughout the entire process, specific issues and questions related to protection and analysis from a gender perspective. This increases our ability to detect perspectives, attitudes, and actions in the candidates who will join our team. During the year, there were 13 selection processes for six internal positions and seven external consultants. In the first trimester of the year, an additional person was added to the Area for the Reconstruction of the Social Fabric (ARTS). However, we had difficulties filling the position responsible for Digital Security and IT. We covered the work with temporary contracts, but where not able to cover the position.
In 2019, we had external support from a consultant specialized in gender (1 woman), with whom we worked to make the project’s Gender Approach cross-cutting. This resulted, among other things, in internal capacity building and an improved work tools and methodologies.
Ongoing training During 2019, the areas that make up the Support Team held spaces, at least one a year, with the Field Teams to strengthen capacities, skills, abilities, and to exchange knowledge. Thanks to our work to make gender a cross-cutting element, we incorporated notable improvements in the content, methodologies, and tools used for training. These improvements were the result of support from Humanas and our Gender Consultant. In 2019, we continued the practice of holding talks with HR defenders accompanied by PBI to address the political context and current human rights situation. Additionally, members of the Project Committee gave seven workshops this year, including issues like Transitional Justice, protection measures, and internal organization. The psycho-social area also promoted and facilitated care spaces with a psycho-social perspective for the three field teams, as well as with members of the support team and Colombian staff. Additionally, there were seven group spaces and 17 individual consultations, carried out by the organizations and external therapists who accompany PBI –COPSICO and CAPS.
Revenue and expenses during 2019
Revenue Expenses
€ 878.080
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€ 931.126
Financial report Peace Brigades International (PBI), is a non-governmental organization recognized by the UN, with a permanent team of international observers - accompaniers in Colombia since 1994. Since its main office is abroad, 100% of its funding comes from international sources, and there are no specific accounting regulations for this type of organizations, it registers its economic operations under the general guidelines for nonprofit organizations. PBI Colombia’s accounting standards fulfill those of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in Colombia, the operations are adjusted to the standards contained in Law 1314 and its regulatory decrees 2420 and 2496 of 2015 -- IFRS for SMEs. The project’s accounts have been audited by the firm CIP Auditores Ltda.
Exchange rate differential The PBI Colombia Project financial statements are valued in Pesos (currency used to register economic, financial, and equity operations in Colombia) at the end of each accounting period, and are presented in US Dollars (currency used to register revenue and expenses in the United States) and Euros (for revenue and expenses in the eurozone). Revenue and expenses are registered in accounting in the currency under which they are carried out. In
the monetization of revenue in the “donations receivable” account, and when registering accounts receivable or advances and legalizing these transactions in currencies other than the Peso and in different months, an “exchange rate differential account” is used. These registries are made in the income accounts. The following numbers and results correspond to the 2019 period and reflect the financial situation of the Colombia Project of Peace Brigades International (PBI). Along these lines, the resources transferred by international agencies to carry out PBI’s objective within Colombia are recorded in accounting as revenue, and the expenses derived from the activities corresponding to the institutional mandate are recorded as expenses. Currently, the organization does not have investments nor accounts that generate interests that could recognized as income from a national source, grounds for income tax. Meanwhile, the organization recognizes as expenses those that are generated in relation to the causation and association of revenue, which are always stipulated in the organization’s general budget.
Financial statements at the closing of the annual accounts At the closing of 2019, on 31 December, the accounts showed a € 1,783 deficit for that period. The total revenue (operational) was €861,835 and expenses reached €931,126. Non-operational revenue was for the value of €16,245, for a total revenue of € 878.080.
Country of origin for funds
Italy France United Kingdom European Union Switzerland Ireland Norway Germany Holland Spain
0,16% 0,31% 1,53% 3,78% 6,14% 8,03% 9,27% 9,64% 13,01% 48,12%
0
10
20
30
40
50 43
Revenue by funding sector
Private (0,47%) Multilateral (3,78%) Foundations, unions, churches (19,79%) Public (75,96%)
How funds were spent
Communications
2.5%
Operations
3%
Training
5%
Political accompaniment
7%
Representatives in the USA/Europe
7.5%
PBI International governance
8%
Colombian staff
8.5%
Project level governance
9%
Housing/food
11%
Physical and psycho-social accompaniment
11%
Specialized brigadistas
13.5%
Field brigdistas
15% 0
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With Daniel Prado.
With a member of CREDHOS.
With Carlos Fernรกndez. 45
Funding agencies
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The PBI Colombia project is possible thanks to Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation (ACCD) I Extremadura Agency for International Development Cooperation I Basque Agency for Development Cooperation I Barcelona City Council I Donostia City Council I Brot fĂźr die Welt - Bread for the World I Christian Aid | Ferster Foundation I Barreau de Paris Solidarity Fund I ICCO - Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation I Government of Navarre I Mensen met een Missie I Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs I Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands I Open Society Foundations I Oxfam/Spanish Agency for International Cooperation Development I Protect Defenders / The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) I Civil Peace Service - Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany I UNIFOR Canada I Individual donations I Anonymous donations I PBI Germany I PBI Canada I PBI Catalunya I PBI Spanish State I PBI France (Non Violence XXI) I PBI Navarre I PBI Norway I PBI Switzerland I PBI UK
Layout and design
Bianca Bauer
Š PBI Colombia
All rights reserved
Contact
comunicaciones@pbicolombia.net I coin@pbicolombia.net
Date published
3 August 2020
The opinions and views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Peace Brigades International or its funders.
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Making space for peace in Colombia PBI Colombia is a non-governmental organization recognized by the United Nations. PBI has engaged in international accompaniment and observation in Colombia since 1994. PBI`s mission is to protect the working environment of human rights defenders, who suffer attacks as a result of their efforts in favour of human rights.
www.pbicolombia.com
PBI Colombia Project Representative in USA and Canada repusa@pbicolombia.net Tel. (+57) 310 293 8329 48
PBI Colombia Project Representative in Europe coordinacion.europa@pbicolombia.net Tel. (+34) 634 256 337
PBI in Colombia Bogota, (Colombia) coin@pbicolombia.net Tel. (+57) 1287 0403