human rights
COLOMBIA
The 52-year armed conflict between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government officially ended with a peace accord in 2016, but the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas, groups that emerged from the FARC and successor groups to paramilitaries that emerged after an official demobilization process over a decade ago continue to commit serious abuses. Rights defenders, indigenous and Afro-Colombian leaders, and other community activists face threats and violence. Violence associated with the armed conflict has forcibly displaced millions and impunity for serious abuses remains a serious concern.
- Human Rights Watch
The civilian population, especially Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant and peasant farmer communities, and human rights defenders, continued to be the main victims of the ongoing armed conflict. Although official figures indicated that there was a decrease in the number of civilians killed in military actions involving the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian security forces from the start of the negotiations to signing of the Peace Agreement in 2016, the armed conflict persisted in 2017 and in some parts of the country it seemed to have intensified. Concerns remained about impunity for crimes committed during the armed conflict. Security forces used excessive force, sometimes causing civilian deaths. Violence against women, particularly sexual violence, persisted.
- Amnesty International