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News > Colombia

We Suffer Paramilitary Violence: Colombian Indigenous Peoples

  • Citizens take part in a demonstration to support Colombian Indigenous peoples, Paris, France, 2021.

    Citizens take part in a demonstration to support Colombian Indigenous peoples, Paris, France, 2021. | Photo: Twitter/ @ChalecosAmarill

Published 23 November 2021
Opinion

Confinement for fear of reprisals by armed groups was identified as the most common crime against Colombian Indigenous peoples this year. 

From April 1 to Sept.30, at least 14,270 Colombian Indigenous people have been subjected to confinement, forced displacement, harassment, or forced recruitment, the National Indigenous Organization (ONIC) denounced.

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"This sad and painful reality reveals the physical, cultural, and territorial extermination of our peoples," the ONIC lamented, stressing that the figure presented is the highest number of human rights violations ever recorded in Colombian Indigenous communities.

Confinement for fear of reprisals by armed groups was identified as the most common crime. Currently, 10,021 Indigenous people from the Choco, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca, and Nariño departments are stranded in their territories due to presence of the National Army, Police, the Gulf Clan, and the paramilitary organization "United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia."

Forced mass displacement was registered as the second most frequent crime. Illegal armed groups dispossessed 3,666 Indigenous people of their lands to gain territory for drug dealing, trafficking, and illegal mining activities.

At least 163 Indigenous peoples were harassment victims of paramilitary gangs, which also recruited 134 minors of the Zenu y Embera Katio peoples in the Cordoba department.

"We demand that President Ivan Duque’s administration implement an emergency plan that guarantees the life and permanence of Indigenous peoples in their territories," the ONIC stressed.

“National authorities must respect the 2016 Peace Agreement commitments. Only this way, we will be able to advance in fighting violence and persecution,” it added.

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