Colombian Human Rights and Environmental Defender Jani Rita Silva and her organization, the Asociación de Desarrollo Integral Sostenible Perla Amazónica (ADISPA), have recently received threats challenging their work to defend the Campesino Reserve of the Amazon Pearl of Putumayo, Colombia from corporate abuse. Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world to defend human rights and the environment, and these threats come amidst an alarming increase in violence against social leaders in Colombia.
Jani is a member of the Corporate Liability and Sustainable Peace (CLASP) Lab, an international social lab working to advance corporate accountability for abuses committed during conflict that Corporate Accountability Lab convenes with the Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz, the African Coalition for Corporate Accountability, and Dejusticia.
In the wake of these new threats against Jani, the CLASP Lab has written an open letter urging:
The Colombian government to take comprehensive measures to protect Jani’s safety and provide these measures without interruption, in accordance with Colombian and international law;
The Colombian government to take comprehensive measures to protect all members of ADISPA and ensure that their freedom of association is not infringed;
The Colombian government to address the significant increase in threats and violence against human rights and environmental defenders in Colombia, including through providing better protections for defenders, and by addressing the underlying causes of threats and violence; and
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to monitor the situation.
The open letter is available in English, Spanish, and French.
