Six months after the National Strike erupted in Colombia, impunity continues for human rights violations committed against protesters. Over the summer, CAL participated in Mission SOS Colombia, an international mission to observe and report on the government’s response to widespread social protests and conditions that protesters were facing. This post highlights the Mission’s key findings on excessive use of force by state actors and harms committed by corporations in the context of the protest. More information is available in the Mission’s report in Spanish.
Illegal Timber from the Amazon Rainforest: What the US Got Right and How to Do Better
Beautiful cabinets and fancy doors made of timber from the Peruvian Amazon decorate the homes of people in 35 countries. This timber likely comes from illegal deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, which in turn impacts the environmental crisis. For nearly a decade, 130 forest authorities signed more than 1,000 forest management plans that included false information to circumvent the law and extract timber from prohibited forests, national parks, and indigenous community protected lands in Peru.
Urgent Call for Accountability in Colombia: New Death Threats Against Jani Silva
Three months ago, the members of the Corporate Liability and Sustainable Peace (CLASP) Lab drafted an open letter expressing our deep concern for Jani Silva's life and safety. We denounced death threats that Jani had received from the criminal armed group Comando de la Frontera in connection to her work as an environmental defender of the Campesino Reserve of the Amazon Pearl of Putumayo, Colombia. Today, we write again after Jani and her family were forced to flee the territory she has defended for decades. She received information about an imminent assassination plan against her.
Why a Whole Country Went on Strike - And is Still Striking
Although the Colombian government’s proposed tax reform ignited the protests that started all over the country on April 29, the motives behind the ongoing national strike are diverse. This is why, when President Duque announced that he was going to withdraw the tax reform from Congress five days after protests began, the strike didn’t stop.