WOLA: Advocacy for Human Rights in the Americas
7 May 2021 | News

Join Us in Supporting Colombians Who Are Demanding Justice

Starting last week, Colombians have taken to the streets following a controversial proposed tax reform plan. They are marching for a vision of a country where all are cared for, all are safe, and those who are most in need can access badly-needed social support. 

They were met with brutal repression by militarized police, who as of May 7, left as many as 31 people dead. (Learn more about what happened and why by reading this).

In the face of this horrific crackdown, join us in supporting Colombians who are demanding justice for these abuses:

    • Share WOLA’s call to action for U.S. policymakers.  
    • Contact your representative or senator and ask them to to suspend all U.S. sales of crowd control equipment to Colombia’s security forces, and all sales of equipment, training, and services to Colombia anti-riot police the ESMAD.  
    • Educate yourself about the courageous work that activists in Colombia are doing to build peace, justice, and equity in their communities by joining the #ConLíderesHayPaz campaign. At this critical moment when so many are marching for transformative change in Colombia, you can learn about and support the Afro-Colombian, Indigenous, and rural social leaders who are at the forefront of this fight. 
    • Donate to support WOLA’s essential work to ensure that Colombian voices are heard in the halls of Congress and by the Biden administration.

We’ve seen these violent police crackdowns on protestors before in Colombia in recent years, particularly in November 2019 and September 2020. 

Each time, WOLA quickly mobilized, in order to pull the policy and media levers needed to protect human rights in Colombia. We:

  • Provided critical information and context to key players in the U.S. Congress, the Colombian Congress, and other international players, ensuring that major voices did not stay silent. 
  • Drew upon our decades of work in Colombia, and our close ties to coalitions and partners on the ground, in order to swiftly call for practical actions from U.S. policymakers that are most likely to result in real change. 
  • Because of our reputation for credible, fact-based analysis, our call for reforms was picked up widely by major press in Colombia and international newswires including the Associated Press and Bloomberg, helping provide international attention and solidarity to our Colombian counterparts when it was most needed. 

By supporting WOLA today, you propel efforts to secure justice and peace for all Colombians. Police violence is a transnational problem. But together, we can raise our voices across the Americas and build societies where human rights are respected and where those who commit abuses do not escape justice.

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