August saw a horrifying wave of massacres in Colombia. Unidentified armed men killed five Afro-Colombian teens in the neighborhood of Llano Verde, which is home to over 4,000 families displaced as a result of the conflict. Eight young adults were murdered in another massacre in Samaniego, a town in Nariño, Colombia. These two massacres make up a couple of the more than 50 massacres registered so far in 2020. Why are these massacres taking place when Colombia just signed a peace deal in 2016? Who is behind them? What can the Colombian authorities and international community do to guarantee justice for the victims and to prevent new ones from taking place?
To help answer these questions, WOLA has invited prominent ethnic and campesino social leaders where this violence is taking place—Arauca, Cauca, Nariño, North Santander, and Valle del Cauca—to hear their perspectives on the matters. The panelists will talk about how this upsurge in massacres is linked or not to peace accord implementation, the response of the Colombian authorities, and how this is influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most importantly they will offer their recommendations on what can be done to stop this violence.
Event Details:
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. EDT
This webinar will be uploaded to WOLA’s YouTube page after the event.
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Featuring:
Martin Sandoval Rozó
President, Departamental Peace Council of Arauca
Arauca, Colombia
Juan Pablo Salazar
Legal representative, Asocordillera Suarez Rural Farmers’ Organization
Cauca, Colombia
Luz Mary Rosero
Human rights activist, Corporation of Pathways for Palenque de Kurrulao Women
Nariño, Colombia
Yermin Sanguino Ortega
Political committee member, Catatumbo Social Integration Committee (CISCA)
North Santander, Colombia
Erlendy Cuero Bravo
Vice President, National Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES)
Valle del Cauca, Colombia
Simultaneous interpretation from Spanish to English will be available.