"Approximately 50 percent of the victims were authorities or representatives of ethnic territories and organizations. Another 36 percent were community or union leaders, 8 percent land rights claimants and 6 percent are members of the family of women social leaders. The worst affected regions in order of total numbers were Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Antioquia, Chocà ³, and Cà ³rdoba."
The continued killings have drawn the attention of the United Nations, though little has been done to stem the tide, particularly as the government of Ivan Duque has slithered into power. Luis Guillermo Pe'rez Casas, a lawyer with the Colectivo de Abogados Jose' Alvear Restrepo (CCAJAR), explained in a report jointly submitted with the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, that the killings, and total impunity due to government inaction, rise to the level of crimes against humanity.
He told the Guardian that:
"The murders of our colleagues must stop"We hope the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC will warn the Colombian government that if the impunity persists, they will be forced to open an investigation into those responsible, at the highest level" The peace process is failing because there's a lack of implementation of the agreement. The process that was agreed upon has not been delivered.""
International human rights organizations have also raised the alarm about the violence and assassinations in Colombia. In early 2018, after the killing of 10 human rights activists, Amnesty International issued a report which called on the Colombian government to protect at-risk activists, especially those in remote parts of the country, who face extraordinary risks from paramilitaries and contract killers. Similarly, Human Rights Watch called on the Colombian government to do more to protect activists after a very bloody 2016. Sadly, the situation has only gotten worse.
Brazil's War on Activists
The election of the fascist Jair Bolsonaro, the man who as candidate promised to open up the Amazon to mining and other environmentally harmful, extractive industries, has sent a very dangerous signal to indigenous and peasant groups in Brazil that the impunity that has long existed will only expand further while their rights are curtailed.
Bolsonaro represents a unique threat to activists from all spheres, especially indigenous and peasant communities who stand in the way of the right wing goal of stripping land rights from those groups in the
interests of corporate investors and international financiers. And unlike the somewhat more muted (though no less destructive) rhetoric from the traditional neoliberal right, Bolsonaro and his far right, fascist politics will likely escalate the war on oppressed groups from simmering to white hot.
Speaking of the potential impact of Bolsonaro on the already ghastly violence against activists, Brazil-based independent journalist Michael Fox explained to me that:
"It's still very early to tell the effect his election has had. Violence spiked in the lead-up to the second round vote, but there has been a lull since the election while people regroup The recent killing of [two] Landless Workers' Movement (MST) leaders was very likely a sign of things to come."
Fox's analysis, which is no doubt accurate, reflects the general sense of anxiety about the future, especially in the wake of the most recent assassinations which he referenced.
On the night of December 8, 2018 two leaders of the Landless Workers' Movement (MST) were assassinated in the state of Paraiba in the Northeast of the country. Their deaths, in an area regarded as a traditional stronghold of the left, have left many asking just what the future holds for activists in Brazil.
The assassinations are certainly not the first high-profile killings of social movement activists in Brazil in recent years, though they have received some added attention given that they come on the heels of the Bolsonaro victory - a worrying signal for some that the horrendous violence is only going to escalate.
To put it in perspective, the Brazilian religious advocacy group Comissà £o Pastoral da Terra - CPT (Pastoral Land Commission) released a thorough report which found that:
The brutal reality of Brazil's rural areas has become increasingly harsher since 2013, back when 34 murders were recorded. In four years, these figures have increased by 105%, reaching 70 executions in 2017 - a 15% increase over 2016.
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