A/HRC/43/51/Add.1 they begin to collaborate with the Truth Commission, the Special Unit for the Search for Disappeared Persons and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace. 6. Journalists, students and trade unionists 53. According to the Foundation for Freedom of the Press, attacks on press freedom have increased compared to 2017 and 2018. As at 4 October 2019, 329 violations of press freedom had been registered, 79 of them against women journalists. These include the murder of 2 media professionals, 104 threats, 43 legal actions against journalists and 21 attacks related to election campaign coverage. Journalists and media professionals working on human rights and corruption issues are at greater risk, and those working in the regions, particularly in Arauca, Cauca, Antioquia and Nariño, are more exposed. In rural areas, there have been reports of a general climate of fear that has led to self-censorship in the sector. 54. University students are key actors and promoters of social movements in Colombia. During the Special Rapporteur’s visit, students demonstrated throughout the country. They reported that they receive threats for leading demonstrations, are subjected to unnecessary use of force by the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad during student protests, and their movement is stigmatized and accused of being composed of infiltrators of FARC-EP dissidents and terrorists. In October, students again took to the streets to protest the repression by the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad, the stigmatizing narrative surrounding the student movement and corruption within institutions of higher education, and to defend the model of free and universal education. 55. In the period from the signature of the Peace Agreement until 31 December 2018, the National Trade Union School registered 489 violations of life, liberty and physical integrity committed against trade unionists, of which 66 were homicides.77 IV. The national mechanism for the protection of human rights defenders 56. Since its creation in 2011,78 the National Protection Unit, a national entity with legal personality and administrative and financial autonomy attached to the Ministry of Interior, has been responsible for coordinating and implementing protection measures for, among others, human rights defenders who are at risk because of their work in defending and promoting human rights, including social leaders, trade unionists, leaders or members of ethnic groups, journalists and social communicators, victims of the armed conflict and land restitution claimants. 57. The National Protection Unit analyses requests for protection, carries out risk assessments, implements individual protection measures and coordinates the granting of collective measures based on a differentiated and gender-sensitive approach.79 The year the Peace Agreement was signed, the number of applications for protection doubled. From 2016 to June 2019, the National Protection Unit adopted measures in respect of 2,980 registered defenders, including the provision of 4,461 communication devices, 4,678 bulletproof vests, 669 panic buttons, 4,258 bodyguards, 2,576 vehicles (armoured and conventional)80 and since 2017 awarded collective measures in 37 cases. 58. Defenders question the effectiveness of National Protection Unit’s protection measures, particularly the emphasis on their individual and material nature, the delays in risk assessment, which have resulted in lives being lost, 81 the requirement for excessive information, including membership of legally established organizations, and the lack of a 77 78 79 80 81 14 www.ens.org.co/lee-y-aprende/lee-y-descarga-nuestras-publicaciones/nuestras-colecciones/cuadernode-derechos-humanos/cuaderno-de-derechos-humanos-26-la-paz-se-construye-con-garantias-para-lalibertad-sindical/. Decree No. 4065 of 2011. Decree No. 1066 of 2015 and its nine amending decrees include a collective approach. National Protection Unit, Reingeniería del Programa General de Prevención y/o Protección de competencia de la UNP, pp. 24–25. According to OHCHR, the National Protection Unit’s delay of more than one month in granting protection measures led to the killing of two defenders in 2018, A/HRC/40/3/Add.3, para. 28. GE.19-22542