A/HRC/43/51/Add.1 Annex Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders on his visit to Colombia I. Introduction 1. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders conducted an official visit to Colombia from 20 November to 3 December 2018 at the invitation of the Government. The main objective of his visit was to assess the situation of human rights defenders in Colombia and to evaluate whether the Colombian State guarantees a safe and supportive environment for the defence of human rights throughout the country. That assessment was conducted in the light of the State’s obligations and commitments under international human rights law and under the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Declaration on Human Rights Defenders). Another aim of the visit was to observe and guide the efforts of the new administration to improve the protection of human rights defenders. 2. The Special Rapporteur visited the capital, Bogotá, and various locations in the departments of Norte de Santander, Antioquia, Magdalena, La Guajira and Cauca and met with rights defenders from Nariño. During his visit, he met with the President of the Republic, senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Defence and the Office of the Presidential Advisor on Human Rights and International Affairs, the Attorney General and Counsel General and judges of the Supreme Court. He also met with the transitional justice mechanisms and officials from the Land Restitution Unit and the National Land Agency. The Special Rapporteur also held talks with the Ombudsman and the director and staff of the National Protection Unit. 3. The Special Rapporteur met with a large number of defenders – about 60 per cent of them women – representing various sectors of civil society who are working in a number of fields. 4. During his visit, the Special Rapporteur participated in a high-level public event to mark International Human Rights Defenders Day, organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the Ombudsman’s Office. 5. The Special Rapporteur wishes to express his gratitude to the Government for its invitation and for its cooperation before and during his visit. He extends his thanks to the State and departmental authorities that met with him and to the OHCHR office in Colombia for its invaluable support in connection with his visit. The Special Rapporteur is also grateful to the more than 200 human rights defenders who met with him and shared their experiences and insights, particularly to those who travelled long distances to do so. II. The legal and institutional framework for the protection of human rights defenders 6. The Constitution of 1991 states that Colombia is a democratic, participatory, pluralist, unitary and decentralized republic and guarantees the fundamental rights and freedoms necessary for the effective participation of citizens in public and political life and the involvement of civil society in the promotion and defence of human rights. 1 In addition, it recognizes the principle of equality and the promotion of the rights of indigenous and 1 GE.19-22542 See articles 13, 16, 18, 20, 23, 37 to 40 and 43 of the Constitution. 3