A/HRC/43/51/Add.1 B. High levels of impunity that perpetuate the cycle of violence against human rights defenders 25. Historically, the impunity rate for murders of human rights defenders in Colombia has stood at around 95 per cent, 41 compared to an overall impunity rate for homicide cases reported to the authorities of between 86.58 per cent and 94.30 per cent. 42 Since 2016, the Attorney General’s Office has decided to prioritize the investigation of the 302 murders of human rights defenders documented by OHCHR. 43 This figure does not represent the total number of murders committed and does not include those that took place prior to the Peace Agreement. According to information from the Attorney General’s Office as at August 2019, the status of the 302 murder cases documented by OHCHR since 2016 was as follows: final judgments had been handed down in 33 cases, 55 were in the trial phase, 45 were under investigation, with charges having been brought, 41 were in the preliminary investigation phase with arrest warrants issued, and 3 had been dismissed because the suspect had died.44 According to these figures, 11 per cent of cases have been clarified, 45 while there has been no establishment of guilt in the remaining 89 per cent of cases, although progress is being made in the investigation of 54 per cent of those cases. 26. When murders and other human rights violations committed against defenders go unpunished, this sends a message that the important work they do in society is not recognized, and is an invitation to continue violating their rights (A/74/159). The Special Rapporteur urges the Attorney General’s Office to continue investigating the murders of human rights defenders committed between 2010 and 2015, as agreed with civil society in the framework of the National Committee on Safeguards, and death threats against human rights defenders, in accordance with the five prioritized investigative assumptions identified in 2018, all with a view to preventing such crimes. In addition, he expects progress and results in relation to other violations of defenders’ rights, such as enforced disappearances and, in particular, sexual violence against women defenders and their daughters, which continues to take place.46 C. Stigmatization and criminalization of human rights defenders 27. The Special Rapporteur has received information on statements made by the President and other senior officials recognizing the importance of human rights defenders, including social leaders, 47 and of the strategic objective under the timely action plan to eliminate stigmatization of this group. At the same time, however, political leaders, public officials, persons of influence, including from the private sector, and members of illegal armed groups stigmatize them as “guerrilleros”, “terrorists”, “anti-development” and “informants”. The governor of Antioquia publicly declared that there were criminal gangs with close ties to the illegal armed group Clan del Golfo and persons linked to the National Liberation Army (ELN) behind the miners’ strikes in Segovia and Remedios in 2018.48 In 2017, the former Minister of Defence said that the killings of human rights defenders were the result of problems related to boundary disputes, “girl trouble” and unlawful assets. In 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 8 la situación de líderes/as y defensores de derechos humanos en los territorios (2018) and information from the Colombian Commission of Jurists (2019). Somos Defensores, 2018 annual report: La Naranja Mecánica, p. 63. A/HRC/40/3/Add.3, para. 56. Attorney General’s Office, bulletin 29986, 20 August 2019. Somos Defensores, 2018 annual report, pp. 63 to 67. Information as at 20 August 2019. In the 125 remaining murder cases, preliminary investigations are ongoing, led by the criminal investigation service. The Special Rapporteur does not know whether the persons behind the killings were identified in the 33 cases in which final judgments were handed down. The Somos Defensores programme identified at least 538 murders of human rights defenders between 2009 and 2015. www.mininterior.gov.co/sites/default/files/plan_de_accion_oportuna_de _prevencion_y_proteccion _0.pdf. https://id.presidencia.gov.co/Paginas/prensa/2019/190612-Palabras-del-Presidente-IvanDuque-durante-la-sesion-de-la-Mesa-por-la-Proteccion-a-la-Vida.aspx. https://caracol.com.co/emisora/2017/08/20/medellin/1503244426_902765.html. GE.19-22542