A/HRC/43/3/Add.3 14. OHCHR values the efforts of the Government to address the influx of nearly 1.7 million Venezuelan migrants who have arrived in Colombia since 2015. OHCHR also values the adoption of measures and policies, and the allocation of resources, aimed at guaranteeing the human rights of this population. 15. During 2019, mostly peaceful protests occurred in Barranquilla, Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, Neiva, Pasto and Popayán, and in some rural areas. Protesters opposed government policies relating to pensions and labour and tax reforms, and called on authorities to fight corruption, implement the peace agreement and resume dialogue with ELN. OHCHR noted with concern that, in some cases, the police responded disproportionately to isolated incidents of violence. 12 III. Situation of human rights defenders 16. Defending human rights continued to be a high-risk activity in Colombia.13 In 2019, OHCHR documented 108 killings of human rights defenders; this included the killing of 15 women and 2 LGBTI defenders. Although statistics convey the gravity of the problem, reducing the analysis to figures conceals the structural causes of violence against human rights defenders. 17. Of the 108 killings documented by OHCHR, 75 per cent occurred in rural areas; 86 per cent in municipalities with a multidimensional poverty index above the national average; 91 per cent in municipalities where the homicide rate indicates the existence of endemic violence; and 98 per cent in municipalities where illicit economies, and ELN, other violent groups and criminal groups, are present. Fifty-five per cent of these cases occurred in four departments: Antioquia, Arauca, Cauca and Caquetá. The sectors most affected continued to be those defending the rights of communities and ethnic groups – amounting to 65 per cent of all killings and sustaining a trend documented by OHCHR since 2016. 18. The killing of an Embera indigenous human rights defender in April in Riosucio, Chocó, was emblematic. This municipality was marked by a high level of multidimensional poverty, by endemic violence and by the presence of ELN and criminal groups fighting to control drug trafficking, illegal mining and the smuggling of migrants. The defender was killed because his advocacy on behalf of his community clashed with the interests of these groups. His killing exacerbated the marginalization of his community and decreased the likelihood of new leadership stepping forward. 19. The rigorous application of directive 002/2017 of the Office of the Procurator General14 holds the promise of increasing the protection, and recognition of the legitimacy and importance, of human rights defenders. 20. OHCHR welcomes the recognition by the President, Iván Duque Márquez, of the legitimacy and importance of human rights defenders. 15 Nevertheless, human rights defenders participating in judicial proceedings involving high-level State officials and members of the military continued to be harassed. In September, OHCHR documented a case in Bogotá in which a human rights defender involved in a judicial process regarding an alleged arbitrary deprivation of life had been threatened. Sensitive information concerning the case was later stolen. 21. OHCHR continued to document attacks against representatives of community action councils (juntas de acción comunal). 16 Especially in rural areas, such councils serve as the main body for communities’ political participation and for the promotion of development and human rights initiatives. While noting a significant reduction from 2018, when it 12 13 14 15 16 4 See paras. 86–91 below. See https://www.hchr.org.co/index.php/informacion-publica/comunicados-de-prensa/440-ano2019/9115-cidh-y-las-presencias-de-onu-derechos-humanos-reiteran-su-llamado-para-la-creacion-deun-ambiente-propicio-y-seguro-para-quienes-defienden-los-derechos-humanos-en-la-region. A/HRC/37/3/Add.3, para. 18. See https://id.presidencia.gov.co/Paginas/prensa/2019/190613-No-podemos-dejar-liderazgo-socialsea-estigmatizado-ninguna-forma-estigmatizacion-puede-ser-permitida-ni-tolerada-Pr.aspx. A/HRC/37/3/Add.3, para. 43.