Colombia remains the country with the highest murder rate for human rights defenders in the world. The record of serious human rights violations has even been recognized by the Colombian Government,  and there was an alarming escalation just in early 2022, with at least 19 massacres and 22 social leaders murdered. 

In this regard, the European civil society organizations that are signatories to this communication, deeply lament that both public declarations issued after the VII High-Level Dialogue and the XIII Human Rights Dialogue between the European Union and Colombia,  have omitted any criticism regarding Colombia’s current human rights crisis.