The International Office for Human Rights Action on Colombia

Day: 27 May 2026

International Organizations Demand Protections Amid Escalating Electoral Violence in Colombia

by

May 27, 2026

The undersigned International civil society organizations that form part of Cooperation for Peace Space (ECP) make this statement in the current electoral situation. We warn that there is an escalation of violence and social control that entails coercion in the exercise of electoral democracy.

We emphasize that there is a need to strengthen protection guarantees for the civilian population and human rights defenders. In general, we call for all to foster respectful discourse that does not contribute to polarization and increased violence. In this regard, we urge the Colombian government and state to:

  • Guarantee the exercise of free, informed, conscious, and responsible electoral democracy
  • Maintain dialogue with the illegal armed actors, promoting minimum humanitarian agreements
  • Strengthen the protection of social leaders, human rights defenders, and communities at risk
  • Implement immediate actions and comprehensive responses that contribute to guaranteeing human rights and protecting life
  • Integrate into its efforts the Electoral Observation Mission’s (MOE) analyses of the electoral risk map and related factors. This information should guide preventive and protective measures to ensure free, transparent, and secure elections for all citizens.

As international civil society organizations, we urge all relevant authorities, the diplomatic corps, and the international community to continue supporting civil society leaders, children, adolescents, youth, women, and LGBTIQ+ individuals who work daily to build peace from the ground up.

As an international community, we remain vigilant for a Colombia at peace.

Our solidarity is universal.

We are deeply concerned about all victims of armed conflict, repression and violence around the world — from Sudan to Syria, including the persecution of the Rohingya and so many other crises that often receive less international attention than they deserve. Each of these situations calls for solidarity, remembrance, justice and action.

However, we have decided to specifically highlight the message ‘Stop Genocide in Palestine’ because what is happening in Palestine represents not only a human tragedy of enormous magnitude, but also a direct challenge to the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and to the rules-based international system itself. The indifference and complicity of much of the international community in the face of the apartheid regime imposed by the Israeli government on the Palestinian people represent one of the greatest moral and political contradictions of our time.

The persistent violation of essential norms — such as the protection of the civilian population, the prohibition of collective punishment and respect for proportionality in the use of force — not only has devastating consequences for the Palestinian population, but also erodes the global mechanisms designed to limit the power of states and prevent abuses.

When these rules are repeatedly breached without any effective consequences, the framework that protects all populations in conflict situations, anywhere in the world, is weakened. Therefore, speaking out in this case does not mean ignoring other forms of suffering, but rather emphasising the urgency of defending an international order which, if it collapses, leaves everyone in a more vulnerable position.

Drawing attention to this situation is, therefore, an act consistent with the universal values we uphold: the protection of life, human dignity and respect for international law, without exception.

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