The International Office for Human Rights Action on Colombia

Comprehensive Human Rights

What we do

Human Rights

Human Rights

Oidhaco believes that all human rights should be respected, and that the Colombian state has a duty to ensure their effectiveness. In the context of armed conflict, social and political violence and structural inequality that characterise the country, human rights violations are generalised and systematic.

Colombia is rich in biodiversity, natural resources and fertile lands, but it is one of the most unequal countries in the world, in which the humans rights of millions of people go unfulfilled. About 6 million hectares of land have been abandoned and forcibly appropriated from rural  communities and ethnic groups, and 8 million people have been affected by forced displacement. Furthermore, forced disappearances; torture; extrajudicial killings; the murder of leaders and human rights defenders; the repression of peaceful social protest; sexual violence; for violations of the rights of women and the LGBT population, the rights of the prison population; impunity and a failure to provide reparations for victims of the armed conflict persist.

Oidhaco carries out advocacy activities aimed at the European Union, member- and other European states and the United Nations system, encouraging them to press the state to respect civil and political rights, end impunity and ensure the economic, social and cultural rights of the population. It also works to encourage them to recognise the organisational processes and efforts of indigenous, Afro-Colombian and peasant communities to defend their territories as legitimate.

Oidhaco recognises the fundamental role of Colombian civil society in the political, economic and social transformation of Colombia. For this reason it accompanies the efforts of non-governmental human rights organisations and social movements to promote human rights. Oidhaco carries out advocacy activities with the European Union, member- and other European states and the United Nations system, encouraging them to apply pressure so that the Colombian state guarantees that it is possible in Colombia to defend human rights in safety.

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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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