The 25 signatory organisations strongly reject illegal military intelligence activities against human rights defenders and call for the truth to be established and for those responsible to face the legal consequences.

Brussels, 11 May 2020

The 25 signatory organisations strongly reject illegal military intelligence activities against human rights defenders and call for the truth to be established about these activities and for those responsible to face the legal consequences. The organisations also call for guarantees that these activities will not occur again in the future and for protection for victims and witnesses.

We would like to express our serious concerns about information published in the Colombian news magazine Semana on 1 May 2020, relating to the existence of “secret files” containing personal information about at least 130 people, including journalists, trade unionists, human rights defenders, lawyers and politicians. The information includes details about their social and professional contacts, their homes, their families, their movements and other private information that has been compiled without legal justification. In the past, European Union institutions and European NGOs working with Colombian civil society have also been the targets of these kinds of intelligence activities.