On September 9, within the framework of the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, the side event “From Transition to Transformation: Ensuring ESCR for a Sustainable Peace in Colombia” will take place in Room Concordia 5 at the Palais des Nations (2:00 – 3:00 p.m.). This dialogue space seeks to
We would like to thank MEP Leire Pajín for her commitment to human rights and peace in Colombia. It is important that Colombian civil society can know more in detail what the EU’s support for peace in Colombia means in order to be able to contribute their view and evaluation of it. Here is the
Brussels, 15 May 2025 – A delegation of Colombian women human rights defenders and representatives of Colombian feminist organisations has successfully completed an advocacy tour of Brussels. The visit aimed to strengthen the ties of cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Colombia, with a focus on implementing the Peace Agreement, adopting a gender-based approach,
The Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, visited Colombia between 26 August and 4 September 2024. Its report reflects the country’s complex situation, progress and challenges. According to the report, “the rate of income poverty decreased from 36.6 per cent of the population in 2022 to 33 per cent in
We are pleased to share this report by Fokus – an organization part of the Oidhaco network – on the implementation of the gender approach of the peace agreement signed in 2016 between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP guerrilla. The full document is structured in five lines of work: normative development, institutional development, territorialization,
The question to the European Commission by Isabel Serra Sánchez MEP on 25 March 2025, on the commitment of the European Union to the urban dialogues that have taken place in the city of Buenaventura, seems important to us. Here is the full text of the question, which can be found on the website of
We strongly condemn the wave of violence that overtook the port city of Buenaventura on the weekend of March 29. Five youths were killed in a series of settling of accounts perpetrated by the urban illegal groups, the Shottas and Espartanos. Since the start of 2025, 50 persons have been murdered, many of them youth.
GENEVA – Alarmed by the dramatic escalation of conflict in the Catatumbo region of the department of North Santander since the beginning of the year, UN experts* today called on the Government of Colombia to ensure protection of civilians throughout the country and urged non-state armed groups to end their attacks against civilians. “Colombia is facing
Brussels 12 March 2025 The International Office for Human Rights – Action Colombia (Oidhaco)[1] rejects any kind of stigmatisation against social organisations and human rights defenders and we call on the European Union, its member states, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Norway to publicly express their support for the people and organisations that defend human
“On the occasion of International Women’s Day, OIDHACO celebrates the role that women have played in building peace in Colombia and a fairer world”, says Maïté Verheylewegen, President of Oidhaco. Brussels, 7 March 2025. This 8 March, as the world commemorates International Women’s Day, it is crucial to highlight the fundamental role that women play
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.