The foreign minister’s silence on Colombians imprisoned in Venezuela
More than 60 innocent Colombians sleep in Venezuelan jail cells. Although similar situations have resulted in diplomatic confrontations between Venezuela and countries such as Brazil, in Colombia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, María Ángela Holguín has kept a low profile.
Read MoreFirst Global Workshop on Human Rights Strategies for Indigenous Leaders in the Global South
Dejusticia and the Racial Discrimination Watch opens their call to the First Global Workshop on Human Rights Strategies for Indigenous Leaders in the Global South. The workshop will be held in Colombia in December 2017. The call for proposals is open until June 10th.
Read MoreIs it impossible to pay reparations? The case of the reparations policy for survivors of sexual violence and victims of the armed conflict in Colombia
This paper provides elements for reflection and analysis on the political economy of reparations by analyzing the Colombian case since 2011, when the policy for victims of the armed conflict was created through Law 1448.
Read MoreThink twice: a reflection on menstrual data, privacy, and non-discrimination
While misuse of menstrual data in the US is the current worrisome privacy issue, awareness and understanding of the handling of one’s intimate information is vital to safeguarding human rights, and will only become more urgent as more and more data is collected and stored by various entities.
Read MoreWomen’s football shone at the World Cup, and so do inequalities
The Colombian Women’s Football Team achieved a feat by reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup, but the path to achieve it has been full of discrimination, precariousness, sexual harassment and vetoes. Women have fought to enter a historically masculine place.
Read MoreApply to our 2023 call for fellowships
The fellowship program is an opportunity for mutual exchange, both so that they can learn about the tools and action-research strategies that we develop in Dejusticia, and so that Dejusticia can learn from their experience and that of their organizations.
Read MoreWhat is happening in Peru? The question of difficult answers
Two months after the self-coup and subsequent dismissal of Pedro Castillo, we take stock of what has happened and what are the possible solutions to the critical moment this country is going through.
Read More#SOSPeru: The repeated script of repression in Latin America
The stigmatization of social protest by Peru’s interim government has put civil society and the media in demanding guarantees for a dialogue that allows for political transition without violence.
Read MoreIs Democracy in Brazil at stake?
Following what some consider a coup attempt on January 8, Brazil’s federal powers are taking action against the far right. Will they be able to act decisively without undermining the institutions they defend?
Read MoreThe immigration policy of the United States and its implications in Latin America
The United States has implemented different measures to prevent the entry of migrants and refugees into its territory, including extending its immigration policy to Latin American countries.
Read MoreThe binationality of the Wayuu people: the pending debt of Venezuela and Colombia
The Wayuu arrive in Colombia to seek refuge but crashes with a wall that prevents them from accessing social services and fundamental rights: the Colombian State has not recognized the binationality of the Wayuu people in practice.
Read MoreThe binationality of the Wayuu people: the vision from their cosmology
The Wayuu people have demanded the recognition of their binationality, appealing to the legal and political link that unites them with Colombia and Venezuela, which should translate into a full guarantee of rights and citizenship in both countries.
Read MoreNew Report: Misuse of Technologies in Emergency Responses
Three years after the begin of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ECNL, INCLO, and Privacy International published a report on how states use surveillance technologies to weaken Human Rights within their territories with the excuse of the fight against the virus.
Read MoreEnergy transition and human rights in the Global South
The lack of a human rights and energy policy feeds the growing conflict in the territories. It will be hard to end all forms of violence associated with our reliance on fossil fuels at any cost until we decide to retrace our steps by focusing on a just transition.
Read MoreAre Human Rights Still Effective?
In 2018, we brought together activists from 11 Global South countries to reflect on the importance of human rights in contexts where their effectiveness has been questioned. Their conclusions were compiled in the book Reimagining the Future of Human Rights.
Read MoreWe stand in solidarity with palestinian human rights organizations
Israeli government declared palestinian human rights organizations as terrorist groups. INCLO members call Israel to desist from persecution campaign
Read MoreResisting authoritarian tendencies in Latin America
Although the fight against authoritarian tendencies cannot be addressed simply with rights and the people who defend them, we believe that these types of strategies, insofar as they articulate different social sectors, contribute to the deepening of democratic practices.
Read MoreEl Salvador: State of Exception and Attacks against Human Rights Defenders and Organizations Facilitate State Abuses
We call on the government of El Salvador to comply with its international commitments on human rights and cease attacks against national and international civil society organizations that work for the protection of fundamental rights.
Read MoreINCLO condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and joins calls for an immediate cease fire
As INCLO members, we raise our collective voice to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its violation of international law, and the war crimes and human rights violations being committed against the people in Ukraine.
Read MoreGet involved! Our fellowship program for human rights defenders from the Global South is now open!
If you belong to an organization that defends human rights in a country in the Global South that is in an emergency or high risk context, we invite you to participate in our fellowship program so that, with our support, you can develop your projects.
Read MoreDigital technologies and political campaigns: a risk for the 2022 elections?
We investigated micro-segmentation of potential voters on social media in Colombia and questionable company actions. Here are five findings.
Read MoreColombian Democracy in the Streets
Confronted with the violence in the protests, the government and political leaders, as well as social leaders, must first promote the de-escalation, putting human rights at the center of the crisis management.
Read MoreThe ABCs of the Social Protest and Human Rights Crisis in Colombia
If you have not yet understood the serious situation in the streets of Colombia since April 28, 2021, we explain three essential aspects of the social mobilization agenda in which violence has been an unfortunate protagonist.
Read MoreProtests in Colombia: 650 civil society organizations call for urgent action from IACHR
Given the fragile institutional situation and the seriousness of human rights violations in Colombia, a group of 650 organizations, including Dejusticia, made a joint call to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) asking to energetically condemn the acts of violence and repression of social protest in Colombia and to visit the country to verify…
Read MoreWe condemn violence and call for respect for the right to protest in Colombia
For the allegations of human rights violations during the current national strike, we call for compliance with the orders issued by the Supreme Court of Justice for these contexts.
Read MoreNew Research Report: “The Defense of Human Rights in Venezuela”
This report is the result of an assessment of the obstacles that civil society organizations are facing, as well as their resistance and resilience in their continued defense of human rights.
Read MoreFrom Snow Angels to a Humanitarian Emergency
If States like Texas with ample means to tackle climate change fail to do so, the world as a whole fails given that the planet loses momentum in the collective effort to become more resilient against this phenomenon.
Read MorePunitive drug laws: 10 years undermining the Bangkok Rules
A set of 70 rules that seek to adapt world prison systems to the needs and experiences of women deprived of liberty are in risk by the punitive approach of many drug laws.
Read MoreDespite Biden’s Victory, Authoritarian Populism Continues to Threaten U.S. Democracy
The Republican Party violates norms which protect democracy more frequently than 85% of other political parties leading democracies around the world. Their lack of commitment to these norms shows that the U.S. political system could be weakened even further if another antidemocratic leader comes to power.
Read More“Protecting Human Rights on the Ground,” a report on UNHCR country offices
This research is intended to offer tools to the Venezuelan human rights movement, to other civil society organizations, and to States who have an interest in the establishment of a UNHCR office in Venezuela.
Read MoreSupreme Court of Justice protects the right to protest against police violence
The Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia protected the right of all people to demonstrate and the duty of the authorities to “ward off, prevent and punish the systematic, violent and arbitrary intervention of the public force in demonstrations and protests.”
Read MoreInternational Humanitarian Law and Victims of Child Recruitment as Targets of an Attack
An interpretation of the spirit of IHL, manifested in the principles of military necessity and humanity, as well as the IHRL standards applicable to children, should always prohibit the State from causing excessive death or injury. There is nothing more excessive than killing recruited children —vulnerable, discriminated against, and abandoned by the State— in order to gain a military advantage that could have been achieved through other means.
Read MoreREQUIEM FOR JUSTICE: 44 writers, musicians and activists rally against social injustice and oppression amidst Covid-19
28-29-30 August 2020 at 5:00PM GMT, 12:00PM Bogotá – Online
Read MoreThe Duque Government Before the United Nations: A Zero in Conduct
Above all of this disorder, something remains constant: the Duque government’s decided interest to weaken international supervision of human rights not only in the Interamerican system, but also in the United Nations.
Read MoreColombia must implement the IACHR’s recommendations regarding social leaders, even during the pandemic
In its recent report, the IACHR crucially underscores the importance of recognizing the right to defend rights and the fundamental role of social leaders in Colombia, especially in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read MoreWe won the Tang Prize!
Dejusticia, a Colombian think-do-tank with 15 years of history, is one of the three organizations in the world awarded this year with the Tang Prize in the Rule of Law category, and the first Latin American laureate in the history of the Tang Prize. This award, delivered biennially since 2014 by the Academia Sinica (Taiwan),…
Read MoreDigital Transitions in Transitional Justice
The digitalization of transitional justice should not be seen as a long-term solution, as it can never replace the visceral dynamics of in-person human interaction and emotion, both essential in transitional justice processes.
Read MoreThe Human Rights-based Approach: The Pending Issue of the Migration Law
Although the Colombian government has implemented a series of measures to assist the Venezuelan population, this response has been sectorized and short-term in nature.
Read MoreThe Right to Have Rights: A Debate on Nationality in Colombia
Over ten human rights organizations appeared before the Constitutional Court asking to adopt the definition of domicile contained in the Civil Code, as provided in the Political Constitution and Law 43/1993
Read MoreINCLO condemns the use of excessive force and the misuse of less-lethal weapons against protesters in the USA
Fourteen members of the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO) express deep concern over the escalation in police responses to protests in the USA over the past week. The protests erupted in response to the killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis on Monday. INCLO condemns the disproportionate use of force against protesters and calls on police to act in accordance with international standards on the use of force and the management of assemblies
Read MoreHistoric hearing! Organizations Warn The IACHR of the Impacts of the #ClimateCrisis on Human Rights
Fifteen national and regional organizations from over nine countries in the Americas appeared at a hearing on the impacts of climate change and its response measures on the rights of vulnerable groups.
Read MoreDigital conversation cycle “South-South Dialogues: Challenges and Opportunities in Human Rights”
Experts from academia and international organizations will discuss common issues and propose public policy recommendations and advocacy actions for civil society
Read MoreSuperior Court of Bogotá reaffirms that the right to defend human rights of social justice leaders must be protected
This important ruling confirms the urgent need to guarantee this right for social justice leaders and human rights defenders in their current situation of risk
Read MoreDejusticia welcomes Mary Lawlor’s appointment as the new UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
In continuity with the Michel Forst’s work, we hope that the Special Rapporteur will visit Colombia and follow up on the report made by her predecessor
Read MoreControlling the Pandemic, Guaranteeing Rights
Already in various cases, such measures have been used to consolidate governmental power and to weaken the opposition, often using the health crisis as a pretext.
Read MoreCoronavirus and Migration: Unequal Responses?
The Coronavirus pandemic has made more evident than ever the great inequalities that exist in our societies, where the most vulnerable people, including the migrant and displaced population, will bear the greatest social costs and are most exposed to the virus.
Read MoreCourt rules in favor of social leaders and orders that the right to defend human rights be guaranteed
The decision emphasized that the fundamental rights of human rights defenders are not suspended at any time and that includes states of emergency. Therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be an excuse for not complying with the orders of this decision.
Read MoreThe climate momentum has reached BlackRock; now let’s get down to business
BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager, with investments close to US$7 trillion, officially concluded that climate risk is investment risk and that it will consider how companies are confronting climate change in its investment decisions.
Read MoreClimate Change Research Coordinator, International Area
The Climate Change Research Coordinator will work with the International Research Team in developing Climate Change research and will also contribute to coordinate the work on Business and Human Rights (BHR) at the international level.
Read MoreFrom repression to migration: The case of Rufo Chacón
Rufo Chacón, in the company of his mother, is preparing to travel to Spain, where he will get the surgical intervention needed to improve his condition.
Read MoreEnvironmentalists of Caquetá gathered inputs for the creation of the Intergenerational Pact for the life of the Amazon
More than 50 young people participated in “Days of Hope in Caquetá”, a creative activism event for the conservation of the Colombian Amazon, driven by Landscape of Hope, Dejusticia, PID Amazon, Red Cross and Tell.
Read MoreEnlaza Venezuela arrives on October 2nd to the Museum of Modern Art of Bogotá
This will be an event that will show attendees the different paths that exist to support organizations that continue to work to transform the situation in Venezuela.
Read More4 Key Strategies to Reducing Sexual Violence Against Children
With the launch of the Alianza initiative, there is hope for a comprehensive change in sexual violence against children. But as always, effective implementation of such an ambitious program will undoubtedly have many challenges.
Read MoreWorkshop on creative activism Days of Hope is coming to Caquetá on the 21st of September
Dejusticia, PID Amazonía, the Red Cross Bogotá and Tell are getting together in Florencia to hold the first event of this international initiative that combines art and social mobilization.
Read MoreLosing Ground: The Sixth Extinction and Development
The changes we have triggered on Earth shatter the distance and sense of remoteness that have governed our relationship with other species and the environment. This is a call to once again recognize our profound interdependence with our environment and protect it—if not for nature’s sake, then for our own.
Read MoreAttention! Job Opportunity at Dejusticia
Dejusticia is seeking a dynamic International Area Director who will both lead and work alongside the team to ensure the efficient functioning of the international area in its multiple tasks.
Read MoreWaiting to Advertise: Children and Junk Food
The strategy, then, is simple: companies assure themselves a client for life, without the person even knowing they’re being sold something.
Read MoreSantrich Case: Dejusticia Defends and Respects the Autonomy and Independence of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP)
In the face of this controversy, Dejusticia calls on the Appeals Section (Sección de Apelaciones) of the JEP to clarify the special rules on evidentiary matters which apply to the guarantee of non-extradition.
Read MoreSentences for drug traffickers from South America’s Pacific
The harshest sentences are served by transporters who, in most cases, are dispensable actors in the value chain of narco-trafficking, and who are committing the crimes because of the marginalized and impoverished conditions in which they live.
Read MoreThe Sierra, Displaced
I thought about their story, the people and the situations they must have faced. I honored that by feeling the strength of the land and that the stone had witnessed the same. –Tiokasin, Lakota leader
Read MorePrisons: What Force Can’t Do
“Heavy-handed” policies on crime in many countries in the Americas have not only brought prisons to crises around the continent, but have also failed to reduce crime and recidivism. A more humane penitentiary system, not one of terror, seems to be the solution that our continent needs.
Read MoreTwo fights in one: feminism and environmentalism
Only in as much as we coordinate the efforts will we be able to erradicate gender inequality and encounter a solution to the ecological crisis that we are experiencing.
Read MoreThe “Lock Him Up” Paradox
What if we treated criminal prosecution and sentencing as a question of how to rebuild society?
Read MoreThe Colombian government has failed to fulfill the Supreme Court’s landmark order to protect the Amazon
One year ago, the Colombian Supreme Court declared the Colombian Amazon a subject of rights, ordering the government to take measures to preserve it by curbing deforestation. However, the government has not taken sufficient action; meanwhile, threats to the rainforest continue to grow.
Read MoreThe Vienna Consensus is broken, and we’re not going to fix it
Continuing to strengthen the idea that people who grow, traffic, and use drugs are citizens and human beings like everyone else is the first substantial step in restoring rights to populations who have suffered the harm of prohibition.
Read MoreRuben
Birds face a variety of risks simply for coexisting with us, because we are a harmful species that grows egotistically and disproportionately.
Read MoreJoin our Petition in Change.org: We want zero deforestation in the Amazon
We, the 25 children and youth who won the first case in Latin America involving climate change and future generations, met with experts and civil society organizations in Colombia to ask our Congress, #LetsChangeTheGoal on deforestation that President Iván Duque proposed in the National Development Plan (NDP) 2018-2022.
Read More#LetsChangeTheGoal: We ask for a change in the deforestation target proposed in the National Development Plan
Civil society organizations sent a letter to Congress asking that the committee in charge of the National Development Plan change the indicators of deforestation results in Colombia.
Read MoreGender Ideology: Demagogy or Strategy to Roll Back Rights?
The weakening of rights has come in blows that are difficult to perceive, but which have a substantial impact in the lives of women and LGBT people.
Read MoreThe Cocalera Marches: An Expression of the Right to Demand Rights
The cocalero movements have helped to create the right to have rights, to be citizens and to receive attention by the State beyond a war against drugs.
Read MoreFiscal Policy in the Service of Human Rights
How, exactly, is fiscal policy related to human rights?
Read More“Without us, the world would not turn”
Understanding the reasons why certain women from certain regions end up doing certain work opens the door for critically approaching the fact that the majority of domestic workers are migrants in precarious situations.
Read MoreA Hop, Skip, and a Jungle Away: From the Global South to Sarayaku
Nearly all of the indigenous leaders who joined us for the workshop had some troubles in transit, which is clearly not an accident.
Read MoreLeading Human Rights Organizations Support a Democratic, Non-Violent Solution to Venezuela’s Crisis
International Community Must Advance a Democratic, Non-Violent Solution to Venezuela’s Crisis.
Read MoreIs it valid for Colombia to demand that Cuba turn over ELN negotiators?
The crucial point is that Cuba is not harboring the ELN negotiators with the goal of supporting this organization in its armed fight; rather, Cuba is following a request by the Colombian government that was made and accepted by the Colombian State in order to advance a peace process.
Read MoreLawyers: What are they not for?
To what extents can lawyers go to defend the interests of their clients?
Read MoreDisclosing public servants’ private interests: A powerful but unexploited anti-corruption tool
Both the legislation and the case law of other countries have made considerable efforts to exploit the potential of the disclosure of private interests of public servants as an anti-corruption tool. In contrast, Colombia has yet to adopt these reforms and judicial pronouncements.
Read MoreThe Punishment of Silence: Mental Health Around the World
Far from being an issue of self-care, about which we can speak as casually as we do physical illnesses, mental health is something that we prefer to keep in silence. It’s a topic that carries certain collective fear, shame, and prejudice.
Read MoreMy Name is Nobody
As a human being, Alba needs to be able to assume her identity without fear. But if the conditions she experiences persist and the impacts on her health are made invisible, she could end up having this name that no human being should ever have – whether as a survival mechanism or because of her state of marginalization.
Read More25 Voices against Deforestation: Finalists for the Children’s Climate Prize
The prize, which was awarded this 20th of November in Stockholm (Sweden), sought to highlight youth-led initiatives across the globe aimed at confronting the challenge of climate change.
Read MoreLa Universidad Pública: An Institution Worth Saving
We are being asked to define the purpose of education. Is it simply to reproduce and reward already vested and privileged interests? Or, is the purpose of education to invest in equity, in accessibility, in enriching our societies and our lives through knowledge, discovery and community?
Read MoreThe ICC Venezuela Referral and the Tumultuous Shift in Latin American Politics
With the rise of right-wing presidents in Latin America, measures like the referral can be abused by such governments to advance their political agendas in the region, thereby delegitimizing the crucial cause of seeking justice for victims in Venezuela as a common goal.
Read MoreDejusticia seeks a Communications Director
Dejusticia seeks a dynamic Communications Director who will lead the creation of a communications strategy for both Colombia-based and international communications of the organization.
Read MoreUsing regulation to repair the mistakes of drug prohibition
Recognizing the ethno-racial biases of marijuana prohibition, the opening of the legal market has involved a series of measures aimed both at compensating for damage caused over the course of prohibition, and at overcoming conditions of economic inequality.
Read MoreMigrants and Work: Lessons from Lebanon
Before the innumerable challenges that come with Venezuelan migration, we don’t need to improvise. We need to learn from countries like Lebanon that have already tried.
Read MoreLeaders Assassinated in Colombia: how many are left out of the counts?
This analysis by Dejusticia and the Human Rights Data Analysis Group groups the information compiled by different organizations regarding the homicides of social leaders in the country and concludes, through a statistical method, that the problem has a greater magnitude than what is reported.
Read MoreInvima Suspends Hit Commercial and Ad: Juices do not have as much fruit as they make you believe
The authorities found that the slogan “It’s natural that you like Hit” and other messages from Postobón contained misleading claims about the fruit content in these drinks. The measure was made after Dejusticia and Red Papaz denounced the case.
Read More#PeasantsRightsNow
Protecting the rights of peasants and rural workers implies the protection of the fundamental rights guaranteed to the rest of the population, including those in urban areas, given the impact that food production has on the rights to health and a healthy environment.
Read MoreBabies Without a Homeland That the Venezuelan Exodus May Leave in Colombia
More than 8,200 pregnant Venezuelan women have entered the country. Their babies will be born in Colombia, but will not be Colombian. This is our first contribution to #PanasEnColombia, an initiative by the UNHCR, El Tiempo, W Radio and Dejusticia.
Read MoreNot Pretty in Pink: The Undisclosed Fashions of Farmed Salmon
People often choose cuts with bright pink to reddish hues, under the impression that these are fresher, tastier, and of better quality, thus warranting premium prices. The reality, however, is that “color does not affect these characteristics” and, in the case of farmed salmon, this color is actually manufactured.
Read MoreTongue Twisters of the State
Around 97% of the world’s population speaks approximately 4% of the world’s existing languages. Put differently, around 96% of languages are spoken by about 3% of the global population. Linguistic diversity is being preserved by only a handful of people.
Read MoreNavigating Human Rights in a War-Torn Yemen
Despite immensely difficult circumstances in a war-torn and diminishing space for activism, Mwatana for Human Rights has remained steadfast in its mission to defend human rights.
Read MoreRethinking the Anti-Poverty Recipe
Economic growth alone is not enough to alleviate extreme poverty. Instead, we need creative, targeted alternatives—like unconditional cash transfers and livestock donations.
Read More“Cúcuta: Emergency Exit,” A Special Series at the Frontlines
Dejusticia (Colombia) and Provea (Venezuela) brought together ten journalists from Venezuela and three from Colombia to tell, through seven heartbreaking stories of suffering, sacrifice and hope at the border between the two countries.
Read MoreA Chain of Inequalities
The decline of redistributive agrarian reforms coupled with growing patterns of land concentration and land-grabbing threaten to exacerbate cycles of inequality in the countryside, in the city, and around the world.
Read MoreVacillation towards migrants
The situation of Venezuelan migrants is too serious and urgent to equivocate on good faith and sway with the changing political circumstances of each government.
Read MoreQue Sea Ley
In spite of the Argentine Senate’s decision, this mobilization showed the force of the feminist movement, destabilized conservative sectors, placed abortion at the center of the legislative debate, and, above all, gave a feeling of victory to women.
Read MorePreventing Corporate Intimidation of Rightsholders
Unfavorable news, a negative opinion of an opinion leader, or even an unfounded rumor can affect companies whose value depends to a large extent on the confidence of their shareholders and the public in their good behavior and the possibilities of obtaining profits by investing in them.
Read MoreNanette, the end of stand-up?
I was struck by her message and her innovative and thoughtful way of thinking about comedy.
Read More“Terms and Conditions May Apply”… depending on where you are
In practice, the Latin American lack of adequate protection manifests itself in the possibility of banks using credit algorithms to decide whether to grant a loan or not, without any intervention by someone with the authority and competence to change the decision.
Read MoreThe New Routinization of Inhumanity: Small Acts of Staggering Consequence
Perhaps it’s time to state firmly, and insistently, that we see everyone who let themselves be swooped up in machines of inhumanity, and not just the masterminds. And perhaps it’s not too late to call out enough of the small bureaucrats and agents so that they, too, squirm, question and upend the pact of purposeful obtuseness that is required to carry on with systems of oppression designed to harm from a safe distance.
Read MoreTaxes on soft drinks in the Americas: trend or necessity
More than a trend, the increasing number of countries implementing a tax on soft drinks shows that this kind of fiscal measure is a cost-efficient policy to tackle the obesity epidemic in the Americas.
Read MoreThe justice needs of the world
States need to know the legal needs of their populations and the ways in which citizens act to manage and resolve those needs in order to design better schemes for the resolution of disputes and for providing access to justice.
Read MoreGoing Beyond Nature
What does granting rights to nature really mean? How can the rights of nature be materialized? Which rights? Where does this recognition leave the communities that have traditionally inhabited and helped to conserve certain areas?
Read MoreDejusticia launches virtual platform for its alumni
We know how important it is to strengthen the links between activists and members of civil society organizations that participate in our academic and training activities, so we present: ‘Dejusticia Connect’.
Read MoreJuan Pedro Lares: The freed prisoner that never was
Juan Pedro Lares, a 24-year old Colombian-Venezuelan young man, who was abducted by a hundred civilian-dressed members of the Venezuelan Intelligence, the National Guard, the police, and armed civilian groups from his family’s home in July of last year was finally set free . But a feeling of injustice still lingers.
Read MoreDejusticia intervenes in defense of Venezuelan migrants’ right to health
The Constitutional Court invited Dejusticia to present their legal opinion on two cases concerning the right to health of people coming from Venezuela.
Read MoreThe Yukpas: The Indigenous community who migrated to Colombia in search of rice
One of Colombia’s greatest challenges as it relates to Venezuela’s migration crisis is the ethnic group who came from the neighboring country, having fled the crisis and asking to be recognized as binational citizens. They are some 300 people who decry the death of two of their children, the disappearances of some of their members, and the consistent threats they face.
Read MoreDejusticia’s Drug Policy Research Coordinator is the new representative at the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)
Isabel Pereira, research coordinator for Drug Policy at Dejusticia, has been elected as the Latin America and Caribbean representative at the Membership Advisory Council of the International Drug Policy Consortium.
Read MoreThe collective despair of Venezuelans passing through Cúcuta
In response to the presidential elections, a repeated phrase is heard among those crossing the Simon Bolivar bridge to take refuge in other countries across South America: “Only God can save Venezuela.”
Read MoreVenezuela in a spiral
El Helicoide gets its name from the geometric shape of the building that houses the prison, which resembles a spiral. The crisis in the prison and the elections this Sunday could worsen the spiral of Maduro’s regime towards arbitrariness.
Read MoreA cure to end homicides
Examples from initiatives across Mexico, Colombia and South Africa shed some light on policies that could help reduce the homicide rate across the Global South. Inclusive and holistic policies that include a wide range of societal actors may offer remedies to tackle this crisis.
Read MoreClimate change lawsuit: from theory to action
Dejusticia and the Ministry of Environment met with government agencies, academia, and civil society to build together a path forward to comply with the Court’s orders to stop deforestation in the Amazon.
Read MoreIndigenous Sovereignty and the Wars on Drugs in the Americas
As drug policy reform takes on new meaning and energy across the hemisphere, let us also remember the historic indigenous effort to retain sovereignty over territory and sustain communities, now challenged by both drugs and the wars against them.
Read More25 Voices Against Deforestation
From 17 cities around Colombia, these boys, girls, and young adults between the ages of 7 and 26 were the impetus for the First Lawsuit on Climate Change and the Future Generations of Latin America.
Read MoreHere is how litigation for the planet won in Colombia
The lawyer for the 25 children and youth who won the lawsuit on deforestation and climate change in the Amazon narrates the case and analyzes the subsequent steps to implement the historic ruling of the Supreme Court.
Read MoreHelp us build the Intergenerational Pact for the Amazon
The government and the 25 children and young people who filed a lawsuit to stop deforestation in the Amazon and tackle climate change must now create a plan to achieve this goal. Everyone can join the effort to protect this ecosystem.
Read MoreRegistration open for course on ‘Business and human rights: doctrine, practice, and strategy’
This course focuses on doctrine, practice and strategies for the implementation of human rights protections in the context of business activities. The course offers an intensive introduction to key concepts and emergent jurisprudence in the field.
Read MoreThe needles revolution: reducing damages while protecting the health of drug users
Offering new needles to drug users – no matter how controversial it could be – is increasingly urgent in order to protect the health and rights of these populations.
Read MoreIncreasing Accountability
All Colombian society, especially economic actors who had no connection to the conflict, in an effort to go beyond political differences and as a gesture of solidarity towards the victims, should commit themselves to claim and promote victims’ rights without restrictions.
Read MoreWhy (don’t) we sleep?
Bad sleep is the great blind spot of public and private health. The damage from sleeping less than seven hours a day on a regular basis is equivalent to the damage from excessive smoking or drinking.
Read MoreSecond Global Workshop for Indigenous Leaders
Dejusticia and the Racial Discrimination Watch announce its call for applications to the Second
Global Workshop on Human Rights Strategies for Indigenous Leaders. The workshop will take
place on December 2018.
The Amazon is burning
Part of the solution lies in achieving greater effective control in the territory and economic incentives aligned with conservation. There is not a reason or actor that is single-handedly responsible for what is happening. And although neither the burning nor deforestation are totally new, today they are out of control.
Read MoreA mother with many daughters
Daughters from a same mother are mobilizing in Colombia, Ecuador, the United States, Philippines and Mexico to defend it.
Read MoreFarmer markets: the countryside can come to Bogotá
In farmer markets there are no products sold by intermediaries or imported food. It is local food for local people.
Read MoreThe Spirit Level
Shouldn’t the struggle for greater equality be one of the main issues in the electoral debate given that Colombia is one of the most unequal countries in the world?
Read MoreTheoretical musings
Perhaps the greatest political challenge that current democracies face is to rescue something of the public and civic virtue that the Greeks discussed, without falling into the different populisms that today offer themselves as saviors of society.
Read MoreClimate Change and Future Generations Lawsuit in Colombia: Key Excerpts from the Supreme Court’s Decision
The Supreme Court of Justice ordered the protection of the Colombian Amazon from deforestation, ruling in favor of a group of 25 children and youth, who with the support of Dejusticia, sued the Colombian government for failing to protect their rights to life and a healthy environment. Here are key excerpts from the sentence.
Read MoreAmazon, subject of rights
Recognizing that the Amazon has rights means that all citizens, regardless of whether you are from the region, can demand its protection—even before the courts.
Read MoreThe battle for differentiated criminal treatment for small growers continues
On March 20th, the Ministry of Justice issued a new version of the bill on differentiated criminal treatment for small coca, marihuana and poppy growers. The proposed changes aim to respond to the General Attorney’s criticisms, but have generated concern and distrust among communities.
Read MoreDejusticia launches groundbreaking playbook for the human rights field against populism
At the Defenders’ Days, during the international conference of human rights defenders organized by Civil Rights Defenders in Sweden, Dejusticia has launched the edited volume Rising to the Populist Challenge: A New Playbook for Human Rights Actors.
Read MoreIn Venezuela, cancer patients are dying without access to morphine
The shortage of medicine in Venezuela has generated a humanitarian crisis that impacts thousands of patients. According to approximated statistics, only 10% of patients with terminal and/or chronic illnesses that require medication like morphine actually enjoy access to such. They face a dilemma of having to choose between hunger and pain.
Read MoreTruth Commission and economic actors
In recent days, Juan Manuel Charry published a column in Semana.com accusing Dejusticia of being a biased organization. Here is our answer.
Read MoreThe right to live and die without pain in the Americas
Living and dying without pain is a very important component of the right to health. Consequently, States have an obligation not only to remove obstacles that prevent patients from obtaining palliative drugs, but also to promote more flexible programs and policies that facilitate access to these medicines.
Read MoreDo they want to polarize us?
Every day, at all times, through all possible forms of communication, I am told that Colombia is a completely polarized country that only understands extremes. Mu intuition tells me that the political reality of my country is not so simple. I will explain my reasoning.
Read MoreWarnings about rural tourism in the post-conflict
If the rural tourism policies implemented in victimized communities are not accompanied by public policies, we will soon see new forms of dispossession, exile, and land ownership changes in the areas mentioned in the official tourism speech.
Read MoreA single court?
The problem of “a single court,” proposed by Uribismo, is that in the concrete situation of Colombia, it contributes very little to the solution of the problems of our judicial system, and on the contrary, presents many risks.
Read MoreA different campaign
A campaign has just been launched in Medellín. Instead of focusing on the non-compliers, it highlights those who comply. One of the posters of the campaign says “In Medellin, eight out of ten people prefer to dialogue to resolve a conflict, just like you”.
Read MoreBusinesses, democracy, and human rights
In Colombia, two strident sides tend to predominate: the private sector actors who refuse to talk about the issue and the critics who are suspicious of any business activity.
Read MoreIn historic ruling, Colombian Court protects youth suing the national government for failing to curb deforestation
The Supreme Court of Justice ordered the protection of the Colombian Amazon from deforestation, ruling in favor of a group of 25 children and youth, who with the support of Dejusticia, sued the Colombian government for failing to protect their rights to life and a healthy environment.
Read MoreAsk yourself: would you hire a d ex-combatant?
I asked people I knew what they thought and I realized that there was a gender difference. They told me “I would not hire a man. But I would hire a woman.”
Read MoreIncreasing accountability
Some economic leaders and columnists have criticized our Increasing Accountability report. Beyond the conclusions that other readers may reach, I believe that a profound and dispassionate reading of the book shows that these criticisms do not have any basis.
Read MoreJury Finds Former Bolivian President and Defense Minister Responsible for Extrajudicial Killings of Indigenous People
Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, and Carlos Sánchez Berzaín, ordered security forces in Bolivia to use deadly military force against unarmed civilians to suppress popular protests against government policies. In all, security forces slaughtered 58 citizens and injured more than 400, almost all from indigenous Aymara communities.
Read MoreCampesinos will have to be included in the census: judges reignite their dialogue with the State
Thanks to the Supreme Court of Justice’s decision on the lawsuit filed by more than 1,700 campesinos who want to be counted in the 2018 population census, this group and the State once again sat down to talk.
Read MoreHow I gave a mother a cake because I couldn’t get her son out of jail
Certainly one does not need to be a human rights activist to be able to shake someone’s hand. But it’s only a truly caring and grounded advocate who can write a set of policy recommendations and at the same time keep giving hope to the people s/he works with to make sure that all this does not become pointless in the end.
Read MoreTwo possible worlds, two feelings
Globally, we live a new spring of hope, but also a new winter of despair. Despite advances in social welfare, the shadow of populism and the increase in inequality remind us that there are reasons to work for a better world.
Read MoreFalsehoods about our recent book
Recently, Dejusticia received strong criticism for the publication of our Increasing Accountability report. In this column, I respond and discuss the complexities of the role of businesses during the armed conflict.
Read MoreConstitutional Court ratifies the right of consumers to access information about sugary drinks’ effects on health
The right of consumers to access the commercial by NGO Educar Consumidores that was censored still stands. The Constitutional Court upheld the T-543 ruling, which had been challenged by the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce. This ruling defends the right of consumers to access information, and the right of the NGO to inform and carry out public health campaigns.
Read MoreWhat justice reforms?
Several presidential candidates propose a justice reform; some have even said that they will hold a Constituent Assembly to achieve it. But beyond that, the candidates could discuss policies that would strengthen access to justice and the system’s legitimacy.
Read MoreSkepticism about pessimism
The so-called “negativity bias” helped humans survive as a species, but today makes us excessively pessimistic. We must counteract the pessimistic biases and professionals that receive excessive attention and credit.
Read MoreThis is what we lose when a social leader is attacked
It’s time to stop talking about leaders who are killed or threatened. It is entire communities who are affected when leaders are no longer present. Inevitably, this vulnerability opens the door for armed actors to settle in and take control of the territory.
Read MoreIn Search of Lost Treasures: Indigenous Peoples and Seized Culture
Global South countries have an obligation to set pathways to find lost treasures in museums and private collections around the world. Therefore, it is essential that indigenous peoples are taken into account when determining the use and destination of the cultural material that has been expatriated for centuries.
Read MoreDrawing lessons from the Colombian elections
The recent elections taught us that previous reforms have reduced a major problem we had in the late 1990s: extreme political fragmentation.
Read MorePraise for the average citizen
In the middle of my task as a voting jury, the following imaginary world occurred to me: what would happen if, instead of selecting the elected politicians to Congress that day, we selected a group of voting juries chosen by lottery?
Read MoreLitigation, science, and global warming
With the “science of attribution,” the Supreme Court of Justice has in its hands the strongest scientific basis by which to decide the lawsuit brought by 25 young people in the coming days.
Con la “ciencia de la atribución” la Corte Suprema de Justicia tendrá en sus manos las bases científicas más sólidas para decidir la tutela de los 25 jóvenes en los próximos días.
Read MoreIn this town, will something serious happen?
¿Por qué es más fácil sembrar miedo en los corazones que esperanza? Nos pasó en el plebiscito, nos pasó en la ola verde. No porque los que queremos un país mejor no seamos la mayoría, sino porque los otros son más efectivos con su ruido ensordecedor.
Read MoreColumbia University climate scientist supports climate change litigation case in Colombia
Scientist Dr. James E. Hansen, a global expert on climate change, submitted an amicus brief supporting the climate change case Dejusticia filed alongside 25 children and young people who are suing the Colombian government for failing to stop deforestation in the Amazon region.
Read MoreThe place that female coca growers deserve
Women have been central in sustaining life in cocalero territories. Today more than ever, in the midst of substitution processes, that role must be protected.
Read MoreDejusticia defends freedom of expression and political cartoons
A citizen sued the caricaturist known as Matador, arguing that one of his cartoons is slander. Dejusticia argues that political criticism and artistic expression are protected by the Constitution.
Read MoreWhat do we mean by freedom of food choice?: The link between nutrition labeling and human rights
Smart nutrition labelling should aim to have direct effects on consumer choices, and encourage people to ask “Where does my food come from?” before buying it, to favor eating real, healthier and fresher food that truly to nourish them.
Read More#VenezuelaBienvenida
Citizen-led initiatives like #VenezuelaBienvenida (#VenezuelaIsWelcome in English) are reassuring, which calls on the country to get involved in the crisis on the side of human rights, to open channels of conversation, while promoting research and action to avoid the festering social rejection of Venezuelans.
Read MoreWomen and science
Women’s Day, which was celebrated on March 8th, is a good time to reflect on the stereotypes and discrimination that women continue to face and that must be overcome.
Read MoreIt is time for moderation
If there was an index to measure the rage of countries, Colombia would rank among the first. Today, we see a closer manifestation of the Colombian rage in the electoral debate, which is full of insults.
Read MoreThe Special Jurisdiction for Peace cannot forget crimes against children
Hundreds of children and adolescents were victims of atrocious crimes during the armed conflict. In this context, the JEP faces the challenge to incorporate a special focus on children in the processes and decisions that it adopts.
Read MoreBojayá changed forever the way to see the pain of victims
Due to its historical importance, some regional media came to photographically record the exhumation process of the corpses. The community saw this kind of action as a violation to their right to live a dignified mourning, which they were not able to have when the massacre first happened.
Read MoreEnemies or adversaries?
It is so problematic and telling that Uribe decides, once again, not to follow the rules of the game. He accuses a journalist of “slandering” him through social networks, but not before the judges, as the journalist did and as he should if his argument had a basis.
Read MoreDejusticia supports the participation of local communities in environmental decisions
A citizen filed a lawsuit against popular consultations on mining activities, arguing that they are unconstitutional. In response, Dejusticia said that this mechanism is essential for citizen participation.
Read MoreColombia: an act of faith?
Despite the fact that we, Colombians, have a certain sentimental nationalism, we lack the capacity to act collectively to undertake large global projects. We must build national cohesion based on a story that unites us within our own diversity.
Read MoreThe urgency of what is important
It is time to design effective policies to reduce traffic accidents in the medium and long term. Only with well-founded and cheap public transport can efficient and fair restrictions be applied to private transport.
Read MoreThe role of economic actors in Colombia’s armed conflict: How much do we know?
Colombia is undergoing a transitional justice process, in which society wants to know who participated in the internal armed conflict for economic purposes. The recently created Truth Commission must be a space to facilitate this discussion and unveil the role that economic actors played during the war.
Read MoreThe cost of rights
One dimension that critics of the Constitutional Court often forget is that all rights involve some spending. That is why we must take into account both the costs and the benefits of a judicial decision.
Read MoreDejusticia participates at IACHR hearing on business and human rights
This Friday, March 2nd, Dejusticia and Conectas Human Rights (Brazil), will participate in a hearing organized by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR): “Businesses and human rights: inputs for the construction of inter-American guidelines.”
Read MoreLessons on transparency
Transparency has become central in the new agenda of democracy and the anti-corruption fight. However, by itself, transparency can be useless and become an empty discourse. This is why civil society groups and citizens should promote not only access to information, but also the active use of it.
Read MoreFormer President of Bolivia Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada will go to trial in the US for his role in the massacre of more than 50 citizens
This Marks the First Time in U.S. History a Former Head of State Will Sit Before His Accusers in a Civil Human Rights Trial
Read MoreThe links between economic power and conflict: a major challenge for the Truth Commission
On Thursday, March 1st, we launched the report “Increasing Accountability: The Role of the Truth Commission in the Disclosure of Corporate Responsibility in the Colombian Armed Conflict.” Free entry with prior registration.
Read MoreGuatemala: Dejusticia intervenes in a process that seeks to protect the right to prior consultation of the Xinka people
During 2012 and 2013, the Ministry of Energy and Mines granted licenses for the exploitation of the Escobal mining company without consulting indigenous people. Eight international organizations presented an amicus to support the communities.
Read MoreCounting farmers
The opportunity to include peasants in the population census is gone, but the tools that the Supreme Court ordered remain. As proposed in the lawsuit filed, farmers have special constitutional protection and a specific cultural identity, distinct from others.
Read MoreElections for Congress and parliamentarism
Many Colombians think, wrongly, that voting for Congress has little importance because the presidential election is the decisive one. A person who has all the virtues to be a great president but who does not have solid majorities in the chambers can hardly have a good government.
Read MoreAttention to GAFA (II)
It was thought that what was good for the GAFA was good for the world. It was believed that for the benefits of technology to reach everyone, it would be best to let companies self-regulate.
Read MoreDemocracy in Colombia lacks streets, but has plenty social networks
How to counteract the centrifugal force with which social networks have co-opted social interaction and public debate?
Read MoreWill Candelaria go to school? Barriers to access education for Venezuelan migrant children
Although there are no exact figures on the magnitude of the Venezuelan exodus and much less on its demographic characteristics, studies estimate that during this year, about 15% of the population will have left the country. How is Colombia securing the rights to education of the boys and girls who have arrived?
Read MoreGestures that kill or save lives
We are entering a turbulent and dangerous electoral period. Our political leaders have an enormous moral and political responsibility, which cannot be avoided.
Read MoreHappy and developed countries
I am writing these lines as I think about the tragedy that happened this week in Florida, where, once again, a man massacred several children in a school, shocking parents and the entire country.
Read MoreThe Supreme Court rules in favor of peasants
Regarding the legal action that 1,770 peasants filed to be included in the census, the court ordered the Government to define the concept of peasant, to include this population in the census, and to advance public policies that ensure their material equality.
Read MoreA campaign against hate
A few months before the elections, the political context is being shaken up with hatred towards the LGBTI population. Reacting to hate is not easy, we need irony, the weight of reality and allies on the other side.
Read MoreCiro and us
Ciro Galindo, protagonist of the documentary ‘Ciro y yo’, came to remind me where I come from, so I take his story personally. Ultimately, we are children of the same Colombia.
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