Killing of woman human rights defender Ludivia Galindez
On 23 February 2024, the social leader and human rights defender Ludivia Galindez was shot dead by a group of unidentified armed men while she was in her house in the town of Florencia, Caquetá.
Ludivia Galindez was a woman human rights defender from La Montañita and President of the Asociación Municipal de Juntas de Acción Comunal (ASOJUNTAS) of the same community. She worked with the communities in the orientation process for the Substitution of Illicit Cultivation National Program. She was also a member of the Asociación de Mujeres por la Paz y la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos de la Mujer Colombiana (ASODEMUC) and of the Comité Permanente de Derechos Humanos (CPDH). Through these spaces, the community leader promoted the development of the communities of Caquetá and the respect of human rights in the region.
On 23 February 2024, the social leader and human rights defender Ludivia Galindez was shot dead by a group of unidentified armed men while she was in her house in the town of Florencia, Caquetá.
Ludivia Galindez was a woman human rights defender from La Montañita and President of the Asociación Municipal de Juntas de Acción Comunal (ASOJUNTAS) of the same community. She worked with the communities in the orientation process for the Substitution of Illicit Cultivation National Program. She was also a member of the Asociación de Mujeres por la Paz y la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos de la Mujer Colombiana (ASODEMUC) and of the Comité Permanente de Derechos Humanos (CPDH). Through these spaces, the community leader promoted the development of the communities of Caquetá and the respect of human rights in the region.
On the night of 23 February, a group of unidentified armed men shot dead the defender from the grilles of her home right after the protection team provided to her by the National Protection Unit (UNP) left the premisses. One of her sons was also injured, but received immediate medical attention.
The woman human rights defender had previously called on the threats she had been receiving against her life. In 2018, she was displaced from her home in Miramar, La Montañita, due to the threats of the remnants of organized armed groups (GAOR) for having accused them before the CPDH of commiting human rights violations in the region. This situation of displacement also derived in her inclusion in the Colombian Government Unique Registry of Victims (RUV). The defender relocated along with her husband and sons in the town of Florencia, where her murder happened.
In September 2023, due to the persistence of the threats against her, the National Protection Unit (UNP) granted her a protection scheme for a duration of 12 months, which consisted on a vehicle, two guards, as well as a communication device and a bulletproof vest. In the decision, the UNP stated that the defender had previously reported about the threats she received, which where under investigation at the General Prosecutor’s Office. This, added to the inclusion in the RUV, for the threats and forced displacement, justified the decision to determine that the defender was in an extraordinaire risk situation derived from her work as a social leader, for which the protection measures were granted and provided .
Currently, the relatives of the woman human rights defender report that they are in a high risk situation having witnessed the murder and continuing living in the same house were the event took place they now fear reprisals. The husband and sons of the woman human rights defender have requested the UNP to have the protection measures reassigned to them.
Front Line Defenders condemns the killing of woman human rights defender Ludivia Galindez, and expresses its concern at the acts of aggression towards women human rights defenders, as it is linked to their legitimate activity in defence of human rights, particularly in the presence of criminal armed groups. Front Line Defenders also expresses its concern at the recurrent attacks against human rights defenders who have been provided with protection measures by the authorities.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Colombia to:
- Publicly condemn the murder of woman human rights defender Ludivia Galindez;
- Initiate an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the assassination of human rights defender Ludivia Galindez, in order to identify those responsible, bring them before a competent and impartial tribunal, and apply the sanctions provided by Colombian law;
- Immediately provide protection and support measures in favour of the family of woman human rights defender Ludivia Galindez;
- Take measures to put an end to attacks against human rights defenders in Colombia, so that they can continue their activities in defence of human rights without fear of reprisals, in accordance with Colombia’s international human rights obligations.
