Bernardo Cuero Bravo
Bernardo Cuero Bravo was the president of the local Junta de Acción and was also a member of the Asociación Nacional de Afrocolombianos Desplazados (AFRODES), a human rights organisation that offers support and training to members of the Afrocolombian community who have been displaced because of the conflict in the region, and advocates for the rights to self-determination and cultural identity of the Afrocolombian community in Colombia. He was also an active member of the Mesa de Víctimas de Malambo y del Atlántico, a working group established by government Victims’ Unit, that allows the development of strategies to better representation and support for victims of the armed conflict during the Transitional Justice Process in Colombia. Bernardo Cuero Bravo was killed at his home in Malambo, Atlántico province.
HRDs in Colombia work in a violent and unsafe environment. They are subjected to threats, intimidation, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, physical assaults, torture, killings, illegal searches of their homes and offices and stigmatisation as a result of their activities in defence of human rights. The perpetrators of these abuses are frequently paramilitary groups, many of whom have links to the government or security services, or armed opposition groups. The continued frequent and severe threats and attacks against HRDs around the country contradict government claims of paramilitary demobilisation.
