Nicolasa Díaz Ortiz
Nicolasa Díaz Ortiz is the executive director of Asociación de niños y Jóvenes Casa Taller las Moyas, a community organisation based in the San Luis Nororiental Chapinero neighbourhood of Bogotá. It was opened to provide a space for children and young people to study or carry out other activities, in light of a lack of social amenities in the area. Nicolasa Díaz Ortiz is also a founding member and board member of Asociación para la Investigación y Acción Social (NOMADESC) an organisation which aims to give a voice to isolated rural communities at risk of displacement and promote inclusion, community empowerment and development in Colombia.
Despite recent peace talks, Colombia remains one of the countries with the highest rates of killing of HRDs in the world. The UN reported that 69 HRDS were killed between January and August 2015 - the number was 35 for the same period in 2014. HRDs 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.
