Medellin, Colombia – Around 100 human rights defenders have been assassinated in Colombia every year over the past nine years, according to a United Nations report released this Thursday.
According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, the 972 deaths recorded between 2016 and 2025 make Colombia “one of the most dangerous countries in the world” for such activists.
The report noted a gradual increase in the number of assassinations since the historic peace agreement between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2016.
This was linked to the state’s inability to maintain a strong presence in areas previously controlled by guerrilla groups.
More than 70% of identified perpetrators were armed non-state actors, and most of the cases analyzed in the report were linked to drug trafficking, illegal mining, illegal logging, and human trafficking.
From 2022 to 2025, the UN investigated 2,018 incidents of attacks and threats against human rights defenders, but this is thought to be only a “fraction” of the true number due to under-reporting and a lack of effective government records of such cases.
The report acknowledged the work of Gustavo Petro’s current Pacto Histórico government, which publicly recognized the severity of the situation and worked to develop a national strategy to respond.
This included a 2022 law that established peace as a matter of national policy, acknowledging the state’s responsibility to ‘ensure human security’ through a ‘territorial and transversal approach’.
But the United Nations said the state’s response had failed human rights defenders due to its fragmented nature, with lack of coordination between states, departments and local governments.
“To protect human rights defenders and enable them to safely carry out their important work, in addition to ensuring accountability for the killings that have occurred, addressing the structural causes of this human tragedy through a comprehensive approach must be a priority for all relevant authorities in Colombia,” the Turkish Prime Minister said.
High levels of impunity also persist, with only 55 of the 800 cases investigated between 2022 and 2025 ending in sentencing. In more than half of these cases, no suspects were identified.
Nearly a quarter of the victims identified by the UN were indigenous (23%), highlighting the disproportionate impact on this population, which represents less than 5% of Colombians.
Other groups disproportionately affected include Afro-Colombians, LGBTQ+ individuals, rural community leaders, environmentalists, and political leaders.
The report concluded by calling on the Colombian government to take action to address the problem and recommending institutional reform and criminal investigations of perpetrators.
Featured Image Credit: Leon Hernández via Flickr.
