January 18, 2024
Dear Sirs:
We are writing to demand justice for the assassination of environmental leader Camilo Osuna in Santiago de Cali, the capital of Valle del Cauca Department. He was killed with a firearm on December 7, 2023.
Camilo Osuna, age 26, was active in the Agroecological Gardeners Network and the “I stick to change” movement (Colectivo Me le Pego al Cambio). He was known for his environmental work in places like the Siloé neighborhood, a hillside area of Santiago de Cali where he and fellow environmentalists revitalized a green space by clearing waste and debris.
The government has been aware of the risk to social leaders in Santiago de Cali because of armed groups operating in the area. The Ombudsman's Office has issued early warnings AT 001/22 and AT 019/23, stating that social leaders and other human rights defenders are at risk in Santiago de Cali because of the presence and constant threats from armed groups. Among the armed groups operating in the city are: Los Shotas, Los Espartanos, ELN (National Liberation Army), AGC (Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces), Comapñía Adán Izquierdo y Jaime Martínez del EMC (Central General Staff), and other criminal groups. The capital city is under the jurisdiction of the Third Division of the Colombian Army.
Pedro Pablo Salas Sánchez became the 158th social leader killed in 2023 and the 1,572nd killed since the signing of the 2016 Peace Accords. We urge that you:
- publish the results of the investigation into the assassination of Camilo Osuna and bring those responsible to justice
- work with environmental leaders in Santiago de Cali to provide protection measures, in accordance with their wishes
- move forward in designing (and funding) a new comprehensive plan for the protection of social leaders, as ordered by the Constitutional Court on December 11, 2023, and involve social leaders in the process
Sincerely,
Brian J. Stefan Szittai Christine Stonebraker-Martínez
Co-Coordinators
copies:
Luis Gilberto Murillo, Ambassador of Colombia to the US ~ via email, US mail
José Luis Caballero Ochoa, Rapporteur for Colombia , Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) ~ via email, US mail
UN: Juliette De Rivero, Representative in Colombia of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ~ via email
US Embassy: Francisco Palmieri (Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim); Adam Levy (human rights) ~ via email
US State Department: Desk Officer for Colombia ~ via email
US Senators from Ohio: Brown & Vance ~ via email
US Representatives from Ohio: Beatty, Brown, Jordan, Joyce, Kaptur, Latta, Miller, Sykes ~ via email
