Colombia and Ecuador have launched a joint alert system meant to protect Indigenous Awa communities from attacks by armed groups in the border region between the two countries.
As illegal business activities like mining encroach into areas that Indigenous communities call home, violence and intimidation by armed groups and criminal organizations have often followed. Colombian ombudsman Carlos Camargo said Awa communities have suffered killings, forced displacement, and the threat of landmines. Children are also a target for recruitment by the armed groups.
“We want to warn the Colombian state and the Ecuadorean state about these human rights violations . . . so that the necessary urgent measures are taken to avoid violations continuing,” said Ecuador’s human rights ombudsman, Cesar Cordova Valverde.
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