United Nations: new Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights and armed violence in Colombia in 2024
On February 24, 2025, the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a new Report (A/HRC/58/24) examining the human rights situation in Colombia in 2024 and in particular, pointing out how the continued violence by non-state armed groups and criminal organizations is tearing apart people's lives and destroying Colombian society. In fact, the Report highlights how armed groups during 2024 continued to use violence to control the population, consolidating their economic interests and undermining the country's governance.
This situation negatively affects indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant communities and farmers. Particularly serious is the escalation of conflict in the Catatumbo region, where since the beginning of the year more than 52 people have been killed and tens of thousands have been forced to flee their homes. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, stressed the importance of placing the protection of the population at the center of negotiations between the Colombian government and armed groups. With the Report, the UN Office also denounces the recruitment of 216 children by non-state militias in 2024 alone, many of them from indigenous communities, and also highlights an increase in violence against human rights defenders, with 89 activists killed last year.
The paper also highlights progress in rural reform and transitional justice, with the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) recently charging former FARC-EP guerrilla commanders and senior military officers with crimes against humanity. Finally, although the UN Office recognizes efforts to reform the security sector and improve law enforcement's respect for human rights, with the report it calls on the authorities to strengthen governance in the areas most affected by the conflict and accelerate the implementation of the 2016 Peace Accord focusing primarily on the protection of civilians.
The report was officially submitted to the UN Human Rights Council on March 3, 2025.
The Report can be consulted at the following link: https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/58/24