Donate to LRWC’s IX Caravana fund through Canada Helps
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/lawyers-rights-watch-canada/p2p/Caravana2026/
Colombia remains a most dangerous country to be an advocate or lawyer who ‘defends the defenders’.
Please donate to support LRWC’s participation in the IX International Caravana of Jurists to Colombia in August 2026. If you’ve been following the news of late, you’ll know that the IX Caravana launches at a time of grave uncertainty.
Caravana delegates meet with Colombian lawyers’ group CCALCP[1] in 2024
Your donation supports an initiative that helps protect the lives of lawyers who defend the rights of others and improve prospects for remedies for victims of human rights violations.
To quote a prominent Colombian human rights lawyer:
It is very important that the international community maintains its interest in Colombia. International monitoring of the situation of human rights defenders in Colombia is crucial. Without this international support, many of us might no longer be alive.
Numerous sources document the dangers that Colombian lawyers and human rights defenders face for defending the victims of grave human rights violations.
As with the previous eight delegations, the IX Caravana takes place at the request of Colombian human rights lawyers who report that biennial monitoring visits help to raise their profile and provide a measure of protection to the legal profession and human rights defenders. They call on the international community to continue monitoring and amplifying the situation of human rights defenders, civil society groups, Indigenous communities, and the lawyers who defend them.
History of the Caravana
The Caravana project began in 2008 around the theme of “Defending the Defenders”. It is a concrete expression of support for those whose advocacy for human rights, labour rights, Indigenous and other rights, places them at risk. The theme of this year’s Caravana is: A Decade On: Ten Years of Transition and the Continuing Struggle for Justice in Colombia.
In 2025, at the ten-year mark following the 2016 peace accord, Colombia experienced one of the worst humanitarian tolls in a decade.[2] According to a leading Colombian human rights organization, Indepaz, 187 social leaders were assassinated last year, bringing the figure since the 2016 peace accord to a total of 1,922.[3] In addition, there were 78 massacres[4] and over 107,000 people displaced from their homes.[5] For financial reasons, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights’ (UNCHR) presence in Colombia was drastically reduced.[6] Further, the latest Human Rights Watch report highlights serious and evolving human rights problems, with violence shifting as illegal armed groups expand their territorial control through killings, displacement and child recruitment.[7]
Lawyers and justice system operators under attack and at risk
An EU report from December 2025[8] sets out examples of incidents involving lawyers, including the killing of a lawyer in a public street of a town south of Bogotá; the suspect was later released, sparking criticism of the justice system. In July 2025, a lawyer was killed in his office; and in September 2025, in rural Boyacá, a trial attorney was found dead in his residence, showing signs of violence. Judicial workers, including judges continue to face risks and attacks as well.
Caravana delegates in Bogotá in August 2024
Please follow the link to support LRWC’s participation in the IX Colombia Caravana. You will receive a charitable tax receipt for your donation.
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/lawyers-rights-watch-canada/p2p/Caravana2026/
Notes:
[1] LRWC met with CCALCP representatives in Vancouver in November 2019.
[2] Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2026/country-chapters/colombia
[3] https://indepaz.org.co/observatorio-de-derechos-humanos-y-conflictividades/visor-de-asesinato-a-personas-lideres-sociales-y-defensores-de-derechos-humanos-en-colombia/
[4] https://indepaz.org.co/observatorio-de-derechos-humanos-y-conflictividades/visor-de-dezplazamientos-por-conflicto-armado/
[5] https://indepaz.org.co/observatorio-de-derechos-humanos-y-conflictividades/visor-de-dezplazamientos-por-conflicto-armado/
[6] https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/colombia/20260319-informe-defensoras-colombia-acnudh-es.pdf
[7] https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2026/country-chapters/colombia
[8] https://www.euaa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publications/2025-12/2025_12_EUAA_COI_Report_Colombia_Country_Focus.pdf
