Declaration in solidarity with the Colombian people

THE FOLLOWING 32 CLACSO WORKING GROUPS AND SPECIAL GROUPS:

Afro-descendants and counter-hegemonic proposals; Political agroecology; Anti-capitalisms and emerging sociabilities; Anti-imperialism: transnational perspectives in the Global South; Autonomies, territories, and memory: geopolitics in dispute; Politicized social science; Decentering Latin American international relations (CEFIR/FES/CLACSO Special Group); Bodies, territories, and feminisms; Political ecology(ies) from the South/Abya-Yala; Popular education and critical pedagogies; Education and life in common; Energy and sustainable development; States in dispute; Critical studies of rural development; Social studies for health; Feminisms, resistance, and emancipation; Borders: mobilities, identities, and trade; Borders, regionalization, and globalization; Childhoods and youth; Anti-patriarchal struggles, families, genders, diversities, and citizenship; Collective memories and practices of resistance; South-South migration; Latin American critical geographical thought; Palestine and Latin America (Special Group Al Zeytun Magazine/CLACSO); Emancipatory practices and transformative decolonizing methodologies; Indigenous peoples and extractive projects; Indigenous peoples, autonomies, and collective rights; Network of gender, feminisms, and memories of Latin America and the Caribbean; Territorialities in dispute and resistance; Workers and the reproduction of life; Vigilantism and collective violence; Violence, security policies, and resistance

WE DECLARE THAT:

The current Colombian government, led by President Iván Duque, has plunged Colombia into widespread chaos, with the Army and National Police using excessive force to repress the popular uprising against a series of economic measures that will further impoverish the country's middle and lower classes. This has occurred amidst a severe economic recession exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with a deterioration in the guarantees for the implementation of the peace process and a significant increase in the assassinations of former combatants, social and environmental leaders, and grassroots members of social organizations.^[1] and indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities (Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Observatory, 2020).

On April 28, Colombians took to the streets to demand the government withdraw the tax and healthcare reforms. The government responded by militarizing major cities, including Cali, Medellín, Bogotá, and Pasto, through the deployment of the National Police's Mobile Anti-Disturbance Squadron (ESMAD) across the country. ESMAD killed, beat, shot at the eyes (especially of young female protesters), and sexually assaulted some of the demonstrators. Arbitrary arrests and torture have also been documented. May 03 was one of the bloodiest days in the Siloé sector, a working-class neighborhood in Cali, where a pitched battle erupted between police officers and protesters who were holding a peaceful demonstration to honor the memory of the victims.^[2]This sector is mostly made up of black people who have been systematically discriminated against, excluded, and stigmatized.

As the days have passed, we have witnessed a serious escalation of violence. The Institute for Development and Peace Studies (as of May 5, 2021) reports 31 people killed (mostly young people), 22 victims of eye injuries, 1220 wounded, 9 cases of sexual violence, 87 missing persons, and 200 assaults by the police.^[3]However, the exact number of victims is uncertain, as other reports indicate a higher figure. In response, the national government has reacted ambiguously and hypocritically: on the one hand, it has called for a national dialogue, and on the other, it has not only continued deploying security forces against those who continue to demonstrate—demonstrating ferocious brutality—but has also offered rewards for those who report individuals who commit “acts of vandalism.” This latter measure fosters a culture of violence inherited from the harmful tactics used to combat drug trafficking and does little to de-escalate the violence and create spaces for dialogue where citizens' demands can be heard and taken seriously. All of this perpetuates the criminalization and stigmatization of the expressions of young people who belong to the excluded sectors of Colombian society.

Within the framework of a social state governed by the rule of law, social protest is an integral part of democratic practice. It is a right recognized and protected by international norms and standards, and states have a duty to act on the basis of the legality of protests and public demonstrations, as well as to investigate and punish any excessive use of force. It is essential that the state fulfill its obligation to guarantee the fundamental principles of human rights: universality, equality and non-discrimination; access to safeguards; access to and production of information; and the right to participation.

In Colombia, however, what we have witnessed in recent years is the erosion of democratic principles and the rule of law, as a consequence of systematic human rights violations, extrajudicial killings, the Duque administration's failure to implement the peace process, and the assassinations of social and environmental leaders, former guerrilla fighters, and human rights defenders. All of this highlights the degraded quality of Colombia's institutional processes.

Instead of responding to social demands with repression, the Colombian government must listen to its citizens and promote social reforms for the well-being of all Colombians. This is an urgent need, especially considering that poverty in the country increased by 6.8% in the last year, reaching a total of 42,5% in 2020; and the number of people living in monetary poverty rose from 17,4 million to 21 million (DANE, 2021), without even considering the realities of social inequality and hunger in the country's territories that are not reflected in official figures.

We absolutely condemn the human rights violations by the Colombian police and army and the violent repression of citizens.

We stand in solidarity with the Colombians who have chosen to express their disagreement with the political regime and who are clamoring for a more just and equitable society. We also stand in solidarity with all those who have lost family members at the hands of state forces and with those searching for the disappeared, and we demand the support of international justice institutions for a thorough investigation and punishment of those responsible for and perpetrators of these repressive acts. 

In these circumstances, all Latin Americans feel united with the Colombian people and join our voices to demand justice and respect for human dignity.

7 of May 2021th
CLACSO Working Groups and Special Groups

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[1] https://coeuropa.org.co/el-quiebre-de-la-paz-y-el-estado-de-derecho-la-politica-de-defensa-y-seguridad-del-gobierno-duque-profundizar-el-modelo-de-despojo-de-los-bienes-comunes/
[2] https://www.elespectador.com/noticias/judicial/lo-que-paso-anoche-en-siloe-cali-fue-una-matanza-lider-social/
[3] http://www.indepaz.org.co/cifras-de-violencia-policial-en-el-paro-nacional/

This statement expresses the position of the aforementioned Working Groups and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.