A tender greeting. I submit to you this report of the threats against forcibly displaced female leaders and organizations defending their rights. With solidarity on our journey,
Alba Teresa
(Translated by Emily Hansen)
January 27, 2010
The SISMA MUJER Corporation and the “Observatory of the Human Rights of Women in Colombia: in a situation of forced displacement women also have their rights” publicly report to the national and international public opinion, and vehemently reject the grave threats that the female social leaders and leaders of human rights organizations that work to demand and protect the rights of the displaced population are receiving.
Today the SISMA MUJER Corporation received in its mail the Seventh Black Eagles Bulletin that contains grave threats against the lives of various displaced male and female leaders. In this context, what is most worrying are the disproportionate and specifically directed threats to women involved in the Observatory of the human rights of women in Colombia and the National Committee for the Strengthening of Organizations for the Forcibly Displaced. Moreover, this letter is proof of a plan to “annihilate” various social organizations, including the SISMA MUJER Corporation.
The gravity and systematic nature of the treats and attacks against the displaced population, specifically the men and women who lead the movement to protect their rights, profoundly affects the process of political empowerment and of demanding rights. This has been recognized by the Constitutional Court of Colombian and the High Commission of the United Nations for Refugees – ACNUR-