Investigate Killing of Displaced Women's Leader in Colombia

Date Issued: July 9, 2008

UPDATE: In August 2008, the Colombian Ombudsman responded to your actions and told us that it had encouraged the Attorney-General's office to promptly and impartially investigate Dona Chila's murder.

On June 29, 2008, Martha Obando was shot dead in the main street of her suburb in the outskirts of Buenaventura, Colombia. Obando, known affectionately as Dona Chila, was an active community and women's rights leader.

She started a small organization for women who had fled conflict and are now heads of their households.

Dona Chila was killed one hour after organizing a children's tournament of traditional games, held to dissuade young people from engaging in violence. Although many Colombians are unfortunately killed each year, Dona Chila's colleagues fear her murder was related to her human rights advocacy.

• Immediately investigate the killing and prosecute those responsible;
• Publicly condemn the killing; and
• Ensure that other women leaders in the region are adequately protected.
  

Background

Colombia Country Page: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/defenders/hrd_colombia/hrd_colombia.asp

Sample Letter:

Dr. Mario Hernan Iguaran Arana
Fiscal General de la Nacion
Diagonal 22-B #52-01
Bogota, Colombia.

Dear Attorney General:

I am writing to express my concern about the murder of Martha Cecilia Obando on June 29 in Buenaventura. Obando, known as Dona Chila, was an active community and women's rights leader in San Francisco, a poor suburb of Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca. She arrived in Buenaventura as a displaced person, fleeing fighting from her home town of Charco in Narino department. She was President of the Association of Displaced Women in San Francisco (Asociacion de Mujeres Desplazadas del Barrio San Francisco - ASODESFRAN). ASODESFRAN is a small community organization consisting mainly of women who have been displaced by Colombia's internal armed conflict and who have lost immediate family members to the conflict and are now head of the family.

She was also part of the local Women's Network for Life (Red Local Madres por la Vida), which is a community organization for victims of the armed conflict. Women's Network for Life seeks collective responses to reduce the levels of violence associated with the conflict. It also encourages victims of the conflict to seek justice for their human rights violations. Finally, Obando was also a leader in San Francisco for the government program Families in Action, which provides monetary assistance to poor families in the area to meet their basic needs.

Obando was shot by unknown assailants on Sunday, June 29, at approximately 7:45 p.m., in the main street of San Francisco, and died from three gunshot wounds. She was shot one hour after she had finished presiding over an awards ceremony for a children's tournament of traditional games. Organized by 18 women leaders from San Francisco, the two month-long tournament was intended to persuade local children to take up traditional games, rather than engaging in violence via computer games or by joining gangs or illegal armed groups.

I am concerned that Obando's killing may have been linked to her various human rights projects. The fact that she was killed shortly after organizing a tournament which was aimed at deterring young people from engaging in violence, suggests that gangs or illegal armed groups may be responsible for her murder. I understand that many women leaders who worked with Obando in Buenaventura now also fear for their safety. I also understand that human rights organizations in Buenaventura have apparently received death threats from paramilitary groups.

As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights, Colombia should uphold the right to life. The human rights committee has held that Colombia has a positive "duty to investigate thoroughly alleged violations of human rights... and to prosecute criminally, try and punish those held responsible for such violations."

I call on you to immediately investigate the killing of Obando and to prosecute those responsible. I also call on the government to publicly condemn the murder and evaluate the risk of other women leaders in Buenaventura to determine if they need additional state protection.

Thank you for your attention in this urgent matter. I will continue to closely monitor this situation.

cc.

Rafael Bustamente
Director de Derechos Humanos
Ministerio del Interior y Justicia
Oficina 416
Calle 13 No 8-38
Bogota,
Colombia

Dr. Carlos Franco
Presidente del Programa de Derechos Humanos
Calle 7 No 6 - 54
Bogota, Colombia