The undersigned international organizations express their deep concern regarding the recent escalation of acts of intimidation, harassment, and stigmatization against the Committee for the Defense of Water and the Santurbán Páramo (hereinafter, the Committee). This mounting intimidation follows the adoption of significant environmental protection measures by Colombia’s Environment Ministry in August and poses a serious risk to environmental and human rights defenders.
The Committee is a coalition of over forty civil society organizations that, since 2009, has worked to protect the Santurbán páramo (high-altitude moorlands) —along with its interconnected ecosystems and water sources—and to uphold the rights of communities affected by mining in the region. For several years, we have supported the Committee in its tireless efforts to defend the páramo, which ensures water supplies for more than two million people. We have also backed their courageous work in raising concerns regarding the potential environmental impacts of the Soto Norte gold and copper mining project, owned by the Canadian company Aris Mining.
Their important work has persistently exposed the Committee and its members to serious security risks, over which various complaints were filed in 2025 with Colombian authorities and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. Communications were also sent to the Canadian Embassy in Colombia and Global Affairs Canada— but to date, the Canadian government has yet to respond. On July 15, Colombia’s Environment Ministry announced a new methodology for the progressive demarcation of the páramo and released three resolutions concerning Santurbán. These proposals aimed to advance the progressive demarcation of the páramo (Resolution 0992); extend the temporary reserve zone established in the Santurbán Massif by two years, until March 2029 (Resolution 0970); and designate 1,499 hectares of the La Baja micro-watershed as a permanent protected area (Resolution 0994). The latter measure was subsequently revoked on August 13 following a change in government and a court ruling that ordered the process to be restarted to ensure citizen participation, access to information, and due process.
Within this context, in the days and weeks following the initial announcement of the three resolutions, a campaign of finger-pointing and stigmatization against the Committee intensified on social media; this campaign falsely linked its members to illegal armed groups, illegal mining in the páramo, and other criminal activities. The campaign branded them as “fake environmentalists,” and sought to discredit their legitimate right to participate in decisions regarding the protection of water and the páramo.
We are deeply concerned that, in addition to damaging the Committee’s reputation, these actions jeopardize the safety and physical integrity of its members, as well as their ability to carry out their work as environmental and human rights defenders. Furthermore, civil society and those who live in, depend on, and defend strategic ecosystems are concerned by the recent repeal of resolutions that protected the Colombian Amazon biome, the Santurbán páramo, and their interconnected ecosystems.
We reaffirm our respect and admiration for the Committee’s important and courageous work, as well as our commitment to continue working in solidarity to defend these protection measures.
We join the recent call made by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Andrea Bolaños Vargas, urging Colombian authorities to investigate these events, guarantee the safety of human rights defenders, and publicly acknowledge the legitimacy of their work in protecting human rights and the environment. Furthermore, we urge the Colombian State to adopt all necessary measures to ensure the protection of the Committee and its members, and to respond decisively and effectively to the recent intensification of campaigns involving stigmatization, intimidation, and threats against their safety.
SIGNED:
- Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA)
- Common Frontiers
- Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) – Global Economy Program
- MiningWatch Canada