“Multinationals implicated in killing of Colombia’s human rights defenders: report”, 3^rd March 2020

…Seventy-two human rights defenders have been assassinated in Colombia since 2015 in disputes with companies, primarily multinationals, according to a corporate responsibility NGO.

The businesses implicated in most cases of economic violence are major companies like state-run oil company Ecopetrol, the Cerrejon coal mine that is a joint venture of Anglo American, BHP and Glencore, and AngloGold Ashanti, according to Business and Human Rights (BHR)…

While President Ivan Duque has consistently blamed drug traffickers for the mass killing of human rights defenders and community leader, but this is not true, according to BHR, which has been monitoring the situation in Colombia since 2015.

Between 2015 and October 2019, 72 human rights defenders were assassinated while in a dispute with private sector enterprises.

The NGO registered another 109 non-fatal acts of aggression like intimidation, assault, the criminalization of their opposition to certain business endeavors and judicial harassment.

Ninety percent of attacks were on defenders working on either mining, fossil fuels, agriculture and livestock, or  hydroelectric plants and dams…