Press release to the public
On Sunday, August 21, 2022, a few days before the swearing-in of the new Colombian government, in the village of Santa Rosa in the municipality of Caloto, Colombia, Rossana Mejía Caicedo, Senior Advisor of the Association of Community Councils of Northern Cauca (ACONC) and human rights defender, and her sister Idali Mejía Caicedo were victims of an attempt on their lives. For several minutes, unknown persons shot repeatedly at the house where they were staying, fortunately, the leader and her sister were unharmed. The impacts of the bullets were reflected in the walls and windows of the house.
For ACONC, an ethno-territorial organization that defends the rights of the Afro-descendant communities of Northern Cauca, this situation of insecurity is not new; similar attacks and threats against the organization's representatives and other defenders are a constant occurrence. In the last 8 years, there have been different situations of insecurity for ACONC, and in recent months ACONC has filed about 28 complaints with the Attorney General's Office, against different events in which the life of the Senior Advisor has been exposed, however, the investigative processes have not yielded any results to find the whereabouts of those responsible.
Rossana plays a very important role as an integrator of the 10 municipalities in which the 43 Community Councils that makeup ACONC is located, the position that the Senior Advisor occupies is a guide for the communities of these Community Councils in the North of Cauca. Rossana is a fervent fighter for the recognition of the Territory as a space for life and good living, taking her struggle beyond Colombian borders. Her most recent participation in international spaces was when she participated with the delegation of international electoral observers organized by Afroresistance and endorsed by the Mission of Electoral Observers. In this space Rossana made known the struggles of the territories and the conditions of Black people in Colombia, and also expressed the need for recognition of the systematic extermination process that exists against the Black People in Colombia, wishing that no other Afro-Colombian person's life is taken away for claiming a better tomorrow, a good life, a proposal supported by AfroResistencia and all the participants of the delegation.
The 12 million people who elected the representatives of the Historic Pact to lead the destiny of Colombia in the next four years, as well as the international community that is in solidarity with the struggles of the Afro-descendant communities, expressed their hopes that conditions will be created to alleviate the suffering and that the constant violations of the human rights of Black people will disappear and that they will finally be able to live in peace and happiness.
The recent attack against Leader Rosana Mejia and other recent situations where the lives of human rights defenders have been compromised should not go unnoticed and should be a priority not only for Colombia but for the rest of the world. Situations such as the above invite Colombian society and the international community to accompany, monitor, and follow up on human rights in Colombia.
In AfroResistance we know that the process of change will not be easy, so purging government institutions of bad apples must be a priority for the new government if they are truly committed to justice, protection, and equity as they stated in the campaign platform.
At AfroResistance, whose mission is to educate and organize for human rights, democracy, and racial justice in the Americas, we stand in solidarity with the struggle of Black women and Afro-Colombian people. In collaboration with our partners and allies in Colombia, we work to promote and foster transformative narrative change to continue the legacy of Afro-descendants today. Our commitment is to intersectional organizing and collective power among and for Black women, women, girls, and gender-diverse people in the Americas. We urge the Colombian National Government with its different governmental and non-governmental entities and the International Community to be participants in the care and protection of the lives and physical integrity of human rights defenders.
"Territory is life and life is not for sale, it is loved and defended."
Afro-Colombian people.
"The mistreatment of a Black Woman is echoed in the rest of Black Women, that is why we are AfroResistance".
Human Rights Defender and ACONC Senior Advisor Rossana Mejía Caicedo (Colombia).
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