On April 12, the Catatumbo Humanitarian and Peacebuilding Working Group published a statement in response to the illegal detention by armed actors of social leader Juan Carlos Quintero in the rural area of Teorama, North Santander department.
The full, English translation is here and below.
The original Spanish is here.
We demand respect for the life and integrity of social leaders in the region
The Catatumbo Humanitarian and Peacebuilding Working Group urgently calls for the respect of the life and integrity of social leader Juan Carlos Quintero, a member of the Catatumbo Campesino Association (Asociación Campesina del Catatumbo, ASCAMCAT).
We denounce the illegal April 12 detention by armed actors of Juan Carlos Quintero, two members of his security detail, and two members of the International Action for Peace (IAP) in the rural area of Teorama, North Santander department. The incident occurred in El Aserrío towards the road that leads to El Tara municipality.
We call on all armed actors to respect the guarantees of social leadership and to materialize the will to advance and consolidate the Humanitarian Agreement for Catatumbo, as expressed in public statements, and to commit to IHL norms as an urgent way to safeguard the lives, integrity, and freedom of the civilian population.
We reiterate, today more than ever, that it is still necessary to accept and apply the Humanitarian Accord’s content and achieve humanitarian minimums amid the armed conflict.
As the Humanitarian Working Group, we reaffirm our good practices as an entity for humanitarian advocacy to achieve a complete, stable, and lasting peace in the Catatumbo region.
April 12, 2021