Important update on safety of human rights defender Flaminio Onogama Guitierrez

Flaminio Onogama Gutiérrez, a prominent Embera Indigenous leader in Colombia, and former Counsellor with the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), where he was in charge of the human rights department.  THANK YOU! You have helped obtain protection for Flaminio Onogama Gutiérrez  Dear Tracy, You -- and more than 9,000 other supporters -- have spoken up about the grave danger facing Flaminio Onogama Gutiérrez, following death threats and the assassination of two of his family members. Your voice is being heard. Colombian media reported that thousands of Canadians had called for protection of Flaminio and his community   The Canadian government informed us it called on Colombian officials to provide protection for Flaminio and the people of La Esperanza. The Canadian government also reported it had  contacted the prosecutor’s office to call for action to bring to justice those responsible for the threats and assassinations.   The government of Colombia provided Flaminio with a bodyguard and other protection measures. Flaminio sent the following message: “A huge thank you to everyone. Believe me, your support is so important.” But Flaminio also told us that the situation remains incredibly dangerous. Paramilitaries continue to threaten him and his family. Indigenous leaders in La Esperanza and other communities that have opposed resource extraction projects continue to live in fear. Flaminio appealed to us to keep up the pressure, pressure that commands attention in Colombia. Here is what you can do to help us increase the pressure that Flaminio knows is so crucial to the protection of threatened Indigenous peoples. Click here and send a short, personal message calling for Canada to include the attacks on Flaminio and his people in its upcoming human rights report, as required by the Canada Colombia Free Trade Agreement. This vital action will take a matter of minutes.  It is another important way to focus attention on lives at risk and the need for long term solutions to protect the rights of Indigenous communities affected by resource extraction in Colombia. Click here to learn more and take action. Never doubt that together we can and will make a difference. Thank you! Sincerely,   Alex Neve Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada P.S. Please share this action with others. More than one third of Indigenous peoples in Colombia are threatened with "extermination", according to the country's highest court, and face an "emergency as serious as it is invisible." This crisis is fueled by violent incursions into Indigenous territory, forced displacement and the imposition of megaprojects, including resource extraction. Canadian companies are amongst those who have joined a resource extraction boom in Colombia without human rights guarantees. This creates a special imperative for Canada to proactively work for the protection of human rights in Colombia. Learn more about Amnesty's work at www.amnesty.ca/makeitvisible.