Colombian Women March in Defense of Life and Ancestral Territories

25 November, 2014, In a move of desperation to raise national and international attention regarding the effects of widespread illegal mining on their ancestral territories, women from the Black Community Council of La Toma, in Suarez, Cauca (Colombia), began a march from Cauca to Bogota on November 18, to bring their demands directly to State Agencies.

Despite winning a precedent-setting Constitutional Court decision (T-1045A, December 2010) that orders all mining activities suspended until appropriate processes of consultation and consent are carried out, State agencies have looked the other way in the face of increasing mining activities by illegal armed actors, and the threats these actors are making against Black leaders and their family members. This March hopes to call attention to this situation and to catalyse State action to address the situation.

The FPP supports these communities through our project work in Colombia, where Black communities’ collective rights are recognised under the Colombian Constitution.”

PRESS RELEASES:

COMUNICADO A LAS MUJERES COLOMBIANAS Y A LA OPINIÒN PÙBLICA

News Article:

http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/cali/hasta-bogota-ira-marcha-contra-la-…

25 November, 2014, In a move of desperation to raise national and international attention regarding the effects of widespread illegal mining on their ancestral territories, women from the Black Community Council of La Toma, in Suarez, Cauca (Colombia), began a march from Cauca to Bogota on November 18, to bring their demands directly to State Agencies.

Despite winning a precedent-setting Constitutional Court decision (T-1045A, December 2010) that orders all mining activities suspended until appropriate processes of consultation and consent are carried out, State agencies have looked the other way in the face of increasing mining activities by illegal armed actors, and the threats these actors are making against Black leaders and their family members. This March hopes to call attention to this situation and to catalyse State action to address the situation.

The FPP supports these communities through our project work in Colombia, where Black communities’ collective rights are recognised under the Colombian Constitution.”

PRESS RELEASES:

COMUNICADO A LAS MUJERES COLOMBIANAS Y A LA OPINIÒN PÙBLICA

News Article:

http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/cali/hasta-bogota-ira-marcha-contra-la-…