Weekly Report - 17 December 2020 (WR-20-50)

The United Nations (UN) high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, issued a statement on 15 December condemning the problem of “persistent violence across the country” in Colombia, and calling on the government led by President Iván Duque to “take stronger and much more effective action to protect the population from this appalling and pervasive violence”. “It is the state’s duty to be present throughout the country,” Bachelet said, “not only to clamp down on those responsible for the violence, but also to provide basic services and safeguard the fundamental rights of the population”.