Country: World Source: UN Human Rights Council Please refer to the attached file. SummaryThis report examines the human rights situation in Colombia in 2024, focusing on the impact of territorial violence and the internal armed conflict on human rights and civic space.The implementation of the Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace is examined in relation to human rights and peace, human security and dismantling policiesI. IntroductionThis report is being submitted pursuant to the agreement between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Government of Colombia, signed in November 1996, and the nine-year agreement signed in January 2023.In the report, the High Commissioner for Human Rights assesses the human rights situation in Colombia for the period 1 January–31 December 2024.In 2024, the State ratified the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Escazú Agreement)1 and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which establishes a system of visits to places of deprivation of liberty. In October, Colombia was elected to the Human Rights Council for the period 2025–2027.In March, the international expert, Antonia Urrejola, presented to the Human Rights Council her report on the obstacles to the implementation of the Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace (Peace Agreement) concluded in 2016 between the Government of Colombia and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army) (FARC-EP). In July, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 56/14 on the enhancement of technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rights in Colombia to implement the recommendations of the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition.In 2024, the following independent mechanisms visited Colombia: the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, and the Committee on Enforced Disappearances.The Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent expressed concern about the polarization of Colombian society, based, among other things, on racist hatred and prejudice against people of African descent.The Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises stated that, besides the armed conflict, many human rights challenges are rooted in the country’s historical economic model, which is based on large-scale natural resource exploitation that has systematically marginalized groups such as Indigenous Peoples, Afrodescendent communities and campesinos.The Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples expressed his concern about the situation of Indigenous Peoples who are in danger of physical and cultural extermination and the failure to protect them from the effects of violence, poverty and the encroachment of extractive industries.According to the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, the conflict is one of the main causes of poverty in the country, where non-State armed groups expel people from territories, limit access to rights such as health, education and housing, and extort small business owners. Furthermore, he stated that the fact that it would take 11 generations for a child born into a poor family to earn an average wage makes such families an “easy target” for forced recruitment or the illicit economy.In October, Colombia hosted the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Parties decided, pursuant to article 8 (j) of the Convention, to establish a subsidiary body to strengthen the participation of Indigenous Peoples and Afrodescendent and local communities. For the first time, a human rights day was celebrated.In 2024, given the high levels of violence, OHCHR decided to focus on 26 situations in 96 municipalities of 16 departments as a priority, and it conducted approximately 610 field missions and 290 capacity-building activities with the State and civil society.