Among the most severe attacks against the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission (CIJP) in 20145 the following are worthy of note: 

Threats and acts of aggression

• 15 April: death threat in Playa Roja (Curbarado) against international human rights organizations and the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission (CIJP) in a meeting with resettlers of the Association of Agricultural Producers of Belen de Bajira (ASOPROBEBA),[1] who reiterated that they would not leave the land they had stolen.[2]
• 28 April: death threat against members of CIJP by bad-faith occupants present in Pedeguita and Mancilla. The bad-faith occupants expressed that they were going to “tie them up and leave them in a desolate place.”[3]
• 14 June: threats from paramilitary alias ‘Miguel’ against the community of the Buenaventura Humanitarian Space, who are accompanied by members of CIJP and the international NGO Witness for Peace, who ordered that he leave the Space, to which he responded: “these sons of bitches don’t leave us alone, and I want to do myself a gringo and those leaders that keep fucking around.”[4]
• 14 September: death threat against members of the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission (CIJP, in Spanish) carried out by members of the Association of Agricultural Producers of Belén de Bajirá (Asoprobeba, in Spanish), who indicated that they were arming themselves in order to prevent the land restitution and that “this problem will be solved if we kill a foreigner.”[5]
• 15 December: a threat against members of the CIJP by 6 armed neo-paramilitary members who stated that the inhabitants of the Curvaradó River Basin should “banish” CIJP, and that “they should guarantee the land of their bosses, who are currently in prison.”[6]

Tracking and surveillance

• 5 March: Danilo Rueda, of the Inter-church Justice and Peace Commission (Comisión Interclesial de Justicia y Paz – CIJP) was followed in Bogotá by two unknown men who later photographed him.[7]
• 19  March: Abilio Peña and Sister Gema Peña, (members of CIJP), were followed by two men on a motorcycle when travelling between their office and residences in Bogota.[8]
• 11 April: various human rights defenders working with CIJP are followed in Buenaventura, including Maria Eugenia Mosquera, Enrique Chimonja, Edwin Mosquera and Danilo Rueda.[9]
• 7 June: Nubia Acosta (CIJP) is followed by different men during an accompaniment of victims of forced displacement who live in Tamarindo.[10]
• 13 July: illegal wire tapping and tracking against human rights defenders Danilo Rueda and Father Alberto Franco of CIJP. The organization denounced the existence of a plan to publicly link the HRDs to guerrilla groups.[11]
• 22 July: CIJP denounces that an “intelligence” operation is being carried out against its members and the Afro-descendant communities that they accompany in Buenaventura. Members of neo-paramilitary groups entered several houses looking for photo and video cameras supposedly provided by “gringos”, referring to the national and international accompaniers, pressuring the inhabitants to obtain information and contact details of CIJP members.[12]
• 4 August: harassment and tracking, by armed persons on a motorcycle, of HRD Johana Rodríguez (CIJP) while she walked towards her place of residence in Bogotá.[13]
• 6 August: CIJP denounced that a group of approximately 20 neo paramilitaries with assault weapons entered a camp operated by the company Poligrow, allegedly looking for international and national human rights observers.The commander of the armed persons had told some of the workers that the NGOs were in the area without authorization.This happened while a PBI team was accompanying the human rights defender Fabio Ariza (CIJP), in Mapiripán, one hour away.[14]
• 8 August: tracking of Danilo Rueda (CIJP), from the outskirts of the Port of Turbo to the Currulao station by four motorized men, while he traveled with UNP (National Protection Unit) bodyguards from the Cacarica collective territory after having participating in the opening of the process to implement the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ ruling on the Operation Genesis case.[15]
• 11 August: irregular retention, by an alleged police officer, of the UNP vehicle in which Johana Rodriguez (CIJP) was traveling.[16]
• 26 August: tracking and surveillance, by two men on a motorcycle, of Enrique Chimonja (CIJP), while traveling in his official protection car in the El Cristal neighborhood of Buenaventura.[17]
• 13 October: the monitoring and surveillance of Carlos Fernández, member of the CIJP, by a man who made voice recordings and took photographs of him while he was being followed from the Santa Francisca Romana College to the Portal 80 in Bogotá. Fernández is currently working in the Nasa indigenous communities and in the Peasant Farmer Reserve Zone in the Putumayo department, documenting the serious abuses of rights by oil companies in Putumayo.[18]
• 16 October: the surveillance and harassment of human rights defenders and members of CIJP, María Eugenia Mosquera and Danilo Rueda, by members of neo-paramilitary groups in the municipality of Río Sucio.The incident happened while they were carrying out training on political rights for delegates from the communities of the Bajo Atrato region. That same day Danilo Rueda observed surveillance activities taking place beginning at six in the morning.[19]
• 17 October: the surveillance and harassment of Johana Rodríguez,Viviana Cortés and Fabio Ariza, members of CIJP, and of their bodyguards from the national Protection Unit (Unidad Nacional de Protección – UNP) in the Mapiripán municipality (Meta Department).They were filmed by a man who was travelling on a bus used by the palm oil company Poligrow and other men who travelling on a motorbike.The incidents were repeated on the following day.[20]
• 17 October: the surveillance and harassment of Enrique Chimonja, member of CIJP, in Buenaventura (Valle del Cauca).The incident happened in the presence of the international organisations Witness For Peace and Mundubat. The group was carrying out a visit to a street called Punta Icaco in the La Playita neighbourhood of the 4th Commune, when a member of a neo-paramilitary group known as “Julio” followed them on a motorbike. When he was identified, the individual felt obliged to leave the area.[21]
• 11 December: a man on a motorcycle conducting surveillance was detected by the members of the National Unit of Protection (UNP) who provide protection to human rights defender and member of CIJP, Danilo Rueda. The incident happened in the surroundings of his place of residence. On That same night, the bodyguards observed the arrival of a taxi with two men inside, which suspiciously situated itself near his place of residence.[22]
• 12 December: a man on a motorcycle was seen taking photos of the residence and neighbouring building of human rights defender Danilo Rueda. Weeks before, the concierge of the building where Rueda lives was approached by someone on a motorcycle who asked about the security cameras installed in the building and what their coverage was. After not receiving an answer and refusing questions about his identity and intentions, the man drove off.[23]

Slander and defamations

• 7 May: defamation of Edwin Mosquera, a member of CIJP who works in Buenaventura in a social network.[24]
• 5 September: accusations and defamations, by a person who self-identified as a worker at the palm company Poligrow, against Fabio Ariza (CIJP) while he was in the company of land claimant William Aljure, leader of Communities Constructing Peace in the Territories (Conpaz, in Spanish).The Poligrow employee accused Fabio of being responsible for putting the life of the community leader at risk and asserted that CIJP is a guerilla NGO.[25]

Footnotes:

[1] Verdad Abierta: El fantasma de Sor Teresa Gómez en territorio Chocóano
[2] CIJP: Amenazan de muerte a defensores de DDHH, 20 April 2015
[3] CIJP: Por amenazas reiteradas salen defensores de Justicia y Paz, 28 April 2015
[4] Cijp: Intento de asesinato y amenazas de muerte, 16 June 2015
[5] CIJP: Omisión, tolerancia de Fuerza Pública ante ofensiva paramilitar en el bajo Atrato, 14 September 2015
[6] CIJP: Threats and monitoring of human rights defenders, 15 December 2015
[7] CIJP: Seguimientos al defensor de derechos humanos Danilo Rueda, 5 March 2015
[8] CIJP: Seguimiento a defensores de derechos humanos de Justicia y Paz, 19 March 2015
[9] CIJP: Seguimiento a defensores de D.H, 15 April 2015
[10] CIJ: Ordenan seguimientos a defensores, atentan contra abogado, 30 June 2015
[11] CIJP: En desarrollo plan de acción contra defensores, 13 July 2015
[12] CIJP: “Inteligencia” paramilitar a Defensores de DH, 22 July 2015
[13] CIJP: Hostigamiento y seguimiento a defensora de Justicia y Paz, 5 August 2015
[14] CIJP: Acciones de control paramilitar para limitar trabajo de derechos humanos, 12 August 2015
[15] CIJP: Seguimiento entre Turbo y Currulao a Defensor Danilo Rueda, 8 August 2015
[16] CIJP: Incidente a defensora de derechos humanos de Justicia y Paz, 12 August 2015
[17] CIJP: Preocupante incidente de seguridad a defensores de DH Justicia y Paz, 27 August 2015
[18] CIJP Surveillance of human rights defender from the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission, 13 October 2015
[19] CIJP Surveillance and harassment of human rights defenders, 21 October 2015
[20] CIJP Surveillance and harassment of human rights defenders,21 October 2015
[21] CIJP Paramilitaries once again threaten community leaders and human rights defenders, 20 October 2015
[22] Cijp: Amenazas y extraños seguimientos a defensores de Derechos Humanos, 15 de
December 2015
[23] CIJP: Threats and suspicious surveillance of human rights defender, 15 December 2015
[24] CIJP: Difamaciones y señalamientos por presencia en Espacio Humanitario, 7 May 2015
[25] CIJP: Señalamientos a Justicia y Paz, 5 September 2015