At the invitation of Colombian lawyers and human right defenders, from 1 to 8 September 2018 the Caravana Internacional de Juristas a Colombia (Caravana) will be held for the sixth time. During this visit, an international delegation of approximately 20 lawyers from all over the world will travel through Colombia to, among others, meet local lawyers that have been or are being threatened in the free exercise of their profession. A delegation of Lawyers for Lawyers will participate in the mission.
Recent numbers show that the amount of (death) threats towards Colombian human right defenders and lawyers have increased significantly over the last two years. It is of great importance that the Caravana hears and reports on the stories of these people, in order to get an accurate picture of the difficulties Colombian lawyers and human right defenders have to face in their daily professional and personal life. One of the goals of the Caravana’s fact-finding-mission is to increase international attention and aid in order to improve the working conditions and security of Colombian lawyers. That is why on behalf of the Dutch foundation Lawyers for Lawyers, Wout Albers and Ron Rosenhart will be part of the Caravana delegation too. They will fly out to Bogotá on 30 August and will meet with the other Caravana members on 1 September. Wout and Ron will report on their mission on a daily basis through the Lawyers for Lawyers blog.
Earlier this year, we asked Colombian lawyer Rommel Duran about the importance of the Caravana and the work of Lawyers for Lawyers in Colombia:
