Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has been made of the implications for his policies of calls by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia for urgent action in response to high levels of violence and insecurity in the Colombian region of Buenaventura.

The UK Government remains concerned about reports of violence and insecurity in Colombia, including in Buenaventura. Embassy teams have visited Buenaventura twice this year to meet with key local stakeholders to discuss peace and security challenges. In April, the Embassy attended and supported the launch of the Buenaventura Search Pact, signed by the Unit for the Search for Disappeared People, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, the Truth Commission, and the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Pact is an initiative to support families of people that have disappeared and put in place measures to address forced disappearances, structural violence and insecurity in Buenaventura.

This support is part of the UK's efforts to help implement the 2016 Peace Accords and improve security, human rights, and justice in Colombia. In addition, UK ministers and senior officials regularly raise human rights issues with their Colombian counterparts. Most recently, the UK's Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French, raised our concerns around levels of violence, on a virtual visit to Colombia in February. We will continue to raise our concerns with the relevant state actors in Colombia.