Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of reports of protestors being killed during protests against forced eradication programmes in Colombia.

The United Kingdom is committed to the implementation of the Peace Accords of 2016, and we remain steadfast in our support of the Colombian authorities as they seek to ensure sustainable peace in Colombia. Part of this includes direct support to the Government's voluntary crop substitution programme and to supporting state capacity to better protect community leaders involved in this work. We are aware of reports of two deaths during coca eradication operations in recent months. As we mentioned at the UN Security Council session on 13 January, we are particularly concerned about the persistent level of violence towards human rights defenders and community leaders and have called on the Colombian Government to prioritise the tackling of this violence. We have regularly raised the need for a holistic approach to improving security conditions in rural areas.