Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the accuracy of reports of threats against leaders of the ASCAMCAT rural organisation, Juan Carlos Quintero, Junior Maldonado and Olga Quintero, by armed groups in Catatumbo, Colombia.

The British Government remains concerned about the persistent level of violence towards human rights defenders and social leaders in Colombia. UK ministers and senior officials regularly raise human rights issues, as well as specific cases of concern, with the Colombian Government. Most recently, the UK's Minister for the Environment, Lord Goldsmith, raised our concerns around violence and threats toward environmental defenders during his visit to Colombia 5-8 October.

Through our Conflict, Stability, and Security Fund (CSSF) programme, which has provided £68 million in support of peace agreement implementation, security, and stability in Colombia since 2015, we will continue to prioritise funding interventions to protect human rights defenders, including environmental activists, and social leaders.