Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of reports of the murder of community activist Ernesto Aguilar Barreras in the Catatumbo region of Colombia.

We are aware of the reports that the community activist Ernesto Aguilar Barreras was among the victims of an attack in Tibú in mid-July, consequent on competition between rival illegal armed groups for control of illicit economies and territory.

As we emphasised in the UN Security Council session on 14 July following the Special Representative's report, the UK continues to be concerned about the persistent level of violence towards human rights defenders, community activists such as Ernesto Aguilar Barreras, former FARC-EP combatants and others. We regularly raise these issues with the Colombian Government and in multilateral fora.

We have urged the Colombian Government to prioritise the tackling of this violence and to continue to work to improve security conditions around the country. The UK is also committed to continuing its own programming to support the government's efforts and mitigate risks to communities.