Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the circumstances surrounding the death threats received by human rights defender, Diego Enrique Salcedo Ladino, in Meta, Colombia.

The British Government remains concerned about persistent levels of violence and threats against human rights defenders in Colombia. UK ministers and senior officials regularly raise human rights issues, as well as specific cases of concern, with the Colombian Government and in multilateral fora. The former Minister for Europe and the Americas spoke to Vice President Ramírez regarding the human rights situation on a visit to Colombia from 22 to 24 November.

Colombia is a UK 'Human Rights Priority Country,' and we also consistently raise our concerns regarding violence against human rights defenders at the UN Security Council, as we did at meetings in July, and on 14 October. We urge the Colombian Government to further integrate its presence in conflict-affected areas, and strengthen the institutions that can investigate and prosecute the criminal actors responsible. We have called on involved institutions to heed the early warnings of the Ombudsman's Office to help prevent attacks from happening and protect those at risk.

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, social leaders and indigenous communities.