Abelardo Sánchez Serrano
Abelardo Sánchez Serrano Testimony
Colombia is a state that uses its military, armed and police forces to repress social protest and social movement.
Abelardo Sánchez Serrano is a Colombian human rights defender and member of the board of the Regional Corporation for Human Rights Defence (CREDHOS). His work is focused on training and education about human rights and international humanitarian law in Barrancabermeja, Colombia. He is also involved in collecting formal complaints regarding human rights abuses and crimes against humanity committed by presumed paramilitaries and members of the armed forces, particularly extrajudicial killings. Abelardo Sánchez Serrano was a participant at the Front Line Defenders Sixth Dublin Platform in September 2011.
HRDs in Colombia work in a violent and unsafe environment. They are subjected to threats, intimidation, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, physical assaults, torture, killings, illegal searches of their homes and offices and stigmatisation as a result of their activities in defence of human rights. The perpetrators of these abuses are frequently paramilitary groups, many of whom have links to the government or security services, or armed opposition groups. The continued frequent and severe threats and attacks against HRDs around the country contradict government claims of paramilitary demobilisation.
