Maritza Quiroz Leiva
HRD, Deputy Leader
Mesa de Víctimas de Santa Marta
Maritza Quiroz Leiva was a woman human rights defender, the deputy leader of the Victims Committee (Mesa de Víctimas) of Santa Marta and the leader of afro women victims of enforced displacement in rural areas. She advocated for the rights of all victims of the Colombian conflict, especially regarding situations of enforced displacement, which she suffered herself, and the afro community that she was a part of.
Maritza Quiroz LeivaCases
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.
