Colombia and Ecuador announce alert system to protect Indigenous communities from armed groups

A new joint alert system is being implemented by Colombia and Ecuador along their shared border to better protect it. The two nations unveiled a system to enhance information exchange and issue warnings about the likelihood of violence against boundary dwellers, many of whom are Indigenous Awá people.

César Córdova Valverde, the Ecuadorian Ombudsman, stated as much at a press conference in Bogotá. “We’re hoping to alert the Colombian and Ecuadorian state about this string of rights violations so they’ll take the necessary and urgent measures, and prevent the continuing violation of human rights happening on both sides of the border,” he said indigenous communities who are the targets of violent assaults by organized crime groups.