Every two years, Amnesty International Germany gives the Human Rights Award to people and organizations who fight for human rights under difficult conditions. The award honours these people’s commitment and aims to support and protect them and bring broader attention to their work. This year is the 12th time the award has been granted. Previous winners include: the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (2022); the Iuventa10 Maritime Rescue Team (2020); and the Nadeem Centre for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture in Cairo (2018)

Human rights defender and environmentalist Yuly Velásquez, who is president of the Federation of Artisanal, Environmental and Tourist Fisherfolk of the Department of Santander (FEDEPESAN), received Amnesty International Germany’s Human Rights Award 2024 on behalf of the fishing federation at a ceremony in Berlin on 4 June. The ceremony was attended by Amnesty International’s secretary general, Agnès Callamard, and UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Gina Romero. Yuly Velásquez was given the award for her selfless commitment to defending human rights in Colombia, despite the dangers she faced.

FEDEPESAN’s actions are described in an Amnesty International report published in November 2023. The report was launched in Barrancabermeja by Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International, together with Yuly Velásquez and Iván Madero, president of the CREDHOS Corporation, a human rights organization also from Barrancabermeja.

This report reveals how FEDEPESAN publicly denounced Ecopetrol, which owns the Barrancabermeja refinery, for dumping pollutants into bodies of water near the city. It also documents how the federation lobbied Ecopetrol and the Regional Autonomous Council of Santander against corruption and for the proper use of public resources in activities to restore the San Silvestre wetland. In this context, FEDEPESAN fisherfolk have suffered threats, robberies, and even attempts on their lives.

Julia Duchrow, secretary general of Amnesty International Germany, said: “The climate crisis is a human rights crisis. To protect people and their rights, we have to combat the climate crisis. In the Colombian Department of Santander, fisherfolk banded together to fight against environmental destruction and the shortcomings of the Colombian authorities. Their work protects our planet. They put their lives on the line to stand up for our future. That is why the German Section of Amnesty International has decided to award the Human Rights Prize to FEDEPESAN.”

In the Colombian Department of Santander, fisherfolk banded together to fight against environmental destruction and the shortcomings of the Colombian authorities. Their work protects our planet. They put their lives on the line to stand up for our future.

Julia Duchrow, secretary general of Amnesty International Germany.

Addressing the German government, Duchrow said: “In their cooperation with Colombia, the German authorities must advocate for better protection for defenders of human rights and the environment in the country, including FEDEPESAN.”

Yuly Velásquez, president of FEDEPESAN, said: “This human rights award from Amnesty International Germany is the biggest success to date for the fisherfolk of Barrancabermeja, a city ravaged by violence. This award will help raise the profile of our work and pressure the Colombian authorities to address the human rights violations. We dedicate this award to the fishers who were murdered and dumped into the river, while those who murdered them have gone unpunished. We dedicate it to the widows and orphans, to the protectors of rivers, wetlands, and canals. This award gives us hope.”

This award will help raise the profile of our work and pressure the Colombian authorities to address the human rights violations. We dedicate this award to the fishers who were murdered and dumped into the river, while those who murdered them have gone unpunished. We dedicate it to the widows and orphans, to the protectors of rivers, wetlands, and canals.

Yuly Velásquez, president of FEDEPESAN.

Amnesty International has called on the Colombian state to investigate those behind the attacks on FEDEPESAN members, prosecute the perpetrators, and put better measures in place to protect FEDEPESAN and prevent further attacks. It has also urged the relevant authorities to investigate the water pollution reported and documented by FEDEPESAN and has called for the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development and the Minister of Mines and Energy to visit the affected region to listen to local human rights and environmental organizations.

History of the Human Rights Award

Every two years, Amnesty International Germany gives the Human Rights Award to people and organizations who fight for human rights under difficult conditions. The award honours these people’s commitment and aims to support and protect them and bring broader attention to their work. This year is the 12th time the award has been granted. Previous winners include: the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (2022); the Iuventa10 Maritime Rescue Team (2020); and the Nadeem Centre for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture in Cairo (2018).

The award ceremony took place on Tuesday 4 June 2024 at the Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin. You can view the event in English, German and Spanish here.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact press@amnesty.rog