Restore protections for religious leaders in Colombia

When President Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego came to power in August 2022, he promised Paz Total (Total Peace), a safer future for communities across Colombia - but just one year later, religious leaders were stripped of state protections that left them more exposed to threats from armed and criminal groups, undermining efforts to prevent further violence.

Violence has intensified and religious leaders who work in areas under the control of illegal armed and criminal groups are targeted for extortion, threatened, and in the worst cases, killed.

Thousands of attacks have been recorded against religious leaders throughout Colombia’s decades-long internal conflict.

Since December 2024 at least 11 religious leaders have been kidnapped or assassinated.

Religious leaders need protection. And the Colombian government can provide it.

How can you help?

Sign the petition to the Colombian government and demand that the ability of religious leaders to access security protections be restored. 

We want to gather 4,000 signatures by the inauguration of the new government in August 2026. 

We can then present the full petition to the new Colombian government in Bogota, and at Colombian embassies and consulates around the world.

Your voice can make a difference! Together we can show religious leaders in Colombia that they are not alone.

Read the full text of our petition here.