International accompaniment is a protective strategy to safeguard organisations, human rights defenders and communities whose lives are threatened by political violence and its work is in a severe vulnerability position.
Our mission is to prevent or relieve any pressure or risk situations affecting the continuity of work or physical and psychological integrity of individuals and organisations we accompany, because of their work defending human rights.
The duty of the administration of any country is to protect all its citizens. Considering in some countries all over the world, administration do not fulfill with its duties, international observers are helping to report and to deter any possible violation, especially in hight risk areas. Likewise, a International Accompaniment Organisation performs a persuading work to any individual or group not carry out a hostile action againts any person o community. Human Rights Defenders (HRD) use this skills nationwide or worldwide in any different situations.
HRD strategy is based on reminding to the rest its decisions could lead to some consequences. These mechanism have been addopted by further international organisations, such as some Latin America Countries (Nicaragua, Colombia, México) or all over the world ( Palestine, Israel, Nepal, Canada, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Haití, Balcans) proving its efficacy and efectiveness, because violators of human rights and international humanitarian laws do not consider appropiate any international witness of its crimes.
On-the-ground, by means of the physical presence of international volunteers, observing and reporting, deterring and persuading tools, ensures the movements of the social and base leaders, including the action carried out by rural organisations in order to do its works with no interference of armed actors.
Nationwide and worldwide ensuring the pressure and advocacy work necessary to carry out any action to place foreground the regions situation, and helping International and Local Public Bodies to pressing Colombian administration in order to respect and warranty of Human Rights. On the extent that local communities and local organisations increase its ability and have better practices will be able to strenghten its action work in order to defend and protect its rights. However, it remains the issue of invisible attacks as a big problem, because makes it easier impunity of the guilty of violations, increasing the pain and victims indefension.
INTERNATIONAL ACCOMPANIMENT AXES
International accompaniment has three common axes to all groups working in:
- Physical presence of international observers in conflict areas or high risk.
- Advocacy work, through a international network of organisations in several countries and with local authorities on-the-ground.
- Reporting and observing the organisations and communities we accompany and their situation of vulnerability in Colombia as in some other countries.
Some other international organizations may include some other components such as: set up international delegations, psychosocial support, reporting any violation locally and abroad, dialogue with authorities, face up the armed actors directly, and technical support to accompanied organizations and communities
EFFECTIVE INTERNATIONAL ACCOMPANIMENT
The primary efficacy of international accompaniment is testified by the high number of people that have been protected by this protective mechanism. The positive aspects related with the implementation of this strategy are several. Some of theses are:
- Physical protection to the organizations, communities and human rights defenders we accompany.
- International pressure through support networks
- Outreach and visibility of information about the national reality where the accompaniment is made and about the situation faced by organizations, communities and human rights defenders.
- Human rights direct violations reporting.
- Contributing to strengthen local groups organisations.
- Linking groups to set up networks and solidarity ties.
- Support and moral accompaniment to people under threat
- Contribution to building a peace and human rights worldwide movement.