Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Colombian counterpart on the killing of nine Colombian human rights defenders in the first week of June 2018.

We are concerned about reports of increasing violence against human rights defenders and social activists in Colombia. Illegal armed groups are responsible for the majority of these attacks. In response, I welcome the recent commitment by both President Santos and President-elect Duque to new special protective measures for social leaders, especially in rural areas.