Protecting the right to defend Human Rights in Colombia: the Ríos Vivos Antioquia case

Abstract

This paper focuses on the case of Ríos Vivos Antioquia, a social and environmental movement that fights against the construction of Hidroituango —the largest dam in Colombia— which has produced serious environmental and social impacts on the population surrounding the project. This article analyzes the internationalization of the struggle by this movement through different strategies aimed at defending the Human Rights of its community. For that purpose, this research uses documents produced by the movement and reports of some NGOs as well as interviews with members of RVAM and external collaborators to know their main strategies in some depth. This paper concludes that the strategies of internationalization used by this movement have resulted in the strengthening of the social struggle and the empowerment of the population in that region, which has been particularly affected by the violence in Colombia. Recibido: 19 abril 2020 Aceptado: 06 noviembre 2020

Keywords

• Social movements
• internationalization
• human rights
• human rights defenders
• Ríos Vivos Antioquia Movement
• Hidroituango