UN says 84 rights activists killed in Colombia last year

BOGOTA, Colombia – The United Nations says 84 human rights activists were killed in Colombia last year as the country struggles to contain post conflict violence.

A peace deal signed in 2016 with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia has led to an overall decrease in homicides. But a report published Friday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says rights activists and social leaders are still being targeted by drug traffickers and smaller rebel groups that are vying for control of illegal businesses formerly controlled by FARC guerrillas.

The 16-page report says several of the victims were killed over their support for substituting new crops for illegal coca and for making rural land reforms. The U.N. calls for greater state presence in impoverished areas that were formerly under guerrilla control.