Take Action for Human Rights

Demand protection for Jani and all ADISPA members

Photo Credit: ©Nubia Acosta

Jani Silva is an environmental human rights defender who co-founded the Association for the Integral and Sustainable Development of the Amazonian Pearl (ADISPA) in 2008. Through it, she protects the environment and the rights of those living in the Amazonian Pearl, a campesino reserve in the southern state of Putumayo, Colombia.

Her work placed her at loggerheads with the Ecopetrol oil company, which won a license to operate in areas overlapping with the reserve in 2006. In 2009, the license was transferred to the Amerisur oil company. Since then, at least two oil spills have poisoned the water sources that local communities depend on. Defending the territory has had terrifying consequences for Jani. She’s been followed, intimidated by unknown aggressors, and threatened with death. COVID-19 has made matters worse, confining activists to their homes and limiting their protection.

Take Action: Tell the Ambassador of Colombia to ensure Jani and all the other members of ADISPA are protected against threats, intimidation, and violence.