To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has provided support to her Colombian counterpart on helping to protect community activists who protest against violence in that country.

Colombia is an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country and we regularly raise human rights concerns with the Colombian Government. Most recently, I spoke to Vice President Ramírez on 10 February about the human rights situation. This followed a visit to Colombia last November by the former Minister for Europe and Americas, who met with human rights defenders and social leaders to discuss how UK programmes can continue to support at-risk Human Rights Defenders and victims, and tackle the root causes of the violence.

Through our Conflict, Stability, and Security Fund (CSSF) programme in Colombia, which has provided £68 million in support of the peace agreement implementation, security, and stability in Colombia since 2015, we will continue to prioritise funding interventions to protect human rights defenders, social leaders and indigenous communities.