Constantino Ramírez Bedoya, an Embera indigenous leader in the Quindío department, was murdered on 17 October at 7.30 pm when he was riding his motorcycle on the road from Calarcá to the Dachi Agore Indigenous Reserve.

In a statement the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC for its Spanish acronym) said “Constantino was one of the main leaders of the Embera Indigenous Peoples in the Quindío department, he was the founder of the Regional Quindío Indigenous Organization-ORIQUIN and he was senior advisor to this organization on several occasions. Constantino’s murder is an attack on peace and an attack against the indigenous peoples of Colombia and against the cultural and physical preservation of the Embera people”.

The ONIC has requested that Vicky Tauli, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, “urgently visit Colombia to verify the serious situation of indigenous genocide”.