jones and lane slaves, the swallow everything in their path. i listen that i am peer the al jazeera hatamio. ganna has become the 1st country to approve a new vaccine for malaria that researches a calling a world change in the vaccine known as are 21 is to be used on children age between 5 and 56 months. in our claim reports, researchers are calling get a turning point in the struggle against malaria. in a global 1st gonna has approved a vaccine against the mosquito borne disease. the united nation says more than $600000.00 people die from the disease each year. on average one child dies every minute and it's children who faced the highest risk of death scientists. the oxford university in the u. k. say they've spent decades researching the vaccines and gone on is the 1st african country where it will be used and on young children

between 5 months and 3 years old. the world health organization is also considering whether to approve the vaccine. $200000000.00 doses are to be produced annually signed to say, it's a game changer in the battle against a virus that is one of the leading killers of children in africa. lena barclays as ita ah. this is al jazeera and these are the top stories. the seller, u. s. federal agents have arrested a member of the air force national guard on suspicion of leaking classified documents. last month. they included assessments about the war and ukraine. it's led to the check to share uploaded, hundreds of photographs of secret files in an online chat group. russell and jordan has more from washington d. c. according to well published reports and based on what the attorney general

had to say on thursday afternoon. it appears that to mr. to shera is being charged with violating the 1917 espionage act. that is the federal law that governs all matters of information related to the u. s. is national security. people who are accused and then convicted of violating the espionage act can go to prison for up to 10 years per charge. that it is if they are convicted. and l g 0 investigation has uncovered a mess of money laundering operation involving gold smuggling in southern africa. under cover journalists expose the extent of the operation in zimbabwe, which has implicated some of the nation's most powerful paypal. protests is across france, have really the, again, to oppose pension reforms, which include raising the retirement age from $62.00 to $64.00 of the constitutional council will rule on the legislation. on friday,

9 arab countries are expected to meet in saudi arabia on friday to discuss the possibility of serious return to the arab league. it was expelled in 2011. the syrian foreign minister is visiting the kingdom for the 1st time and more than a decade was the headlines up next is the strain. talk to al jazeera, we ask, who is really fighting this rush of? is it wagner, or is it the russian or military? we listen, we started talking to me on my own, so that this. yeah, your citizen dish look to get him back. we meet with global news makers and talk about the stories that matter on al jazeera. hello, welcome to the stream. i'm josh rushing to day columbia and the dangerous job of being a human rights activist in that country. now what you're seeing here, these are the top 5 countries where human rights activist and social leaders were

killed last year. look at columbia, it's at the top, a $186.00 killed. that's according to the latest report from the rights group. frontline defenders. so in today's episode, we look at the reasons why columbia is the world's deadliest country for those wanting to protect human rights. and what's been done about it ah, joining us, joining us from bogota, laura benita, deputy director of the perez foundation, that the latin american think tank specializing in conflict analysis. also bogota inigo, alexander. he's a columbia based journalist covering human rights and social justice. and in dublin, ireland sarah to war, global head of protection for the rights group. frontline defenders. and as always, you're also at the table. if you're watching this on youtube, check it out. we have a live stream producer waiting there to get your comments to me. so i can get them

to our guest today and you and i will, we can do this thing together, right. all right, let's begin with laura. why is it so dangerous to be a human rights defender in columbia of all places? well, basically the charge, i'm sorry, is because our long work history and our long, our conflicts to be a little bit more clear for the audience columbia. how long term conflicts are so many years ish? 10 to 1520 years. we try to do up the process. our last piece process was sale. it's implementation of the agreement. and that creates like the sensation and the feeling in the most of the columbia, they can know that. com to speak with nothing. also that creates

a lot of frustration in the sales and at the same time doing the 5 year versus what's really present in the field and implies that as many our mid groups, any kind of pharma group just started to grow up in the, especially in the rural area, especially certain areas. so for that kind of our group, their socio and either ship are the enemy. why? because all those are met groups as leaving from the violence day on the light at via them producers and they are the shape and weight saturday. their violence, so i still she'll either a human slice defenders usually try to stop dot auctions from our mate group. try to speak a no loud devoted to retail console of the bio lancers american face. so that's why right now for a bad type of violence in the station in columbia. so dramatic for human rights

defenders and also for so she'll be, there's something that i think that is really important is that the columbia is very generous with it. we've got the cookie station, so for us usually day so shall be theirs. and the human rights defenders a used to be the same person in the field. and so may be also find that 3 somewhat up, you know, one honda that a heath keisha's. but speaking of a 186 cases there, i actually want to put a, a face on some of those names rather than just being numbers. so sarah, your partner, frontline, defenders, we, we've gone to your website here and, you know, just looking at it, it's broken up by country york at columbia and look at these faces, attempted killing, new death threat, death, threat, killed was lifeless. put,

let's was going on this one here to feel leo aconia. what can you tell us about him? why was he killed? now think just for, for bringing to flow into this conversation, then definitely, i think when we have numbers more than reporting a number of cases, we want to bring the memory of those who are the kids. and so a story of why they would kill it. so when the keys are still look when he was actually killed it together with another defender short hold on, but they were killing the february last year. the 2 of them were company seen those leaders sometimes in english, not the best thing that people use. but in the context of latin america, company is what translates better the kind of community rules that they are looking at. so they were 2 defenders duplicating for land right to duplicate them for the right to be way to sustain, to have the conditions, to sustain their livelihood. and both of them, i think this is emblematic case because too often and hearty,

they actually came up with public denounces about the death threats they were being subjected to. and only 2 days before they would kill it, they was again a public that now on the death threats that they were being subjected to. because of that the now they were making, i guess the role of them on the policy and the local police. so which of them were actually show that the front of their family and known and you so they don't have a response of who are actually responsible for that particular case. i think this is an implement to case because show that those individuals, they're not on the isolated individuals, but they represent collect to the struggles as a lotta lotta will say, in the context of columbia, how important it is as part of a community to the 1st part of the community organize, and i think the keys of lou again, it also shows the foster of the criminalization of human rights defenders indirectly of below b. so they often was actually detained in 2020. and that shows

a story like he was saying he received the best and then find that it was which i think for else is the lack of effective protection for human rights to send. there's a tree in that conference. and then another case that we want to look into an ego, can you tell us about this 14 year old boy who was killed in galka? yeah, that case was one that really struck according to care last year. took place 30 in the year in january. right. at the start of the year, he's one of the 1st few him, right defenders in particular case environmental defender to who was murdered. and the striking thing about the cases is age just 14 shot dead in the region of the south of western the country. and he was murdered when he was taking part in the traditional patrol of the indigenous territory, which he lived in a part of the indigenous guard, which is but a national organization,

the non group and de tustin selves with trying to protect their own territory and trying to defend the community and the causes from potential threats and risk because a lot of those, the business committed to live in areas of the country which are heavy presence of our groups. and as a consequence for quite lot of termination violence. and he was unfortunately killed when they were ambushed. his patrol was ambush him and he was going on with his father who i believe survived. but another member was also killed. and they just faced open fire in the small rural area of, of galka when they were just trying to troll and, and provide a minimum degree of protection and could insecurity to fundable communities. they'd heard that there was legit presence of our groups in the community. the patrol went down to try and see what was going on and just try and see if they could come down situation or at least provide some degree of protection to the communities. and as a result they, they just got us and young,

painted unfortunate or killed because show a lot of the, a lot of the killings are just on, you know, i'm brought on talking to the tax that just take lives of innocent people like like dana who is 14 year old who is just taking part of his patrol and trying to defend his community and tried to force as well the environment and as a result of being part of that patrol in the community, he was so that was the case that in particular the district court and the year. yeah. the i want to make clear because we're talking about him patrolling to defend us community. i want our audience to understand. they were not armed. it was just basically they're there. right? yeah, yeah, exactly. yes. so really call on yes, i was just saying the indigenous god is is as just saying not. and on their own on the pacific group and they just patrol the areas just provides to the minimum level

of safety and security from those threats. which, as i mentioned before, and the indigenous areas have quite a heavy right, right. so just the presence of arms, of sort of anom druther indigenous patrol. i felt like deterred that, i want to bring in some reporting. this is done by my friend and colleague alessandro, somebody who's down in bogota, reports from columbia for algeria english on our new side. and he interviewed oscar some pio, who's an environmental activist from there. and i want to share this piece of a video. hey, scott told us that he's been threatened by criminals. he claims are responsible for dumping toxic waste in agricultural or protected areas near the city, but lack of better me. her the government. this provided him with a day time body guard a flat jackets and a panic button. but he says the security measures are no match for the armed groups who operate with impunity, which as a soda, we escape the government institution. they should be,

are recourse like the regional attorney, general inspector general, the ombudsman, or from that the other way because they have been collected by the criminal group. are laura, there's a couple things i want to touch on there. i eventually want to move to impunity, which has brought up idea of it. but even before that, i think it was in your pre interview. you told us something along the lines that the violence is the economy. yes. can you, can you explain it? okay. yes. so many people, especially in, i used to work with a swedish organization for so many g as i'm most of the people outside columbia, belief that this is jaime showed well above medical sir. and the frame illegal economy. and the solution to all of that is just so, you know, and our 5 day legal economy service agreement, i'll economies they point here is that we don't have the same conflict that another colon please with not of course we, they are on army,

maybe the bus but where you now we have been that of course in one place, we have out of met groups, sally, the vial inserted. so basically all the groups go really far, many tardies primary army groups are sally like a therapy. so bio list and perfection. so i personally know some michael leak and i am from the same region. so what is the point with that? this is a pretty good case to explain their socio and the there's, and the by mentor be there's, are again, you know, some kind of condemnation. so people who are constantly may think they are not taking no direct leaders, they hire some group or de, give money to some group. and that group for us in the region. this is a petroleum region that's group doesn't need to move and are called 16 and it plays

up the content of sound the country for them. it's more easier to go with today. detail economy of petroleum calling on me all for any kind of oil. and then, oh gee, and try to extract that resources calling them. and if you just finish, they're not put off right now we are in a high crisis. economic crisis. you know, not, it's not now a good business. columbia people are suffering in the field, you know, they don't have anything to buy the whole cup of crops. so why are still define this? because the 2nd group that we know that before of these crisis, they were buying things and they were buying the coca leech and that's the same groups are trying to equally stay around, you know, using their extortion. oh and that explain why are these groups

are just literally 3 al concerned, but can we can concern if he of these new conflict in columbia? i mean, generally latin america. well want to bring in some voices from you to for watching the show right now. this is from youtube or man says drugs is the most important problem and columbia. and then um, okay, whatever, so this at that their name, not mine, says i'm wondering, to what extent do people there know about the idea of human rights. it seems, at least they know there's a concept of human rights before. therefore they have so many activists standing up . ah, and then there was one about impunity in, oh, is this because there's no effect of state institutions that's from brian filter. now we're going to answer these questions, but 1st i want to bring in one more video comment from our community. this is from andrew miller, is the ag advocacy director at amazon watch. the petro administration has placed human rights defenders in very important positions of influence. for example, the vice president, frontier marquez,

also the piece commissioner danny little way the among others. those individuals, however, are facing entrenched systems of impunity. for example, the fiscal and al columbia attorney general francisco barbosa has not demonstrated to political will to investigate and hold accountable government officials responsible for human rights violations. one example is the alderman. so massacre from last year in which colombian counter narcotics units killed 11 people, including community leaders and a key tra, indigenous governor to date, an investigation has not been carried out and officials have not been held accountable. inigo, why are people being held to account for these murders? yeah, that's a long standing issue that columbus had the ramp and impunity. and they efficient in the inefficiency. so in this regard, a lot of it is down to the fact that i believe the groups that are often times carrying out these kings, they know they can get

a good they know they can get away with them. they know that they're operating in areas where they are basically the de facto government and they can do as they please, especially in terms of dealing with a opposition voices, or even just when you elicit economies. so there has been a long history of impunity. and i just want to bring up a point that something that i mentioned is a video which is the state protection system. they've had the national protection unit part, the ministry of interior here in columbia, which provides protection to people in the threats. people are perceived perceived harm, but that's basically the go to mechanism and it's not an effective one. last year was given a budget of just over a $1000000.00, i believe, which in the grants can think there's not a lot. and it's also a very inefficient, very slow process. i've spoken to a number defenders who allegedly protected under that program, but have voice for months and months and months amongst the received the section. and the protection is fairly minimal in the grad school. things again,

like i mentioned in the video, maybe that proves that maybe a driver might not do desk a building on what you had. we have dealt with cases in which people were threatened by those were supposed to be protecting them in the program. so that means the problem has a number of limitations and i think in the context of columbia, it's really important to think to then to find exactly who are those defenders who are being killed when we look at this number of 186 cases are the cases has been collected, verified, and in the case of columbia, very important innovation to some of the studies come up with the numbers of the breakdown. so when we opened those numbers, when we're looking at, we are looking at 4 to 0 percent of them are indigenous people. and we are looking at 7 to 2 out of those a 186 cases where people involved with the monopolies, which means people who actually took up a leadership role in the very, very local levels. so people who are both on community organizing on lands, right,

which is evidence the fact that those protection mechanisms don't reach those most isolated community, which means the protection mechanisms that are not accessible where they are most need that you can access it, but it's not everywhere. it's not consistent across the country, so i think you got flight as correctly. and i'm sure loud also has been when you're talking about the ineffectiveness of this protection system. i want you to know we reached out for video comments from colombia, and some people were really too scared to put their face on camera. so we had this comment, this is from one who is a guzman is a climate justice activist in new york city. i can forward to you on behalf of the community, i'm very fond of in northern columbia that chosen not to show their faces because they feel threatened by our groups and the region. these groups are establishing new territorial control over this period lands between peasants. indigenous

communities and tourist development in northern columbia. these groups are only enticing violence, but seek to control this land to be able to carry weapons to traffic drugs and to be able to explore the central resources such as land was and mines. local communities have gone, have come forward to the government, asking for support, and for help the local authorities fear these armed groups and the central colombian government has so far remain silent. laura, what can be done? what should be done? yeah, well this will be maybe this will sound simple, but it's not simple to do that. but no 1st the impunity has a lot to do with our center lease. so people in, bang,

jerry can not use the lock. hello. thought this to protect themselves. so they have to call to go, but that they have to look for a g o. they have to look for another who stick to sions to help them to get protection that they need in the 2nd place. be bold, for instance, you're talking about of kalika. kalika is the most dramatic situation right now for indigenous people, especially for women. so we've meant indigenous women in culture, if they want to implement a collective wrote of protection, they need to call to bo, with that because they're local estate don't have the capacity or the interest to do something really effective. and that could bake a lot of back because our bureaucracy and also because our corruption cor, broke chiles glows, connect that with bio and c columbia. and this is really important because it's like we, they okay these dishes, but recently bay, you and i in a day you and b when he died last year now. but for the next young,

and that is the to sion beep at death threat against a bit, but not the threat of back against the director. so the director try to console the corruption within the institution and he was safe a bit a back. wow. so this is the level of the no, but i see them bethel half a brady. what really about human wise defenders. but the government needs to understand and if we don't be or a local capacity for civil society and for the local estate, we are not doing something really effective. on e. m, the 2nd one of the in june the of course, of course, and do anything, something that's an increase. the damage isn't the situation. but if a lot am groups want to keep the retail control, it will be very difficult to come another than

a solution for start running low on time. and i also want to look at maybe what the international community should be aware of in this situation. so i want to bring in a video comment. this is from shrewd t suresh said land and environment defenders campaign to the lead for global witness. the colombian government must now to and commitments into action. global witness analysis has found that colombia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for environmental defenders are angio patina. so almost defense stories has this week reported that the families of over 2300 defenders killed in the country are still waiting for justice. we need urgent action from the government to end this culture of impunity, which is fueling for though violence against defenders. the also need the u. s. e u and other countries in the global not to ensure that their private sector businesses in columbia do not contribute to human rights abuses faced by defenders

. so sarah, i also want to bring in a comment from you tube here. this is from kyle marston says whatever aide united states provides needs to stop involving handing out munitions and fire arms. and i noticed that last video comment, she talked about the global north needs to be aware of contributing to the situation. can you talk from an international perspective of what the international community needs to do here to support columbia? no, definitely. i think if there is different than us back to engage, that's the rule of the pieces and the private sector might. they might not be directly engaged on the violence, but the truth is they, they are business are being benefited by the fact that defenders are those suspending on the ways for the implementation. destructive lauer, destructive big projects in columbia. so those be that has benefits for the fact that those a friend that have been taking out of the way have been forced this place from the communities. i think in the case of columbia,

if they read the civil society who has the deep knowledge and deep political understanding of the issues of protection is the civil society in columbia. so i don't think we have knowledge to offer what we have to offer is solidarity is support to sustain the livelihoods of those community. because ultimately those human rights defenders are a duplicating and being killers for the fun thing, the ways of living for different communities. so i think one thing can actually, i mean it has to do in the end of the day to support the livelihoods of communities . and of course a duplicate and support bay and that's worked for for the better for better protection. and i think if we can, if it is, there can be a massive issue on the challenge of protection. we have the absence of the state in the different parts of the country. and also the critical role that human rights defenders are plain still in the absence of the country that the state for the implementation of the peace agreement. the fact that the failure is

a potent and south in the front line of the agreement. the fact that human rights, the center thing, can we are taking up the ro simply meant the beast that's so important for them means that they have to take a 3 sir. this is that this is the final 2nd for the show. thank you so much for those final words on this. we'll keep watching this story here at al jazeera english. you can always find as it's stream start out as era dot com. thanks for. ah mm hm. and

it's a $1000000000.00 money. no drink operation. the coal, marsha is bigger than the company with financial institutions, regulators and governments complicit about with right. i've described that in a 4 part series. algio 0 is investigative unit because under cover in southern africa, pittsburgh, we control 90 percent of dublin. once it's recalling, it's perfectly brand new, good part, full on al jazeera plastic. it's no secret that it talks it for the environment. but do you really know just how tough think it is? every point of the plastic life cycle problem for manufacture to the rubbish. he are plastic problems of bigger than we're told they are. the proof is in the pudding, the chemical plant or poisoning of millions of these little tiny nanoparticle to plastic. and recently they've just found it in human blood, all hail the planet episode full on al jazeera blue to condo course. his mother

hasn't worked for years. he's also unemployed. and as a family to the doctor, we already have to share with the promises that have never been meant not even one . it's driving our youth to depression, depression that is leading to a truck addiction, africa as one of the most i'm equal societies in the. the gap between the rich and poor is growing a 1000000 traps in poverty. many desperate and discouraged young africans say the government needs to seriously address unemployment, otherwise they'll be forced to remain idle and unproductive. ah, this was a deliberate criminal act.