The UN agency statement, with headquarters in Geneva, comes as a result of a new massacre in the department of Cauca, which rises above 50 the number of murders recorded this year in the area where the Nasa ethnic group lives.
The office headed by Michelle Bachelet condemned the Oct. 29 attack on an indigenous group that tried to prevent criminal gangs from entering its territory, a confrontation that resulted in the deaths of five people and six wounded.
It warned that 52 murders have been reported in the region so far this year, eleven of them involving human rights defenders. According to the data, 74 members of that community received death threats and nine suffered physical attacks.
The High Commissioner's office in Colombia assured that it has been aware of at least 106 murders of activists since January 1.
Marta Hurtado, spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for Human Rights, emphasized the 'urgent need' to adopt preventive and protective measures to prevent indigenous people from being targeted.
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