Colombia, Ecuador working to prevent Indigenous abuse by armed groups

Ombudsman of Colombia Carlos Camargo and the Ombudsman of Ecuador Cesar Cordova Valverde attend a news conference to issue the first binational early warning to protect Indigenous communities of the Awa people at risk, in Bogota, Colombia March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

BOGOTA (Reuters) - The human rights ombudsmen of Colombia and Ecuador on Tuesday launched a joint alert system to prevent abuses by illegal armed groups from affecting Awa Indigenous communities that live along the countries' shared border.

The alert system will inform military leaders and government officials in both countries of potential attacks and human rights abuses in a bid to prevent them, the ombudsmen said in a press conference in Colombia's capital Bogota.