Human Rights & Election Observation Delegation to Colombia

The Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN) builds partnerships among social movements and communities in the U.S. and Latin America, using popular education, grassroots organizing, advocacy, and direct action to challenge U.S. militarism, neoliberalism, and other forms of state violence, guided by liberating faith traditions and a commitment to human dignity.

For over two decades, CRLN has engaged in faith-rooted solidarity with human rights defenders and resistance communities in Colombia, challenging U.S. policies like Plan Colombia that fueled militarization, displacement, and human rights abuses, especially impacting Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities. CRLN has accompanied and advocated for displaced peoples, opposed aerial fumigation, and supported the implementation of the 2016 Peace Accords, including protections for defenders and the right of communities to return to their lands.

CRLN invites you to join us for a human rights and election observation mission taking place from May 24 to June 1, with Colombia’s general elections scheduled for Sunday, May 31.

The delegation will serve as a space for political education, solidarity, and international election observation. Participants will receive training and serve as observers during Colombia’s general elections, engaging directly with local monitoring efforts and examining what the electoral process means for historically excluded communities.

Participants will analyze Colombia’s current political and human rights landscape through engagement with grassroots movements and human rights defenders. They will hear firsthand testimonies that ground political analysis in lived experience. Participants will also engage in dialogue with survivors of the war in a post-war context, learning how they are advancing processes of truth, justice, and collective repair. Together, these experiences will offer a deeper understanding of Colombia’s social and political realities while strengthening international solidarity with communities working toward peace and liberation.

Apply by filling out the online application. Applicants will be informed if they have been invited to attend the delegation by May 4, 2026.

Apply here: https://forms.gle/ZfwUByN4bvvCgUiJA If you have questions or would like more information contact Jhonathan Gómez at jgomez@crln.org.

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Delegation Goals

1. Electoral Observation
   ● Serve as an international observer during Colombia’s general elections (May 31)
   ● Receive training and engage directly with local observation missions, civil society organizations, and electoral monitors
   ● Examine what elections mean for historically excluded communities, as well as survivors of the armed confl ict
2. Human Rights & Political Education
   ● Learn about human rights conditions in Colombia through engagement with grassroots organizations, movements, and human rights defenders
   ● Analyze the current political landscape and its relationship to electoral politics
   ● Hear firsthand testimonies that ground political analysis in lived experience
3. Historic Memory & Solidarity
   ● Engage with survivors of the armed confl ict to understand processes of memory, truth, and collective repair
   ● Learn from survivor-led efforts to advance justice and reconciliation in a post-war context
   ● Build relationships grounded in solidarity with communities working toward truth and collective healing

Who Should Apply?

• Organizers, activists, college students
• People committed to international solidarity and social justice
• Individuals willing to engage respectfully with communities

Cost

• Sliding scale of $1,600 – $1,400 / This price does not include fl ights to Colombia
  (The sliding supports CRLN’s fi nancial assistance to delegation participants who request it)
• ✔ Includes housing, most meals, in country transportation, and delegation coordination
• ✈ Flights estimated: $600–$900, depending the date purchased
• X THE COST DOES NOT INCLUDE FLIGHTS TO COLOMBIA. Flights must be purchased by participants.

Delegation Size?

• 8–14 participants

Payment Timeline

• Unrefundable deposit: $250 (upon acceptance)
• Final balance due 3 weeks before departure date
• Financial support available

Delegation Requirements, Participants are Required to:

• Attend 2 pre-delegation Zoom meetings – Review and study background materials on Colombia’s social and political contex
• Advanced level of comprehension of the Spanish language is required
• Participants are expected to participate fully in all meetings, and activities of the delegation, including the work that will happen as an international election observer.
• Participants are expected to participate in collective post-delegation report-back and public education, and advocacy efforts.

How to Apply

Apply by filling out the online application. Applicants will be informed if they have been invited to attend the delegation by May 4, 2026.

Apply here: https://forms.gle/ZfwUByN4bvvCgUiJA

Applicants will be informed if they have been invited to attend the delegation by April 24, 2026. If you have questions or would like more information contact Jhonathan Gómez at jgomez@crln.org.