Yes, protection of human rights is being challenged in many parts of the Americas, and that's very worrying.
Let's look at the latest statistics from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. At least 126 human rights defenders were killed in 2024, including a large number of indigenous representatives. This situation is very concerning to us, and we're very committed to addressing it.
One of Canada's top priorities for international assistance in the Americas is promoting and protecting human rights. That includes programs to engage with indigenous peoples. Here are some examples of what we are doing in the Americas region.
Canada implemented a project called Voices at Risk, which gives Canadian diplomats engaged in the region very practical advice on how they can effectively support and protect human rights defenders. These diplomats also provide support to human rights and women's rights organizations by securing multi-year funding for them so they can build capacity. Through this program, we are contributing $5 million to organizations in Peru. We provide similar funding to organizations in Honduras, Colombia, Guatemala and Haiti.
Another example of our work is what our diplomats do in our missions abroad. They may participate in trials of certain human rights defenders, as they did recently for a Salvadoran group of environmental and water defenders called the Santa Marta 5. As part of that trial, our embassy representatives appeared in court to demonstrate that the international community was monitoring the arguments closely and to make sure the legal proceedings were fair and transparent.