A/HRC/39/17 community to continue to monitor the situation and the safety of human rights defenders in the Philippines. 59. In Colombia, most killings of human rights defenders are taking place in rural areas where the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) was historically present and indigenous peoples are among the most affected (see A/HRC/37/3/Add.3, paras. 8−11). There is a persistent stigma associating indigenous peoples with guerrillas. Since the signing of the peace agreement between the Government and FARC-EP in 2016, some 50 indigenous leaders have been killed. Furthermore, the continued presence of the National Liberation Army and the increasing threats from and attacks by former paramilitary groups aggravate the situation. The Human Rights Ombudsman continues to raise early warning alerts of attacks and threats against indigenous peoples in various regions and the Constitutional Court has warned that a number of indigenous peoples in the country are at risk of extinction. 17 The Special Rapporteur has sent several communications on the killings of indigenous leaders by armed groups 18 and on arbitrary detentions, prosecutions and the excessive use of force by government forces against indigenous protesters.19 60. Brazil is by far the most dangerous country in the world for indigenous human rights defenders. During the Special Rapporteur’s country visit to Brazil in 2016 (see A/HRC/33/42/Add.1, paras. 18 and 31), community members in Mato Grosso do Sul showed her bullet wounds on their bodies and took her to places where family members had been killed. They also recounted incidents of arbitrary arrests, torture and criminalization of their leaders. Both government and civil society organizations working with indigenous peoples provided her with disturbing accounts of a regular pattern of threats and intimidation by State and private actors. 20 Impunity is pervasive in relation to attacks, killings and intimidation of indigenous peoples and frequently arise in contexts where indigenous peoples attempt to assert their rights over their lands and go hand in hand with the criminalization of indigenous leaders. 61. During her visit to Honduras in 2015 (A/HRC/33/42/Add.2), the Special Rapporteur observed that criminalization frequently occurred in the context of peaceful protests against logging, mining or hydroelectric projects. Indigenous leaders have been tried for offences such as appropriation of land and damage to private property, among others. While in Honduras, the Special Rapporteur met with Berta Cáceres, who was subsequently killed because of her opposition to the Agua Zarca dam. Other indigenous Lenca defenders have also been attacked and killed. 62. The Special Rapporteur, together with other special procedure mandate holders, has sent several communications on the situation both to the Government of Honduras and to financial investors supporting the Agua Zarca dam project. 21 Several financial investors, including the Netherlands Development Finance Company-FMO, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and Finnfund, suspended funding for the project. After a year-long probe, an investigative panel known as the International Advisory Group of Experts (GAIPE) concluded in November 2017 that Honduran State agents and senior executives of the hydroelectric company Desarrollos Energéticos Sociedad Anónima had colluded in the planning, execution and cover-up of the assassination of Berta Cáceres.22 17 18 19 20 21 22 and from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, UNEP, the Saami Council, the European Parliament, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Center for International Environmental Law, Amnesty International, Front Line Defenders and others. See www.defensoria.gov.co/ and Constitutional Court order 004/09 of 26 January 2009. COL 1/2014 and COL 7/2016. COL 6/2016. BRA 7/2015, BRA 1/2016 and BRA 6/2016. HND 3/2014, HND 2/2016, HND 4/2016 and HND 4/2017. Roxanna Alphol and others, Dam Violence: The Plan that Killed Berta Cáceres (International Advisory Group of Experts, 2017). 13