The present document of Human Rights First (HRF) concerns a white paper that stresses several cases of human rights defenders who are in danger in Colombia. HRF states that human rights defenders in Colombia play a legitimate and essential role in protecting basic rights and strengthening democratic institutions. Yet they are frequently subjected to spurious criminal charges such as rebellion, alleging that they are members of guerrilla organizations. In one case the judge refers to the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers as a valuable source of the right to a fair trial.