started against a former army colonel who did not accept his responsibility for extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in the Caribbean region. REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS In August, Panamanian authorities claimed that the number of people crossing the Darien Gap had increased substantially and had already exceeded the total number of crossings in 2022. By the end of the year, the number had reached 520,000. Throughout the year, civil society organizations called for more transparency around the number of Venezuelans living in Colombia. According to R4V platform, Colombia was home to 2.89 million Venezuelans. Nevertheless, Venezuelans faced barriers to access international or other complementary forms of protection that would allow them to regularize their status and access their rights in Colombia.2 1. Colombia: Hope at Risk. The Lack of a Safe Space to Defend Human Rights in Colombia Continues, 9 November 2. Americas: Regularization and Protection: International Obligations for the Protection of Venezuelan Nationals, 21 September CONGO Republic of the Congo Demonstrations organized by an opposition political party were banned. Opposition leaders remained arbitrarily detained. A triple epidemic hit the south of the country, highlighting the poor state of health centres. In Vindoulou, a lead recycling company continued its activities despite the absence of environmental impact assessments. Little progress was made on women’s rights. BACKGROUND In August, the Congolese Labour Party of President Sassou Nguesso, in power for 38 years, obtained an absolute majority of the 72 seats at the senatorial elections, which took place against an economy marked by high 138 inflation. Petrol prices rose by 25%, which in turn led to an increase in the cost of essential goods. A coalition against the high cost of living, comprising eight human rights NGOs, was set up in August to protest against the increases in the price of petrol. In May, three opposition political parties launched a petition against alleged government corruption. In October, the country held the Three Basins Summit, bringing together leaders from the Amazon, Congo and the Borneo-Mekong South East Asia regions. FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY The Mouvement Républicain, an opposition political party, called for a demonstration on 9 March to pay tribute to Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, the main opposition figure, who died during the March 2021 presidential election. The demonstration was banned by the prefect of Brazzaville, as was a further demonstration planned for 23 March. The prefect accused the Mouvement Républicain of undermining social cohesion and disturbing public peace, and stated that it did not have the documentary evidence to justify its status as a political party. A coalition of NGOs requested that the authorities adopt a law that would simply require the notification of planned demonstrations to the authorities, instead of the need to request authorization beforehand, thereby complying with international human rights standards. ARBITRARY DETENTION André Okombi Salissa, a candidate in the 2016 presidential election, remained in detention despite the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declaring his detention as arbitrary and calling for his immediate release as well as compensation for the time he spent in detention. In 2019 he was sentenced to 20 years’ hard labour for “undermining the internal security of the State and illegal possession of weapons and munitions of war”. Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko, another candidate in the 2016 presidential election, also remained in detention, despite the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention The State of the World’s Human Rights