The United Nations human rights body has recognised nine-year-old Colombian environmentalist, Francisco Vera, for his activism, BBC reported. Vera, who took up environment activism at the age of six, received a death threat online after he urged the government to improve internet connectivity for children studying online. The incident caused outrage with Colombian President Ivan Duque promising last week to find the “bandits” who threatened Vera.

Vera has received a  signed letter by Michelle Bachelet, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, in which the organisation has thanked the nine-year-old for his activism. The world needs more young people with his “passion to protect the planet,” the letter says, BBC reported.

“We also agree with you that internet connectivity needs to be improved for boys and girls around the world,” the letter adds.

‘Guardians of Life’, an environment group founded by Vera in 2019, now has 200 members across 11 provinces in Colombia. He is also a member of Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future movement.

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In 2019, 64 environmentalists were killed in Colombia, making it the most dangerous country for environmental activists that year, Global Witness, an international human rights group, had said.