Dear Friends,

This month we bring you updates on human rights issues in Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina, what the change in President for Peru could mean for human rights and which countries have not ratified the Escazú Agreement. Human rights abuses continue to mount in Venezuela and Colombia. Please sign the three Urgent Actions on Colombia and another on Venezuela. We have good news from a past Urgent Action on Colombia, a new ruling by Ecuador’s Constitutional Court on abortion and a UN deal with Venezuela which will provide it with much needed aid. We invite you to join us on 19 May at 8 pm for a panel discussion on the ‘Eyes on Chile report – details in the Chile section below.

REGIONAL

The first-ever regional treaty to protect the rights of environmental defenders entered into force on 22 April (World Earth Day), having finally reached the required number of ratifications.  The Escazú Agreement was adopted by countries from Latin America and the Caribbean in 2018 but needed 11 ratifications to enter into force.  Of the South American countries, the Agreement has been ratified by Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Uruguay. Chile initially promoted the deal, but the current government has declined to ratify it, describing the obligations as “ambiguous” and “imprecise”.  Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela have also not yet ratified the agreement.

VENEZUELA

As of 1 May 2021, all Venezuelan civil society organisations must comply with abusive registration measures or face criminal prosecution. Such measures violate the rights to association, privacy, presumption of innocence, and puts civil society organisations and their beneficiaries at grave risk of criminalisation and reprisals. Amnesty International has issued a new Urgent Action to demand immediate repeal of this regulation.

Human rights defender Orlando Moreno was assaulted and detained by agents of Venezuela’s Scientific, Penal, and Criminal Investigation Service Corps (CICPC). Several organizations condemn the assault and arrest of Orlando on April 25 Venezuelan security forces, the latest in a series of escalating attacks against human rights defenders and organizations of the Venezuelan State.

According to Human Rights Watch, Venezuelan security forces have committed gross abuses against local communities in the conflict with armed groups on the Colombia border. Extrajudicial executions, torture, arbitrary arrests and prosecutions in military courts are the main concerns of the population. Those systematic abuses are similar with systematic violations that had led international investigations on human rights.

The United Nations food aid reached an agreement with the Nicolas Maduro government to develop the World Food Program (WFP) in Venezuela. The goal of this program is to support the supply of food for young people and children. This program will attempt to fight the humanitarian and health crisis. [click to continue…]