Thank you for following us and taking actions on human rights’ issues this past year. This month we bring you news from Paraguay, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and Chile. We have a new Urgent Action to free a prisoner of conscience in Venezuela, a petition to sign on sexual violence against children and adolescents in Paraguay and good news from Brazil. We report on the continued violence in Colombia and further criticism from international agencies on police repression of the National Strike. There is good news for indigenous communities in Paraguay while in Colombia the IACHR finds them at great risk.
PARAGUAY
On 1 December, Amnesty published a new report about sexual violence against children and adolescents in Paraguay. For girls, this often results in forced pregnancies, truncated childhoods and abandonment of their future ambitions. Here are eight facts to underline the seriousness of the issue. According to the findings, the highest authorities in Paraguay are not listening to professionals working on the issue. You can support the accompanying campaign by signing this petition and by posting on social media using the material available here.
According to this news report of 28 December, the Paraguayan Government has granted land titles and financial compensation to several indigenous groups who have lost possession of their ancestral lands. This includes the Yakye Axa and the Sawhoyamaxa, for whose rights many of you have campaigned in the past. We will report further as more information becomes available. [click to continue…]
