South America Newsletter August 2021

August 4, 2021 by zarganar

This month we bring you news from Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. There is good news from Venezuela, Brazil and Chile and Gustavo Gatica. We have a new Amnesty report on the National Strike in Colombia and another from Human Rights Watch on abortion rights in Ecuador. We look at the secret activities of the UK’s National Crime Agency and question its role in the excessive use of force by the Colombian police, whom it has trained. Updates include police killings in Brazil, inmate deaths in Ecuadorian prisons and forced displacements and killings of human rights defenders and social leaders in Colombia.

COLOMBIA

Amnesty International’s new report Cali: In the epicentre of repression examines how the Colombian authorities violated the human rights of peaceful demonstrators in Cali and elsewhere during the National Strike. The security forces, in particular members of the police’s Mobile Anti-Riot Squad, used excessive and unnecessary force to disperse them. Under the pretext of restoring order, terrible injuries were inflicted on hundreds of people and dozens of young people lost their lives.

The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) trained the Colombian police in a multi-million pound 5-year programme shrouded in secrecy. The NCA programme in Colombia “engaged” with “Colombian law enforcement agencies to improve their capability”, according to UK government documents seen by Declassified. The aims included “specialist cadres of police to be trained in priority areas of intervention” alongside “trusted relationships formed with key units and individuals”. The NCA’s lack of transparency is particularly worrying, raising questions over its involvement with police in their excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators in Colombia.

28 human rights defenders/social leaders were killed in the January-March quarter of 2021, according to Programa Somos Defensores (We are Defenders Programme) Nine of them were indigenous leaders. Most of the known perpetrators were successor paramilitaries, while the ELN (National Liberation Army) guerrillas and Security Forces were also responsible for killings. Many of the killings occurred in regions where armed groups are fighting over illegal and legal economic activities.

Commenting on the 106,000 people forcibly displaced in 2020, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre states: ‘Clashes between FARC dissidents, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and paramilitaries took place throughout the year in the Pacific coast departments of Chocó, Nariño and Cauca, and in Antioquia and Norte de Santander. The same departments recorded most internal displacement. African-Colombian and indigenous people represented the majority of those newly displaced.’

VENEZUELA

Venezuelan migrants have been deported from Chile: The Chilean government must end summary deportations of Venezuelans and ensure that all deportations comply with international human rights law. The government announced that it planned to deport 1,500 people during 2021. According to the Jesuit Migrant Service (SJM), the government had deported 294 people; in most cases, without judicial control. Most were Venezuelan women.

Good news! Defender for the rights of women and girls is free: Venezuelan professor and human rights defender Vannesa Rosales was released on July 21, after spending nine months in detention, six of which were under house arrest. She was criminalized for her work as a defender of sexual and reproductive rights in Venezuela. During the preliminary hearing held on July 21, the court dismissed the accusation and closed the case against Vannesa. Thank you very much to all who sent appeals!

The International Criminal Court and Venezuela: The situation in Venezuela, a member country of the International Criminal Court (ICC), is under review. The final decision will determine whether a formal court investigation is warranted. The prosecution reported that, based on the information to which it had access during its preliminary examination, it had found reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity had been committed in Venezuela. [Read more…]

Group Newsletter July 2021

July 19, 2021 by zarganar

As we flagged up last month, we are planning to relaunch the group when we are able to return to Moordown Community Centre in the autumn. Normally this time of year we would be running a stall at Bourne Free. Sadly, whilst there is a Pride event in Bournemouth at the end of August, it is restricted due to COVID and there are no stalls.
But human rights abuses continue and there are details and a variety of actions below.

Here’s why thousands of people are taking to the streets in Cuba – click the clink for a brief video

https://www.facebook.com/amnesty/videos/368433941294537/

Protests and Campaigns in Cuba

On 11 July thousands of people took to the streets in Cuba to peacefully protest over the economy, shortages of medicines, the response to COVID-19, and harsh restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly. Find out more about what has been happening and what you can do.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/07/cuba-protests-updates/
There had been a recent waves of arbitrary detentions, surveillance and harassment of members of Cuba’s San Isidro Movement – composed of artists, academics, and alternative thinkers. The Movement had been set up to defend the freedom of expression of artists like them. Prior to the protests, Amnesty had started a campaign – #TheEternalFlame – to put pressure on the Cuban authorities for change, as well as show solidarity with the San Isidro Movement.
The petition you can sign is the existing one linked to this #TheEternalFlame campaign (UK = Reino Unido)
https://lallamaeterna.org/

South America Newsletter July 2021

The latest edition of the South America Regional Newsletter has updates on developments in Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, and Chile. Amnesty International reviews the victims of excessive use of force by Colombia’s security services during the recent National Strike, and analyses the killing of 199 Human Rights Defenders in 2020, a new record. Amnesty International continues with its action on behalf of Human Right Defenders – see below.

In Brazil , according to the indigenous organisation APIB, indigenous Brazilians are 68% more likely to catch Covid-19 and their mortality rate is 58% higher than for the rest of the country. According to official counts, 523,000 Brazilians have died from Covid-19 as of 3 July.

Protect María, Jani, Joel, and Danelly

Colombia is the second most mega-biodiverse country in the world and is home to the Amazon, which makes up almost 40% of its territory. At the same time, it is the most dangerous country for those who defend our environment.

María, Jani, Joel, and Danelly are brave people who have been among the voices and protectors of our environment and natural resources in Colombia. In a country where the attacks that they suffer from usually go unpunished and authorities appear ambivalent about their safety, they are forced to risk their life on a daily basis to defend the water, oxygen, and food that we all depend on to live.

The Colombian Congress has the power to monitor that human rights defenders have the guarantees necessary to continue protecting the environment. Take action and call on the Colombian Congress to guarantee their safety and protection.

Europe Newsletter July 2021

This month there are reports from Turkey, Switzerland, France, Greece, Kosovo, Denmark, Czech Republic and Hungary. On 21 May 2021 Hungary took the Presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers amidst a serious national human rights, democracy and rule of law crisis which has no end in sight. The newsletter expands on the situation in Hungary and the series of laws adopted in the last few years which curtail the enjoyment of human rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

After targeting Roma, Refugees and NGO’s the Hungarian Government has recently turned on LGBT communities. A new law passed in June states that any education or depiction of consensual same sex relationships or the affirmation of one’s gender must not be accessible to under-18. The newsletter has links to this and details of other legislation recently passed.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/europe-newsletter-july-2021

South America Newsletter July 2021

July 9, 2021 by zarganar

This month, we update you on developments in Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela,and Chile.
Amnesty International reviews the victims of excessive use of force by Colombia’s security services during the National Strike and analyses the killing of 199 Human Rights Defenders in 2020, a new record. We report on the high death rate from Covid-19 among the indigenous community in Brazil, as well as extrajudicial killings and political developments in the country. We have a new Urgent Action on Venezuela and reports on the humanitarian crisis and human rights abuses there. A Mapuche leader, Elisa Locon, has been elected to lead the drafting of the new constitution in Chile, and we cover allegations of human rights abuses by Chile’s national police force.

COLOMBIA

Demonstrators in Cali during the National Strike
1. National Strike – excessive use of force by the security services
Amnesty International reports on the victims of excessive use of force by Colombia’s security services during the National Strike. Between 28 April and 2 June there had been 76 homicides, 34 of which were allegedly caused by the actions of the security forces in the context of the demonstrations. 988 people sustained injuries as a result of the excessive use of force by riot police; 74 of those wounded had eye injuries. There have been 151 attacks against human rights defenders in the context of demonstrations. At the end of a month of mobilizations, the Working Group on Forced Disappearances had recorded 775 people feared disappeared, the whereabouts of 327 of whom remain unknown.
Amnesty adds: ‘The statements of President Duque and other high-ranking officials about the alleged “terrorist purposes” of the peaceful marches must stop. The militarized response to the protests in Colombia, provided for by Decree 575, issued on 28 May, is in breach of Colombia’s international human rights obligations.’
According to The Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) 102 journalists were assaulted, 45 threatened, 14 had their equipment seized, 17 harassed, and 11 illegally detained by the security forces during the strike.

Human Right Watch calls on the Colombian authorities ‘to protect human rights, initiate a comprehensive police reform effort to ensure that officers respect the right of peaceful assembly, and bring those responsible for abuses to justice.’ British police officers have been training the Colombian police for 15 years.
Colombia Peace Monitoring notes that while the organisations that convoked the National Strike are now working with Congressmen on a raft of bills and have called for an end to the strike, groups of mostly young people continued to take to the streets in Bogotá’s poorer southern neighbourhoods, in “resistance” sites around Cali, and in Medellín, Bucaramanga, Pasto, and Popayán. While demonstrations and blockades were mostly peaceful, violence between police and protesters broke out several times during the week.

2. Human Rights Defenders under threat
Programa Somos Defensores (‘We are Defenders Programme) reports that despite Covid-19 lockdowns last year 60% more human rights defenders were killed (199) in 2020 than in 2019, when the overall number of homicides declined by 7% in Colombia.
More HRDs were killed in 2020 – 199 – than in any year since records began.
25 were women and 174 men. Social leaders in rural areas distant from the centre of the state, and therefore invisible, are the principal victims of the violence. They are the community, campesino (field-worker), indigenous and Afro-descendant leaders. These communities are vulnerable to the armed groups who roam the territory and are principally financed by the drug trade and illicit mining. Conflict with these largely isolated communities is often over land rights, coca and marijuana cultivation and recruitment of boys and girls into their ranks.
Activity of victims
Number killed in 2020
Community Leaders 91
Indigenous Leaders 41
Campesino (field-workers) leaders 29
Afro-descendant leaders 11
Environmental leaders 7
Union leaders 6
LGBTI Leaders 5
Other leaders 9
TOTAL KILLED 199
Very few of the perpetrators have been brought to justice. From the Prosecutors’ Office’s own data, Somos Defensores reckons only 0.2% of all threats against HRDs have been officially clarified between January 2015 and February 2021. Of the 2,962 cases investigated by the public prosecutor only 6 have resulted in a conviction.
Amnesty International continues with its action on behalf of Human Right Defenders. Please sign the petition to Congress to ensure that they are protected.
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs states that the number of mass displacements between January and May 2021 has doubled since the same period last year. 80% of the forced displacements are the result of communities fleeing their homes following threats or armed attacks from non-state actors. [Read more…]

Europe Newsletter July 2021

July 3, 2021 by zarganar

A lot has happened since our last newsletter in June. Two new reports : One on Greece and one on Switzerland have been released. Please see further details below. Turkey has pulled out of the Istanbul Convention. A Roma man has died at the hands of the police in Czech Republic.

3 Demonstrations in four weeks : The vigil commemorating the forced expulsion of Roma from Kosovo on 13^th June, the demonstration outside the Danish Embassy on 20^th June (International Refugee Day) protesting at Denmark’s policy of forced return of asylum seekers to Syria, for tomorrow ( Sunday 4^th July) I have called a vigil outside the Embassy of Czech Republic to protest about the death of Stanislav Tomas who died while handcuffed with a policeman pushing his knee onto his neck until he stopped breathing. Please find further details in the Newsletter.

Turkey

Compiled by Chris Ramsey

Büyükada case

At the time of writing we are still waiting anxiously for the decision of the Court of Cassation decision regarding the convictions of the four human rights defenders in the Büyükada case. As we have reported in past newsletters, the prosecutor at the Court of Cassation has issued his opinion asking for the conviction of former Chair of Amnesty Turkey, Taner Kılıç’s, to be upheld while requesting that the convictions of Günal Kurşun, İdil Eser and Özlem Dalkıran be overturned.

We expect a decision very soon, potentially within the coming weeks or months. Unfortunately, it is impossible to be more precise; however, we know that during the judicial holiday between 20 July and 31 August (dates to be confirmed), it is highly unlikely that the Court of Cassation decision would be issued.

This case is emblematic of the deteriorating human rights situation in Turkey and in particular the efforts of the state to neuter civil society NGOs in order to minimize their ability to criticize the government. In order to ensure that the government of Turkey is reminded of the importance of the case the International Secretariat and AIUK are currently working on new campaigning and advocacy materials which we will be sending you in the next few weeks so that you can help to maintain the profile of the case.

Istanbul Convention: Show solidarity with our colleagues in Amnesty Turkey at the government’s decision to pull out of the convention on 1 July

#IstanbulConventionSavesLives

The Istanbul Convention is the most comprehensive international convention against violence against women and domestic violence. Now Turkey has exited the convention Amnesty Turkey is determined to show that people all around the world deplore this decision and want to stand in solidarity with women in Turkey.

Using the hashtag #arkasındayım , which means I stand in Turkish, please join their social media campaign.

Post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram messages of support along the following lines:

Turkey should reverse its decision to leave the Istanbul Convention on July 1! To put an end to violations of rights and discrimination based on gender, we must all stand together in support of the Istanbul Convention #arkasındayım

#IstanbulConventionSavesLives @aforgutu

NB: You will need to copy and paste #arkasındayım because of the use of some Turkish letters in the word.

You could use the image below created by Amnesty Turkey to support your messages.

Please see a statement from new Amnesty International Secretary, General Agnes Callamard on the deteriorating situation for women in Turkey:- [Read more…]

Group Newsletter June 2021

June 6, 2021 by zarganar

Welcome to the latest newsletter.
Below are some updates and links to what you can find on our website.
For a variety of reasons we’ve shelved plans to hold a vigil in Bournemouth Gardens on Thursday 10th. This was planned to be a relaunch of “in person” meetings, which we have been without since March 2020. But realistically, with the summer ahead, it seems more logical to have a relaunch at Moordown in Autumn, so (hopefully) we can then build some momentum.

Europe Newsletter

The May edition has several actions, most of which are still relevant. However, some good news is that Frederic Vuillaume, on trial for participation in a peaceful protest, has now been acquitted. But his case is illustrative of the harassment that thousands of peaceful protesters face and continue to experience systematically in France. This is due to provisions in the French law that criminalize conduct protected under the international human rights law and standards.

Turkey had announced that it was pulling out of the Istanbul Convention, the Council of Europe’s convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. This provides an important framework for addressing gender based violence and providing vital safeguards for girls and women. There are various actions suggested to support the campaign in Turkey to reverse this, before the decision becomes effective on July 1st.

There is also an Urgent Action relating to the decision by Danish authorities to deport back to Syria refugees whose residency permits have been revoked. More in the newsletter:-
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/europe-newsletter-may-2021

Poland: Drop the appeal against Elżbieta, Anna and Joanna’s acquittal

We have previously raised the case, and linked to actions, of Elżbieta, Anna and Joanna – outspoken activists and human rights defenders from Poland. In March 2021, they were acquitted after spending months on trial accused of ‘offending religious beliefs’, simply for distributing posters of the Virgin Mary with a rainbow halo, the colours of the LGBTI pride flag.
The ‘not guilty’ verdict was a moment of huge celebrations, but their relief was short-lived. The Polish authorities are now appealing against their acquittal, so the three women’s fight for justice continues.
Tell the Polish Prosecutor General to drop the appeal and ensure that Elżbieta, Anna and Joanna are able to carry out their peaceful actions without harassment or reprisals. (link to email action)
https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/poland-activist-elzbieta-podlesna/

Online Talks

One of the positive affects of the lockdown has been how many talks and other events have been accessible via video. Victoria Brignell, Chair of the Amnesty International Hammersmith and Fulham Group, has led the way. Here is her latest announcement
“Debora Singer, Amnesty International UK’s Country Coordinator for Egypt, will be giving an online talk this Wednesday June 9th at 8pm.
This is an appropriate moment to examine human rights in Egypt as this year marks the 10th anniversary of President Hosni Mubarak’s fall from power.
Debora will cover the latest developments and international activity in relation to human rights in Egypt as much has happened in the last few months. We will also undertake an action for one of Amnesty’s Individuals at Risk, Ibrahim Ezz El-Din.
This event is free and anyone is welcome to attend. You do not need to be an Amnesty member. You’re very welcome to tell other people about this event. It’s organised by Hammersmith and Fulham Amnesty International Group.
To attend, please email secretaryhammersmithamnesty@outlook.com and I will send you the zoom link.”

South America Newsletter June 2021

We’ve just received this latest newsletter. There are reports on developments in Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile and Ecuador. Amnesty has issued a report, several statements and an Urgent Action in response to the human rights violations committed during the current National Strike and protests in Colombia. Sadly they report on further indiscriminate shootings by police in Brazil and continuing attacks on indigenous communities. In spite of a court order not to enter favelas, the police killed 28 people in the Jacarezinho favela on 7 May in an operation directed at drug gangs.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/south-america-newsletter-june-2021