The latest newsletter from the South America Team:-
SUMMARY
We have good news from Brazil, Venezuela and Peru. However, the security situation in Rio de Janeiro continues to deteriorate, while the number of Human Rights Defenders killed in Colombia in 2017 has risen by 32% and other victims of the ongoing conflict in Colombia continue to accumulate as well. Please continue to write in response to recent Urgent Actions on Brazil and Colombia. The film Women of the Venezuelan Chaos will be showing in London March 13 and 15. We hope to see you there.
BRAZIL
At least 14 people were shot dead and another nine were injured at a party in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará State, on 27 January. Media reports that were confirmed by the Secretary of Public Security state that this event is the biggest mass killing in the history of Ceará state, though the total number of victims could be higher, according to people living in the area. Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action on 31 January, calling on the authorities to ensure a prompt and thorough investigation into the killings. You can find it here.
President Michel Temer on 16 February signed a decree which put the military in charge of security in Rio de Janeiro amid a continued deterioration in security. Although the army has operated there during the last year, as well as during the Olympics and World Cup, this will put them in charge of the city’s police force — the first time Brazil has taken such a decision since the end of the military dictatorship. The director of Amnesty International Brazil stated that the actions of the army in the Rio de Janeiro have already aggravated human rights violations. For the Huffington Post’s account, click here.
An investigation revealed that more than one in ten of Brazil’s high-ranking politicians received campaign donations from companies linked to modern-day slavery. President Temer was amongst the 51 politicians. Brazilian law stipulates that four conditions are used to categorise ‘slave-like labour’, and include being forced to work and degrading conditions that put workers’ health or dignity at risk. To read The Guardian’s account, click here.
Good news. The Supreme Court issued a ruling that pregnant women, mothers of children up to 12 years of age and of people with disabilities, accused of non-violent crimes, should not be held in pre-trial detention. Instead, they should await trial under house arrest. Although a positive step, Human Rights Watch reported that the ruling highlights the country’s overuse of pre-trial detention, in violation of human rights law. Their assessment can be found here. [Read more…]