This month we have news of the disappointing rejection by the electorate of the peace process in Colombia, the plight of indigenous groups in Brazil and of a new casefile in Peru. And thanks to all who signed the petition asking Brazil to be accountable for the violence committed during the Olympic Games.

COLOMBIA

By the scant margin of 50.2% to 49.8% the Colombian electorate rejected the peace agreement between the government and the FARC rebel guerrillas. This would have ended a civil war that has lasted 52 years.

Amnesty’s Americas Director writes:

“Today will go down in history as the day Colombia turned its back to what could have been an end to a 50-year long conflict that devastated millions of lives.
“Although imperfect, the agreement represented a concrete way forward for peace and justice. The uncertainly this vote brings could place millions of Colombians, particularly those from vulnerable groups such as Indigenous, Afro-descendant and peasant farmer communities at greater risk of suffering human rights violations.
“It’s imperative that Colombia does not walk away from this project and that the country continues to move towards the long awaited peace millions are longing for.”
Amnesty issued the official count of human rights violations in the 52-year conflict:

7.9 million –victims of the armed conflict, almost half of them are women.

6.9 million – victims of forced displacement.

267,000 – conflict-related killings, mostly of civilians.

4,392 –victims of possible extrajudicial executions.

46,386- victims of enforced disappearance.

29,622- kidnappings.

11,062- victims of anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnance.

8,022 – child soldiers used by paramilitaries and guerrilla groups.

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In this month’s newsletter, we have three, although tentative, good news stories for you. Starting in Peru and Argentina, some positive steps have been made regarding women’s’ rights and in Colombia, it looks like the 50-year civil war may finally be coming to an end. You can read more about Amnesty’s position on the Colombian peace discussions and about our Colombia Coordinators meeting with Foreign Office Staff and the Political Officer of the British Embassy in Bogotá. Big changes are afoot in Brazil with the impeachment of the country’s president being confirmed. We also have actions for you to take from Brazil and Colombia. The options to take action are highlighted in red.

COLOMBIA

Good news! On August 25th, the rebel guerrillas FARC and the Colombian government signed a peace agreement, ending more than 50 years of civil war. For more details click here. For the agreement to be enforced it must be approved by a national referendum which will be held on October 2nd. The outcome of the referendum is uncertain.

However, there are some caveats: The other rebel guerrilla army, the FLN (National Liberation Front) has not yet signed up to a peace treaty. And, for rural communities, indigenous and Afro-descendent communities, the peace treaty may mean little. Paramilitaries, who are still operating with impunity, are the main cause of human rights abuses in rural Colombia.

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Welcome our the latest newsletter. Our next meeting is on 8th September 2016, 7.30 at Moordown Community Centre. On the agenda – an update on Case files (see below); stall publicity (please see ideas if coming to the meeting); planning.

Please note that we are not overloading the newsletter with links out, as that does appear to affect distribution. But do check out our blog where there will be more details on some of the items listed below, plus a “take action” section, just updated, our case file letters and links to the action pages of several national AI sections.

Jorge Lázaro Samba Nunes dos Santos

The group are working on two case files at present; these are AI actions that focus on one individual or situation. This long term narrow focus ensures a constant pressure on authorities to take action.
We have been writing to authorities in Bahia State, Brazil on behalf of Jorge Lázaro for about 18 months now.
Two of his seven children have been murdered. Jorge Lázaro has been under huge pressure since the first murder in 2008 : he is seeking justice for the killings of his sons, trying to keep himself and his family safe, and providing necessary minimum living conditions such as a home and food.

To add to the tragedy of two murdered sons, on July 10th 2016 Jorge’s youngest son, Denilson was shot whilst walking home. Luckily Denilson survived and is currently recovering.
There are downloadable letters you can adapt on our “take action” page.There is also a link so you can send him a message of support via AIUK.

South America Newsletter

The August Edition is currently on our blog. We will upload the September edition over the next 24 hours.

National Refugees Welcome march London September 17th

Last September, the image of little Alan Kurdi’s body on a Turkish beach horrified the world. 100,000 marched in London in response to tell the UK government that we want to welcome refugees. Public pressure makes a difference – that same week, the government agreed to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees. But since then, thousands more terrified and desperate people have lost their lives trying to reach safety.
The Refugees Welcome march in London is taking place on September 17th, two days before a major United Nations meeting in New York. Amnesty’s priority for September is to make the national Refugees Welcome march as large and vibrant as possible. Please try to attend if you can! More details here

Human Rights Act

We have frequently flagged up concerns re the current Governments intention to get rid the Human Rights Act. This protects the fundamental rights we all have as human beings, and allows us to challenge the authorities if they violate them. With the current Government personnel changes, there is a renewed effort from A.I.U.K. to bring this threat to everyone’s attention. Please go to their home page and sign the petition…
http://savetheact.uk/#signup-form

Say No to Racism

In recent weeks, reports of hate crimes in the UK have increased. Fuelled by years of hostile rhetoric, coupled with divisive campaigns, we are now seeing racism and xenophobia on the rise on our streets and in our communities. On the A.I.U.K. website there is a page where you insert your postcode and it creates an email to your local councillors! This asks them to table a motion condeming this behaviour. Have a go…
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/tell-your-local-council-stand-against-hate-crimes-racism-xenophobia

Bric-a-Brac

In the past we held many stalls at Trade Union Conferences when they visited Bournemouth, plus we had our own Garden Party. Times have changed, but as reported above, Ted and May still turn out at a variety of Fairs and Carnivals – such as in Winton, Boscombe and now Muscliff Funday!

So if you have any jewellery (even broken), scarves, handbags (particularly evening), books, bric-a-brac or other knick-knacks in any condition that you wish to donate, please let May Stevens know (01202) 510886. They can collect.

Summary

In this month’s newsletter, we report on Amnesty’s work to highlight human rights violations in Brazil in the context of the Olympic Games. We also feature developments in Colombia, where the welcome ceasefire has not brought an end to human rights abuses. There are also brief updates on the eviction from their land of an indigenous group in Brazil, continuing efforts to secure the release of Belén from prison in Argentina and other developments in Venezuela (including a disturbing move towards forced labour) and Peru.

Brazil

Much recent work on Brazil has been focused on the human rights violations which spike in the context of public security operations around sporting events – this year the Olympics. Earlier this month, Ellie May, Country Coordinator for Brazil, and Jon Cornejo, Amnesty UK Campaigner, met with the Human Rights Attaché at the Brazilian Embassy to discuss the issues raised in the report “Violence Has No Place in These Games” released in June. The meeting was productive, including the Brazilian authorities being keen to collaborate with Amnesty International to understand how they can tackle the issues of police violence.

At the end of July, Amnesty International Activists delivered 40 body bags to the offices of the Olympic Organising Committee – one for person killed by the police this May in Rio de Janeiro. It marks another high profile act by Amnesty Brazil to raise concerns around the increased risk of human rights violations the context of the Rio 2016 Olympics after abuses were documented in relation to the 2014 World Cup and the 2007 Pan American Games. They also delivered a petition signed 120,000 people from more than 15 countries demanding public security policies that respect human rights during the Olympics. You can read full story on the Amnesty Website.

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