HIGHLIGHTS

This month, we update you 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.  We report further indiscriminate shootings by police in Brazil and continuing attacks on indigenous communities.  Amnesty has launched a new campaign calling on the Government of Peru to protect indigenous communities at risk from toxic metal contamination.  In Venezuela, thousands have fled to Colombia to escape intense clashes between the Venezuelan army and Colombian rebel groups, while there has also been an increase in repression of Human Rights Defenders.

COLOMBIA

As the National Strike moves into its second month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights calls for an end to all forms of violence.  In only the last three days, 14 people have died, and 98 people have been injured, 54 of them by firearms during violence that erupted in Cali where demonstrations were taking place to commemorate a month of the strike.

On 29 May, President Duque ordered the militarisation of part of the country in response to ongoing anti-government protests and popular uprisings. This increased military control over seven departments.  The president also ordered the “maximum deployment of military assistance for the National Police” in Cali and 12 other cities.

Amnesty International’s Secretary General has written an open letter to President Duque, cataloguing human rights abuses committed by the security forces using excessive force against mainly peaceful demonstrators during the National Strike. Amnesty denounces the use of inflammatory language and stigmatising social protest from political leaders and public officials. Amnesty calls on the authorities to ‘Prosecute, and punish all those responsible for human rights violations, including members of the security forces and armed civilians’ groups in fair trials before ordinary civilian courts.’

Amnesty has issued an Urgent Action calling on President Duque to end the violent response of the security forces to protestors, who are calling for better social and economic measures.

Amnesty is calling on the United States to ‘immediately cease the direct or indirect supply, sale, or transfer of equipment used for repression such as small arms, shotguns, and related ammunition; less-lethal equipment, such as tear gas, riot control projectiles and launchers; armoured vehicles, dual-use surveillance technologies, training, and any other technical or financial assistance.’ This is in light of verified visual evidence that United States weapons and equipment are being misused to commit human rights violations against protesters in Colombia

Amnesty has issued a report, Colombia: Concerning reports of disappearances and sexual violence against protesters, including a video showing how the security forces used excessive force against protesters during the early stages of the National Strike.

In another statement, Amnesty has focussed on the violence against indigenous peoples. ‘The attacks by armed civilians, some in the presence of the police, against the Indigenous Minga (gathering) in Cali are a reflection of the ceaseless dynamics of violence in Colombia that have been accentuated during the social protests related to the National Strike.’ Several members of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) were injured.

According to The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, 106,000 Colombians were forcibly displaced in 2020 despite spending most of last year in Covid-19 lockdown. The Colombian NGO Programa Somos Defensores reports that killings of human rights defenders increased from 124 in 2019 to 199 in 2020, an increase of 60%. We will be analysing who were the targets and who were the perpetrators and why in next month’s newsletter. [Read more…]

The great news  : We are a full Europe team again and you will be finding a  Newsletter full of Actions and information. As a team we have adopted 2 long term casefiles in addition to Eren Keskin in Turkey  : Frederic Vuillaume in France and the El Hiblu 3 in Malta. Groups who are interested in taking on a long term case please contact us.  We also have several Urgent Actions : The Action on the withdrawal of Turkey from the Istanbul Convention is particularly urgent: Its for Wednesday the 11^th of May.

Another  Urgent Action is the call for support for Frederic Vuillaume before his court hearing on 20^th of May.

Please also support the Urgent Action on Denmark. Denmark has decided to force asylum-seekers from Syria back to Syria. Syria is not a safe place and all deportees are at risk of imprisonment, torture and “disappearance”. Please write letters of protest (see Urgent Action attached). In addition I am organising a vigil outside the Embassy of Denmark for the 20^th of June, International Refugee day 3-4pm. Those who can’t join us please send messages and photos of support to take to the Embassy.

Last not least, please see our Balkan coordinator Rovena’s plea for support for Roma accessing the application for settled status in the UK. I have started running a weekly drop in at my local college to help individuals with their application. I am attaching another guide which I find very useful. It gives a step my step guide on the process and practical advice on all the different scenarios you might encounter as well as links to organisations we can refer to.

Turkey’s withdrawal from Istanbul Convention

CALL FOR ACTION: Let’s make them think again.

#IstanbulConventionSavesLives

In mailings in March I (Chris Ramsey) told you that 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 that provides an important framework for addressing gender based violence and providing vital safeguards for girls and women. Since then women around Turkey have been bravely taking to the streets to protest against this move and to demand a rethink before the decision becomes effective on 1 July.

On 11 May, the tenth anniversary of the Convention there will be a Global Day of Action in solidarity with groups in Turkey defending women’s rights and gender equality.

Although there will be some actions outside Turkish Embassies, because of the Covid-19 pandemic most of the actions will be online and therefore it will be easy for Amnesty members to participate wherever they are.

 ACTION OPTIONS:

1. Photographs

Take a photo of yourself or your group, if possible wearing purple clothing or with a purple backdrop  or a purple Covid mask with a solidarity message and the hashtag #IstanbulConventionSavesLives 

The solidarity message could simply be:

In solidarity with women in Turkey

Post your photograph on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram  including the hashtags  #IstanbulConventionSavesLives  and  #Turkey

In your posts please:

• Tag Amnesty Turkey ( For Twitter @aforgutu and Instagram aforgutu)

• Please tag the Turkish Embassy in London: @TurkEmbLondon

3. If you are uneasy about using a photograph of yourself please use the image below to create your social media post instead, following all the other instructions shown above.
4. If you do not use social media but wish to take part in this action the please e-mail me your photograph and I will post it on social media for you.

Usual e-mail: chris.ramsey@amnesty.org.uk

Please share this information as widely as possible with your local group members and other fellow activists.                              

Further notes regarding the Istanbul Convention

• The Istanbul Convention is a tool that provides the best way to protect women and girls from violence; it is the ‘gold standard’ internationally for combatting violence against women, including domestic violence.
• It is extremely disappointing that Turkey, the country where the Convention was opened for signatures in May 2011, and that was the first to sign it, is now the first and only country to decide to withdraw from it. Turkey was a leading supporter of the Istanbul Convention and was instrumental in mobilising other Council of Europe member states to sign up to it.
• The Istanbul convention is specifically designed to protect women from all forms of violence, including domestic violence, with internationally- agreed actions that governments who ratify it must take to achieve this. Withdrawing from the convention violates the rights of millions of women and girls in the country, jeopardises their safety and flies in the face of any purported commitment by the government to protect the rights of survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.
• Turkey should reverse the decision to leave the Convention and instead work towards its full implementation to better protect and support women and girls who are experiencing gender-based violence, without discrimination.
• This announcement is especially dangerous at a time when the killing of women is rising and there has been a surge of domestic violence during the COVID pandemic. Only last year, according to the Minister of Interior, 266 women were killed by men in acts of gender-based violence, though the numbers provided by women’s organizations were much higher.
• There is nothing controversial about the Istanbul Convention. The purpose of the treaty is to prevent and combat violence against women and girls.
• Turkey’s stated reason for withdrawing – that the Convention is being used to ‘normalise homosexuality’ which is incompatible with Turkey’s family values – is both dangerous and discriminatory. Behind this decision lies a misogynistic and homophobic rationale and a profound disregard for the rights of women and girls and LGBTI people.
• The real threat to family values are the perpetrators of violence against women who frequently benefit from impunity as well as the oftentimes weak response given to victims by officials in the criminal justice system and judiciary. The Istanbul Convention provides specific guidance on how states can and must ensure access to justice for victims and guarantee accountability for perpetrators of violence against women.
• Ironically, Turkey’s announcement has served to highlight just why the Istanbul Convention is so important and has galvanised women’s rights movements to fight for it and prevent violence against women. Amnesty International stands in solidarity with courageous women in Turkey who are defying this attack and demanding their human rights.

[Read more…]

This month, we update you on developments in Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile.

Amnesty International has delivered a petition signed by over 1 million people to mark the third anniversary of the murder of Marielle Franco in Brazil and has urged the Venezuela government to address the widespread human rights violations documented by an Independent International Fact-Finding Mission. We have two new cases on our Individuals at Risk portfolio for local groups to act: Joel Chipiaje (Colombia) and Gustavo Gatica (Chile). In Colombia, 177 human rights defenders were killed in 2020. Former Bolivian president Jeanine Añez has been detained and concerns over the impartiality of her arrest were raised. A new bill in Peru could jeopardise the rights of people with disabilities, including the right to consent to mental health treatment. A scandal over the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik in Argentina forced the Health Minister to step down. Chile postpones its elections to re-write their constitution due to a surge in Covid-19 cases.

REGIONAL- COVID-19 Vaccines in the Americas.

On 25 March, Amnesty launched a new report Vaccines in the Americas. Ten Human Rights Musts to Ensure Health for All.  The report analyses the vaccination plans against COVID-19 and the implementation of these plans.  Amnesty is calling on States to comply with international human rights standards, to allow vaccinations to be available to the entire population, to prioritise high risk groups, and to ensure complete transparency in the design and implementation of their vaccination plans and their dealings with pharmaceutical companies.  We have written to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and to the UK Embassies of South American countries urging support for the recommendations.

COLOMBIA

Frontline Defenders reports that 177 human rights defenders were killed in Colombia in 2020. This represents over half of all human rights defenders killed in the world. ‘2020 witnessed another rise in the level of violence directed against HRDs in Colombia, particularly those participating in the implementation of the peace process and engaging in voluntary drug crop substitution initiatives or those opposing the extraction of natural resources…  At the same time, the number of defenders receiving protection from the National Protection Unit was reduced.’

A third wave of Covid-19 fuelled by the Manaus variant is underway in Colombia and threatens the country’s healthcare system. The Government, which has been criticised for its slow roll out of vaccines, is committed to vaccinating 30 million people by the end of the year.

 To Amnesty International´s knowledge, Colombia is the only country in the region that opened its national vaccination plan to a consultation process. As a result the final plan includes a specific mention on indigenous peoples in the priority groups for vaccine rollout. Vaccination commenced in Colombia in late February 2021.

 The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) joins calls for the Government of Colombia to return to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights hearing to determine the government’s responsibility in the rape and torture case of Jineth Bedoya Lima. On 25 May 2000, she was kidnapped while waiting for authorization to enter Bogota’s Modelo prison to interview inmates on paramilitaries and armed conflict in Colombia’s prisons. During the kidnapping, she was tortured and raped and told by her attackers that this was “punishment” for her journalism. Bedoya has sought justice in Colombia, investigating her own case when prosecutors failed to do so and facing additional threats seeking to silence her.

PBI Colombia warns that 170,500 people in the Pacific port of Buenaventura are at risk of forced displacement or death as two former paramilitary groups battle in the city. In January, more than 38 confrontations led to the forced displacement of over 2,000 residents and the killing of 22. In February the Bishop of Buenaventura indicated that in one district former paramilitaries had returned to use rudimentary cabins to torture and dismember people. [Read more…]