Lots to report again this month. Communities remain under threat in Colombia, press and artistic freedom is being challenged in Brazil, concerns remain about repression of protestors in Chile, there were renewed attacks on the opposition in Venezuela, there is concern for the protection of vulnerable Venezuelans in Peru (the subject of a new Amnesty campaign) and there are calls for the abolition of the death penalty and anti-LGBTI laws in Guyana. Newly released statistics indicate that Latin America remains the most dangerous region of the world for Human Rights Defenders. But there is promising news of an important step to protect young girls from sexual abuse in the region. There are three new Urgent Actions this month, one for Colombia and two for Venezuela.
COLOMBIA
Amnesty has issued another Urgent Action asking President Duque to protect communities in Chocó who are threatened by paramilitaries. We are also asking for protection for the human rights defender Leyner Palacios, who has received death threats. You can sign the letter here. Chocó, a department of mainly Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities, has been one of the centres of the ongoing war in the countryside, leading to confinement, forced displacement and killings of community leaders.
An Amnesty blog describes the risks taken by Afro-Colombian women, such as Danelly Estupiñán, to protect their communities. ‘Having lost fathers, husbands and sons to years of bloodshed, Afro-descendant women like Estupiñán are bravely assuming more active roles in defending their ancestral communities. However, standing up to corporations and criminal organisations who seek to oversee development projects, mineral extraction and drug-trafficking in their territories has put them in the crosshairs.’ The blog analyses the response of President Duque’s government and describes how it feels to live under the protection of the National Protection Unit. The author interviews several Afro-Colombian women, giving insights into how they survive and what makes them keep going.
The UN’s Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has reported (in Spanish only for the moment) on its findings for Colombia. CERD reiterates its recommendation that Colombia collect the necessary data by ethnic origin – particularly Afro-Colombian and indigenous Colombians – to be able to evaluate racial discrimination in the country; and notes that the Colombian definition of racial discrimination does not comply with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Telesur has produced a short video with English subtitles on the plight of indigenous communities in Colombia. Meanwhile a video by Democracy Now discusses the background to the murder of five indigenous leaders in Cauca including a live report by one of the victims, Cristina Bautista.
Human Rights Watch has issued a new report (The Guerrillas are the Police) on how ELN (National Liberation Army) and FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrillas control two adjoining departments in Colombia and Venezuela. ‘In the eastern Colombian province of Arauca and the neighboring Venezuelan state of Apure, non-state armed groups use violence to control peoples’ daily lives. They impose their own rules, and to enforce compliance they threaten civilians on both sides of the border, subjecting those who do not obey to punishments ranging from fines to forced labor to killings. Residents live in fear… We found that armed groups on both sides of the border exercise control through threats, kidnappings, forced labor, child recruitment, and murder. In Arauca, armed groups have also planted landmines and perpetrated sexual violence, among other abuses.’ [Read more…]
