This newsletter includes amongst other matters:  troubling statistics regarding killings of human rights defenders in Colombia and police killings in Rio de Janeiro.  There are also concerns regarding the plight of environmental defenders in Ecuador, Venezuela and Brazil. Chile is criticised for misusing its anti-terrorism law. A vote on abortion in Argentina had a disappointing outcome and there are calls to solve a case relating to a particular disappearance in this country.  UN agencies have expressed concern about the crisis due to  people fleeing Venezuela. There are two urgent actions (Paraguay and Venezuela).

ARGENTINA

After a marathon 16-hour debate, Argentina’s Senate have voted against legalizing abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.  For now, people who need to terminate pregnancies in Argentina will have to continue to risk death or incarceration.  But, in this article, the Executive Director of Amnesty Argentina argues that the vote was a stepping stone, not a setback.

One year on from the disappearance and subsequent death of Santiago Maldonado, Amnesty has called on the authorities to solve the case and comply with their obligation to guarantee the rights of his family to truth, justice and reparation.  Maldonado disappeared following a violent raid on a Mapuche community by the Argentine National Gendarmerie.  He had arrived in the territory of the community the day before to assist in its suit to reclaim tribal lands.

CHILE

Ex-President Michelle Bachelet has been nominated as the new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.  Bachelet, who served two terms, was Chile’s first (and so far only) woman President.  Following the 1973 coup that brought Pinochet to power, she and her mother were detained, interrogated, tortured and then released before going into exile.

Amnesty has issued a report criticising Chile’s use of its anti-terrorism law to prosecute Indigenous Mapuche people seeking to defend their land rights.  An English translation of the report should be available shortly.

PARAGUAY

Amnesty has issued an Urgent Action about Amada Martínez, a human rights Indigenous defender who was threatened by three armed men wearing uniforms of the Itaipú Binational (Paraguay-Brazil) hydroelectric plant.  Amada Martínez has been campaigning for the rights of her community, who have suffered displacement from their territory by the construction of the hydroelectric plant.   You can still take action here. [Read more…]

We have good news from Chile and Paraguay this month, but human rights violations in Colombia  continue to deteriorate with new killings of HR defenders and more forced displacements as armed groups roam the countryside. There are petitions on Argentina and Brazil for you to sign as well as 3 urgent actions (Chile, Paraguay and Colombia)

ARGENTINA

Hundreds of thousands of Argentinians have taken to the streets in support of the bill approved by the Chamber of Deputies in June to decriminalise abortion.  The bill is very close to having enough support in the Senate to be passed. Amnesty has organised a petition that will be delivered before the Senate vote.  Sadly since the newsletter was published the vote narrowly failed.

CHILE

Good news! Mapuche Indigenous spiritual leader Machi Celestino Córdovahas ended his hunger strike after the Chilean authorities granted him access to his ceremonial altar to carry out a renewal ceremony, essential to guaranteeing the Mapuches’ psychic and physical well-being.  Thank you to all those who wrote to the Chilean authorities.  No further action is required.

Amnesty has issued an Urgent Action about Chilean lawyer Karina Riquelme, who was followed and surveilled by police intelligence agents because of her work as a defender of Mapuche Indigenous rights.  You can still take action here. [Read more…]

We report on the change of government in Colombia and continued displacement of, and violence against, indigenous communities there. There is little sign of progress in investigating the murder of Marielle Franco in Brazil and more killings by security forces have occurred in a poor neighbourhood of Rio. An important step has been taken to decriminalise abortion in Argentina. In Chile, Amnesty have delivered a petition calling on the protection of Rodrigo Mundaca and his colleagues. The region’s Human Rights Court has questioned the pardon granted to former President Fujimori in Peru. Graham has visited the Paraguayan Embassy to discuss threats faced by Human Rights Defenders in Paraguay.

COLOMBIA

The conservative candidate, Ivan Duque, won the second round of the presidential elections and he will take office 7 August. He has opposed some of the political settlements with the FARC in the Peace Accord, but has also said that he would not ‘tear up the agreement’. He also wants to ensure that all former FARC rebels are brought to justice for violent crimes, which coincides with Amnesty International’s position.

More than 200 indigenous Nasa Embera Chamí from La Delfina reservation in Buenaventura have been displaced, following an armed attack on a member of their community on 8 June. They are in need of decisive security measures to protect them and access to humanitarian aid such as food, health services and shelter. To take action, you can download the Urgent Action here.

We would like to share with you the documentary “They’re killing us” by Tom Laffay, Emily Wright and Daniel Bustos Echeverry.  This documentary portrays the situation of social leaders and Human Rights Defenders in Northern Cauca. Although it is not endorsed by AI, you can use it for your work on behalf of Human Rights Defenders in Colombia.

Following the abduction of five people living in the Naya River area, Amnesty International calls on the authorities to ‘take immediate, effective and decisive action to guarantee the protection, safety and physical integrity of the Afro-descendant communities and Indigenous Peoples in the Naya area in the face of the alarming seizure of land by several armed groups. This action must be taken in consultation with the threatened communities.’

ABColombia reports that the Zenú Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities in Córdoba won an important court case against the ferronickel mining company Cerro Matoso S.A (owned by South32, listed on the London Stock Exchange) for the violation of their fundamental rights. The Constitutional Court found the company to be responsible for the pollution of air, water and soil, leading to numerous health complications for the communities. [Read more…]