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South America Newsletter August 2018
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…]
BourneFree 2018
We had a another hugely successful return to Bournemouth’s LGBTI Pride event, BourneFree. As in previous years we were in the Gardens with our stall from about 8.00am until 5.00pm. We also took part in the parade. We had about 150 cards signed – 2/3 of which concerned Sakris Kupila. Sakris is facing discrimination in Finland because he is transgender. He discovered he needed to be diagnosed with a “mental disorder” in order to change his name to one that he feels better matched his identity. Then he learned that in order to have his gender legally recognized, he would also need to be sterilized.
Last year we took many photographs of willing participants holding our infamous selfie frame (we noticed several stalls copying our idea). This year we focussed on getting people to be photographed on their own cameras (invariably phones). This worked very well – although we have no idea how many we took! As an event to engage with the passing public, BourneFree is fantastic. It was a long tiring day, but we all enjoyed being there and feel many have learnt a bit more about Amnesty International’s work.
South America Newsletter July 2018
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…]
Group Newsletter June 2018
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