Welcome to the latest newsletter from your local Amnesty International group. For a variety of reasons we won’t be meeting in March. We next meet Thursday  April 7th, at Moordown Community Centre, 7.30 – 9.30pm.

Stop the People Smuggling Business Booming The people smuggling business is booming, and thanks to the UK government it’s about to get another boost – unless we act now. The government is pushing through damaging legislation called the Nationality & Borders Bill. If passed, it would mean more people seeking safety will be forced into the hands of people smuggling gangs – who value profit over safety. Providing asylum for those fleeing conflict and persecution is a responsibility shared by all countries – including the UK. But if this Bill is passed into law – it would mean the current policy of refusing any safe routes to seek asylum would be extended. UK rules require asylum claims to be made in this country – and yet there are no visas available for anyone to come to the UK to seek asylum. Learn more and email the Prime Minister now – and ask him to revise the Bill and stop the people smugglers from profiting even more. https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/smugglers

South America Newsletter February 2022 Ther latest newsletter from the South American team is on the website. This month there are updates on developments in Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Paraguay, Chile, Peru and Bolivia, including some good news from Peru and Paraguay. Demonstrations have taken place in Colombia to condemn the many people killed or disappeared in clashes near the Venezuelan border. Since the newsletter was published there is a new urgent action from Columbia (see below) https://amnestyat50.co.uk/south-america-newsletter-february-2022

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This month, we update you on developments in Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Paraguay, Chile, Peru and Bolivia, including some good news from Peru and Paraguay.  Demonstrations have taken place in Colombia to condemn the many people killed or disappeared in clashes near the Venezuelan border.  A family of human rights defenders have been killed in Brazil.  The United Nations have reviewed the human rights situation in Venezuela.  We met the British Ambassador to Paraguay to discuss Amnesty’s report about sexual violence against children and adolescents.  In Chile, the new cabinet has a majority of women.  The Guardian has a report on the impact of mercury contamination on indigenous people in Bolivia.

COLOMBIA

In the first weekend of January, at least 33 people were killed, others disappeared and hundreds forcibly displaced in Arauca Department, near to the border with Venezuela, according to WOLA Colombia Peace Monitoring. They provide the background to the continued fighting between former guerrilla groups ELN (National Liberation Army) and FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) dissidents over the control of the cultivation, production and trafficking of cocaine in this region and possible measures that should be taken by the Colombian authorities.

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre reports that 871 people were forcibly displaced in Chocó Department 12 to 25 January. This followed fighting between ELN former guerrillas and former paramilitaries in an area where drug trafficking is widespread. A further 1,230 people were confined to their homes and two of them killed by indiscriminate gunfire.

To commemorate the 5th anniversary of the Peace Accord, the UN Verification Commission reports on human rights and the Peace Process in Colombia. They examine all the interrelated issues, including its implementation, the work of the Truth Commission, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, reintegration of former combatants, security guarantees, gender and child violence and ethnic affairs. They evaluate recent actions by the International Criminal Court, the USA, the Colombian Congress and the Colombian government intended to help resolve these issues.

In its annual report on Colombia, Human Rights Watch covers issues ranging from climate change to human rights abuses by the police and prison officers. The report notes that while violence subsided following the Peace Accord, ‘conflict-related violence has since taken new forms, and abuses by armed groups [ELN, FARC dissidents, former paramilitaries] including killings, massacres, and massive forced displacement increased in many remote areas of Colombia in 2021’.

Update, New Urgent Action – Columbia – Environmental Defenders at Risk

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Welcome to the latest newsletter from your local Amnesty International group. We meet a week today, Thursday  February 3rd, at Moordown Community Centre, 7.30 – 9.30pm.

Urge Your MP to Speak Up Against the Policing Bill The Policing Bill threatens to crack down on peaceful protest, harm minoritised groups and jeopardise our freedoms. Act now to oppose the Bill and protect your rights and freedoms.Last week, because of huge collective action across the country, the House of Lords removed some of the worst parts of the Policing Bill. But, the fight is not over. While the Bill has suffered a setback, MPs could vote to put some parts back in. Will your MP be on the right side of history? Take Action https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/policing-bill-demand-action

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Here is our latest Newsletter with updates and actions.

Stop violence against women in Turkey

On 22 December 2021 Amnesty International published a new briefing document setting out an analysis on the current situation regarding violence against women in Turkey, including a summary of the obligations of the State to respect, protect and fulfil women’s right to be free from violence. Entitled “Turkey, Turn Words Into Actions” it provides an overview of the incredible pressure that women are under in Turkey and sets out the government’s obligations to protect women’s human rights based on a review of Turkish legislation, the recommendations by UN treaty bodies, the Council of Europe, and other relevant international organisations, as well as consultations with women’s rights organisations in Turkey.

Please do have look at the full document which can be accessed through the link shown below:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur44/5109/2021/en/

Osman Kavala

On Monday 17 January a Turkish court extended the detention of a civil society leader, Osman Kavala ignoring a deadline from Europe’s top human rights body to release him.

Osman Kavala,  64-year-old businessman and philanthropist, has been held without a conviction since October 2017 for allegedly financing the Gezi Park 2013 anti-government protests and playing a role in an attempted coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2016. But an İstanbul court on Monday turned down a motion from Kavala’s defence for his release, scheduling a new hearing for Feb. 21.

Turkish authorities now have until 2 February before the Council of Europe will serve formal notice of its intention to refer Turkey back to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for infringement proceedings.

In its last Human Rights meeting in early December, the Committee of Ministers (CM) of the Council of Europe voted on majority to initiate infringement proceedings against Turkey and gave the authorities until 19 January 2022 to provide a report about Osman Kavala’s imprisonment until this Wednesday to release him from pre-trial detention in line with the December 2019 Kavala v Turkey decision of the European Court of Human Rights.

In the absence of the implementation of the decision, the CM is expected to send the non-implementation of the binding Kavala decision back to the ECtHR at its next meeting on 2 February 2022. It is only the second time since the introduction of the infringement procedure in 2010 that a country is being referred back to the Court for non-implementation of its decisions.

The refusal to release Kavala in line with the ECtHR ruling and nine decisions of the CM since May 2020, and the start of the infringement proceedings indicates a very serious deterioration in of the Human Rights situation in Turkey. The case is undoubtedly souring Turkey’s ties with its traditional Western allies. Please follow the link below for a local report on case: https://bianet.org/english/law/256322-gezi-trial-osman-kavala-not-released-again?bia_source=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter [Read more…]

Thank you for following us and taking actions on human rights’ issues this past year. This month we bring you news from Paraguay, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and Chile. We have a new Urgent Action to free a prisoner of conscience in Venezuela, a petition to sign on sexual violence against children and adolescents in Paraguay and good news from Brazil. We report on the continued violence in Colombia and further criticism from international agencies on police repression of the National Strike. There is good news for indigenous communities in Paraguay while in Colombia the IACHR finds them at great risk.

PARAGUAY

On 1 December, Amnesty published a new report about sexual violence against children and adolescents in Paraguay.  For girls, this often results in forced pregnancies, truncated childhoods and abandonment of their future ambitions. Here are eight facts to underline the seriousness of the issue. According to the findings, the highest authorities in Paraguay are not listening to professionals working on the issue.  You can support the accompanying campaign by signing this petition and by posting on social media using the material available here.

According to this news report of 28 December, the Paraguayan Government has granted land titles and financial compensation to several indigenous groups who have lost possession of their ancestral lands.  This includes the Yakye Axa and the Sawhoyamaxa, for whose rights many of you have campaigned in the past.  We will report further as more information becomes available. [Read more…]