Amnesty International Bournemouth Poole Christchurch Group

local news & events Amnesty International group for Bournemouth, Poole & Christchurch

Europe Newsletter January 2024

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The latest update from the AIUK Europe Country Coordinators Team; we wish you a happy 2024 and lots of energy: we will need it. There is a lot to do.

On 14th December Amnesty International released the report into the causes of the shipwreck at Pylos, where hundreds of people died. It makes very disturbing reading. Please see the full report below.

We have more shocking news : the El Hiblu 3, three young boys who translated between 100 refugees and the captain of the El Hiblu, negotiating the rescue of the refugees on board, are now charged with crimes that could lead, if prosecuted to life-long prison sentences. Amnesty International is campaigning for the charges to be dropped. Please sign and share the petition!

Demand justice for the El Hiblu 3 – Amnesty International

Greece

 

On 14 June 2023, of a boat with 750 people from Syria, Pakistan and Egypt capsized off Pylos, Greece. Only 104 survived and only 82 bodies were recovered. Survivors said that the Hellenic Coast Guard towed their boat, causing it to capsize, and was slow to activate rescue operations. Investigations have made little progress, while survivors’ testimony points to potential procedural shortcomings. Over 500 are missing and presumed dead.

On 14th December Amnesty International released the report into the causes and circumstances of this tragedy. It makes shocking reading.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch interviewed 21 survivors, 5 relatives of 5 people still missing, and representatives of the Hellenic Coast Guard, the Greek police, nongovernmental organizations, United Nations and international agencies and organizations.

They found that in the 15 hours between receiving the first alert that the Adriana was in their search-and-rescue region, and when it capsized, Greek authorities failed to mobilize appropriate resources for a rescue. The authorities were clearly aware of indicators of distress, such as overcrowding and insufficient food and water, on the Adriana, and, survivors said, knew about corpses on board and requests for rescue.

Survivors’ testimonies also challenge the authorities’ claim that people on the Adriana did not want to be rescued, which in any event would not have relieved the Hellenic Coast Guard of its obligation to take all measures necessary to ensure safety at sea. Survivors consistently said that they pleaded repeatedly for rescue, including to the Coast Guard itself.

Survivors said that a Coast Guard patrol boat attached a rope to the Adriana and pulled, causing the boat to capsize. They also alleged that, after the boat capsized, the Coast Guard boat was slow to activate rescue operations, failed to maximize the number of people rescued, and engaged in dangerous manoeuvres.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/12/greece-6-months-on-no-justice-for-pylos-shipwreck/

This is the full report:- Greece: 6 months on No Justice for Pylos Shipwreck  Please also see the video with the account of a survivor below:-

[Read more…]

South America Newsletter January 2024

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This month we bring you news that:

  • Regional – there is a new report by several NGOs on how armed criminal gangs have expanded their presence in the Amazon, threatening indigenous inhabitants.
  • Peru – Amnesty has a petition calling for the perpetrators of the killings during last year’s protests to be prosecuted.
  • Colombia – Amnesty has a petition demanding that the Colombian government protects Human Rights Defenders at risk, in particular members of the human rights NGO CREDHOS .
  • Brazil – Amnesty has issued an action and a video interview with the mother of Pedro Henrique, a Brazilian human rights defender killed by police in 2018.
  • Argentina – Amidst protests against new decrees, Amnesty has published an open letter to President Milei’s government urging that people must be at the centre of all public policy.
  • Chile – Amnesty has an Urgent Action calling for an end to police impunity for excessive use of force during the 2019 protests.
  • Venezuela – the Maduro government has mobilised troops, threatening to take action on a land claim on the oil-rich Essequibio region of Guyana.

REGIONAL

A group of NGOs, including Amazon Watch, have released a report Amazon Underworld (based on the work of the Amazon Underworld research journalism project and developed together with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime) that shows how criminal organisations and armed groups have expanded their presence, increased their political control and diversified their economies in the Amazon with disastrous impacts on Indigenous peoples.

PERU

Please sign the petition that we have placed on the AIUK website calling on the Peruvian Attorney General to press ahead with criminal investigations into the deaths and injuries during the protests in Peru between December 2022 and February 2023. After a year, the families and communities are still waiting for truth, justice and redress.

Ex-President Fujimori was released from prison on 6 December, following an order by Peru’s  Constitutional Tribunal. Fujimori was serving a 25-year sentence for his role in extrajudicial killings, abductions, enforced disappearances and corruption. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) had ordered Peru not to release Fujimori, but the tribunal argued that the order was not binding and then ignored a further IACHR order to refrain from implementing the ruling pending a review by the Court.  This article provides the background and the political context. [Read more…]

South America Newsletter December 2023

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This month we bring you news that:

  • Regional – Amnesty has a new report focused on human rights defenders in the Americas, the world’s deadliest region for those defending land, territory and the environment.
  • Colombia – Amnesty has a new report on the lack of a safe space to defend human rights in Colombia, calling for a complete review of the model for protecting human rights defenders
  • Brazil – Amnesty calls on the Brazilian Federal Government to implement a national plan to reduce homicides committed by police officers in the country.
  • Peru – Amnesty has updated its Urgent Action calling on the Peruvian government to repeal its decree, dictating the expulsion of all foreigners with an irregular migratory status
  • Venezuela – The Venezuelan government has agreed that opposition candidates for the 2024 Presidential election can appeal bans on running for office placed upon them by the state.
  • Chile – Amnesty has updated to the Urgent Action calling for the end to police impunity, following an intervention by the UN special rapporteurs on peaceful assembly and extrajudicial execution.
  • Argentina – President-elect Javier Milei takes office on 10th December, human rights day, with protests and concerns relating to his pronouncements during the election campaign.

 REGIONAL

In a new report, No future without courage: Human rights defenders in the Americas speaking up on climate crisis, Amnesty presents the cases of six people, groups and organisations who are defending human rights in the context of the climate crisis in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia and Ecuador.  The report notes that environmental defenders are at the forefront of the struggle for climate justice in the Americas but are not meaningfully included in decisions on these issues.  The Americas is the world’s deadliest region for those defending land, territory and the environment.

COLOMBIA

Emiro El Sanchez, president of the Land Restitution Foundation, San Pelayo, Córdoba, killed by ex-paramilitaries 12 June 2023

Amnesty International has published a major report on human rights defenders at risk, Hope at risk: The lack of a safe space to defend human rights in Colombia continues. Finding that violence against HRDs, social leaders and rural communities has not abated since President Petro took office in 2022, we propose a long series of new policies and actions for the Colombian government. These include more resources for the National Protection Unit and those who investigate and prosecute the perpetrators. But the main call is for a complete review of the model for protecting HRDs which would include contributions from the UN, donor states and NGOs.

The Peace Community of San José de Apartadó (PCSJA) has denounced the collaboration between the army and paramilitaries in the municipality of Tierralta, Córdoba. 12th September, masked men identified as members of the 17th Brigade and paramilitary intimidated the residents. Also, the PCSJA denounce the frequent incursion of the AGC (Clan del Golfo paramilitary narcotraffickers) into the homes and lands of the community, terrorising its residents, while units of the army and public prosecutors idly stand by. Residents fear that if they denounce the AGC they will be killed.

Colombia Reports that President Petro has replaced the peace negotiator Danilo Rueda with Otto Patiño, who has led the peace negotiations with the ELN (National Liberation Army). This follows the failure to secure ceasefires and peace accords on the 2016 model with the FARC with many other illegal armed groups, which are at the centre of the President’s policy of “Total Peace”. [Read more…]

Europe Newsletter November 2023

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The latest update from the AIUK Europe Country Coordinators Team:-

Introduction

As the year 2023 nears its closure we can report some positive developments from Türkiye and Poland but there are still many Human Rights Challenges! Please find an Urgent Action for Türkiye.

There are also leaflets for the 2 demonstrations we are organising: For Saturday 2nd December we are gathering at 3pm in front of the Polish Embassy in London at 47 Portland Place. We have teamed up with a number of Polish organisations to call for the prosecution of Women’s Human Rights Defender Justyna Wydrzynska to be reversed and for women in Poland to have access to safe and legal abortions in Poland.

Please also sign the petition at https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/JusticeforJustyna

On 14th December Amnesty International is releasing the investigation into the drowning of 600 people when a small boat packed with an estimated 750 people sank near the coast of Greece. Together with Care4Calais we are organising a vigil outside the Embassy of Greece on 14th December at 3pm.  Please join us if you can!

Stop Deaths at Sea!  Vigil 14th Dec

Stop the Deaths at Sea! Safe and Legal routes for refugees! Seeking asylum is a Human Right! Refugees Welcome!  Vigil 14th December 3pm at the Embassy of Greece.

On 14th of June 2023 the “Adriana” packed with an estimated 750 refugees sank off the coast of Pylos, Greece. Over 600 people, many women and children died at sea.  Amnesty’s investigation points to the action of the Greek coastguard contributing to the sinking of the boat.  The full report will be released on Thursday the 14th December. The policies of Fortress Europe, to keep refugees out at all cost, have again cost many lives.  Amnesty Europe have teamed up with Care4Calais https://www.facebook.com/care4calais/ to organising a vigil outside the Embassy of Greece on 14th December, when the report is released. We are calling for safe and legal routes for refugees and for the Universal Human Right to seek asylum from persecution to be respected by all countries including the UK.

For further information on the demonstration please contact Ulrike.schmidt@amnesty.org.uk [Read more…]

South America Newsletter November 2023

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This month we bring you news that:

  • Colombia – Colombia’s Defence Minister has apologised to the families whose sons were wrongly killed by the military.
  • Venezuela – The Supreme Court has suspended the results of October’s opposition primary election.
  • Brazil – Amnesty’s Write for Rights 2023 campaign features Ana Maria Santos Cruz, who is fighting for justice for the killing of her son Pedro Henriquez by the police in the state of Bahia in 2018.
  • Argentina – Human rights lawyer Alberto Nallar, subject of an Amnesty Urgent Action, has been sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison for crimes of “instigation to commit crimes and sedition.”
  • Chile – An Amnesty Urgent Action calls on a regional prosecutor to act against impunity for human rights violations by police commanders.
  • Peru – The UN has called on the authorities to undertake reforms to ensure that human rights are respected during demonstrations.

 COLOMBIA

Amnesty International
Defence Minister Velásquez with mothers whose sons were killed by the military.

In a new gesture of reconciliation, Iván Velásquez, Colombia’s Minister of Defence, has apologised to the families whose sons were killed by the military and known as ‘false positives’. The transitional justice body (JEP) has found that over 6,000 young men were recruited by army units, killed and presented as guerrillas to gain rewards and comply with quotas set by the Army in its fight with FARC and other guerrillas.

AIUK´s Mayfair and Soho Group, who continue to act on behalf of the Peace Community of San José de Apartádo, received a letter from Admiral José Joaquín Amezquita García, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  He informed them that units of the 16th Brigade were acting to ‘mitigate the factors of instability which are present in the locality in the area which is inhabited by the beneficiaries of the Provisional Measures decreed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’. The decree was issued in 2018.  This follows a visit from the Minister of Defence late last year.

16 October the Colombian government and the FARC-EMC reached an agreement for a 3-month ceasefire to 15 January 2024. These three months are to be used for talks to lead to a permanent peace. This is part of the government’s plan for ‘Total Peace’, which has to date yielded little relief for rural communities who find themselves in the crossfire of a conflict which never seems to end.

The UN’s Colombian Office for Human Rights found that more than 14,000 people were affected by the ongoing conflict in Colombia between 2 and 30 October. Over 6,000 were displaced, over 3,000 suffered some form of aggression and over 3,000 were confined and did not have access to humanitarian aid.

The UK NGO ABColombia reports on the humanitarian crisis in southern Bolivar department, which includes numerous indigenous communities. The Ombudsman explains in a video (subtitles in English) how the fighting between the ELN (National Liberation Army), FARC dissidents (not the same group as the EMC) and former paramilitaries/organised criminals known as the Clan del Golfo are in dispute for control of territory, illicit economies and extortion rackets and the impact on the region’s people.

El Pais (English) reports on the October regional elections that candidates from more traditional political backgrounds triumphed, led by Carlos Fernando Galán’s resounding victory in Bogotá. This is seen as a setback for President Petro, a former Mayor of Bogotá, and his coalition parties.  Colombia Reports alleges that organised crime, called the ‘clans’, won control of the Caribbean region, which is the main area for the illegal processing and export of cocaine. They claim that politicians in five departments who won office are associated with drug cartels. [Read more…]

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