This month we bring you news from Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Peru.

Highlights are:

• Colombia: More from Amnesty on the need for police reform, opening with a song and dance video to remind us of the violence suffered by demonstrators during the General Strike.
• Colombia: The government uses a mixture of negotiation and force to halt the ongoing violence in the country.
• Venezuela: Please respond to the Urgent Action demanding medical care for three political prisoners who have been deprived of treatment for months.
• Argentina: Please sign an Urgent Action demanding the release of a lesbian human rights activist charged with painting graffiti.
• Argentina: In a second Urgent Action, Amnesty is demanding the withdrawal of a new pensions’ law which would deprive most pensioners of their pension.
• Ecuador: In this Urgent Action, Amnesty is demanding that the Ecuadorian authorities protect nine girls and their families without demanding they first abandon their activism.
• Brazil: More on police killings, this time in Sao Paulo, and how corrupt police are helping to despoil the Amazon.
• Chile: Amnesty is calling for a full investigation of three senior officers of the Carabineros for their excessive use of force during the 2019 demonstrations.
• Paraguay: In a new report, Paraguay’s Bill of Health, Amnesty has identified that severe and unequal gaps in access to Paraguay’s public health system.
• Peru: The Peruvian government published a presidential decree classifying trans identities as mental health conditions.

COLOMBIA

Amnesty International has issued a new report on grave abuses committed by the police during the National Strike of three years ago. This opens with musicians and dancers performing to remind us of the violent events where their leader lost an eye to a rubber bullet. Protesters were killed, others lost their eyes or were sexually abused. Many of these injustices remain unpunished. Some who reported the abuses have been threatened and had to flee the country. How is it possible that a police reform that ensures that these events never happen again is not part of today’s political agenda?’

Programa ‘Somos Defensores’ (We are the Defenders) lists the 168 social leaders and human rights defenders killed by ex-guerrillas, paramilitaries and criminal gangs in 2023, a 14% decline on 2022. However, the number of forced displacements doubled while there was also an increase in kidnappings and forced disappearances. Overall, there was no letting up in the violence in mainly rural areas previously occupied by FARC guerrillas, and now fought over by two FARC dissident groups, the ELN (National Liberation Army), Gaitanista paramilitaries and organised crime.

President Petro is persisting with peace initiatives and Colombia has signed the first point of a six-point deal with ELN guerrillas, following five cycles of negotiations over the last seven years. The agreement last June to set up a National Participation Committee with 80 meetings with 8,500 representatives of social organisations and communities enabled this first breakthrough.

Colombia has also announced peace talks with Iván Marquéz, former FARC leader who reneged on the Peace Accord and founded a new guerrilla group called the Segunda Marquetalia, a reference to the town of Marquetalia, where the FARC originally came from. Talks begin on 24 June in Venezuela. However, neither side has declared a ceasefire. Meanwhile, another ex-FARC group, known as EMC (Central High Command), attacked police stations and towns in several places in the Cauca region. The government sent in the Army with the President warning them that “the offensive against the EMC is total”.

The Guardian reports on the starvation of children of the Wayúu indigenous community in La Guajira. ‘Although their resource-rich environment includes assets such as coal and gas and stunning Caribbean beaches, the lack of food and water available in this arid region has left the Wayúu facing a humanitarian crisis.’ Investigators found that the inadequate supply of water is the result of corruption and the lack of trucks and deposits to supply over 1,000 communities and a population of one-third of a million.

Following a 10-day visit, UN experts urge the Government of Colombia to address systemic and institutional racism of people of African descent which they have endured for centuries. Testimonies detailed sexual and gender-based violence, rape as a weapon of war, macro-aggressions, kidnappings, femicides, brutal killings by armed groups and organised crime cartels, extortion, brutal dispossession of lands, forced recruitment of children in armed groups, enforced disappearances, enforced displacement, mutilation and utilisation of children for illegal activities. [Read more…]

This month we bring you news from Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, an Urgent Action on Ecuador and summaries of Amnesty’s annual reports on all the countries that we cover.   Highlights are:

• Colombia – A short Amnesty film showing the devastating impact of a “less than lethal” weapon on Leidy Cadena in the April 2021 National Strike in Colombia.  Please write to President Petro and Defence Minister Velásquez demanding police reform now. 
• Colombia – A call by the San José de Apartadó Peace Community for support from the international community. Please write to President Petro demanding protection for them
• Venezuela – An Amnesty public statement on the relentless persecution of civil society and dissidents – translation attached, please share.
• Ecuador – An Urgent Action calling for access to food and medication to be restored to detainees in five prisons.
• Brazil – An Amnesty report to the UN raising concerns of gender-based violence against Black women and other women of African descent.  
• Chile – An update on efforts to secure justice for those killed and maimed during the 2019 protests, including Gustavo Gatica
• Argentina – protests against proposed budget cuts to public education

COLOMBIA

Amnesty has published its Annual Report on Colombia detailing human rights abuses. These include huge numbers of people being forcibly displaced, the high risk of indigenous, Afro-descendant and peasant communities, femicide, violence against LGBTI people, attacks against human rights defenders and lack of protection for Venezuelan refugees. The government failed to implement comprehensive police reform. Progress was made on the use of force during demonstrations, measures to protect human rights defenders and on investigating war crimes

Amnesty issues a short film showing the devastating impact of a less than lethal weapon on Leidy Cadena in the April 2021 National Strike in Colombia.  Please write to President Petro and Defence Minister Velásquez demanding police reform now.  During the National Strike, at least 84 people lost their lives, thousands were arbitrarily detained and more than 100 people sustained eye trauma. Amnesty has denounced torture, gender-based violence, sexual violence and excessive use of force in the context of the 2021 National Strike, attacks on Indigenous peoples and torture of the civilian population.

Colombia is included in Amnesty’s new report on abortion rights in the Americas. “In Colombia, we’ve seen harassment, slander, and insults levelled against those who provide abortions, who are often ostracized at work. We always have to constantly be wary because the threats never stop”, explained Dr. Gil. “For example, they slashed one of my friend’s car tires. They glued shut a different colleague’s padlock so she couldn’t open her locker. When a friend who is a psychiatrist stood up for a patient who was asking to terminate her pregnancy… one of her colleagues hit her with a folder.”

The Peace Community of San José de Apartadó says that a leading paramilitary with the alias Mateo told an audience of civilians, “We know that this community has the habit of murdering its own members, blaming us, and then demanding reparations from the victims,” calling on them to “unite against the peace community.” The meeting was hosted by the Board Chair of Community Action of a neighbouring community. The Peace Community calls on support from the international community. Please write to President Petro demanding protection for them, sending copies to Roy Barreras, Colombian Ambassador 3 Hans Crescent, London SW1X 0LN elondres@cancilleria.gov.co

The Supreme Court has elected criminal law attorney Luz Adriana Camargo Garzón as the country’s new  Attorney General. She is seen as willing to carry through prosecutions that were impeded by her predecessor. She was head of the investigation and litigation department at the UN International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, and a consultant for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression.

The Guardian reports on how Colombia’s deforestation of the Amazon has surged, following  a sharp reduction thanks to President Petro’s peace negotiations with dissident FARC rebels who banned deforestation.  However, as peace negotiations flounder, this armed force has returned to allowing deforestation as a bargaining chip with the government. [Read more…]

This month we bring you news from Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela,  Argentina and Bolivia. Highlights are:

• Colombia – A petition demanding that the Colombian authorities protect human rights defenders.
• Brazil – 2 politicians and an ex-police chief have been arrested over the murder of Marielle Franco
• Venezuela – Presidential Elections have been brought forward to 28 July, with leading opposition leaders barred from standing.
• Argentina – An Urgent Action calling for charges to be dropped in a prosecution centred on social media comments about a public figure.
• Bolivia – A new report on the human rights situation in the country has just been published.

COLOMBIA

The Peace Community of San José de Apartadó remembered the killings of seven of their members in recent years, including the boy Deimar Usaga, who was found with a bullet wound to his head opposite the Army barracks in 2019. None of the killings have resulted in prosecutions. 19 March 2024 30 year-old Nalleli Sepulveda and 14 year-old Edinson David were the latest Peace Community members to be killed. The perpetrators of the killings are believed to be Gaitanistas paramilitaries, whose presence is tolerated by the Army and the State.

Amnesty International has written to President Petro demanding that the State protect the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó and end impunity for those who have perpetrated human rights violations against members of the Community. Please sign Amnesty’s petition demanding that the Colombian authorities protect human rights defenders.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) has published an excellent analysis of the risk the ‘Gaitanistas’ (Gaitanista Self-Defence Force) pose to the ‘Total Peace’ plan of the Colombian government. The ICG warns that failure to bring the heavily armed and well-organised Gaitanistas to the negotiating table will both undermine negotiations with the ELN (National Liberation Army) and two dissident FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) groups as wells as enabling the Gaitanistas to take over the territory and businesses run by their rivals, the ELN and FARC dissidents.

The UK’s UN Ambassador has urged the Colombian Government to take further steps to protect vulnerable groups including indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities most affected by conflict. ´Through the UK’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund which has provided £79 million in support of peace agreement implementation, security, and stability in Colombia since 2015, we will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Colombia and prioritise funding interventions to help protect indigenous communities, including through the UN Human Rights Office in Colombia.’ [Read more…]

This month we bring you news from Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Highlights are:

• Venezuela  – An Urgent Action calling on the government to release human rights defender Rocio San Miguel.
• Venezuela – Another Urgent Action calling on the authorities to stop withholding medical care from detainees.
• Venezuela/Argentina – Amnesty International’s submission with the Argentinean criminal court asking that it investigate crimes against humanity in Venezuela
• Colombia – An Urgent Action calling on the Attorney General to bring to justice perpetrators of threats and bombing against members of human rights NGO CREDHOS.
• Brazil – A Brazilian court has begun a trial of a Military Policeman for the 2014 killing of a Johnatha de Oliveira Lima, whose mother came to visit AIUK in 2015.
• Argentina- The new President’s plan to dismantle the anti-discrimination watchdog.
• Chile – Latest developments in disputes over fresh water, a scarce resource in the country.

VENEZUELA

On 9^th February, Rocio San Miguel, a well-known human rights defender, was arbitrarily detained at the airport in Caracas, Venezuela. Her forced disappearance follows a widely documented pattern of disappearances in the country. Rocio San Miguel was a highly prominent expert and lawyer who had been monitoring the actions of the Armed Forces in Venezuela, including alleging cases of torture, murder, and arbitrary detentions perpetrated by the state authorities.

We are calling on all those who have not done so already to sign our Urgent Action, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Rocio San Miguel. The Action also calls for a definitive stop to the policy of repression against those considered to be opposing the government. Whilst the Attorney General’s Office publicly acknowledged her detention but has only recently provided information as to her whereabouts; her lawyers have received no response to their queries. Rocio San Miguel has had no access to family members or to legal representation.

We have issued a second Urgent Action calling for the Venezuelan authorities to stop withholding detainees’ medical care. The Action comes after the unexpected transfer of Juan Carlo Marrufo to a separate prison, almost three years into his politically motivated arbitrary detention. The authorities have continued to deny him testing and treatment. His health is declining. Juan Carlos’s wife, Maria Auxiliadora Delgado, and Emirlendris Benitez also require immediate medical tests.

Amnesty International has also filed a submission with the Argentinean criminal court asking that it investigate crimes against humanity in Venezuela. The lawsuit notes that the Venezuelan justice system has demonstrated that it has “neither the will nor the capacity to genuinely and adequately investigate, prosecute, and criminally punish the perpetrators of serious human rights crimes”. A previous lawsuit, filed in the Argentinean court in June 2023 by victims of crimes against humanity and the Clooney Foundation, had made similar allegations and was supported by Amnesty at the time.

On 15^th February, the Venezuelan government announced that it was suspending the activities of the UN Office of the High Commissioner in Human Rights in Venezuela. The decision came soon after the Office expressed concern regarding the detention of Rocio San Miguel. Multiple news sources have noted a stepping up of repression ahead of the “free and fair” elections promised for later this year.

The decision also came a day after the publication of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food’s report on his recent visit to Venezuela. The UN Special Rapporteur had stated that the government food programme does not tackle the root causes of hunger and is susceptible to political influences. It had also highlighted the food security of detainees and prisoners in Venezuela, noting custody centres for those awaiting trial had become places of overcrowded, long-term detention, where detainees are not provided with any food, water, bathrooms, or healthcare. [Read more…]

This month we bring you news that:

• Colombia – The Colombian NGO Indepaz found that 187 social leaders and human rights defenders were killed in 2023, about the same number as in 2022 and 2021. There is still time to sign Amnesty International’s petition demanding that the Colombian Government improves its protection of human rights defenders, in particular members of the NGO CREDHOS.
• Brazil – Amnesty International has reiterated its demand that the killers of the human rights defender and politician Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes be brought to trial, almost six years after the assassination.
• Peru – The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples has warned that changes to Peru’s Forestry and Wildlife Law could legalise and encourage the dispossession of Indigenous Peoples from their lands
• Chile – Amnesty International’s report “Eyes on Chile” and several campaigns since the repressive response to the 2019 protests – including the current Urgent Action – have called for an end to impunity for those who were in charge
• Argentina – We have a new Urgent Action: Pierina Nochetti, a lesbian human rights activist, is facing criminal charges of “aggravated damage”.
• Venezuela – We have published a new Urgent Action calling for the removal of a bill which will potentially criminalize Venezuelan NGOs.

COLOMBIA

The Colombian NGO Indepaz found that 187 social leaders and human rights defenders were killed in 2023, about the same number as in 2022 and 2021.  44 former FARC guerrillas were killed in 2023, a slight reduction from the prior two years. A further 55 people were killed by landmines and 167,000 people were forcibly displaced in the year. In broad terms, violence continues at a high level despite the Government’s efforts to negotiate ceasefires with armed opposition groups. A more detailed analysis will be published by Programa Somos Defensores later in the year.

There is still time to sign Amnesty International’s petition demanding that the Colombian Government improves its protection of human rights defenders, in particular members of the NGO CREDHOS.

Justice for Colombia carries an update on the peace talks with the ELN and EMC guerrillas. Negotiations with the ELN (National Liberation Army) are into their sixth cycle of talks in Havana. Negotiators will focus on a ceasefire extension, an end to hostage-taking and enhancing the participation of civil society groups. Meanwhile, the EMC (FARC members who refused to abide by the 2016 Peace Accord) have agreed a six-month ceasefire extension to 15 July.

The BBC reports that the Colombian Government has approved regulations that encourage indigenous and Afro-descendant communities to produce energy from renewable sources and sell the power to the national grid. Over 70% of the country’s energy is supplied by hydroelectric dams, which can harm the environment and local communities. President Petro says that he wants to diversify Colombia’s energy mix.

The body of Eimer Emilio Gómez David, former member of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó (PCSJA), was found 12 December. He had been tortured and killed, presumably by former paramilitaries who still operate in the region. The PCSJA reports that former paramilitaries continue to occupy their territory and threaten their members while soldiers from the 16th Brigade stand idly by. The Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff recently wrote to AIUK’s Mayfair and Soho Group to say that he had given orders to the Brigade to hunt down these former paramilitaries. [Read more…]