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…]

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…]

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

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 16^th 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…]