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…]

Dear Friends,

This month we bring you news that:

• Region – Amnesty denounces the failure of Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Chile to protect Venezuelan refugees.
• Colombia – We are calling for a fundamental reform of the National Police in a petition you can sign.
• Brazil – Ana Marian Santos Cruz, who is seeking justice for the police killing of her son, is our new Write For Rights case in 2023.
• Brazil – Good news from the Supreme Court on Indigenous land rights and thanks for taking action.
• Venezuela – We have added John Álvarez, a student and keen musician, to our ongoing campaign for the release of nine victims of detention.
• Chile – We have a new solidarity action for the Women’s Water Defenders.
• Argentina – there are fears that the leader in the polls for this month’s Presidential elections will reverse the newly won right to abortion.
• Paraguay – Amnesty has expressed its concerns on a new law which would ban mentioning gender identity in schools. 

REGIONAL

In a new report, Regularize and Protect: International obligations for the protection of Venezuelan nationals, Amnesty has revealed that Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Chile are failing to comply with their obligations under international law to protect those fleeing Venezuela in order to safeguard their lives, integrity and human rights.   Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Chile are home to 70% of the 7.71 million Venezuelans who have fled Venezuela due to the complex humanitarian emergency and massive human rights violations in that country.

COLOMBIA

Following on from the excessive use of force during the 2021 National Strike, Amnesty International is calling on the Government to reform the National Police, bringing the force under civilian control and making fundamental changes in the way it recruits, trains and operates. In this context, at least 84 people lost their lives, thousands were arbitrarily detained and more than 100 people sustained eye trauma.  You can still sign the petition, which is directed at President Petro and Ivan Velasquez, Defence Minister, who is responsible for the police.

The Colombian NGO Indepaz has updated its count of human rights defenders and social leaders killed up to 28 September this year. In this period, 129 have been killed with indigenous and field-worker community leaders particularly at risk. In the same period, 31 ex-combatants of the FARC, who had laid down their weapons complying with the 2016 Peace Accord, have also been killed.

Just in the month of September, The UN’s Office of Human Rights reports that 35,000 people were either forcibly displaced or suffered other restrictions due to the violence in rural areas of Colombia. 45% were indigenous and 55% Afro-Colombian. The majority were children.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence calls on Colombia’s response to the ongoing violence “must include strategies for an effective State presence in areas most affected by the conflict, comprehensive reparations for victims – including land restitution – and sustainable conditions for the return of victims, the reintegration of ex-combatants and the work of human rights defenders, including social leaders.”

Further to the Government’s recent negotiations with the ELN (National Liberation Army) which led to a 12-month ceasefire starting in July, it has now reached an agreement with the EMC-FARC, formed of FARC dissidents, to begin a 12-month ceasefire. Peace negotiations begin on 8 October. The EMC (Central General Staff) has a force of around 3,000. The Petro government hopes that successive ceasefires with the main armed groups will bring an end to the war in the country, and that unlike the 2016 Accord with the FARC, will not lead to other factions fighting to take over their territory.

WOLA carries an article titled ‘Reverse Land Reform’ which explains the background manoeuvring that has complicated land reform in Colombia. It asks, ‘Can companies who bought that land just a few years later really claim to have done so “in good faith?”’ This case study of land in Sucre, which had once been owned by mestizos, indigenous and Afro-Colombians, ended up being sold to Grupo Argos one of Colombia’s largest companies forty years later. In the intervening years, the paramilitary AUC and FARC guerrillas battled over the land, killing small land owners and forcing them off their land. Subsequent Administrations sought to intervene, using the Armed Forces and enacting policies which meant ‘The massive purchase of land was done at a surprising speed and with all kinds of trickery.’

BRAZIL

Amnesty International has included Ana Maria Cruz Santos in this year’s Write For Rights campaign. Ana Maria Santos Cruz, a mother who is seeking justice for the unlawful killing by the police of her son Pedro Henrique, a young Brazilian activist who advocated for racial justice and human rights. Despite ongoing threats and the grief of losing her child, Ana Maria has bravely sought the truth about his death, calling on the authorities for a thorough investigation and trial. Please write letters to the Brazilian authorities to demand justice and to show solidarity with Ana Maria.

Good news! 27 September the Supreme Court reaffirmed the original right of Indigenous Peoples to the exclusive use of their ancestral territories. This annuls a law which would have deprived indigenous groups from claiming land that they could not prove they had occupied before 1988. Thanks to all of you who responded to the two Urgent Actions.

Amnesty International is calling on Brazil to legalise abortion. In Brazil, the coming days could be decisive in advancing the decriminalization of abortion until 12 weeks of gestation through a vote reopened in the Supreme Federal Court by the minister and president, Rosa Weber, who, before retiring, voted in favour of reproductive rights for women, girls, and all people seeking access to abortion. In Brazil, according to official figures, one in 28 people trying to abort die from doing so in unsafe conditions. In this context, racial inequalities are evident: Black women are two times more likely to die during an unsafe abortion since they are 46% more likely to have one in the first place.

Amnesty International is demanding that three policemen, who have been charged with the killing of a 14-year old boy in May 2020, be tried by jury now.  João Pedro was at home in the favela Complexo de Salguero, in Rio State, when the National Police entered the favela. The house where João Pedro was staying was hit by more than 70 shots. Wounded in the stomach, he was taken from the scene by agents from the Special Resources Coordination (CORE), of the Civil Police. João remained missing for around 17 hours without his family having any clue as to his whereabouts. He was found three days later, dead, at the São Gonçalo IML (Legal Medical Institute). Three years have passed and there has been no progress in his case. Between 2014 and 2022, 767 children and adolescents were killed by police intervention in the State of Rio de Janeiro.

The Organisation of American States’ International Commission of Human Rights has expressed its concern at the excessive use of force and condemns the killing and wounding of children during police operations in Brazil. Since January, 19 children were wounded and 12 killed by police in the states of Bahia, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro. Six of the victims were under six years of age. More than 70% were Afro-Descendants. [Read more…]

This month, we bring you news that – 

• Argentina: Amnesty International has asked the UN High Commissioner to intervene on the part of Alberto Nallar, a human rights lawyer currently under house detention. 
• Brazil: following recent police massacres, Amnesty International has urged the Brazilian government to cease such lethal operations. 
• Chile: on the Anniversary of the coup d’état, Amnesty International has urged the Chilean government to make its initiative to search for victims of forced disappearances a permanent policy. 
• Colombia: The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) found that, in 2022, the number of internal displacements associated with conflict and violence were the highest in more than a decade. 
• Ecuador: Amnesty International has expressed extreme concern at the recent spate of violence, where a sharp increase in its homicide rate as well as a series of killings of candidates for public office in recent weeks culminated in the seemingly politically motivated killing of presidential candidate, Fernando Villavicencio 
• Peru: Amnesty International has published an Open Letter to UN rapporteurs regarding the protests in Peru during July, where the widespread use of unnecessary or excessive forces remains a cause for concern.  
• Venezuela: Amnesty International has launched a new campaign, calling for the immediate release of eight individuals who have been arbitrarily detained.  

ARGENTINA 

Last month we highlighted the case of Alberto Nallar, a human rights lawyer who took an active role in the protests in Jujuy Province that began on June 15. Alberto was released on August 18th, after spending more than one month under house arrest.  

Amnesty International has asked the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to intervene on his behalf. Alberto is still being charged with the crime of sedition. Consequently, this Urgent Action has been extended till the 6th October. The AIUK website hasn’t (yet) updated the days left to take action, but please still use this link to send an email. 

BOLIVIA 

GOOD NEWS!  The groups that raided the office of the Permanent Assembly on Human Rights in Bolivia (APDHB) have vacated the office, enabling 84-year-old Amparo Carvajal, the Assembly’s President, to end her 52 days of vigil, 12 of which she spent on the terrace of the building.  The APDHB is negotiating with authorities as to an inventory of the premises and the possible reopening of the office.   The Urgent Action request is now closed.  [Read more…]

This month we bring you news from Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay  and Chile. Please take action requesting protection for the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, Columbia, who continue to suffer from threats and attacks by paramilitaries. There are now two Urgent Actions in Argentina; in both case you can take email action via the AIUK website. In Bolivia Amnesty has issued an update on the Urgent Action relating to 84-year-old human rights defender Amparo Carvajal. And there is an Urgent Action in Ecuador relating to the safety of prison detainees.

COLOMBIA

 Peace Brigades International, which has helped protect the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó for many years, describes the ongoing obstacles they encounter to register their land claim that the Peace Community has cultivated for the last 25 years. Also, despite the visit of the Defence Minister in December, members of the Community continue to suffer from threats and attacks by paramilitaries, the Gaitan Self-defence Forces of Colombia. The latest death threat was received by the Community´s legal representative on Thursday 27 July.

Please take Action! Please write to Iván Velásquez, Defence Minister (usuarios@mindefensa.gov.co Twitter: @Ivan_Velasquez_ ), asking the Defence Ministry to provide protection for the Peace Community from the paramilitary Gaitan Self-defence Forces of Colombia: Please send copies to: Nancy Benítez Páez, Chargée d’Affaires, Embassy of Colombia, 3 Hans Crescent, London SW1X 0LN; email: elondres@cancilleria.gov.co

Programa Somos Defensores (We are Defenders Programme) report that the number of aggressions against human rights defenders and social leaders remained the same in the January-March period of 2023 compared to the same period for 2022, while the number killed were 31 compared to 53. The armed groups responsible for the killings were only identified in four of the 31 cases, which they note impede investigations and favour impunity.

Colombia Reports on the gradual downward trend in killings of HRDs and social leaders as well as demobilised former FARC guerrillas in the first half of 2023. They attribute the reduction to the Petro Government extending ‘to many of the country’s armed groups an opportunity to negotiate peace or demobilization, which gives them an incentive to improve their behaviour toward non-combatants’. On 6 June, the Government signed a 6-month ceasefire with the ELN (National Liberation Army) the largest guerrilla force.

The Guardian explains President Petro’s tactic of appointing controversial individuals to negotiate peace with armed groups. In November he appointed the leader of the conservative association of cattle farmers to lead talks with the FLN (National Liberation Army). He has now named Salvatore Mancuso, a former commander of the paramilitary United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia, as ‘Peace Manager’ to negotiate peace with, they assume, the largest criminal organisation known as the Gulf Clan. Mancuso has admitted to being responsible for 300 killings and his appointment has outraged many in Colombia. He remains in US custody in Atlanta.

However, the National Federation of Departments, representing the country’s regional Governors, on 4 July publicly demanded action by the Government and the military to protect communities, stating that armed groups are making a joke of President Petro’s plan for Total Peace. They claim that the country is confused by the ‘contradictory messages of negotiations and ceasefires’ and that the President’s ‘permissive’ policies are threatening democracy in Colombia. Regional elections take place in October.

BRAZIL

On what would have been Marielle Franco’s 44th birthday, Amnesty International demands that the authorities bring to justice the people who ordered her assassination. Two former military police officers have been charged with the murder of Marielle and her driver Anderson Gomez. One of them has confessed to the crime and said that former fire fighter Maxwell Simões Corrêa acted in the planning of the crime and in the protection of those involved. He has been arrested by police. [Read more…]

This month we bring you news from Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. Amnesty has issued three Urgent Actions: Calling on the President and Defence Minister to enact Police Reform in Colombia; calling for the provision of care and release of Guillermo Zárraga, who is seriously ill in prison in Venezuela; and calling on the Bolivian authorities to allow Amparo Carvajal, an 84-year-old human rights defender and his team, to return to their office. Please follow the links in the country sections below to sign these actions.

REGIONAL

In an open letter to heads of state attending the 53rd General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), Amnesty has called on States in the region to address the closure of civic space, end repressive policies and respond to the social demands of their populations.  Amnesty’s concerns include the excessive use of force to suppress social protests (seen most recently in Peru), restrictive and inhumane migration policies towards people fleeing human rights abuses (for example in Peru and Chile), intensified use of the armed forces for public security tasks (such as in Ecuador) and killings of Indigenous leaders (including in Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador) in the context of land-related conflicts. Amnesty noted that Colombia was the world’s deadliest country for human rights defenders in 2022, with at least 186 killings, with Brazil in third place with at least 26.

COLOMBIA

Amnesty International continues its campaign to reform the National Police, which Amnesty holds responsible for the death, torture, blinding, disfigurement, rape, and sexual violence against numerous demonstrators during the 2021 National Strike. Amnesty International and its allies, members of the Police Reform Roundtable, urge President Petro and Defence Minister Velásquez to initiate structural reform of the police with the participation of Colombian civil society. Please sign the letter here. Please send copies to: Nancy Benítez Páez, Chargée d’Affaires, Embassy of Colombia, 3 Hans Crescent, London SW1X 0LN; email: elondres@cancilleria.gov.co

197 human rights defenders and social leaders were killed in 2022, a 42% increase on 2021, reports Programa Somos Defensores (We are Defenders Programme) in its annual report. Multiple armed groups are fighting over territory, illicit mining and the drug trade, which was more restrained in 2021 when the security forces were heavily deployed to counter the massive demonstrations during the National Strike. Indigenous communities were particularly hard hit by this violence in 2022. President Petro’s policy of Total Peace, which started well by negotiating ceasefires with several armed groups and a new policy which pivots the security forces prime objective to protect civilians and their leaders, has yet to bear fruit on the ground. Somos Defensores cites Crisis Group saying ‘If there is no military pressure then it is all a romantic dream’.

Prosecutors have charged 25 military officials of ‘killing protected persons’ over the raid that killed 11 people in the village of El Remanso, Putumayo, on 28 March 2022. The army claimed that they had killed FARC guerrillas, when in fact they were unarmed local civilians. The cases are filed under the civilian justice system rather than its military equivalent, an important measure to ensure judicial independence. [Read more…]