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…]

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…]