South America Newsletter August 2023

August 2, 2023 by zarganar

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

Guillermo Chicame Ipía, indigenous guardian leader,Killed by dissident FARC guerrillas January 14 2022, Cauca.

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…]

South America Newsletter July 2023

July 3, 2023 by zarganar

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

Herbert Mosquera Hurtado, Community Leader Guaviare. Killed by FARC dissidents 24 July 2022

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…]

Europe Newsletter June 2023

June 5, 2023 by zarganar

From Monday the 19th of June to Sunday 25th June Refugee Week takes place across the World. The theme of this years Refugee Week is compassion. While many ordinary people across the world show compassion and solidarity to refugees who have lost everything due to war, oppression and violence, governments across Europe particularly at the borders of Fortress Europe :Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Croatia are using violence against refugees who are simply trying to find a place of safety.

Often this results in loss of lives. At least 37 died at the Mellila border last year (+77 missing) and at least 94 people died at sea close to the coast of Italy because Frontex and the Italian authorities did not attempt to rescue them. And those people who are rescuing refugees from drowning in the sea are criminalised and threatened with long prison sentences for their humanity. Sarah and Sean are back in court again on baseless charges. The trial against the crew of the Juventa , who saved several thousand lives before being impounded, is on-going. And Tommy Olson from Norway is threatened with 25 years in prison for documenting how refugees and migrants are treated in Greece. Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, while welcoming refugees from Ukraine are still violently pushing back or detaining and deporting refugees from other wars and violence.

And our government is trying to get rid of the Universal Human Right to asylum from persecution altogether. If the „illegal“ immigration bill becomes law refugees fleeing war, oppression and violence will not be able to claim asylum in the UK any more if they have arrived „illegally“. There are no safe and legal routes for people seeking asylum to enter the UK. The bill will apply to people arriving in the UK on or after 7 March 2023 (the day the bill was published), and anyone caught by it would be permanently barred from the UK. Their partners and children will face the same fate, regardless of whether they arrived without permission – even if they were born here.

This would mean that many British children would be robbed of their rights to British citizenship. We have to fight this bill. Please join the digital action

STOP THE CRUEL BILL: Email Rishi now (amnesty.org.uk) And please write personal letters to Rishi Sunak as well as your MP.

Refugee Week Take part in International Actions

EUROPEAN BORDER ACTION WORLD REFUGEE DAY 20TH OF JUNE 2023

On World Refugee Week 19th-25th of June we come together to commemorate the challenges faced by refugees all over the Europe and the incredible courage they show. Find out below when it is and how we mark this important day.

#SafeAndLegalRoutesNow #AmnestyUKEurope

We are planning a mixed action, where the groups themselves can decide whether they want to demonstrate loudly, join digitally, join in creative and artsy ways or by making informational events. What we all will have in common are our demands.

Use #SafeAndLegalRoutesNow #AmnestyUKEurope and tag @amnestyukeurope

Actions Collect signatures for the Melilla case 19th-25th of June

For groups who want to collect signatures: Print the petition for the Melilla case and organise joint signing

Spain and Morocco: Demand justice for dead and missing at Melilla

On 24 June 2022, people attempting to cross into Melilla through a border crossing between Spain and Morocco were met with a shocking display of unlawful force by Moroccan and Spanish security forces. At least 37 Black people – mostly from sub-Saharan Africa – died unlawfully and 77 are missing. Their loved ones still don’t have answers about what happened to them.

Join us to demand truth, justice and reparations for the victims and their families.

Sign the petition here https://www.amnesty.org/en/petition/justice-for-dead-and-missing-at-melilla/,

[Read more…]

South America Newsletter May 2023

May 4, 2023 by zarganar

This month, we bring you news that –

In Argentina, the Mapuche indigenous people continue to fight for their land rights in the face of the denial of those rights by provincial governments
Amnesty International has published its Annual Report on Brazil, highlighting the role of racism in state violence, the killing of human rights defenders and journalists, and the occurrence of politically motivated violence in the run up to the elections last year
Regarding Chile, Amnesty International has published a new Urgent Action demanding a halt to a proposed bill criminalizing refugees and migrants
In Colombia, Amnesty International has published a new Urgent Action calling on President Petro to protect the human rights organization CREDHOS, after an explosive device was found at the entrance to their offices
For Ecuador, Amnesty International has published an Urgent Action calling for the protection of Pablo Fajardo Mendoza, a lawyer accused by the government of being an “international criminal” for defending the rights of indigenous peoples
Human Rights Watch have published their report regarding the oppression of protests in Peru late last year
Amnesty International has published a new Urgent Action for Emirlendris Benitez, who has suffered torture and mistreatment in Venezuela – the Urgent Action joins those already published for the falsely imprisoned Javier Tarazona and for the repressive NGO bill
Amnesty International has reminded the Peruvian and Chilean governments to protect the human rights of around 300 people stranded at the Peruvian and Chilean border

ARGENTINA

THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES IN MENDOZA VOTED A RESOLUTION WHICH MAINTAINS THAT “THE MAPUCHES SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED ORIGINAL ARGENTINE PEOPLES.” | CEDOC-PERFIL

Tens of thousands of Mapuches, members of an indigenous people established on both sides of the Andes in the Chilean and Argentine territory, are claiming the return of their ancestral lands and assets. The Mapuche are the most populous indigenous people in Argentina. However, the group is facing significant backlash from provincial governments.

The Chamber of Deputies in Mendoza (in the province of Mendoza) voted a resolution which maintains that “the Mapuches should not be considered original Argentine peoples.” This resolution comes just days after the Supreme Court suspended the distribution of land in Bariloche (in the province of Río Negro), to a Mapuche community.

While the resolution was going to the vote in Mendoza, a demonstration of human rights movements and members of indigenous peoples took place outside. The protestors all sung in unison as they criticised the chamber’s actions. The Centre of Professionals for Human Rights expressed its “deep rejection of the denialist and racist opinion.”

In passing the resolution, the chamber also rejected a decree signed by President Fernández to suspend “judgments, procedural or administrative acts, whose object is the eviction or vacating of lands.”

This comes a few weeks after a critical report by a United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, an independent monitoring program of the Human Rights Council. This denounced the “structural discrimination” affecting the Indigenous population in Argentina. In particular the UN delegation highlighted the unequal effects of Argentina’s high poverty rate:-

“Poverty is concentrated in certain regions, with indigenous peoples being especially affected by social inequality, economic marginalisation and structural racism”

The report had other criticisms of the treatment and stigmatisation of indigenous peoples and communities, referring to the “exacerbation of a highly racist discourse” in the media. It also highlights that they were subject to repeated “evictions and violent interventions”.

On a separate issue, the report also criticised the management of a number of fast-growing industries – including so-called “mega-mining” of shale gas and lithium – for their tendency to perpetuate human rights abuses.

BRAZIL

Pataxó leader, Brazil

Amnesty International has published its annual report on Brazil. In summary: ‘Racism continued to drive state violence. Mass killings by public security officials were frequent, disproportionately affecting Black people in marginalized neighbourhoods. Cis and transgender women, especially Black women, were targets of various forms of violence. In an election year, the dissemination of fake news and statements by President Bolsonaro incited politically motivated violence, threatened state institutions and undermined the functioning of judicial institutions. Many journalists and human rights defenders were threatened and killed. The social, political and economic situation continued to deteriorate, leading to violations of the rights to food, health, housing, work and social assistance, among others. Investigations into human rights violations documented by the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic were shelved. The historic failure of the state to confront structural racism continued to result in Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants being disproportionately impacted by failings in institutional measures and actions.’

According to Greenpeace, London listed Canadian Serabi Gold stands accused of illegally mining gold in the Amazon without the permission of Brazil’s federal land agency, on disputed land, with licences contested by state agencies, and before a nearby Indigenous community has properly been consulted. The Company claims its mine is legal. This illustrates the tangled web of agencies and interests in Brazil’s Amazon.

The OAS’s International Commission of Human Rights has ordered the Brazilian state to take measures to protect the indigenous Pataxó people in Bahia state. Some of the Pataxó live in a contested area and since October 2022 they have been subject to ‘continuous violence’ including threats, harassment, shootings and defamation that culminated in the killing of three of their members with the connivance of the security forces. Members of the Military Police suspected of participating in these killings have been detained. But there is inadequate protection for this community.

[Read more…]

Europe Newsletter April 2023

April 30, 2023 by zarganar

Türkiye

Türkiye: People with disabilities neglected in humanitarian response to devastating earthquakes

As you will all be aware, southern Türkiye and northwest Syria were hit by devastating earthquakes in February. More than 48,000 people were killed and more than 100,000 were injured many of whom lost limbs and sustained other life-changing injuries. An estimated 3.3 million people have been displaced, with approximately 2.3 million people currently sheltering in tent camps and container settlements.

According to a joint Turkish government and United Nations assessment as many as 70 percent of injured earthquake survivors are expected to have a disability. In a shocking report, published by Amnesty International last Thursday 27 April it was revealed that people with disabilities living in displacement camps after the earthquakes in Türkiye are being overlooked in the humanitarian response to the disaster.

Three Amnesty International researchers undertook research from 9-22 March, in four of the provinces that have been most affected by the earthquakes in southeast Türkiye. Those were Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Hatay and Adiyaman. Research was undertaken in urban and rural areas. Amnesty International met with people from a mix of ethnic backgrounds. In total, the team interviewed 131 people, including survivors who have been living in displacement camps and aid workers. Interviewees included Turkish nationals and Syrian refugees.

Amnesty International did not have access to Syria for this report – which does not address the situation in Syria.

During the visit to Türkiye, Amnesty International researchers identified that persons with disabilities were among those particularly at-risk of being marginalised or left behind with regards to access to assistance, and who also experienced unequal access to their human rights in the aftermath of the earthquake. They found that there were significant gaps in humanitarian response programmes, which included barriers to equally accessing sanitation, food, water and specialist support.

As result of this work Amnesty has made a number of wide ranging recommendations to the Turkish government, humanitarian agencies and organisations and countries donating aid for earthquake victims (see report).

ELECTIONS 2023

On 14 May, in what are being described as the most important elections in the history of the Republic since it was founded in 1923, the people of Türkiye will go to the polls to elect their president for the next 5 years and a new parliament, the 600 member Grand National Assembly.

Standing for re-election is President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who has been in office since 2014 and was Prime Minister from 2003.

[Read more…]