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South America Newsletter June 2025

June 22, 2025 by zarganar

This month we bring you news from Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Suriname

Highlights are:

  • Amnesty has released its 2025 report on the State of the World’s Human Rights. The report assesses national, regional and global developments across a wide range of human rights themes, and documents human rights concerns during 2024 in 150 countries, including 10 South American countries
  • Amnesty has published an article by the “Warriors for the Amazon”, the movement of young Ecuadorian women who are fighting the suffering and devastation wrought on the Amazon region by oil extraction.
  • Amnesty has joined a multitude of other non-governmental organisations in calling on the Brazilian Government to use its position as host of COP30 to lead influence climate negotiations and establish best practice for future COP hosts
  • The Inter-American Court for Human Rights (IACHR) is hearing the case of a forced sterilisation carried out in Peru in the 1990s.
  • Amnesty International has just published a report Silence is not an option: repression and impunity in Jujuy. Two years after the constitutional debate and social protests in Jujuy, there have been almost no concrete steps toward accountability for the repression and criminalization that characterized the state response to the massive grassroots mobilization in 2023.
  • President Boric announced a comprehensive plan to address the Mapuche conflict, based on recommendations from the Commission for Peace and Understanding.
  • We have issued a new Urgent Action calling on the Venezuelan government to release all arbitrarily detained individuals, including Eduardo Torres, Javier Tarazona, Rocio San Miguel, Carlos Julio Rojas, and Kennedy Tejeda.

REGIONAL

Amnesty has released its 2025 report on the State of the World’s Human Rights.  The report assesses national, regional and global developments across a wide range of human rights themes, and documents human rights concerns during 2024 in 150 countries, including 10 South American countries, connecting global and regional issues and looking to the future.  Individual country chapters can be found here.

ECUADOR

Amnesty has published an article by the “Warriors for the Amazon”, the movement of young Ecuadorian women who are fighting the suffering and devastation wrought on the Amazon region by oil extraction.  The movement has called on Ecuador’s recently re-elected President Noboa to acknowledge that he has a duty not only to govern, but also to protect life, health and nature.

BRAZIL

Amnesty has joined a multitude of other non-governmental organisations in calling on the Brazilian Government to use its position as host of COP30 to lead influence climate negotiations and establish best practice for future COP hosts and advance the participation of those who have long been at the forefront of the fight against climate change, including environmental and human rights defenders.

PERU  

Marisiela Monzon Ramos, the daughter of  Celia Cruz

The Inter-American Court for Human Rights (IACHR) is hearing the case of a forced sterilisation carried out in Peru in the 1990s.  Demus, a Peruvian NGO for women’s rights, presented the case of Celia Ramos to the IACHR in 2010. Eleven years later, an IACHR report declared that the Peruvian state was responsible for the violation of Ramos’s rights and recommended the adoption of measures of reparation and non-repetition.  However, as Peru made no progress in complying with the recommendations, the commission sent the case to the Inter-American court in June 2023.  Celia Cruz died in 1997, 19 days after surgery for a tubal ligation caused respiratory failure. She was “harassed” into accepting the procedure, which was part of a nationwide family planning programme.  While this is the first case of a forced sterilisation in Peru to reach the inter-American court, the Celia Ramos case is representative of thousands of others. 

ARGENTINA

Santos Manfredi, llama breeder, badly injured by rubber bullets during the repression, who features in Amnesty’s report

Amnesty International has just published a report Silence is not an option: repression and impunity in Jujuy. Two years after the constitutional debate and social protests in Jujuy, there have been almost no concrete steps toward accountability for the repression and criminalization that characterized the state response to the massive grassroots mobilization in 2023. Amnesty’s investigation found that the provincial police used force in an illegitimate, arbitrary and excessive manner with the clear aim of dispersing the protests. At least 170 people were injured, at least ten of whom were hit in the face with a rubber bullet or tear gas canister. Three lost vision in one eye.

Amnesty International Argentina has just issued a report (Spanish) “It’s Also for You: Defending Access to Abortion in the Face of Public Policy Rollbacks,” This investigated the difficulties faced when trying to access legal abortion. The report highlights five main barriers: A lack of medical supplies; Lack of information regarding rights; Counsellors who spread misinformation and try to deter women; Unjustified delays;  Mistreatment by health professionals.  It also criticizes the government’s role in dismantling services and spreading fake news about abortion in order to “reinstate the stigma surrounding this right”

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) released its 2024 Annual Report, warning of serious challenges and setbacks in the protection of human rights in Argentina. The IACHR warned that state reorganization policies have weakened the protection of rights and that government cuts and restructuring have hindered efforts to fight gender-based violence and discrimination.  The report coincides with the government downgrading the Secretariat of Human Rights to an under-secretariat, implementing a 40% reduction in its structure and a 30% cut in staff.

The government has been criticized for scrapping 13 programmes that protected women, gender minorities and the families of femicide victims. These focused on gender equality, diversity training, provision of menstrual products, support for gender-based violence victims and the promotion of transgender individuals’ rights. Making the announcement, Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona labelled these programmes as “ideological” and a waste of money.

The Milei administration has tightened migration legislation via a decree which human rights organizations have said takes away foreigners’ rights in Argentina. The decree makes deportations easier, restricts migrants’ access to health and education, and adds more requirements for foreigners obtaining Argentine citizenship or permanent residency.  The only ones who can now apply are those who have continued legal residence in Argentina for two years or those who prove “to have made a relevant investment in the country,” regardless of how long they lived there.

CHILE

President Boric presents initiatives to expedite land distribution, create an indigenous affairs body, and revive the economy in Mapuche regions.

President Boric announced a comprehensive plan to address the Mapuche conflict, based on recommendations from the Commission for Peace and Understanding. This includes expediting the distribution of lands and creating an indigenous affairs body. Chile’s Senate had just approved a 30-day extension (for the 56th time) of the constitutional state of emergency in some Mapuche provinces.  Last year Amnesty Chile’s report (Spanish) on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Chile highlighted ongoing violations. It concluded urgent action is required to address the criminalization of Indigenous Peoples and to address systemic issues within the justice system.

The President was making his final annual address to Chile’s National Congress, ahead of Novembers elections (presidents cannot serve consecutive terms). He also announced the prison dedicated to housing inmates convicted of human rights abuses during the 1973-1990 military dictatorship will be converted to a normal penitentiary. The 100 former military dictatorship personnel who committed crimes against humanity and other rights violations have better conditions than those endured by the rest of Chile’s prison population. Boric concluded there was no justification for this privilege.

During the dictatorship thousands of babies are known to have been taken from their biological mothers and sold into adoption, mainly to foreign couples from the United States and Europe. The first ever prosecution has now been instigated, with the Santiago Court of Appeals ordering the preventive detention of five individuals accused of participating in a network of illegal adoptions.  Judge Aguilar Brevis classified these acts as crimes against humanity, basing the criminal prosecution on the American Convention on Human Rights and the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Forensic experts from the Chilean Servicio Médico Legal (SML) have begun excavations at Cerro Chena, on the outskirts of Santiago. The site served as a military barracks during the dictatorship, and remains in operation today. The excavation is aimed at finding traces of some of the thousands who disappeared. Despite its history, Cerro Chena was not formally investigated until less than two years ago.  Many believe this area was a clandestine burial ground, and relentless public pressure and legal actions have led to this in-depth probe of the site.

VENEZUELA

We have issued a new Urgent Action calling on the Venezuelan government to release all arbitrarily detained individuals, including Eduardo Torres, Javier Tarazona, Rocio San Miguel, Carlos Julio Rojas, and Kennedy Tejeda. After concealing Eduardo Torres’ fate and whereabouts since 9 May, high ranking Venezuelan authorities confirmed his detention on 13 May and disclosed he was being held at the infamous El Helicoide in Caracas. Javier Tarazona has been detained since 2 July 2021; Rocío San Miguel has been detained on 9 February 2024 and requires urgent surgery and rehabilitation; Carlos Julio Rojas has been detained since 15 April 2024; and Kennedy Tejeda was detained on 2 August 2024.

Almost 900 other politically motivated arbitrary detainees, including nationals from Spain, the US, Uruguay, Colombia, and Ukraine, amongst other nationalities, are currently being unfairly held in Venezuelan detention centres. This comes alongside smear campaigns and the criminalization of human rights organisations, such as PROVEA.

All the best,

South America Team – David Rogers (Argentina and Chile), James Baird (Venezuela) and Graham Minter (rest of South America,). And please don’t forget that you can follow us on our Facebook page and Twitter.

 

 

Filed Under: newsletter, South America Newsletter

Group Newsletter June 2025

June 14, 2025 by zarganar

Welcome to the latest newsletter. Our next meeting  is on Thursday 3rd July 2025, 7.30pm – 9.00pm at Moordown Community Centre. We will have updates on campaigns, letter writing and planning future events. But before, help us celebrate Refuge Week at…
This is a community festival to celebrate Refugee Week. Established in 1998 in the UK, Refugee Week takes place every year around World Refugee Day (20th June). It’s the world’s largest arts & culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.
We have been directly involved in organising this event and will have a stall there throughout the day. There are more details on the Eventbrite page, (Eventbrite like you to register for tickets, but this isn’t essential  –  please just turn up – its FREE!)
So we hope to see you Saturday 21st June, anytime 12 -7, at Winton Recreation Ground, Bournemouth BH9 1BZ
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-great-community-get-together-at-winton-recreation-ground-tickets-1397975565549
https://refugeeweek.org.uk/

Europe Newsletter

The latest Europe Newsletter has just been published. This does expand extensively about the importance of Refugee Week. Its an opportunity to roll back the tide of misinformation, scapegoating, hate speech and hostility directed at refugees. Also a reminder that seeking asylum is a human right.
This right is seriously under threat in Poland, where a law “suspending” asylum claims is a  flagrant violation of international law and poses a serious threat to the rights of refugees and migrants.
There is also a reminder that five Gezi Park defendants remain in prison and have been responding to solidarity cards and messages.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/europe-newsletter-june-2025

[Read more…]

Filed Under: amnesty international, Group Newsletter, newsletter

Europe Newsletter June 2025

June 5, 2025 by zarganar

Refugee week this year will be even more important than ever. We need to do all we can to roll back the tide of misinformation, scapegoating, hate speech and hostility. Please let us know about events you are organising in your communities so that we can share ideas and support each other across the country. And as always we are happy to give talks, on-line and in person. Kind regards Ulrike and the Amnesty Europe country coordinators team.

Refugee Week 2025

by Ulrike Schmidt

Fuelled by the hateful rhetoric of Trump, Farage and far right leaders across Europe refugees fleeing war, violence and persecution are confronted with increasing hostility in most European countries and even deadlier routes.

Migration has become a deeply polarising issue, often framed through opposing political ideologies. This divisive discourse serves as a harmful and dehumanising tool, reinforcing the “othering” of people on the move. As political groups and governments continue to weaponize migration to further their agendas, those most affected by increasingly hostile policies are left in precarious and vulnerable situations.

It must be our role as Human Rights defenders to challenge the scapegoating of refugees and migrants on every step. Refugees and migrants are not the cause of the housing crisis, the selling off and halt in building council housing is. Refugees and migrants are often working in the NHS, they are not responsible for long waiting lists, cuts in funding are. Cuts in education budgets are responsible for large class sizes, in fact in London many schools are closed due to declining pupil numbers; instead of enhancing education by teaching smaller groups schools are amalgamated or shut and pupils shoved into large classes.

Refugee Week gives us the opportunity to organise events celebrating the contributions refugees are making to society at large and our communities and to challenge the hateful rhetoric from populists, far right and some of  our political leaders. Refugees Welcome ! Seeking Asylum is a Human Right !

Hayward Heath group are organising a film event for 20. June, International Refugee day. Watford group are organising a screening of “Green Border “ for the 19th of July.  I am involved in organising 2 very different events : an evening based on film and talk at Kensington North Library and a celebration with music and poetry in Walthamstow.

Amnesty International Refugee Week at Kensington North Library

Thursday 19th June 6-8pm Refugees Welcome !


Join us for an evening of discussion and celebration.

We are celebrating the many  contributions migrants and  refugees are making to our communities, working in the NHS and many other parts of public service.  We are going to show how European institutions are undermining human rights to fortify Fortress Europe, in Poland, Greece , Italy , UK …  And we are celebrating how ordinary people are showing humanity, compassion and solidarity.

We are featuring the photo exhibition

‘Scars and solidarity’   by Chiara Fabbro, the short film Dover 82 with Aria Danaparamita,  and Amnesty International country coordinators Lucja Jastrzebska and Ulrike Schmidt.

The event is free but space is limited : please book your place on Eventbrite

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/refugee-week-with-amnesty-international-tickets-1377221619939?aff=oddtdtcreator

Updates from Fortress Europe

And for a celebratory fundraiser for Care4Calais with life-music, poetry and cakes join No-0ne is a Stranger in Walthamstow. Organised by Stand up to Racism, Love Music hate Racism and Care4Calais. I will be contributing the talk on Pylos and the deadly effects of Fortress Europe.

Background : in 2023 over 117 million people were forcibly displaced world-wide : 3 out of 4 refugees are hosted in low and middle income countries near their countries of origin. 75% of displaced people globally are from just  20 countries featured on the IRC’s latest Emergency Watchlist, which highlights the places at greatest risk of facing deteriorating humanitarian emergencies this year. However, the vast majority of people forced from their homes remain in their own region , and just a tiny fraction seek to reach protection in Europe. Still, EU states have consistently failed to reach an agreement on how to deal with people seeking safety on its territory, resulting in political polarisation and immense suffering and human rights violations at Europe’s borders.  (figures from Rescue.org/EU). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Europe Newsletters, newsletter

South America Newsletter May 2025

May 8, 2025 by zarganar

Check out our new website at https://amnestysouthamerica.org.uk!

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

Highlights are:

  • Peru: Amnesty has called for the repeal of new legislation which violates freedom of expression and other rights
  • Colombia: Amnesty has called for the unblocking of investigations into violence against the community of San José de Apartadó
  • Chile: Amnesty has warned of problems with the effectiveness of the body tasked with reforming the carabineros
  • Argentina: Amnesty has reported that, during the 2024 Write for Rights Campaign, over 400,000 people took action in support of Joel Paredes, who lost an eye during a peaceful protest. A casefile is being developed to enable further action by Amnesty Local Groups
  • Venezuela: Human Rights Watch has documented widespread abuses by the authorities since the 2024 Presidential elections
  • Brazil: A US NGO has filed a petition to block the import of Brazilian coffee associated with forced labour

PERU  

Amnesty has called on the Peruvian authorities to repeal a recent amendment to a law which, it says, violates freedom of expression, freedom of association and access to justice for hundreds of victims in Peru. The amendment, which relates to the functions of the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation (APCI), strengthens APCI’s control over the work of civil society organisations, leaving the door open to arbitrary decisions, discretionality and the censoring of voices that are critical of and inconvenient for those in power, while weakening State accountability.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Peruvian President to veto an amendment to Peru’s General Law on Persons with Disabilities, recently passed by the Peruvian Congress, which threatens to institutionalise people with disabilities through the creation of specialised care centres and temporary and permanent shelters.  According to HRW, the amendment ignores the principles of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), to which Peru is a party, and which promotes deinstitutionalisation. [Read more…]

Filed Under: amnesty international, newsletter, South America Newsletter

Europe Newsletter April/May 2025

April 25, 2025 by zarganar

Human Rights, Justice and Equality are under attack across Europe. This month it has been the Polish government suspending the right to asylum, Hungary further cracking down on LGBT communities by banning Pride, and  brutal repression against people claiming the right to protest in Turkiye. The Mayor of Istanbul has been imprisoned. On 8th of April we celebrated International Roma Day, but just shortly after Amnesty and the European Roma Rights Centre released a new report on how discrimination in education persists in Slovakia, despite years of campaigning.

Hungary

Urgent Action Let Pride march in Hungary

Budapest Pride is under threat. A new law banning assemblies that support LGBTI rights is a direct attack on LGBTI people, their allies, and the right to protest. Pride is a peaceful demonstration of equality and justice. The Hungarian authorities must ensure LGBTI people can march freely and demand their rights peacefully, free from intimidation, harassment or violence. 

Since 2010, Hungary has witnessed a marked deterioration in the rights and freedoms of its LGBTI community, largely driven by a series of laws and governmental actions aimed at limiting LGBTI visibility and expression. One of the most significant legislative moves was the introduction of the ‘Propaganda Law’ (Act LXXIX of 2021), which severely restricts the depiction of LGBTI identities in public life, including in educational materials, media, and advertisements.

The law was passed under the pretext of protecting children from content considered harmful to their “moral development.” However, its broad and vague language has resulted in far-reaching consequences, effectively banning content related to homosexuality, gender identity, and sexual reassignment. This has led to the widespread censorship of books, films, and other public resources featuring LGBTI themes, effectively removing LGBTI-inclusive materials from schools, bookstores, and public platforms.

These actions have severely limited access to information for both LGBTI individuals and the general public. The legal and societal crackdown initiated by this law has had devastating effects on the LGBTI community in Hungary, contributing to an atmosphere of fear and repression. Restrictions on public gatherings, the censorship of media and educational materials, and the stigmatization of LGBTI individuals have led to increasing isolation, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI people.

Please sign and share the petition !

https://www.amnesty.org/en/petition/let-pride-march-in-hungary/. 

Slovakia

Romani Children Face Entrenched Discrimination As School Segregation Persists

Bratislava, Brussels 16 April 2025: Ten years after the EU launched an infringement procedure against Slovakia for breaching the EU Race Equality Directive, Romani children still face entrenched discrimination in education. In a new report released today, Amnesty International and the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), condemn the “widespread and growing racial division in education”, and call on the Slovak government to take urgent and systemic action to end segregation in its schools.

The briefing report, Separate & Unequal: School Segregation Persists for Roma in Slovakia, takes stock of legislative and policy responses following the European Commission’s referral of Slovakia to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in April 2023 but finds these measures insufficient to address systemic practices of segregation. Legislative reforms, including amendments to the School Act, lack the enforceability and clarity needed to address entrenched disparities. [Read more…]

Filed Under: amnesty international, Europe Newsletters, newsletter

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