This month we have news from Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Human Rights Watch has published its annual report and we include sections on Colombia and Brazil. We ask you to respond to Urgent Actions on Venezuela, for the release of 5 members of an NGO, and Brazil, where the hospitals in Manaus have been overwhelmed by Covid-19. Please sign the petition on Colombia, to guarantee protection for human rights defenders

COLOMBIA

Amnesty International’s online petition asking Colombia’s congress to guarantee the safety of human rights defenders by setting up a commission is still open. The Commission would verify and guarantee their safety by monitoring the relevant authorities to ensure that they are fulfilling their responsibilities to protect defenders.

The Colombian NGO Programma Somos Defensores  (We Are Defenders Program) reports that 40 human rights defenders were killed in the June to September quarter of 2020. This is a big increase on 2019 and indigenous leaders have suffered disproportionally. Of the 17 known perpetrators, 9 were killed by FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) dissidents, 5 by former paramilitaries, 2 by the ELN (National Liberation Army) and one by the state’s armed forces.

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, in the first week of January 44 people were forcibly displaced in Norte de Santander department. They were fleeing a conflict between former paramilitaries and the ELN guerrillas.

Human Rights Watch has published its annual report on Colombia. ‘Impunity for past abuses, barriers to land restitution for displaced people, limits on reproductive rights, and the extreme poverty and isolation of indigenous communities remain important human rights concerns in Colombia.’ HRW analyses the reasons behind the threats and mass killings of human rights defenders, journalists, indigenous and Afro-Colombian leaders, and other community activists

The British NGO AB Colombia and several other NGOs have submitted a complaint to the OECD requesting that they investigate 4 multinational companies over serious human rights abuses and shocking environmental pollution at the Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia. The complaints were filed simultaneously in Australia, Ireland, Switzerland and the UK. The 4 companies are BHP, Anglo American and Glencore (all with listings on the London Stock Exchange) and Ireland’s state-owned energy provider, the ESB.

The rural Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado describes the extortions, threats, violence  and recruitment they are suffering from paramilitaries, who continue to act openly within a few miles of an army base. [Read more…]

We hope you are doing well. This month, we update you on developments in Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile.

We have some good news to start 2021. Argentina legalised abortion. International pressure on the President and the Senators was crucial. Paraguayan authorities have opened an investigation into the attack on Bernarda Pesoa, leader of a Qom community, and they have provided her with protection. Bolivia’s civil registry has authorised for the first time a same-sex civil union following a two-year legal battle on what is the first step to future changes in marriage law.

 We ask you to sign Amnesty International’s petition to Colombia’s Congress to protect human rights defenders. Presently, 22 Army generals are being investigated for the extrajudicial killings of over 1,000 young men in Colombia. Amnesty International prepared a submission for the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review of Paraguay in May 2021, outlining human rights violations of indigenous people. A report by the Office of Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has concluded that there are reasonable bases to believe that crimes against humanity have taken place in Venezuela.

 COVID-19 Impact on South America.

As vaccinations are taking place around the world, confirmed coronavirus cases are rising in South America, having a negative impact on these countries’ economies. The lack of safety measures, miscommunication from governments and the decision to avoid future lockdowns present a challenging scenario for the region, in addition to the unequal distribution and access of the vaccine. As of January 2020, Brazil reports nearly 8 million deaths from Covid-19, Argentina 44,273 deaths, Peru 38,049 deaths, Chile 16,974 deaths, Ecuador 14,165 and Colombia 45,431 deaths.

COLOMBIA

 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet condemned the heightened violence being carried out by non-state armed groups targeting peasants, indigenous and Afro-Colombian people, and called on State authorities to take concrete actions to effectively protect the population.

 So far in 2020, the UN Human Rights Office in Colombia has documented 66 massacres, in which 255 people have been killed. In addition, the Office has received information on the killing of 120 human rights defenders so far this year. The Nasa community has been one of the worse affected indigenous groups with 66 of its members in Northern Cauca department reported killed in 2020.

 Please sign Amnesty International’s petition to Colombia’s Congress to protect human rights defenders here.

 The Attorney General informed the International Criminal Court that 22 Colombian Army generals are being investigated for the extrajudicial killings of over 1,000 young men between 2004 and 2008. Known as ‘False Positives’, the Army kidnapped and killed innocent men, claiming that they were armed guerrillas. 544 soldiers from the Army’s First Division are in the process of being charged for such crimes.

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre reports that in December more than 900 indigenous people have been displaced in Bahia Solano, Chocó, following the assassination of the community leader. The 2016 peace agreement with the FARC ‘was a highly significant development and a prerequisite for achieving durable solutions for the country’s 5 million IDPs. However, obstacles remain including compensation, land and property restitution, and implementation of points agreed in the peace deal.’

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) found that the violence, intimidation, harassment and threats suffered by the Colombian Collective Lawyers Corporation (CAJAR) was linked to their activities in defence of human rights. And it ‘was encouraged by the State’s arbitrary intelligence work as well as stigmatizing pronouncements by high officials. This situation constitutes not only a serious breach of the duty to protect, but it was also actions that were openly contrary to that duty, with the necessary implications in attributing responsibility to the State for the acts of violence, threat and harassment against CAJAR.’

Human Rights Watch has submitted an opinion to the Constitutional Court in a case brought to decriminalise abortion in Colombia. ‘Access to abortion is legal in Colombia in cases of rape, incest, unwanted artificial insemination, severe fetal abnormality and to protect the person’s life or health. But even when they have a legal right to abortion, women face problems getting one.’ [Read more…]

Welcome to the latest newsletter. We have not planned a meeting for January. Obviously we cannot currently meet at Moordown Community Centre. Whilst we have had some success with Zoom, it seems to work best when we have a specific purpose – such as letter writing (see Write 4 Rights below) or a speaker. But the planning and logistics behind such events really needs numbers to justify. Do give us feedback if you would like to take part in an online letter writing Zoom. We could set this up for February if any interest. And do share any other ideas you have. The impetus for planning “real” events has diminished at the moment – hopefully to return in the near future!

Protect Maria, Jani, Joel and Danelly

Colombia is the second most mega-biodiverse country in the world and is home to the Amazon, which makes up almost 40% of its territory. At the same time, it is the most dangerous country for those who defend our environment. María, Jani, Joel, and Danelly are brave people who have been among the voices and protectors of our environment and natural resources in Colombia. In a country where the attacks that they suffer from usually go unpunished and authorities appear ambivalent about their safety, they are forced to risk their life on a daily basis to defend the water, oxygen, and food that we all depend on to live. The Colombian Congress has the power to monitor that human rights defenders have the guarantees necessary to continue protecting the environment. Take action and call on the Colombian Congress to guarantee their safety and protection. https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/protege-a-quienes-nos-protegen/

Write for Rights Thanks to everyone who joined us on Zoom for our Write for Rights event. Very different to last year at Bournemouth library and Moordown Community Centre. We worked through some of the featured cases together. Clearly not as eventful as most years as there has been no opportunity to engage the public in signing cards, which is a big feature of Write for Rights. But it was nice to collectively do this activity together. And it was a sobering reminder of the sacrifices and risks taken, and the dire plights of some of the people we were sending cards to. Whilst the Write for Rights card sending campaign has finished, you can still take actions on behalf of all those featured. https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/write-for-rights/

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This newsletter came from the Central and Eastern Europe A.I.U.K. coordinator Ulrike Schmidt, with a report on Belarus from Tess Linton.  But it also contains information on Western Europe – specifically France – from the Western Europe coordinator Anna Radzikowska:-

“Dear Amnesty Activists and supporters

Hard and uncertain times for all of us. Please stay well and safe. As this challenging and terrifying year is drawing to a close we can think about how to challenge the roll back of democracy, civil and human rights in Europe and how to support the Human Rights defenders. Our main work over the next few months will be campaigning for Elzbieta, Joanna and Anna who are charged with ”insulting religion” for distributing posters challenging the intolerant and narrow interpretations of their local church. The trial is scheduled for the 17^th January. Please continue to sign and spread the petition calling for these absurd charges to be dropped.  https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/poland-activist-elzbieta-podlesna/.

More information and letter writing guidelines in the newsletter. We will continue to campaign for independence of the Judiciary and the right to a fair trial in Poland and Hungary over the coming year, and we will defend the right to protest in France and Poland as well as campaign against police and vigilante violence  Please take action. https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/france-right-to-protest-freedom-of-expression/

But close to home another humanitarian catastrophe is looming. The first of January will see the end of freedom of movement for European migrants in the UK. Those who have not received settled or pre-settled status by June 2021 will be in danger of deportation, they could loose access to the NHS, be prohibited from working and have no access to public funds. This is particularly affecting Roma families of whom many are working in insecure employment and zero hour contracts. Many don’t speak enough English or don’t know how to apply, and as they have experienced racism and discrimination from authorities in Central and Eastern Europe many are reluctant to approach the authorities for help. Most worryingly 16-25% of Roma children have not made an application or had an application made for them. Many Roma families are unaware that children have to apply . There is a very important role that schools can play in helping Roma children to apply who in turns will help their parents. Us amnesty members can also help. Please find attached the leaflet produced by the Roma support group. Please distribute it to your local school. And some of you might want to help practically with making applications or signpost to other organisations. More in the Newsletter.     I am wishing you all a happy , safe and health 2021. Together we can continue campaigning for Human Rights. Best regards Ulrike and Anna

Brexit  :   Roma communities under existential threat:

A humanitarian catastrophe similar to the injustice meted out to many of the children of the Windrush generation is looming :

From July 2021 European migrants without settled or pre-settled status can be deported. They might loose access to the NHS and to public funds even earlier.

Many Roma families have not applied, or have been unsuccessful in their application.

The main obstacles for Roma families applying for settled status have been:

-unawareness, due to language barriers. Many face also difficulties accessing the digital process. Covid19 made matters much worse as face to face support from advice centres has been severely reduced.

-Many have to provide proof of employment. While most are working many work in the unregulated gig economy often for employers who didn’t register them properly in order to evade tax. Proof of residency can also be provided by schools for children.

– many European Roma haven’t got passports but ID cards which need to be sent to the Home Office for processing the application. As this is their only ID they are worried the home Office might loose this most vital document.

Others have been in the UK for a long time and passports or ID cards are out of date. It has been extremely difficult for Roma from Slovakia to renew documents, with some having been told to wait 6 months or more.

Homeless Roma (of whom many are working) face particular barriers to applying, but application is their only chance of evading deportation after June 2021.

16-25 % of Roma children have not made an application or had an application made for them on their behalf.     This includes children in care. Schools can play a vital role in educating children about how to apply, help them with the process and helping them to help their parents to apply.

Crucially some of the children might be entitled to British Citizenship by right (which means no fee has to be paid) if they were born in the UK and their parents were exercising treaty rights-which means working and paying taxes at the time. Many don’t know this and again schools have a vital role to play in helping children to apply.

Please download, print and distribute this leaflet from the Roma support group with practical advice on how to apply and let me know if you can help further, either within schools, other organisations or in a personal capacity.  Below a bit of background information from the Roma support group and a link to the recording of the meeting of the All Parliamentary Group on Gipsy Roam and Travellers discussing the issue (you-Tube link) very worth-while watching, it contains a lot of useful legal advice.

Roma people have migrated to the UK in response to systemic discrimination and racism. After a thousand-year history of slavery, persecution, and prejudice, the Roma now face multiple, harsh disadvantages. A 2014 World Bank report found that in Romania “merely ‘being a Roma’ remains a key determinant of living in poverty,” and that few factors have an impact of similar magnitude on the likelihood of being in poverty.2 Roma people face poorer health, lower education outcomes and high unemployment.

Brexit has highlighted the vulnerability of Roma rough sleepers, bringing major new challenges. Firstly, EEA nationals must apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) to secure pre-settled or settled status – the right to lawfully remain in the UK. Roma rough sleepers often fall through the gaps, frequently failing even to apply. A principal challenge is that it is  applied for and held digitally; a lack of digital access and literacy are significant problems for Roma rough sleepers.

Additionally,  Roma rough sleepers often only possess national ID which must be sent to the Home Office to be checked. Many are sceptical of this, worried both about losing their only identification and that the information might be used to identify and deport them. RSG/PILC interviews found that although many Roma rough sleepers were now aware of the need to secure status from a ‘residence system’ (few knew its name), the majority hadn’t applied. Some have given up articulated one interviewee: “This government wants to get rid of us anyway. It doesn’t matter if we apply or not.”

Covid-19 has exacerbated these problems. More people are at risk of homelessness because of loss of income amongst self-employed and informal sector workers, some migrants have been refused Universal Credit, and the government has rescinded the ‘Everyone In’13 support offered to rough sleepers during the first lockdown. Providing support under social distancing and lockdown restrictions is also much more difficult. If these issues persist, many Roma rough sleepers and informal workers will be left without legal status after June 2021, when the EUSS deadline closes. Many organisations are campaigning for an extension of the EUSS deadline and are seeking clear guidelines on acceptable grounds for late application.

https://www.feantsa.org/public/user/Resources/magazine/2020/Winter%20Roma/An_Uncertain_Future.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imsc0ddP_wI&ab_channel=RomaSupportGroup [Read more…]

Welcome to the latest newsletter. We are not having a meeting, as such, this month but more of a social gathering online to celebrate Write 4 Rights. This will be Thursday 10th December (world human rights day) at 8pm  Details below.

Write for Rights Every year in December Amnesty International has encouraged and helped groups send greetings cards to prisoners of conscience around the world. We have always made this a mainstay of our December meeting, as well as holding an event in the community. Last year we held a fantastic event at Bournemouth Library and were hoping that we could return there this year. Obviously this isn’t possible due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, we will hold a virtual event, encouraging everyone who attends to write cards – or do online actions – to those featured in this years campaign. We will also have a seasonal quiz and we’re sure there will be an admiration of your various Christmas arrangements/décor/hat/backgrounds… Whilst we cannot literally share Christmas nibbles, that’s no excuse not to indulge and share virtually! Find out more at the AI website;. If you want to attend please reply to this newsletter and we will send you the link. You can download the W4R booklet from our website. We hope to see you next Thursday, 10th, at 8pm. And please share this with others – its a great introduction to the work of Amnesty International for those  only vaguely aware of what we do. https://amnestyat50.co.uk/event

Gustavo Gatica In November 2019, 22-year-old psychology student Gustavo Gatica (above) was protesting against rising prices and inequality in Chile when police fired rubber and metal ammunition into the crowds. Gustavo was struck in both eyes and was blinded. He is still waiting for justice. Commanders in charge didn’t stop the police shooting. Instead, they had allowed this violence to continue unchecked for weeks at other demonstrations where hundreds were hurt and dozens suffered eye injuries every day. The attack made global headlines, and as demonstrations continued, protestors wore eye patches and chanted Gustavo’s name at police. An internal police investigation after the shooting found that no one could be held responsible. It even suggested that the demonstrators themselves injured Gustavo. The National Prosecutor’s Office is now investigating. Those who allowed the attack on Gustavo remain unpunished. Gustavo is one of those featured in this years Write 4 Rights campaign. Join us and send him a card next Thursday.

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