This report includes an urgent action regarding Ecuador, an online petition regarding  Venezuelan refugees in Peru, a forthcoming event  regarding Chile and the  petition signatures obtained regarding Ecuador and Argentina.  There is  an introduction to an AI annual report for the Americas and continuing concerns regarding Venezuela, including the prevention of a visit of a delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and abuses by armed groups. There are opportunities to meet a human rights defender (HRD) from Venezuela.  Concerns for the safety of refugees in Peru, an event in London regarding Chile and the delivery of a petition regarding Ecuador are also covered. The Colombia section contains continuing  concerns  regarding HRDs, violence and  refugees; and Richard’s meeting with the ambassador. The problems faced by journalists in Brazil and regionally, the forthcoming actions  regarding the killing of Brazilian HRD Marielle Franco, the killing of a possible suspect/witness in this case and proposed legislation affecting indigenous rights are discussed.

COLOMBIA

The IDC Monitoring Centre reports that 5,400 people have been forcibly displaced by armed groups in three different departments in the 17 days ending 5 February.

The UN Office for human rights said it was “deeply troubled by the staggering number of human rights defenders (HRDs) killed in Colombia” last year. It noted that at least 107 HRDs were killed in 2019. ‘The vast majority of last year’s killings happened in rural areas, 98 per cent of which occurred in municipalities with black market economies, and where criminal groups or armed groups hold sway.’

Armed groups include various paramilitary groups, the ELN (National Liberation Army), ELP (Popular Liberation Army), dissident FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and organised crime. They are mainly fighting over the cultivation of coca, the laboratories where it is processed into cocaine and the shipment routes to the coast from where it is exported. Since the end of aerial spraying in 2015, land under coca cultivation doubled to 200,000 hectares in 2018. The huge income from the cocaine trade feeds corruption, undermining legal, political and security institutions.

According to the Colombian ambassador (who Richard met recently), the cultivation of coca is almost entirely in areas that lack infrastructure. The long-term plan is to build infrastructure, which would also greatly benefit rural communities, as it has in Peru. In the meantime the government has decided to return to aerial spraying (subject to restraints set out by the Constitutional Court) while continuing with crop substitution. However, aerial fumigation comes with its own problems – cost effectiveness, health risks, damage to other crops, environmental damage all discussed by WOLA (Washington Office on Latin America). It concludes, ‘There is ultimately no substitute for a comprehensive effort to bring the state into ungoverned territories.’

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 3,000 Venezuelans arrive every day in Colombia and Colombia currently hosts 1.63 million. A study by the Brookings Institution estimates this could increase to 2.8 million by the end of 2020. A recent article in the Financial Times looks at the consequences for the stability of Colombia.

Amnesty International is planning to launch a new report on Territorial, Land and Environmental Rights Defenders at the end of May.

ARGENTINA

Over 200,000 people signed Amnesty’s petition asking Congress to decriminalise abortion. Thanks to all of you who signed it! [Read more…]

Since sending out the newsletter, (see below), that features the murder of Marielle Franco, almost two years ago, there have been two developments.  Amnesty Brazil have released a video from Marielles family thanking everyone for their support in the campaign to get justice for Marielle. In the video above you hear from Antônio and Marinete (her parents), Anielle (sister), Luyara (daughter) and Mônica (partner).  More than 30.000 thousand letters of support from around the world have been delivered to the family of Marielle Franco; she featured in Write 4 Rights 2018 and many groups and individuals have continued to campaign.

Less good news is that Adriano da Nóbrega – a notorious hitman, whose gang of contract killers is suspected of involvement in Marielle’s assassination – has been gunned down by police in the north-east of the country. Read more about this in the Guardian:-

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/09/hitman-with-links-to-marielle-francos-killed-by-police

Lots to report again this month.  Communities remain under threat in Colombia, press and artistic freedom is being challenged in Brazil, concerns remain about repression of protestors in Chile, there were renewed attacks on the opposition in Venezuela, there is concern for the protection of vulnerable Venezuelans in Peru (the subject of a new Amnesty campaign) and there are calls for the abolition of the death penalty and anti-LGBTI laws in Guyana.  Newly released statistics indicate that Latin America remains the most dangerous region of the world for Human Rights Defenders.  But there is promising news of an important step to protect young girls from sexual abuse in the region.  There are three new Urgent Actions this month, one for Colombia and two for Venezuela.

COLOMBIA

Amnesty has issued another Urgent Action asking President Duque to protect communities in Chocó who are threatened by paramilitaries. We are also asking for protection for the human rights defender Leyner Palacios, who has received death threats. You can sign the letter here. Chocó, a department of mainly Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities, has been one of the centres of the ongoing war in the countryside, leading to confinement, forced displacement and killings of community leaders.

An Amnesty blog describes the risks taken by Afro-Colombian women, such as Danelly Estupiñán, to protect their communities. ‘Having lost fathers, husbands and sons to years of bloodshed, Afro-descendant women like Estupiñán are bravely assuming more active roles in defending their ancestral communities. However, standing up to corporations and criminal organisations who seek to oversee development projects, mineral extraction and drug-trafficking in their territories has put them in the crosshairs.’ The blog analyses the response of President Duque’s government and describes how it feels to live under the protection of the National Protection Unit. The author interviews several Afro-Colombian women, giving insights into how they survive and what makes them keep going.

The UN’s Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has reported (in Spanish only for the moment) on its findings for Colombia. CERD reiterates its recommendation that Colombia collect the necessary data by ethnic origin – particularly Afro-Colombian and indigenous Colombians – to be able to evaluate racial discrimination in the country; and notes that the Colombian definition of racial discrimination does not comply with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Telesur has produced a short video with English subtitles on the plight of indigenous communities in Colombia. Meanwhile a video by Democracy Now discusses the background to the murder of five indigenous leaders in Cauca including a live report by one of the victims, Cristina Bautista.

Human Rights Watch has issued a new report (The Guerrillas are the Police) on how ELN (National Liberation Army) and FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrillas control two adjoining departments in Colombia and Venezuela. ‘In the eastern Colombian province of Arauca and the neighboring Venezuelan state of Apure, non-state armed groups use violence to control peoples’ daily lives. They impose their own rules, and to enforce compliance they threaten civilians on both sides of the border, subjecting those who do not obey to punishments ranging from fines to forced labor to killings. Residents live in fear… We found that armed groups on both sides of the border exercise control through threats, kidnappings, forced labor, child recruitment, and murder. In Arauca, armed groups have also planted landmines and perpetrated sexual violence, among other abuses.’ [Read more…]

Welcome to the latest newsletter. Happy new year to you all. The next meeting  is on Thursday 9th January 2020, 7.30pm  at Moordown Community Centre. On the agenda – planning for year ahead, letter writing

Write 4 Rights 2019 We held a fantastic ‪Write for Rights event at Bournemouth Library We got over 100 cards signed by passing members of the public; its Amnesty International’s annual campaign, sending greetings cards to prisoners of conscience and other human rights defenders around the world. Read more about it here. After many years of standing in the wet and cold and being ignored by passing shoppers, it was a delight to be both inside and warmly received. W4R was about sending cards of support, rather than campaigning. But in all cases their are opportunities to take further action if you wish – see the case of Sarah and Seán below. But you can also go to the AIUK site and click to send emails or add your name to petitions. https://www.amnesty.org.uk/write-for-rights

South America Newsletter The January edition of the South America Regional Newsletter is now on the blog. Our group has focused on South America since its inception, which is also reflected in our case files – see below. The 3 volunteers who run the network for AIUK – and produce the newsletter – do a huge amount of work on our behalf. One alarming statistic reported from the New York Times is that in 2018 the number of people officially killed by the police reached a five-year high rising to 6,220. That’s an average of 17 a day. Official statistics are only part of the picture. Masked illegal militias, that by their own admission draw in off-duty and retired officers, regularly commit extrajudicial killings. President Jair Bolsonaro has made his mark in 2019 with some of his comments relating to the destruction of the Amazon. But he has also declared that  criminals should “die like cockroaches”, so the figure for police killings is expected to rise. https://amnestyat50.co.uk/south-america-newsletter-january-2020

Sea Rescue Volunteers Face 25 Years in Jail Sarah and Seán were volunteering as trained rescuers for a search-and-rescue organisation in Lesvos in 2018. Their job was to help spot boats in distress at sea and help refugees. Sarah knew all too well about the dangers of sea crossings, having almost sunk in a dinghy fleeing Syria in 2015. Instead of being celebrated, Sarah and Seán ended up behind bars – charged with spying, people smuggling and belonging to a criminal organisation. Greek police locked them up for 100 days before being released on bail. Sarah and Seán could go to prison for 25 years for trying to save lives in the Mediterranean. Email Greek Minister of Citizens’ Protection demanding all charges are dropped. https://www.amnesty.org.uk/write-for-rights/action/sara-sean-greece-sea-rescue-volunteers