Amnesty International Bournemouth Poole Christchurch Group

There has been much happening in South America this month, hence a slightly longer than usual newsletter. There is good news regarding international support for Venezuelan refugees and migrants, however, there are troubling reports of human rights abuses in Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia in response to protests. Court action to secure LGBTI rights in Paraguay is reported in addition to the political situation in Argentina. There are concerning reports, including information about killings in Brazil and Colombia, together with news of attacks on political parties in Colombia.

There are urgent actions regarding Chile, Colombia and Bolivia and petitions concerning Colombia and Brazil.

COLOMBIA

The Colombian press reports the killing by dissident FARC guerrillas of five people of the Nasa indigenous community in Cauca Department. They were killed when they tried to stop a FARC column from crossing their territory. Four were unarmed ‘Indigenous Guards’ and the fifth was the local Governor. 14 Nasa people have been killed so far this year. The UN’s Special Rapporteur stated ‘This is not an isolated event. The communities and indigenous peoples of Cauca are suffering incessant and unacceptable violence. The situation is worsening despite the repeated calls to address it. We urge the Government to take urgent measures, within the framework of compliance with the Peace Agreements, to end these deadly attacks.’

Amnesty has issued an Urgent Action on behalf of Human Rights Defender Luz Marina Arteaga, who has received death threats and has been denied protection from the National Protection Unit. You can take action here. Please send a copy to Sr. Antonio José Ardila, Colombian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, 3 Hans Crescent, London SW1X 0LN.

The UK NGO Justice for Colombia has denounced the simultaneous attacks on three political parties in the run up to regional elections in Colombia: ‘These attacks are a clear attempt to intimidate and threaten political candidates, activists and members of left-wing parties in Colombia and insinuate a return to the most extreme periods of paramilitary violence.’

In these regional elections, Claudia López became the first woman and first gay woman to be elected Mayor of Bogotá. Latin America Despatch adds, ‘A member of the Green Alliance party, López has prioritized fighting corruption, ending child labour, putting more police officers on the streets and improving educational opportunities for adults over the age of 45.’

There is still time sign Amnesty International’s petition urging President Duque to protect thousands at risk of death or displacement in the Chocó by clicking here.

CHILE

Since 18 October, thousands have taken to the streets in Chile in response to a metro fare hike in the capital, Santiago. The demonstrations have broadened to reflect people’s anger over living costs and inequality.  The President decreed a state of emergency, enabling the army to police demonstrations and impose a curfew.

The Chilean government has reported that, so far, 18 people have died in the context of the demonstrations, the state of emergency and the curfew.  According to the National Human Rights Institute (INDH), five of these fatalities were at the hands of the security forces.  The INDH has also reported that some 2,600 people have been detained and 584 injured, 245 of them by firearms, among other serious human rights violations.

Amnesty has deployed its Americas Crisis Response team to the country after receiving hundreds of complaints about serious human rights violations that range from excessive use of force to torture, illegal raids and arbitrary detention.  The team will gather testimonies and examine documents to corroborate these complaints and possible crimes under international law in order to support the victims and demand that the state guarantee their rights to justice, truth, reparation and non-repetition.  Amnesty has urged the government to listen to the population’s grievances and take practical measures in response.

Please support this Urgent Action with a message to the Chilean President. [Read more…]

Welcome to the latest newsletter. The next meeting  is on Thursday 10th October 2019, 7.30pm  at Moordown Community Centre. On the agenda –  Quiz night, letter writing, planning schools conference and Write 4 Rights

This is now organised for Friday November 15th, 7.30 for 8.00 prompt at the Branksome Liberal Club, 1 Salisbury Road, Upper Parkstone, BH14 0DP For those unfamiliar, our quizzes are informal but competitive!  We have a new venue, The Branksome Liberal Club, which successfully hosted our speaker event (see below). Please help planning by reserving your tickets via Eventbrite. As ever you pay on the night, but we need to ensure we don’t exceed the room limit. Teams of up to 7, entrance £5 a person. If you aren’t in a team they can be adjusted/formed on the night to ensure no one’s on their own- but last years quiz was won by the smallest team (in numbers not height!). https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/amnesty-international-bournemouth-group-quiz-night-tickets-74972090541

Agatha Vitoria Sales Felix killed on 20th September 2019

[Read more…]

We have good news this month from Venezuela, Colombia and Argentina. We report on the creation of a UN fact-finding commission on human rights in Venezuela, continued forced displacements, confinement of communities and death threats to journalists and others in Colombia, Amnesty’s response to the Brazilian President’s speech at the UN, the organisations human rights concerns in Brazil, Ecuador and Argentina and the environmental damage caused by fires in the Amazonia regions of Bolivia and Brazil. You can still sign a petition on behalf of Ecuadorian Amazonian Women.

VENEZUELA

Good news. On 27 September, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution creating a Fact-Finding Mission to investigate the grave human rights violations and crimes under international law that are still taking place in Venezuela.  Amnesty welcomed the decision, which it said would send a strong message to victims and perpetrators alike that impunity would not be allowed to prevail. The UK supported the resolution and published an explanation of its vote. The list of those who opposed it makes interesting reading: Cameroon, China, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, Philippines and Saudi Arabia.

Prior to the passing of the resolution, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Government of Venezuela signed a Memorandum of Understanding, establishing a framework for future discussion and cooperation, and providing for the continued presence in the country of a team of two UN human rights officers.

These developments followed an update by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, during the opening session of the Council, when she raised concerns over the continued deterioration of the human rights crisis and the lack of accountability for even the gravest human rights violations. Amnesty’s Secretary General then wrote to Council Member States calling on them to seize the opportunity to support the victims of the unprecedented human rights crisis in Venezuela and create a Commission of Inquiry that offers truth and justice to its victims. Many thanks to all who signed Amnesty’s petition calling for the Council to act. 

The UK has announced a significant increase in its support for vulnerable Venezuelans suffering from the country’s economic crisis.

EU Member States have imposed sanctions on seven more individuals for their involvement in human rights violations in Venezuela. [Read more…]

This month, we report on continuing extreme violence in Colombia, including murders, against Indigenous people and Human Rights Defenders as the peace agreement shows further signs of unravelling.  In Brazil, the wildfires in the Amazon illustrate the risks from the Bolsonaro government’s weakening of environmental protections and Indigenous peoples’ territorial rights, while there is also concern that new public security measures will increase violence against those most at risk.  The Human Rights Council will vote this month on a proposal for a Commission of Inquiry on Venezuela, while there is concern that new US sanctions will exacerbate the impact of the economic crisis and lead to increased human rights violations.  Argentina is in the midst of a serious economic crisis and President Macri is facing likely defeat at the Presidential elections next month.  We briefed officials at the UK’s Department for International Trade who are negotiating trade agreements with countries in the region. There is an Urgent Action and a petition on Colombia and you can still sign the petition on Venezuela.

REGIONAL

On 20 August, David and Graham were invited to the Department for International Trade to brief officials about human rights issues in Latin America.  This was an excellent opportunity to ensure that government officials are aware of the human rights issues that need to be considered when negotiating trade agreements with the countries of the region.

COLOMBIA

Iván Márquez, the second highest ranking member of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrilla group, has announced in a video his return to armed opposition to the Colombian state. Márquez, whose whereabouts have been a mystery since July 2018, was the leading negotiator of the Peace Accord with the administration of President Santos. The precarious state in which former FARC guerrillas live is described in this recent article in The Nation.

The UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Colombia has called on the Colombian authorities to protect the Nasa indigenous people and guarantee their physical and cultural survival. Since the beginning of the year, 36 Nasa people have been killed and 53 have received death threats. Six of those killed were members of the human rights NGO the Cxhab Wala Kiwe Association of Indigenous Councils of north Cauca department.

This coincides with Colombia’s Congress summoning the government of President Iván Duque to explain what it has done to curb extreme levels of violence against the country’s indigenous peoples in south western Cauca.

Native Colombians have seen extreme violence following the demobilization of the FARC guerrilla group in 2017. According to ONIC (the National Organisation of Indigenous Colombians), 37,000 indigenous Colombians have suffered aggression since the signing of the Peace Accord in 2016, half of them since President Duque was inaugurated in August 2018. 31,000 of the aggressions took place against indigenous inhabitants of Chocó.

You can sign Amnesty’s petition urging President Duque to protect thousands at risk of death or displacement in the Chocó by clicking here.

[Read more…]