Amnesty International Bournemouth Poole Christchurch Group

In this month’s newsletter, we report on the deteriorating human rights situation in Venezuela, growing concerns about human rights in Brazil and continuing threats faced by Human Rights Defenders in Colombia.  There are also updates on Ecuador (which has imposed unfair restrictions for Venezuelans), Peru (where Fujimori has been sent back to prison), Ecuador and Paraguay. 

VENEZUELA

Following the inauguration of President Maduro for a second term, and amid anti-government protests Juan Guaidó, leader of the opposition and head of the National Assembly, has challenged the president’s legitimacy and declared himself interim president.  Many nations, including the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Spain and most of Latin America have officially recognized Guaidó’s presidency.  Others, including China, Russia, Iran, Syria, Turkey, Cuba, Nicaragua and Bolivia still support Maduro.

The US has announced sanctions against Venezuela’s state oil company.  Venezuela’s military attaché in Washington has defected, saying he stands with Guaidó in the power struggle.  US national security adviser John Bolton has warned the Maduro government that violence against the political opposition, including Guaidó, would be met with stern reprisals.  Maduro has accused the US of orchestrating a coup to remove him from the presidency.

Venezuela’s top military brass have shown unflinching loyalty to Maduro, with their declarations in support of his regime airing in a loop on state television.  Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez has said Venezuelan soldiers would die for their government.

According to the UN Human Rights Office, at least 40 Venezuelans have died in the recent protests. According to the UN Human Rights Council, 850 people have been detained since January 23. 

Amnesty have called on Maduro and his colleagues to stop the repression and guarantee the life and physical integrity of those who demonstrate against them andto release the at least 11 journalists detained while covering the crisis.  

[Read more…]

Welcome to the latest newsletter. The next meeting  is on Thursday 10th January 2018, 7.30pm  at Moordown Community Centre. On the agenda  –  Review of campaigns; planning for 2019; letter writing, Write for Rights Thanks to everyone who turned out for our Write for Rights events – in Bournemouth centre and Moordown Community Centre. We sent about 70 cards to the various human rights defenders featured. Our first date for the new venue in Old Christchurch Road was washed (and blown) out. We hope everyone got the message postponing it. Fortunately it was dry and sunny when we turned out the following week. As ever it’s very difficult to get passing shoppers to pause and talk to us, let alone sign a card. But two of those who did stop are now receiving this newsletter – so welcome to you. Marielle Franco  On the night of 14 March 2018, Marielle Franco – human rights defender and councillor of Rio de Janeiro was shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Rio de Janeiro’s Estacio neighbourhood, after having participated in a debate with a group of young black women, entitled “Young Black Women Moving Structures”. Her driver, Anderson Gomes was also killed.   For 10 years Marielle worked tirelessly to promote the rights of black women, LGBTI and young people in Rio. As a member of Rio de Janeiro’s State Human Rights Commission, for more than 10 years she publicly denounced extrajudicial executions and other human rights violations committed by state officials.  In Brazil dozens of human rights defenders are killed every year. In 2017 at least 70 HRDs were killed in this country. Marielle was featured in Write 4 Rights and we sent several cards to her family. We have decided to adopt Marielle Franco as one of our new case files and campaign for a prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigation of her killing. We also hope to draw attention to the problems of extrajudicial executions, unlawful killings and impunity for  these crimes in Brazil. More about the case here:- https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/brazil-authorities-must-bring-those-responsible-marielle-francos-death-justice South America Newsletter The January edition of the South America Regional Newsletter is now on our blog. Our group has focused on South America since its inception, which is also reflected in our new case file – see above. The 3 volunteers who run the network for AIUK – and produce the newsletter – do a huge amount of work on our behalf.  https://amnestyat50.co.uk/ Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe The plight of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been ongoing since April 2016, sentenced to 5 years imprisonment on “espionage” charges. A bizarre 3 day release last August raised hopes of her permanent release, but were sadly dashed.  Throughout her captivity concerns have been raised about her physical and mental health. She has just announced she (and another prisoner) will start a hunger strike on 14 January after being refused access to urgently needed medical care. Read more about this here https://news.sky.com/story/nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-to-go-on-hunger-strike-over-prison-treatment-in-iran-11597600 You can take a quick action here https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/help-get-nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-home

This month’s newsletter includes good news from Paraguay regarding families from the Guahory Community, who were the subject of an Urgent Action in July. There has also been a Court ruling in Chile tightening the parole conditions for violators of human rights.

We have four Urgent Actions, one for Colombia, two for Venezuela and one for Chile. There is particularly concerning news regarding Colombia and Brazil.

COLOMBIA

Amnesty International has issued an Urgent Action on behalf of Enrique Cabezas, leader of the collective of Afro-descendent territory in Curvaradó , Chocó department. He has received several threats in response to his work defending the ancestral territory and the right of the communities to not to be involved in the armed conflict. Please write to the authorities in the UA.

In a press release, Amnesty states, “Since President Iván Duque took office, the number of reports of threats and attacks that Human Rights defenders report to our organization has increased exponentially. The situation is so serious that, during his recent visit, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders declared that he had been horrified and appalled at the fear expressed by defenders in meetings.” Although the President has signed a decree on a new protection plan, the organisation notes “All these institutional and legislative “advances” have turned out to be paper promises that have no real impact on the lives of defenders.”

Richard met four people closely involved in the peace process, including the EU’s representative. While the demobilisation and reinsertion of the FARC guerrillas is proceeding, major obstacles to effectively implementing the Peace Accord include: 

• The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) is vastly under resourced, meaning that the process for compensating victims and restoring their rights is far too slow.
• The lack of infrastructure in Colombia, particularly transport, hampers efforts to develop and provide services to rural communities that are in war zones or in those areas once occupied by the FARC.

However, the US interest in the peace process continues and the UK’s support has been strong and consistent. It is possible that some of the necessary finance may come from the European Investment Bank. The meeting was organised by Justice for Colombia, whose Peace Monitor #2 can be downloaded here.

Peace Brigades International denounce the Armed Forces’ night-time bombing and strafing of land belonging to a rural community in Chocó. The community reported that no fire was returned during the three hours of the operation. They had not experienced such terror in ten years. If this is an attempt to drive them off their land, then they say that they will remain.

BRAZIL

The IACHR and OHCHR for South America condemn the murders of two activists for the Landless Workers Movement (MST, by its Portuguese acronym) in the Brazilian state of Paraíba, and of a leader of rural settlements in the State of Pará. The IACHR and the OHCHR urge the Brazilian State to investigate those events with due diligence, considering the victims’ activities in defence of human rights, and to address the structural causes of those acts of violence, which are linked to the struggle for land rights in Brazil. See The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Regional Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) press release.

Rio Times reports on the tenth anniversary of the public security program that gave rise to the Unidade de Policia Pacificadora (Pacifying Police Unit – UPP), operating in some of Rio’s largest favela communities.

The UPPs promised a safer, more inclusive life in one of Brazil’s largest cities, but for many the units just brought more violence. “The UPP has failed massively. Broken promises and increased violence are not a success in the eyes of the favelas,” says Jody King, founder of a school in Rocinha favela.

Rio Times reports that Rio de Janeiro councillor Marcello Siciliano, who is being investigated in relation to the murder of councillor Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes in April, has requested that federal authorities take over the case and bring greater transparency to the proceedings. He has vehemently denied any role in her killing.

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Welcome to the latest newsletter. Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December – the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. You may like to bring this to people’s attention as you go about your day … Our next meeting  is on Thursday 13th December 2018, 7.30pm  at Moordown Community Centre. As usual in December we dedicate the meeting to….

Write for Rights

Every year Amnesty International has encouraged and helped groups send greetings cards to prisoners of conscience around the world in December. Traditionally there were just half a dozen names selected.  In recent years Amnesty has branded this as “Write for Rights” (W4R) and produced much more informative information leaflets, covering many more prisoners of conscience. We have always made this a mainstay of our December meeting.If you have been tempted to try one of our meetings, but never quite got there, this is an ideal opportunity.  We bring along seasonal “nibbles”, have a raffle and basically write cards to the various prisoners of conscience who have been selected. We also try to have a public event in Bournemouth.  For the past few years we’ve been at Castlepoint – there is a “pod” you can book outside Marks and Spencers. This has partly due to difficulties doing anything in Bournemouth Square without having to pay! However, we have found a location where we can…  Join us or call and see us under the large clock next to MacDonalds, Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth on Saturday morning, 15th December 2018 For more information about W4R, and details of the cases if you want to work on them at home or elsewhere, go to the AIUK site:- https://www.amnesty.org.uk/write-rights-getting-started

Autumn Quiz

Thanks to everyone who turned out for last months quiz at the Brunswick Hotel, Charminster. Over 40 people battled it out and the winning team triumphed by just 1/2 a point!Thanks to David Rogers for setting the questions, Lucy Freeman for running the raffle and Sally Hawksworth for being Master (or mistress?) of ceremonies on the night. Thanks again to the Brunswick for providing us with an excellent function room.We raised £250. With overseas postage now starting at £1.25 this is a great boost to our funds. And much more fun than doing a street collection! If you missed out, below are five of the more challenging questions to have a go at:-“The Silent Child” won an Oscar this year for best Short Film. It was written and directed by actors from which UK TV soap? Singer Aretha Franklin died in August. She only had one film role where she played a character called Mrs Murphy and wore pink fuzzy slippers. Name the film (or its sequel)?  Born in Cardiff in 1948, singer Michael Barratt, the UKs biggest selling singles artist of the 1980’s, is better known as who? He’s appearing at Bournemouth Pavilion next March.  Which is the only country in the world where cars drive on the right, but virtually every vehicle has right hand steering?The film “the Lost World” (adapted from a Arthur Conan Doyle novel of the same name), was released in 1925 and got its place in history for what? Was it? (1) First X rated film (2) First colour film on public release (3) First film used as in flight entertainment on a plane? answers below

Seyi Akiwowo ~ Abused Online for Defending Women

Seyi Akiwowo is a women’s rights activist who received a wave of online abuse after a video of her speaking at the European Parliament went viral. She reported more than 75 instances of abusive posts to social media companies, including Twitter. But Twitter failed to acknowledge or respond to her reports at the time. Seyi Akiwowo is featured in W4R. However, you can send her a message of support online, or add your name to a petition asking Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey to make Twitter a safe space for all users by enforcing its own rules on hateful conduct and abuse. https://www.amnesty.org.uk/write-for-rights/action/seyi-akiwowo

Quiz answers (1) Hollyoaks (2) the Blue Brothers (3) Shakin’ Stevens (4) Myanmar (Burma) (5) three – First film used as in flight entertainment on a plane. Links to the full quiz (and answers) are on our blog https://amnestyat50.co.uk/autumn-quiz-2018

This month there is good news from  Chile regarding the passing of a gender identity law  and four former police officers being arrested regarding a fatal shooting. Moreover, in Guyana  transgender activists are celebrating a ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice. There is also a reminder regarding the opportunity to continue to work on two South American Write for Rights cases at the conclusion of the campaign. A submission has also been made to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

This newsletter also includes concerns  expressed by a  Special Rapporteur in relation to Ecuador and another  Special Rapporteur has urged the authorities  in Paraguay to discontinue a particular prosecution. There are statements issued by Amnesty  regarding the  situation in Colombia and  further reports regarding the large number of human rights defenders killed and the number of displacements in that country.

In relation to Brazil,  we  report  on the concerns of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights after its recent visit.  There is also an urgent action.  The call by Amnesty to the Argentinian authorities regarding  predicted demonstrations coinciding with the G20 summit and some positive news on  Venezuela’s health crisis are also reported.

COLOMBIA

Amnesty issued a statement two years on from the Peace Accord with the FARC rebels, noting how little of the accord has been fulfilled for the rural communities which have suffered most from the conflict.

‘Entrenched political forces representing private interests in the Congress continue to defend the status quo and seek to shield high-ranking officers in the military from accountability for their involvement in serious human rights violations.

The deficit is clear. People defending human rights in their territories continue to be killed. At the same time, more people are becoming victims of forced displacement, as is the case of the more than 1,000 people driven from their lands in Catatumbo by fighting between the ELN and the EPL guerrilla groups and the lack of an effective state response. Paramilitary groups continue, as before, to operate with total impunity.’

 In another statement, Amnesty denounced the authorities for prohibiting some 500 member of indigenous communities from entering the Plaza de Bolivar to stage their protest. ‘The Colombian authorities must fulfil their obligation to implement the Peace Agreement and guarantee the rights to life and physical integrity of Indigenous Peoples and ensure the protection of their territories. The national and Bogotá city authorities must guarantee the right to demonstrate peacefully in Plaza de Bolívar, without repression and without restrictions. It is shameful that the authorities have sought to block their own people from entering the capital, restricting their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.’

The Colombian NGO Somos Defensores (We are Defenders) reports that in the last nine years 563 human rights defenders and community leaders have been killed – but in only 48 cases have the courts condemned the perpetrators.

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre has reported that 139,000 people were forcibly displaced in Colombia in 2017, bringing the total number of people now displaced in Colombia to 6.5 million. While recognising the importance of the Peace Accord, the Centre notes that ‘obstacles to durable solutions remain, and include victims’ compensation, land and property restitution, as well as implementation of the different points agreed upon in the peace deal related to issues such as integral agricultural reform, trust, justice, reparation and non-repetition.’ [Read more…]