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This month we have good news from Uruguay and four Urgent Actions (Colombia 2, Venezuela and Ecuador 1 each). We report on the possible consequences for human rights of the newly elected presidents of Brazil and Colombia and the continued harassment, threats and killings of environmental rights defenders and indigenous people in Colombia, Chile and Ecuador.

COLOMBIA

Amnesty International has issued an Urgent Action on behalf of the Wayúu indigenous people of La Guajra department. The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia reports that on 10 October several threatening pamphlets against Wayúu indigenous organizations defending human rights were found on the streets and railroad tracks of Uribia in the department of La Guajira. The pamphlets state that organizations defending human rights in the department of La Guajira “hinder the development of the country” and threaten that they will be attacked. Please download the UA here and write to the authorities.

AI has also issued an Urgent Action on behalf of Alfamir Castillo, a member of the Committee of Women Sugar Cane Harvesters. In the past 2 weeks she has received death threats. Alfamir is seeking justice into the extrajudicial execution of her son Darbey Mosquera Castillo by members of the Counter Guerrilla Battalion 57 Martires de Puerres of the VIII Brigade of the Colombian army. This extrajudicial execution was part of the Colombian “false positives” scandal, in which members of the armed forces unlawfully killed thousands of civilians, most of whom were presented as “guerrilla killed in combat”. Please write to the authorities in the attachment.

Amnesty welcomes a new decision by the Constitutional Court on abortion rights. Prior to 2006, abortion was illegal in Colombia. Since 2006, abortion in Colombia is legal in the following circumstances:

1. The continuation of the pregnancy constitutes a danger to the life or health of the mother;
2. The existence of life-threatening foetal malformations;
3. The pregnancy is the result of rape, non-consensual artificial insemination or incest.

However, clinics raise barriers to avoid complying with the law. Several organisations, including an amicus curiae brief by Amnesty International, contested this practice. The Constitutional Court maintained its 2006 ruling on abortion, adding that Congress should legislate to eliminate the barriers that some clinics use to prevent legal abortions and to ensure that women have access to the health system for legal abortions. [Read more…]

Welcome to the latest newsletter. The next meeting  is tomorrow,  Thursday 11th October 2017, 7.30pm  at Moordown Community Centre. On the agenda – Quiz night, Castlepoint or Bournemouth Centre?, Write 4 Rights, planning 2019 and letter writing This is now organised for Friday November 16h, 7.30 for 8.00 prompt at the Brunswick Hotel, 199 Malmesbury Park Road, Charminster, Bournemouth BH8 8PX. For those unfamiliar, our quizzes are informal but competitive! Teams of up to 6, entrance £5 a person. Due to popularity, and past overcrowding we are now obliged to limit total numbers to 50 via a “virtual ticket” system. Tickets are not yet “live” – keep an eye on your inbox for the link over the next few days. World Day Against the Death Penalty Today, October 10th, is World Day Against the Death Penalty. Amnesty has released a powerful six-minute video showing the impact of the death penalty on families in Belarus, the only country in Europe that still carries out executions. Read more on our blog. South America Newsletter The October 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. Protect Human Rights Defenders Since January 2012, more than 72 countries have passed laws that are used to restrict basic human rights like free speech and the right to protest. The people standing up for their rights are attacked in the press, harassed, imprisoned and sometimes even face death.Since 1998 at least 3,500 people have been killed for their human rights work. 2017 was the deadliest year yet with the death toll climbing to over 300. Who are human rights defenders? They are ordinary people like you and me. They are mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers. They could be doctors, farmers, admin assistants or unemployed. What unites them is their burning desire to protect their families and communities. They put themselves on the front line to stand up for the rights that many of us take for granted. We need to stand with them and let them know they’re not alone. What are we doing? In 2017 Amnesty International launched a global campaign called BRAVE, with the goal of protecting human rights defenders (HRDs) across the world. We’re fighting for people and communities, connecting activists around the UK and teaching kids about HRDs in schools. We’ve seen some amazing success already. For example, this year Amnesty campaigned for the release of a Cambodian activist called Tep Vanny. As mentioned in the last newsletter, Tep was pardoned and released from prison in August. Another crucial part of this work is asking the UK Government to urgently respond to the unprecedented level of attacks on HRDs by making this a priority for its human rights work abroad. We want our MPs to take action for HRDs by pressing for a better response from the UK government. You can help by emailing your MP today. https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/uk-protect-human-rights-defenders

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To coincide with World Day Against the Death Penalty today, Amnesty has released a powerful six-minute video showing the impact of the death penalty on families in Belarus, the only country in Europe that still carries out executions.

The video, based on the case of Gennadii Yakovitskii who was executed in Belarus in 2016, reveals the torment of his family as they struggled to understand what was happening.

Yakovitskii’s daughter Sasha explains that she hadn’t even known that Belarus had capital punishment in its justice system until her father – accused of murder – was actually in court.

Ten months later, Yakovitskii was executed – like all death prisoners in Belarus, shot in the back of the head after being forced to kneel down by prison guards – without either his family or his legal representatives being informed in advance. His family merely received a letter in the post confirming his death. They were also told they would not be able to collect his body and could not know how his body had been disposed of as this was “classified information”.

At least two people have been executed in Belarus so far this year, while four others remain on death row. [Read more…]