Latin America is going through a period of serious challenges to human rights. In addition to the social crises in Venezuela and Nicaragua, there is the criminalization of social protests in Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Peru; the closure of civic spaces in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico; the persistence of killings of community leaders in Colombia, Honduras, and Nicaragua; the persecution of journalists in Mexico; the obstacles and challenges faced by the LGTBI+ community throughout the region; the general situation of migrants and refugees; and the persistence of repression, intimidation, harassment and criminalization in Cuba. These, among other issues, demonstrate a regional emergency.
Our work in the Consortium
Led by Race and Equality, the Latin American Human Rights Consortium (DDHH) combines the knowledge and experience of three prestigious organizations – Freedom House, The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), and Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) – with the aim of strengthening the capacities of human rights organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Since 2020, we collaborate and coordinate actions aimed at documenting human rights violations, provide legal and psychosocial assistance to victims of human rights violations, generate advocacy opportunities for civil society organizations and train organizations and actors working in the promotion of different human rights agendas in the region in different areas. Through our coordinated work, we converge so that our partners benefit from working with three leading organizations, thus multiplying their advocacy capabilities and amplifying the scope of their actions.
Our Achievements
The Consortium works with more than 25 civil society organizations across 9 countries in the region – Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil. Our achievements to date include:
- We organize international advocacy events to sensitize regional leaders about the urgent closure of spaces faced by civil society organizations.
- We have provided training to more than 1200 members of civil society on security issues, international advocacy, documentation of human rights violations, among others.
- We have produced more than 45 reports on the human rights situation that feed and inform different human rights mechanisms at the regional and global levels.
- We have provided legal assistance to more than 1100 victims of political persecution and their families.
- We have provided individual and collective psychological assistance to almost 1,000 leaders and communities facing violations of their human rights.
- We have provided assistance to more than 100 members of civil society to participate in international advocacy activities before the OAS and various United Nations mechanisms.
