admin – Race and Equality

11Oct 2019 by admin No Comments

Brazil: 15 Killings of Transgender Persons Reported in September

Transgender people in Brazil continue to be killed at an extremely concerning rate. According to the National Association of Travestis and Transexual People (ANTRA), 15 trans people were killed in Brazil in September alone, an average of one every 48 hours. From January 1 to September 30 of this year, 89 transgender people have been killed across the country. In the majority of these killings, evidence of extreme violence is present, as seen in the following examples: On September 15, the body of 26-year-old travesti Bruna Torres was discovered in the state of Sao Paulo.[1] Bruna’s throat had been slit while her hands and feet were tied. On September 20, the body of Médely Razard, a 15-year-old transgender girl, was found in a wooded area in the Sao…

09Oct 2019 by admin No Comments

Manifesto of the Brazilian civil society organizations on the candidature of Brazil to the UN Human Rights Council

Brazil, Brazil, English, UN

The Brazilian civil society organizations, supported by several foreign, regional and international organizations, express their deep and grave concern about the Brazilian candidacy for the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) for the three-year period 2020- 2022. These concerns have already been expressed several times by civil society and are reiterated in view of the position adopted by the Brazilian government in the United Nations spaces, including and particularly reiterated by the president himself in his speech at the opening of the 74th UN General Assembly. The stances taken by the Brazilian government justifying its candidacy contradict the Brazilian tradition accrued along decades ago in multilateral relations that always defended the universalism of human rights. These stances do not recognize human rights as a system of protection for everyone because…

08Oct 2019 by admin No Comments

Race and Equality denounces the detention of Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) leader José Daniel Ferrer and rejects false accusations levied against him

Cuba, English

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) condemns the arbitrary detention of José Daniel Ferrer, activist and leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU). José Daniel Ferrer was arrested this past Tuesday, October 1 in a military operation carried out at UNPACU’s headquarters in Santiago de Cuba. We categorically reject this repression as well as the violation of Mr. Ferrer’s fundamental rights and liberties. Ferrer is being detained at the Versalles Operation Center of Santiago de Cuba’s Department of State Security and is being held on charges of challenging the Cuban regime by allegedly supporting anti-Cuban U.S. policy measures. He is also accused of injuring activist Sergio García González, who suffered an accident while riding a motorcycle. Garcia González is being pressured by State…

03Oct 2019 by admin No Comments

VIDEO: For the inclusion of the Afro-Panamanian people in the 2020 Census!

English, Panama, Panama

The situation of Afro-descendant peoples in Latin America cannot be understood without reference to structural practices of racism and discrimination that underlie the social, economic and political contexts of most countries in the region. Violence, poverty, unemployment and lack of guarantees of access to health, education and decent housing all affect the lives of Afro-descendant communities. Most of these challenges go unrecognized by regional governments due to a lack of statistical data that could shed light on the cycles of exclusion affecting Afro-descendants. Without this data, there can be no plans, projects or public policies to guarantee the full exercise of Afro-descendants’ fundamental rights. According to data from Panama’s National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) gathered in recent household survey exercises in preparation for the 2020 census, the Afro-Panamanian…

25Sep 2019 by admin No Comments

Nicaraguan journalists denounce continuous violations of freedom of expression and press during the IACHR’s 173rd period of sessions

English, IACHR, Nicaragua, NIcaragua, OAS

Washington D.C., September 25. Three Nicaraguan media directors, speaking today to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), denounced the Nicaraguan state, saying it has not complied with the precautionary measures given by the commision to protect them, their families, and their staff, but has instead escalated persecution, threats, and reprisals against their journalistic work. Sergio León, director of La Costeñísima in Bluefields; Aníbal Toruño, director of Radio Darío in León and Carlos Fernando Chamorro, director of the digital outlet Confidencial and the television news program Esta Semana, exposed their situation during the hearing “Implementation of Protective Precautionary Measures in Favor of Independent Journalists in Nicaragua,” held within the framework of the 173rd period of sessions of the IACHR. Ana Bolaños, on behalf of the Institute on Race, Equality and…