IACHR – Race and Equality

09Apr 2021 by admin No Comments

IACHR begins formal process to determine the State of Cuba’s responsibility for human rights violations against activists

Washington, D.C. - April 8, 2021.- The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has agreed to process a petition presented by the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality). In the petition, Race and Equality requested that the Commission find the State of Cuba responsible for human rights violations including arbitrary detention, unjust imprisonment, and torture against members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) between October 2019 and April 2020. The petition lists José Daniel Ferrer García (UNPACU’s founder and leader), Fernando González Vaillant, Roilan Zarraga Ferrer, and José Pupo Chaveco as victims, documenting that the four men were detained without an arrest warrant on October 1st, 2019, in violation of both Cuban law and Cuba’s international human rights commitments.[1] Race and Equality has requested…

06Apr 2021 by admin No Comments

Public Hearing on Political Violence in Brazil: Black Parliamentarians (cis and trans) urge the IACHR for Protection and Denounce the Negligence of the Brazilian State

Afro-descendant, Brazil, Brazil, CIDH, Discrimination, English, IACHR, LGBTI, LGBTI, Regional

Brazil, april 06, 2021 - In a hearing exclusively dedicated to denouncing the absence of political rights in Brazil, black councilors (cis and trans) and civil society organizations presented before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The presentation consisted of the current scene of violations of civil and political rights that afflict the security of several parliamentarians in the country. The hearing took place on March 23, in the context of the 179th calendar of virtual hearings of the IACHR, it was filed by the organizations: The National Association of Travestis and Transexuals of Brazil (ANTRA); Criola; Terra de Direitos; Marielle Franco Institute; Justiça Global, Rede Nacional de Negras e Negros LGBT, and The Institute of Race and Equality. The following participated in the hearing: Erika Hilton (PSOL/SP); Ana…

24Mar 2021 by admin No Comments

Cuba: IACHR grants precautionary measures to Maria Matienzo Puerto, an independent journalist, and Kirenia Núñez Perez, a human rights defender

Cuba, English, IACHR, Race and Equality

Washington, D.C. March 23, 2021.- The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has granted precautionary measures in favor of Cuban independent journalist/writer Maria Matienzo Puerto and human rights activist Kirenia Núñez Perez, after considering them to be in a serious and urgent situation, given that their right to life and personal integrity are at risk of irreparable harm. According to Resolution 21/2021, the IACHR determined that the couple has been at risk due to threats, harassment, intimidation and aggression, along with defamatory messages over the course of approximately seven years. The Commission also noted that it requested information from the State on June 18, 2020 and, to date, it has not received any response. In analyzing the risk, urgency and irreparability of the situation, the IACHR noted with concern one…

11Mar 2021 by admin No Comments

Race and Equality joins UN Special Rapporteur in calling on Cuba to end the intimidation and detention of Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR) members

Cuba, English, IACHR, Race and Equality

Washington, D.C.; March 11, 2021.- The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) welcomes the comments of Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, calling on the Cuban government to end its program of intimidation and detentions against members of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR). “The recurrent arrests of human rights defenders on the island, the lack of access to legal representation while they are detained and the surveillance exercised by agents of the Department of State Security is contrary to international law and must cease,” said Lawlor, pointing out that CIR has suffered such abuses since 2017. She also noted that the Cuban government has prevented CIR’s members from traveling to international human rights-related events without explanation or…

19Feb 2021 by admin No Comments

Nicaraguan civil society and international experts call for a new Human Rights Council resolution to address the crisis in Nicaragua

English, IACHR, Nicaragua, OAS, Race and Equality

Washington, D.C., February 18th, 2021.- As the United Nations Human Rights Council prepares to open its 46th period of sessions, representatives of Nicaraguan civil society, including victims of human rights violations, joined international experts from the UN and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to urge the Council to approve a resolution strengthening High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet’s mandate to monitor Nicaragua’s human rights crisis. The event "The role of the United Nations Human Rights Council in the face of the continuing human rights crisis in Nicaragua" included the participation of Thelma Montenegro, family member of two political prisoners and four people killed in the context of the repression unleashed by the social protests of April 2018; Lottie Cunningham, founder and president of the Center for Justice and Human Rights…