Press Release: Civil society Organizations Request the Government of Colombia to Promote the Ratification of the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI)

Colombia, March 23, 2023. In the framework of the commemoration of March 21, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, human rights organizations request the National Government of Colombia to actively promote the ratification of the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI for its Spanish acronym) in accordance with the recent bill that seeks its ratification.

This Convention, adopted by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) in 2013, establishes an international legal framework for the protection and promotion of the human rights of all persons, without distinction as to race, color, ancestry, or ethnic origin. It also seeks to prevent and eliminate racial discrimination and other forms of intolerance, promote equality, and combat racism in all its forms.

In 2014, the Colombian government signed two Inter-American human rights instruments: the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance, and the Inter-American Convention Against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance. Both instruments strengthen the domestic regulatory framework in the fight against all forms of discrimination, recognizing that Colombia is a multiethnic country and respectful of diversity; however, to date these international instruments have not been ratified. In 2021, a bill was presented in Congress to achieve the ratification of CIRDI; the bill is the result of a collective process with different actors of the Indigenous and Roma (Gypsy) peoples, and led by Afro-Colombian activists thanks to the CIRDI 2024 Campaign “Towards a region free of racial discrimination” promoted by Race and Equality with the objective of promoting the ratification and universal and effective implementation of CIRDI in the Americas.

In Colombia, racism and racial discrimination continue to be a reality in the daily lives of many people, making them victims of multiple human rights violations in all social spheres. It is therefore essential that the State adhere to this Convention and commit to guaranteeing the right to equality and non-discrimination in all spheres of public and private life.

The ratification of the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI) is a crucial step to consolidate the commitment of the Colombian Government in the promotion and guarantee of human rights and the fight against structural racism and racial discrimination. In this sense, we call on the national government to promote its prompt ratification and to articulate in all its actions, programs, and reforms the provisions of this Convention, which develops important measures based on the specific realities of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the national context in the fight against racism and racial discrimination. For example, in actions related to police reform against racial profiling practices and human rights training from an intersectional perspective; actions against racial discrimination in educational institutions; measurement strategies that guarantee the collection of data disaggregated by ethno-racial affiliation; and, in general, the implementation of measures that articulate an ethno-racial approach from an intersectional and racial justice perspective.

Finally, the undersigned organizations reiterate the need to follow up on the bill that seeks the ratification of CIRDI, in order to eradicate all forms of racism and racial discrimination in the country.

Asociación Nacional de Afrocolombianos Desplazados – AFRODES.

Coordinación de Mujeres Afrocolombianas Desplazadas en Resistencia – La COMADRE.

Convergencia Nacional de Organizaciones Afrocolombianas – CNOA.

Colectivo Justicia Racial.

Fundación Afrodescendiente por las diversidades sociales y sexuales Somos Identidad.

Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia- ONIC.

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights

Afro Latines Advocacy Week: Race and Equality brings organizations from Brazil and Colombia to Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., September 27th 2022 – From the 27th to the 30th of September, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) brings human rights organizations from Brazil and Colombia to Washington, D.C., working to promote and defend the rights of the Black and LGBTI+ population. In order to promote an exchange of political advocacy strategies between the Afro-Latine and the Afro-American movements, the meetings will take place within the framework of Black Caucus Week; an annual conference of Black U.S. Congress that aims to boost and debate the civic engagement of the Black population. In addition, the delegation participates in academic meetings with U.S. civil society organizations and private meetings with congress members and state departments.

The Brazil-Colombia delegation present in Washington D.C is formed by the organizations: Geledés – Instituto da Mulher Negra (BR) that will be represented by Rodnei Jericó da Silva, Coordinator of SOS Racismo; NGO Criola (BR) with the presence of the Project Coordinator, Lia Manso; Somos Identidad (COL), with the Founder Johana Sinisterra and the Legal Representative Sandra Milena Ibarbo; and the Asociación Nacional de Afrocolombianos Desplazados (AFRODES – COL), with the presence of Coordinator Luz Marina Becerra. Representing Race and Equality, the Executive Director Carlos Quesada; Zuleika Rivera, Senior Officer of the LGBTI Program and Brazil Program Officer, Nathaly Calixto, will be present at these meetings.

In this exchange among Black Pan-American organizations, the Latin American organizations aim to take the Black and LGBTI+ perspectives of the global southern diaspora for an effective political impact, as well as exchanges of good practices so that they can move together to achieve plural racial justice. It’s important to emphasize that, for Race and Equality, these meetings are an opportunity to promote strategies of structural political changes with an intersectional bias; as Brazil is in the electoral period, Colombia’s President values racial agendas and, this year, the U.S. Congress goes through midterms elections.

“It’s precisely in this configuration that we empower organizations to act with political implications. Being able to talk to Black U.S. Congress members about the Latin American racial agenda is one way to influence the Biden administration, because it needs a congressional majority to pass its agendas. It is in this sense that we plan to ensure and strengthen international human rights agreements on racial and gender justice and, in this case, there’s nothing better than organizations to guide the demands of their countries,” says Carlos Quesada.

Brazil and Colombia: In Search of Racial Justice

As the U.S. academic community seeks to understand and foster studies on the Black diaspora, the BRA-COL delegation will meet with academics and students at Howard University to share the efforts of regional civil society organizations in defending human rights. The idea is to show that even though racism is a global issue, the different sociocultural dynamics and the deficit economic contexts produced by centuries of colonialism, impact primarily on the most vulnerable populations in Latin America and Afro-Caribbean. In this case, to make known the racial and gender equity agenda of these organizations, can stimulate studies that provide, in the future, the construction of equitable global public policies.

Brazil, for example, has the highest murder rate of LGBTI+ people in the world, and this incidence rate cross-referenced from an intersectional perspective is highest in trans-Black women in vulnerable situations. The organizations Geledés and Criola, together with Race and Equality in Brazil, conducted a survey monitoring the closure of civic spaces, in which they mapped that the rise of an ultraconservative agenda has generated attacks on the Brazilian democratic system, criminalization of human rights defenders and the immobilization of citizen participation councils and associations. With this, there are growing attacks and hate speech against Black women and elected LBTIs who intend to participate in the political life of the country.

In Colombia, for years the Afro-Colombian community has suffered a process of marginalization and vulnerabilization, and the civil society and Afro-Colombian leaders have denounced the existence of a geographical apartheid reinforced by structural and institutional racism. This same structure resonates in erasing the struggle for the existence of ethnic peoples, which reinforce that civil rights in the country must be thought of in multiethnic and multicultural perspectives, taking into account how racist violence impacts these territories and racialized bodies. Similarly, for Colombian LGBTI+ people, the scene of gender and racial violence continues to increase: from January to June 2022, 354 victims of sexual orientation assaults were recorded, 324 of whom suffered some physical abuse and 229 suffered these abuses within their own families.

The excessive use of police force in both Brazil and Colombia is a complaint presented to international human rights mechanisms. The armed conflict in Colombia and police forces in Brazil intersect in the profile of their victims: Black people in vulnerable living conditions in territories whose presence of the state is marked by police violence. In Colombia, at least 1,144,486 people who identified themselves as part of the Black population were recorded as victims of armed conflict, according to data from the National Information Network, which corresponds to 38.38% of the total. In Brazil, the Brazilian Public Safety Yearbook points out that of the total of 6,145 deaths by police intervention, in 2021, 84.1% were Black and 15.8% were white.

Why the Black population is seen as a threat

In addition to this question and many others that permeate the racist structure that found the police corporations of Latin America, Race and Equality in partnership with organizations in Brazil and Colombia, continue in a regional project to confront and denounce racist police violence in both countries. In the face of this meeting in Washington, D.C., police violence that intersects with the Black and LGBTI+ populations will also be the subject of meetings to placate this colonial modus operandi, in which Black bodies are exempt from the presumption of innocence and, because they exist, are victims of all violence and seen as a threat, whether in Latin American countries or Anglo America.

In view of this, racism, gender-based violence and LGBTIphobia pose the real threat to a system of oppression that disrespects inalienable human rights and international treaties that value their guarantees. For this, Race and Equality with the BRA-COL delegation intend to denounce to the American Congress members the current milestones of violation of the rights of the Black population and LGBTI+ Latin America. The exchange of these dissenting voices reaffirms the purpose of further denouncing racism and its different forms of violence that prevent the full exercise of citizenship, freedom of expression and the right to development of these countries as a call for partnership and inclusion of the Black population of all the Americas.

International Day for People of African Descent: What Are We Doing to Promote and Defend their Rights?

Washington D.C., August 31, 2022. This August 31, the International Day for People of African Descent celebrates its second year, promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms of people of African descent. In the Americas, there are 134 million people of African descent, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). This population continues to face human rights challenges and is victim to different manifestations of discrimination and violence.

For this reason, as the International Day for People of African Descent is commemorated once again, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) encourages States to assume and implement actions for the promotion and protection of this vulnerable population, using the frameworks of the International Decade for People of African Descent, and other existing mechanisms within the Inter-American System and the United Nations.

About August 31 and Other International Mechanisms

On December 16, 2020, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 75/170 proclaiming August 31 as the International Day for People of African Descent. “To promote greater recognition and respect for the diversity of the legacy, culture, and contribution of people of African descent to the development of societies, as well as to promote respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people of African descent,” reads the Resolution.

The plan of activities for the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024) has been the driving force behind this type of action. One of its main objectives is to adopt and strengthen national legal frameworks in accordance with the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, ensuring their full and effective implementation.

Additionally, the record of acts of discrimination and violence against people of African descent—such as the murder of the African-American citizen George Floyd in May 2020 in the United States—has impacted the vigilance and adoption of international mechanisms for the human rights of Afro-descendant populations and racial justice.

For example, a month after Floyd’s death, the UN Human Rights Council adopted Resolution 43/1, “Promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and people of African descent from excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officials,” which calls for widespread attention to racism and implores States to take an active role in meeting their objective of racial justice.

In 2021, the United Nations adopted two important mechanisms. One of them is the Permanent Forum of Afro-descendants, which was approved in August through Resolution 75/314 of the United Nations General Assembly, with the mission of being an advisory body of the Human Rights Council. Among its mandates is that of, “contributing to the full political, economic, and social inclusion of Afro-descendants in the societies in which they live, with an equal footing to other citizens and without discrimination of any kind and contribute to ensuring the equal enjoyment of all human rights.”

Moreover, in a resolution adopted on July 13, 2021, the Human Rights Council decided to establish an international mechanism of independent experts, composed of three experts with experience in law enforcement and human rights, and appointed by the chairman. Its mandate is to examine systemic racism and the excessive use of force and other violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement officials around the world.

What are we doing?

To contribute to living in a more just and equitable society, Race and Equality works with partner organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean in the defense and protection of the rights of people of African descent and Afro-LGBTI+ populations, using capacity building to promote visibility, documentation, and strategic litigation before the Inter-American System and the United Nations.

In July, in Brazil, Race and Equality organized a visit by Margarette May Macaulay, the Rapporteur for People of African Descent of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The Commissioner had the opportunity to hear complaints from the black population, especially those related to police brutality and religious racism. In addition, in May Race and Equality launched the ‘Kátia Tapety Political Training School’ for Afro-BLTI women, with the aim of strengthening civil participation in collective decision-making spaces, with particular emphasis placed on reducing gender and race gaps in political participation at the regional, national, and global level.

Additionally in Brazil, Race and Equality has been working on projects that denounce the closure of civic spaces for black and indigenous movements; the fight against religious racism; the protection and defense of the Afro-LGBTI+ populations; the political strengthening of black, indigenous LBTI women; and the fight against police violence. It also monitors the implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI), which was ratified at the end of 2021 in Brazil.

In Colombia, Race and Equality carried out, in conjunction with organizations in Cali, documentation activities and the preparation of a report on the effects and differential impacts of violence against people of African descent in Cali within the framework of the 2021 National Strike. In the coming days, together with the organizations Ilex-Acción Jurídica, Temblores NGOs, and the Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement (CODHES), Race and Equality will publish a national report on police brutality and racial bias.

In relation to advocacy processes before the United Nations on the disproportionate use of force against people of African descent, Race and Equality recently presented a report for the Mechanism of Experts to Promote Justice and Racial Equality in Law Enforcement. It also submitted a report on inputs for the preparation of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 47/21- this in coalition with Ilex-Acción Jurídica, CODHES, Black Communities Process (PCN), and the Center for Afrodiasporic Studies (CEAF) of the ICESI University of Cali.

In Mexico, within the framework of the International Day of Afro-Latin, Afro-Caribbean and Diaspora Women, Race and Equality launched on July 25 the project, “Promotion of an anti-racist agenda to strengthen the work of civil society organizations in the fight against racism and racial discrimination in Mexico,” which is being implemented thanks to the support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

One of the first activities of this project consisted of a cycle of conferences given between August 25 and 26 by Dr. Pastor Murillo, a member of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent. The conferences, which were held both in Mexico City and in Mérida, Yucatán State, revolved around international tools to combat racism and racial discrimination, and the role of universities.

At the regional level, Race and Equality maintains the CIRDI 2024 campaign, “towards a region free of racial discrimination,” for the promotion of the signature, ratification, and implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Intolerance (CIRDI). Within the framework of this campaign, Race and Equality has considered working hand in hand with local organizations to strengthen their monitoring capacities in countries where this Convention has been ratified, as well as advocate in other countries where it has only been signed.

Race and Equality continues to make racial discrimination visible utilizing an intersectional perspective, through the Inter-American Forum against Discrimination, an event held each year with the participation of international experts and activists from the region. Its main objectives are to promote the effective participation of non-governmental organizations in the framework of the OAS General Assemblies and Summits of the Americas, to improve their impact within the system, and to make visible both the different discriminations faced in the Americas and the main demands of the different sectors of the population that are victims of discrimination, especially Afro-descendants and LGBTI population.

For Race and Equality, it is important to emphasize the promotion and protection tools offered by international mechanisms, such as CIRDI, for the benefit of people of African descent. We firmly believe that it is through these instruments States can adopt and implement clear and effective policies to guarantee the human rights and social welfare of people of African descent. To this end, it is essential to work with civil society organizations that protect the rights of this population, since they guarantee the visibility of their realities, and follow up on national and international commitments.

On August 31, Race and Equality reaffirms its commitment to defend and protect the rights of people of African descent in the Americas and calls on States to adopt measures and strengthen those already in place, based on the recognition of the historical inequalities that this ethnic group has faced. Two years before the end of the International Decade for People of African Descent, this task is not only urgent, but represents a true commitment to democracy and social inclusion.

Colombia: first transitional justice experience in the world that includes a sexual and intersectional diversity approach

Colombia, august 9, 2022.-The Truth Commission makes history by clarifying that the armed actors and the public forces instrumentalized, chased, disappeared, displaced and murdered LGBTIQ+ people because of their[1] diverse sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions.

On June 28, the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition (CEV), published its final report with findings and recommendations, after three years of investigation and collection of testimonies that account for the impacts of more than half a century of armed conflict in Colombia. The delivery of this report marks the culmination of the work carried out by the Truth Commission in recent years, in which more than 30,000 individual and collective interviews of victims, armed actors and public officials were conducted. Among the objectives of the report is to clarify the patterns of violence identified in the context of the armed conflict in the country, to make public the disproportionate impacts of the war on the victims, and to contribute to the search for guarantees of coexistence and non-repetition in the territories.

The final report of the Commission also has a specific chapter entitled My body is the truth: experiences of women and LGBTIQ+ people in the armed conflict, related to violence against women and LGBTI+ people, which turns out to be a pioneer in the experiences of searching for truth and reconciliation in the world. Previous processes in other countries have made mention of LGBTI+ people, such as in Ecuador[2] or Brazil, in which specific recommendations were presented for the eradication of prejudice against SOGID (sexual orientation and gender identity-diverse). However, this is the first time that a Truth Commission has devoted an entire section to understanding the complexity of the violence perpetrated against them in a context of massive human rights violations. In the document, the Commission makes use of intersectional, territorial, and ethnic-racial approaches to clarify the causes of violence perpetrated against LGBTI+ people beyond the armed conflict, recognize the differentiated impacts on their lives, highlight their experiences of resistance and propose recommendations in terms of reparation and non-repetition.

Important findings and conclusions are derived from the section focused on the life experiences of LGBTI+ victims of the armed conflict. We highlight the effort of the Commission to provide elements to recognize the patterns of violence exercised by the different armed groups and the public forces in a differentiated manner, as well as its interest in unraveling its particularities according to the period of time and the region of the country in which it was given. Similarly, we consider highly relevant the recognition of the exercise of reproductive violence, perpetrated especially against trans men, with the aim of controlling the body and the SOGI of LGBTI+ people, especially in view of the announcement of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace to open Macrocase 011, in which sexual violence and other crimes motivated by gender, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity of the victim in the context of and due to the armed conflict will be investigated and prosecuted. Also noteworthy is the inclusion of an approach that took into account the experiences related to violence against LGBTI+ people who had HIV/AIDS and the stigma that fell on LGBTI+ people for considering them innate carriers of the disease, which was promoted by the armed groups due to ignorance and manipulation of beliefs about it.

We also highlight the efforts of the Commission to portray the stories of resistance and the collective efforts of LGBTI+ victims to face violence, accompany them in pain and healing, testimonies that provide very relevant elements for the proposal and implementation of reparation measures and of non-repetition closer to the life experiences and needs of the victims.

The chapter ends with a series of recommendations for the guarantee of rights and the non-repetition of the violence identified after listening to and reflecting on the testimonies of LGTBIQ+ people and social organizations. These recommendations are based on promoting legal, social, political, economic, and cultural changes to guarantee access to justice, preserve memory and generate conditions of material equality for LGBTI+ people.

“Changing the historical conditions of violence against LGBTIQ+ people implies a commitment to recognizing what happened and adopting new forms of action and visions so that such violence does not continue to occur.”

At the same time, the role of the State is highlighted in the creation of conditions that guarantee the implementation of the recommendations set forth by the Commission, applying differential approaches, with a gender and anti-racist perspective; and that of Colombian society and the international community, promoting spaces for dialogue and reflection, and carrying out the corresponding oversight to generate an ideal path in the search for peaceful coexistence and a dignified life for all people.

Race and Equality welcomes the presentation of the final report and calls on the new Colombian Government to comply with the recommendations made by the Commission and take into consideration the findings when implementing measures related to the armed conflict and the guarantee of rights and non-repetition of violence against LGBTI+ people, involving them in decision-making spaces actively and permanently.

[1] Acronym used by the Truth Commission

[2] In 2010, the Truth Commission presented its report divided into five volumes with a series of recommendations of a legal, administrative and social nature; and the drafting of a proposal for a Comprehensive Reparation Law. There, it is recommended to incorporate public policies that favor non-discrimination by SOGI and the eradication of violence due to prejudice at the hands of LGBTI organizations and guarantee the participation of LGBTI people and women in the Equality Councils. Available at: https://biblioteca.corteidh.or.cr/tablas/26978.pdf

[3] Confirming with Isaac. As comprehensive reparation measures, the National Truth Commission asks the Government of Brazil, among others, to apologize publicly to the LGBT community, build public places of memory for the victims of the LGBT community, criminalize homolesbotransphobia and approve a law on free gender identity.

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EDITORIAL: An opportunity for change for Colombia

Bogotá, June 17, 2022.-On June 19 in Colombia, the second round of elections will take place to elect the future President of the country. The election will take place amid a climate of high political polarization, social tensions, concerns about the lack of security guarantees for the elections, and several complaints about possible electoral fraud. This, added to a context of great expectations on the part of the citizenry, since both candidates represent a possible change to the traditional politics that have been governing the country for more than two decades. To this must be added the widespread discontent with the current government, in the face of a high number of unsatisfied social demands. In this regard, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) expresses its concern and shares its reflections on the development of the next election day and the implications for the country in terms of institutional stability and the human rights agenda during the elections. Just as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has urged,[1] from Race and Equality we call for the peaceful and democratic nature of election day, to guarantee the rights to freedom, integrity, and political rights, among others.

Possible electoral fraud

The year 2022 has been an electoral year in Colombia. It began with the legislative elections and will end with the second round of presidential elections. After the last votes for the Congress of the Republic and presidential consultations carried out on March 16, the alarms of electoral fraud began to go off after serious logistical problems were reported, reports of irregularities in the selection of juries, poor design of the E-14 forms, the fall of computer platforms, and a difference of 21 percent (more than one million votes) between the pre-count and the scrutiny by the National Registry (RNEC).[2]

Since then, multiple complaints and alerts about possible actions of electoral fraud have been registered. The Transparency for Colombia Corporation has indicated that the different electoral days this year have generated “well-founded doubts about the organization and confidence of the electoral process.”[3] For its part, the Democracy at Risk alliance has warned about obstacles that could affect transparency and public confidence in the electoral process, related to the lack of an electoral census, problems with the counting software, the lack of digital security, the dispersion in training for voting jurors, violence in rural areas of the country, and vote buying.[4]

Since February 2022, the Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) has warned about the risks associated with election days, both in terms of armed violence and electoral fraud. In this sense, the EOM indicated that in 131 municipalities of the country, risks of violence and electoral fraud converge. In this regard, “49 are at extreme risk, 65 at high risk and 17 at medium risk.”[5]

Despite the different alerts of electoral fraud and the context of public distrust of the 2022 elections, the State has not provided a concrete response in response to these concerns, nor has it adopted any structural measures to guarantee transparency in the second round of the presidential elections. On the contrary, the National Registrar has indicated that “no electoral fraud is possible” in Colombia,[6] ignoring the reports and alerts presented by various organizations.

This risk of electoral fraud generates latent implications in the human rights agenda. In particular, the Colombian State should provide guarantees for an adequate and efficient response to actions that constitute fraud during election day, that the necessary measures be adopted to guarantee investigations with due diligence and independence, seeking respect for and guarantee of human rights. Likewise, as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has indicated in its jurisprudence, the measures adopted must also protect citizens against possible reprisals or situations of violence.

Added to this context of questions and complaints of possible fraud is the lack of access to information, which is exacerbated by the high circulation of fake news during electoral campaigns.

The objective of fake news is to misinform the public, through the publication of information that deviates from the proposals contained in the Government Plans, the only binding documents that provide detailed and precise information on the proposals of the candidates for the presidency. In this regard, pages such as Colombia Check have been responsible for systematically collecting false information, in order to verify and truthfully communicate the information.

Recommendations

Given this context, Race and Equality expresses its concern over the repeated alerts presented by civil society and monitoring institutions in the face of a possible scenario of fraud and urges the National Registry of Colombia to carry out its surveillance and monitoring tasks in a timely, clear, and transparent manner in this second round of presidential elections. In particular, Race and Equality makes a call to guarantee the political rights of citizens and to generate an environment of trust, transparency and guarantee of human rights within the framework of election day.

In the same way, we call on the international community and international observation missions to provide technical assistance and the necessary support to carry out an effective and independent follow-up of the elections on June 19 and the Colombian Government to eliminate the barriers that prevent an exercise of effective oversight by them.

To the same extent, we urge the Colombian Government to provide the maximum guarantees for the political participation of the entire population, with special attention to the people who live in the areas with the highest rates of violence and those who live in the areas furthest from the urban centers.

Finally, Race and Equality invites all citizens to exercise their right to vote in an informed and timely manner and to integrate a perspective of respect for human rights in the analysis of the government programs of the presidential candidates. Given the context of violence and inequality that plagues Colombia, we invite you to support a program that proposes a real transformation of the structural causes of exclusion and poverty, with a view to the joint construction of a country in peace and with social justice.

[1] Naciones Unidas. Bachelet pide resolver las circunstancias que provocan las crisis, el hambre y la pobreza. 13 de junio de 2022.

[2] https://diariocriterio.com/fraude-electoral-registraduria-congreso/

[3] Transparencia por Colombia. Denuncias y alertas de fraude electoral requieren una acción pronta y rigurosa de las autoridades. 18 de marzo de 2022.

[4] Democracia en Riesgo. Alterada la confianza en el manejo del proceso electoral. 1 de marzo de 2022.

[5] Misión de Observación Electoral – MOE. 131 municipios de Colombia presentan los mayores riesgos para las elecciones de 2022: MOE. 9 de febrero de 2022.

[6] El Colombiano. “En Colombia no es posible ningún fraude electoral”: Registrador. 6 de junio de 2022.

Complexo da Penha Massacre: Human Rights organizations appeal to the IACHR to end police violence

Brazil, May 27th, 2022 – The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), Marielle Franco Institute, Geledés – Black Women’s Institute, Observatório de Favelas, Justiça Global and Casa Fluminense denounce to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the Complexo da Penha Massacre, which took place this Tuesday, May 24, during a police mega-operation in Rio de Janeiro. The communiqué sent to the IACHR calls for the protection of community residents to be guaranteed and for the extensive monitoring of reported situations of violence. So far, there are registered: 25 dead and 07 injured in the Complexo da Penha Massacre.

25 people killed were taken to the Getúlio Vargas Hospital.
01 body of a woman was taken directly to the Legal Medical Institute (IML)
01 person killed was taken to the Emergency Care Unit of Complexo do Alemão with 08 gunshot wounds
07 injured were taken to Hospital Getúlio Vargas

This extreme violence reflects the result of the public security policy of the current Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Claudio Castro, who, since his predecessor, Wilson Witzel, does not respect the decision of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) that determined the State must comply with the ADPF 635, known as ADPF das Favelas. Until now, the State Government has not presented any plan to reduce police lethality; it didn’t install GPS equipment, audio and video recording systems in police vehicles or on the uniforms of officers; and as a result of these current massacres, it has set no limits on lethal force. As a result, black bodies, from favelas and outskirts, experience constant scenes of terror and even their homes become a place of fear and insecurity for all families.

According to reports, agents from the Special Operations Battalion (BOPE) and from the Federal Highway Police (PRF) entered the Vila Cruzeiro Complex at 4:00 am, firing shots with helicopters and armored tanks as support. The operation took place throughout the day and, despite the active movement of civil society organizations urging the public authorities for a ceasefire, the operation continued on its terroristic course. In this regard, the signatory organizations urge the IACHR and other international human rights organizations to constantly monitor police violence in Brazil.

It is unacceptable to continue the current security policy that goes against the basic principles of human rights, such as the right of living and housing, in addition to State protection. It must be mentioned: this massacre is yet another demonstration of the structural racism present in the actions of the Brazilian police.

We regret the lives lost and sympathize with the various families of Complexo da Penha, who once more experienced the presence of the State in their territories with violence, deaths, scarcity and tears. In light of the foregoing, we share the requests to the IACHR:

To publicly comment on this case, through a statement and monitor the situations of violence reported in this document;
Request the Civil Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro to carry out technical investigations on the spot, with the elaboration of reports on ballistics and possible signs of torture on the bodies, ensuring the duty of publicity of the state’s action;
Demand that the State (RJ) and Federal Public Ministry investigate the police operation responsible for this massacre, including the specific need to observe possible signs of alteration of the crime scenes, as well as the impediment of residents and activists to manifest about what happened;
That the State (RJ) and Federal Public Ministry provide information to the families of the victims of the massacre and keep them informed about the investigations;
Considering what was determined in ADPF 635 regarding the absolute exceptionality in carrying out police operations, that is, the premise that such incursions should only occur in extraordinary situations of immediate and concrete danger to life, which cannot consist of a generic allegation about the current calamitous situation of public security in the State of Rio de Janeiro and/or on the need to repress drug trafficking and criminality, allegations that underlie the human rights violations implicit to public security policy in Brazil. It is requested that the state of Rio de Janeiro be notified of non-compliance with the criteria determined in ADPF 635;
Maintain direct communication with the Brazilian government inquiring about the measures adopted to combat police violence, considering the numerous cases publicized by the Brazilian press and by the aforementioned civil society organizations.

Bogotá, April 28, 2022.- The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), the Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES), the Association of Leaders El Perfil, the Association of Small and Medium Agricultural Producers of the Valley of Cauca (ASOAGROVALLE), the Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement (CODHES), the Independent Afro Women Vulnerable Victims Foundation (FUNVIMUFROIN), the ORIENTADOS Citizen Movement and the Afro-descendant Foundation for Social and Sexual Diversities (SOMOS IDENTIDAD) present this April 28th the report The Footprints of Racism: Voices of People Excluded Inside and Outside the Social Upheaval in Cali, in commemoration of the first anniversary of the social unrest.

The report presents the patterns and differential impacts of the violence perpetrated against people of African descent during the 2021 National Strike, mainly by the Police Force in Cali, a city that was the epicenter of human rights violations at the national level in the framework of the mobilizations. The report is presented in order to make visible the racist violence perpetrated by the Police Force and that has differentially affected people of African descent.

The analysis presented in the report was developed from documentation processes of 26 cases of people of African descent who were victims of this violence. Likewise, the analysis of the violence registered in the database of CODHES, the Commission for Life, and the Humanitarian and Social Table, with the technical support of Race and Equality, in which 488 cases were systematized, of which, 53.1% were committed by the police. Similarly, of the total number of cases, 13.3% were against people of African descent.

From this research process, the patterns of violence against people of African descent that are identified correspond to practices that the Police Force has historically perpetrated against people of African descent and that, in the framework of the National Strike, have been exacerbated: racial profiling, racist language , physical assaults, homicides, gender-based violence against women and Afro-LGBTI people, territorialization of the disproportionate use of violence where Afro-descendants mainly reside and in neighborhoods with socioeconomic classes one and two.

The report makes it possible to identify the differential impacts suffered by people of African descent: psychosocial, physical, economic, collective impacts, intra-urban displacement, and patterns of barriers to access justice in the context of State violence perpetrated by agents of the Police Force and civilians.

Considering the repeated human rights violations against participants in the National Strike, and the few guarantees to exercise the right to protest, the organizations ask the Colombian State to take action to eradicate all forms of racist police violence, guarantee transparent investigations into complaints against the Police Force in the framework of the National Strike and implement measures that promote comprehensive reparation for people of African descent who have been victims.

For this, it is important that the actions implemented by the State comply with international standards, such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI), and the Durban Program of Action. Likewise, the State must implement the resolutions and mechanisms against racist police violence such as UN Human Rights Council Resolutions 43/15 and 47/21, and The Agenda towards a Transformative Change for Justice and Racial Equality of the Promotion and protection of human rights and the fundamental freedoms of Africans and people of African descent from excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers report developed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Access the report http://oldrace.wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Informe-Huellas-del-Racismo-.pdf

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: The new international standards on the rights of people of African descent and racial justice, and the Inter-American Convention against Racism

Washington D.C., March 21, 2022.- Since events such as the murder of the African American citizen George Floyd, the problems of racism and racial discrimination have been positioned on the world agenda, generating reactions and measures of protection and reparation for people of African descent. It is undeniable, for example, the effort that has been made at the level of the Universal Human Rights System to create and strengthen international mechanisms in matters of human rights of this population and racial justice.

This International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, from the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) we want to recognize the new international standards on the rights of people of African descent and racial justice, but also call that these mechanisms go from paper to reality, and we can show a full guarantee of rights for Afro-descendants throughout the world.

The mechanisms and their mandates

The aforementioned context of awareness and actions in favor of the rights of people of African descent has also been driven by the plan of activities for the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). One of its main objectives is to approve and strengthen national, regional, and international legal frameworks in accordance with the Durban Declaration and Program of Action and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and to ensure their full and effective implementation.

In 2021, the United Nations adopted two important mechanisms. One of them is the Permanent Forum of Afro-descendants, which was approved in August through Resolution 75/314 of the United Nations General Assembly, with the mission of being an advisory body to the Human Rights Council. Among its mandates is that of “contributing to the full political, economic and social inclusion of Afro-descendants in the societies in which they live, on an equal footing with other citizens and without discrimination of any kind, and to help guarantee the enjoyment in conditions of equality of all human rights.”

The resolution determines that the Forum will be composed of ten members. Five of these members—who currently include the former Vice President of Costa Rica, Epsy Campbell, and the attorney Justin Hansford of the United States—are designated by governments and elected by the General Assembly on an equitable geographic distribution basis, and five more appointed by the president of the Human Rights Council in consultation with Afro-descendant organizations. Another of its mandates is to evaluate a possible United Nations declaration on the promotion, protection, and full respect for the human rights of people of African descent, in addition to identifying best practices, challenges and opportunities and initiatives to address issues related to Afro-descendants.

On another note, in its resolution adopted on July 13, 2021, the Human Rights Council decided to establish an international mechanism of independent experts, composed of three experts with experience in law enforcement and human rights, who must be appointed by the chairman. Its mandate is to examine systemic racism and the excessive use of force and other violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement officials around the world.

The mandate of this international mechanism of independent experts is for three years, and is clearly defined in nine tasks, among them is “making recommendations on the way in which national legal regimes use of force by law enforcement agents may conform to applicable human rights standards.” In addition, its means of action include country visits and inclusive outreach and consultations with States, directly affected individuals and communities, and other stakeholders.

Last December, it was learned that the mechanism was made up of Judge Yvonne Mokgoro from South Africa, Tracie L. Keesee from the United States and Juan Méndez from Argentina. One of their next missions, according to the resolution of the Human Rights Council, is that, together with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, they write two separate reports annually and present them to the Human Rights Council as of its 51st session, scheduled for take place between September and October of this year. This in the framework of an interactive dialogue in which priority is given to the participation of the people and communities directly affected, including the victims and their families.

Situation in Latin America

In Latin America, racism and racial discrimination are structural and persistent problems, with diverse manifestations and consequences that have their roots in the slavery imposed by European colonialism. The recent visibility of police brutality, episodes of racial profiling, systemic violence against people of African descent, and their impunity, are proof that these evils are still latent in society in the 21st century.

Given this reality, the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI) is configured as a powerful tool to combat these problems. This Convention was adopted by the OAS General Assembly on June 5, 2013, thus becoming the homologous convention of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racism and Racial Discrimination (CERD) of 1965, the first international instrument of universal scope from which the fight against racism and racial discrimination was prioritized, and of which the 35 member states of the OAS are part of.

To date, only six countries in the Americas (Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, and Uruguay) have fully adhered to the CIRDI, that is, they have signed and ratified it. Meanwhile, seven other countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Haiti, Panama, and Peru) have only signed it, so the instrument is not yet binding in those States. Race and Equality, through the CIRDI 2024 campaign “Towards a region free of racial discrimination”, has proposed to promote the ratification and implementation of the CIRDI in most of the countries that make up the OAS.

Regarding the CERD, the CIRDI contains innovative provisions, such as placing the definition of the term “racism” in a legal instrument, as well as establishing that acts of racial discrimination can occur in both the public and private spheres, while the CERD limits these facts only to the private sphere. The CIRDI also contemplates the creation of an Inter-American Committee for the Prevention and Elimination of Racism, Racial Discrimination and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance. This Committee’s mission is to monitor the commitments assumed in the Convention, serve as a forum for the exchange of ideas and experiences, make recommendations to the member states, and receive reports from the States on compliance with the obligations of the Convention. However, the establishment of this Committee is subject to 10 countries ratifying the Convention, which has not yet happened.

Relevance of the CIRDI for Colombia and Brazil

In Colombia, the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance began its ratification process through the presentation of the Bill for its approval on December 16, 2021. This Convention could mean a substantial contribution to the construction of peace in Colombia with its ratification. In particular, the CIRDI would be a living legal instrument that would provide support and strengthening to the existing legal framework, especially in the recognition of racism and racial discrimination as structural phenomena that have sustained disproportionate and differentiated affectations against the black, afro-Colombian raizal, and palenquera population.

People of African descent suffered the disproportionate impacts of the armed conflict in Colombia. According to the Unit for Comprehensive Care and Reparation for Victims (UARIV), 1,177,120 Afro-Colombian people have been registered as victims in the Single Registry of Victims (RUV) to date. The Final Peace Agreement recognized the disproportionate impacts against Afro-Colombian communities, especially through the inclusion of the Ethnic Chapter, whose purpose is to generate maximum guarantees for the full exercise of human rights of ethnic communities in the country. In this sense, it points out that the Peace Agreement must be interpreted considering the existing international, constitutional, jurisprudence and legal framework, including, for example, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

The ratification of the CIRDI implies that the countries make modifications in their legislation to adapt to the principles and mandates of the Convention, so its ratification in Brazil in February 2021 opened a new scenario for anti-racist discourse and activism in the country, where 55% of the population is Afro-descendant. However, at the same time, an important challenge is configured, which is to guarantee its effective implementation. At Race and Equality, we have acquired the commitment to provide technical assistance to both civil society and the State so that the CIRDI becomes a reality in Brazil.

Notably, police brutality accounts for a large proportion of the murders of Afro-Brazilian men and women, including Afro-transgender women. The Brazilian Forum of Public Security documented that “the mortality rate in 2019 due to police interventions was 183.2% higher for Afro-descendants than for whites.” Along the same lines, the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook documented that Afro-descendants are the greatest victims of police lethality; in 2019, 79.1% of the victims of police interventions were Afro-descendants, while 20.8% were white.

We see then that, both at the universal level and at the inter-American level, there are strengthened and innovative mechanisms for the defense and protection of the rights of the Afro-descendant population. This is, without a doubt, a great step towards the elimination of racism and racial discrimination, since for this there has been a process of reflection and evidence of the causes, manifestations, and consequences of these evils in different areas of society. We are now faced with the task of appropriately and effectively implementing these instruments. Such a mission not only corresponds to the States as responsible for the adherence and implementation of the mechanisms, but from civil society and from the international community there must be the responsibility to follow up on these processes.

At Race and Equality, we firmly believe that these new mechanisms, added to those that have existed for several years, represent an opportunity to make visible and improve the human rights situation in the region, in the short and medium term. Therefore, we reaffirm our commitment to continue strengthening the capacities of civil society organizations so that they undertake advocacy and monitoring processes in the adoption and implementation of these instruments. In the particular case of the CIRDI, we call on States to ratify and implement this important Convention in terms of human rights, as well as activists and organizations to establish strategic routes to influence the ratification and implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Racism in their respective countries.

8M-International Women’s Day: Recognize and protect women’s leadership from an intersectional perspective

Washington DC, March 8, 2022. – The fight of women for their rights has been tireless. Although Latin America is going through critical moments in terms of democracy, human rights and security, women remain firm in the process of denouncing the violence they face and advocating for structural changes. This International Women’s Day, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) wants to draw attention to the importance of recognizing and protecting women’s leadership, and that this be done at all levels of society from an intersectional perspective.

We recognize that women’s life experiences are directly influenced by their gender, as well as other characteristics such as their race or ethnicity, their gender identity and expression, and the role they play in society. In this way, women human rights defenders, Afro-descendants, indigenous, lesbian, trans and women journalists, to name a few, face particular situations when exercising their leadership or their professions, which often threaten their integrity and put their lives at risk.

Below, we provide an overview of the specific problems faced by different groups of women in the region. At the same time, women from Nicaragua, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Peru, and the Dominican Republic offer their perspectives on how their activism and professional work are marked by the adverse contexts that prevail in their countries.

Defending Rights in a Dictatorship

Women have been active subjects and protagonists in the defense of human rights and in civic resistance since before the social unrest in Nicaragua in April 2018. In the current context, characterized by systematic state and parapolice violence, women defenders, activists, and journalists are targets of persecution, harassment, siege, threats, and deprivation of liberty. These attacks expose them to even greater risks because of their gender.

According to records from the Nicaraguan Initiative of Human Rights Defenders (IND) and the Autonomous Women’s Movement (MAM), since the beginning of the crisis in April 2018, at least 109 women defenders and activists have been arbitrarily detained, and there have been more 4,000 attacks on defenders. On the other hand, at least 12 released women have reported having been victims of some type of rape, among other attacks; and 13 women (5 of them older adults) continue to be deprived of liberty for political reasons and without adequate medical care in detention centers.

The President of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), Vilma Núñez de Escorcia, affirms that, historically, women political prisoners have suffered serious differentiated aggressions within detention centers. She recalls that, as a political prisoner of the Somoza dictatorship, her greatest fear was that “she would be transferred to the Somoza State Security Directorate, where there was a history of sexual violations of political prisoners.” Now, she denounces that the government of Ortega and Murillo, through “perverse police officers” subjects women political prisoners to isolation, incommunicado detention, prolonged interrogations, and other forms of psychological and physical torture. She cites the cases of Suyén Barahona, Tamara Dávila, Dora María Téllez, and Ana Margarita Vijil, who have spent almost 9 months in isolation cells.

Ana Lucía Álvarez, who is a human rights defender and a relative of three political prisoners, explains that women defenders are victims of sexualized attacks such as touching, nudity, sexual torture, network dismantling, among others. Likewise, she denounces that “in one of the trials of a political prisoner, the prosecutor’s narrative was related to whether she had a partner, whether she had had sexual relations with this or that person. These are narratives that do not appear in the trials of men who are political prisoners but do appear in the trials of women who are being prosecuted and criminalized,” she concludes.

Fighting and Surviving Transphobia

In Brazil, where civil society organizations constantly denounce the wave of violence against human rights defenders, in addition to being the country with the most murders of trans people in the world, trans women who hold public office face hate speech and lack of State protection every day. “In the 2020 elections, some 30 trans/transvestite women were elected and in the exercise of their mandates their lives are threatened, which demonstrates and justifies that we are (…) in dispute over the social project,” says Ariela Nascimento, a trans woman and parliamentary adviser to Councilwoman Benny Briolly (Niterói-RJ), who is also a trans woman.

Ludymilla Santiago, a trans leader for more than 13 years who raises her voice for women’s rights from a non-binary and inclusion perspective, points out that the issue of identity is very important for trans women and that the discourse on being a woman goes far beyond current social impositions. “We must evolve and make this diversity more and more represented to break the patriarchal hegemony,” she says.

Confronting Violence and Racism

The armed conflict in Colombia—whose greatest impact has been in areas with Afro-descendant populations—has differentially affected Afro-descendant women in the country. Among the main effects is sexual violence. According to figures from the Single Registry of Victims, 20% of all women victims of sexual violence are Afro-descendants. Luz Marina Becerra, representative of the Coordination of Displaced Afro-Colombian Women in Resistance La COMADRE, emphasizes the gaps of inequality, racism and discrimination that black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal, and Palenquera women have to face, thus making it impossible to effectively enjoy their rights.

The COMADRE has been requesting the State to comply with Resolution No. 2016-244846 for 5 years now, through which its registration in the RUV was ordered and it was recognized as an ethnic subject of collective reparation under the terms of Decree Law 4635 of 2011. However, after 5 years and numerous requests to start with this route through prior consultation, they have been denied by different state agencies, ignoring their fundamental rights.

Practicing Journalism to Resist Censorship and Violence

According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and its Office of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, Cuba is the country in Latin America with the fewest guarantees for the exercise of freedom of expression and, therefore, freedom of the press. The independent press on the Island constantly faces government censorship, harassment, and repression and, in the midst of this reality, women journalists suffer different impacts.

In the “Paper Democracy” report, the organization Article 19 reports “systematic and generalized attacks that are implemented to suffocate journalism.” It details that, during 2019, they documented that a journalist on average could be attacked up to five times in a year, but in 2020 the average increased to six times and, in 2021, it rose to eight times. And in the case of women, this situation is aggravated, since on average a journalist was attacked eight times a year in 2020 and up to 11 in the first half of 2021.

On repeated occasions, the journalist María Matienzo has been the target of interrogations, harassment, and smear campaigns on social networks in which her gender and gender expression are the focus of attack. She considers that practicing journalism in such an adverse context does not make her an activist, but she is clear that this profession forces her to cross the borders of writing and ends up accompanying other women who have suffered violence. “Hopefully saying what you think in the midst of so much adversity is some kind of leadership because sometimes we have no choice but to disagree if we want to live with some dignity,” she says.

Advocating for Equality

In Peru, lesbian women are joining forces to achieve the adoption of policies in favor of their rights to equality and non-discrimination. In the recent CEDAW Committee review of the State, a coalition called #LesbianasCEDAW advocated for this body to make specific recommendations on their rights, based on the main problems they face. One of their demands is to strengthen and implement the comprehensive sex education policy that recognizes lesbian children and adolescents as subjects of rights, in order to prevent and address all forms of violence.

Likewise, they demand that the Congress of the Republic modify article 234 of the Civil Code through the approval of legislative initiative 525/2021-CR, a bill on same-sex marriage, and that the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC) apply article 2050 of the Civil Code, which establishes the recognition of rights acquired abroad; the latter due to the non-recognition of the marriages of lesbian women who marry outside the country and of their children.

“In the Peruvian case, feminist lesbians have contributed to expanding the essential content of the right to equality and non-discrimination to incorporate the prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Likewise, to understand that lesbians and women in general do not want to be equal to men, but rather we think about equality considering differences and access to freedoms, rights, goods, and power,” says María Ysabel Cedano García, a Quechua lesbian feminist socialist.

Accompanying Discriminated Migrant Women

In recent months, the Government of the Dominican Republic has been criticized for the application of a measure that consists of deporting pregnant Haitian women. To date, some media reports the deportation of between 200 and 300 women in this condition. This situation has become a new cause of concern for the Dominican-Haitian Women’s Movement (MUDHA).

In this sense, Jenny Morón, from the Legal Department of said organization, shares that she feels privileged to have the opportunity to raise her voice on behalf of other migrant women who suffer this and other types of violence. “When I speak for women, I speak for my generation, for my offspring, I think I am building a foundation for my daughter and granddaughters to live in a world that is less discriminatory and more equal,” she affirms.

This International Women’s Day, from Race and Equality, we express our utmost admiration and respect for the work carried out by thousands of women for the recognition and guarantee of their rights. We will continue accompanying them. We also call on States to adopt laws and policies that protect their activism and professions in line with international human rights standards and, in addition, respond to their demands; all this taking into account that women are diverse and that their life experiences are marked by their characteristics and the roles they play in society. We ask the human rights systems to be protagonists in the development of national and regional standards for the protection of women, offer technical assistance to States for the adoption and implementation of the same, and recognize the diverse and intersectional identities of women.

Salgueiro Massacre – Brazilian black population calls for help!: Race and Equality condemns genocide against the black population and calls to guarantee the life of black people

Brazil, November 25th 2021 – On the basis of the International Declaration of Human Rights, according to which life is an inalienable right, Race and Equality urges the international community to pay attention to police violence taking place in Brazil. We denounce yet another massacre taking place during the global pandemic, in the city of São Gonçalo, in Rio de Janeiro. It is important to mention that the black movement considers that violence resulting from structural racism in Brazil must be seen as genocide against the black population. In fact, when analyzing the situation of the Brazilian black population in its country report, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) mentions that there appears to be a process of “social cleansing, aimed at exterminating sectors considered “undesirable””, which happens with state support. [1]

A year ago, and on the eve of Black Consciousness Day, João Alberto was brutally murdered by property security agents in Carrefour market [2]. In 2021, the trend of violence against black and poor bodies is repeated a day after the same date that calls out to society for a conscience about black struggle and freedom. If the State ignores the anti-racism agenda made in favor of its people, how will we build a black history that does not include pain, suffering and violence? The result of this policy of fear and terror is yet another bloody killing: the Salgueiro Massacre.

On Monday, November 22, residents of the favela complex located in São Gonçalo, metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, woke up recovering bodies in the community’s mangrove swamps. So far, nine bodies have been found (residents say 20) [3], both men and women, and even an elderly woman who was shot in the arm. In addition, residents denounce that many innocent victims lost their lives in retaliation for the death of a police officer. The reports of this massacre are from mothers who had to remove the bodies of their family sunk in the mangrove swamp. No weapons were found among the bodies [4]. Orphaned families from yet another tragedy that could have been avoided if the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro had not acted through revenge. Thus, we asked Governor Claudio Castro – who authorized the police operation?

We continue to denounce the State’s complete disregard of complying with the restrictions placed by the Supreme Court on police operations in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro during the pandemic, known as the ‘ADPF das Favelas’ throughout 2021. Institutional racism and police brutality continue to be the State’s daily exchange of life and death towards the black population. Tragedies are enumerated in black bodies this year; 21 dead in the Jacarezinho Massacre in May; 14 dead in the Salgueiro Massacre in November. Bullets, which are considered “lost” by the police, were found in a dead pregnant woman, Katheleen Romeo back in June.

Furthermore, data from the Rede de Observatório da Segurança (Security Observatory Network) serves to confirm the lethality of police intervention in Rio de Janeiro: In 2021, 71% of the killings in Rio de Janeiro were carried out by state agents, totaling in 128 deaths. A survey by the Instituto de Segurança Pública (Public Security Institute) corroborates this – from January to July, 811 people died in police actions, a 38% of total homicides and an increase of 88.2% over the same period last year. This figure represents the highest percentage in the last 15 years. [5].

Considering the facts, Race and Equality refers to the Inter-American Convention against Racism and Related Forms of Intolerance and calls the attention of all protection mechanisms under international law that have pledged to cooperate to prevent and punish acts of killings of vulnerable populations around the world. We urge that international law treaties be enforced in the face of the extermination policies of the Military Police and the acceptance of violence by Brazilian governments. The Brazilian black population asks for help, because, to ask for peace, it is first necessary to have the right to live.

Finally, we urge the Brazilian State to make the following recommendations:

1 – Urge the local government of the state of Rio de Janeiro so that those responsible for the Salgueiro Massacre do not go unpunished.

2 – The creation of laws and mechanisms with an intersectional and anti-racist focus to curb and punish violent police actions in favelas.

3 – The veto of the anti-terrorism bill, already approved by the Chamber and which is going to be approved by the Senate, whose proposal approves the exclusion of illegality for police officers during their operations and creates the secret police for the President.

4 – The construction of an educational anti-racism agenda for the military police and all national public security agents.

[1] http://www.oas.org/en/cidh/relatorios/pdfs/Brasil2021-en.pdf

[2] https://www.poder360.com.br/brasil/saiba-quem-era-joao-alberto-espancado-ate-a-morte-no-supermercado-carrefour/

[3] Official data not yet released

[4]https://extra.globo.com/casos-de-policia/resgatamos-os-corpos-nao-achamos-nenhuma-arma-fizeram-uma-chacina-diz-morador-do-complexo-do-salgueiro-25286728. html

[5]https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2021/09/03/no-rj-38percent-dos-homicidios-foram-cometidos-por-policiais-em-7-meses- e-proporcao-bate-recorde.ghtml

Press Release: Civil society Organizations Request the Government of Colombia to Promote the Ratification of the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI)

Press Release: Civil society Organizations Request the Government of Colombia to Promote the Ratification of the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI)

Afro Latines Advocacy Week: Race and Equality brings organizations from Brazil and Colombia to Washington, D.C.

International Day for People of African Descent: What Are We Doing to Promote and Defend their Rights?

Colombia: first transitional justice experience in the world that includes a sexual and intersectional diversity approach

EDITORIAL: An opportunity for change for Colombia

Complexo da Penha Massacre: Human Rights organizations appeal to the IACHR to end police violence

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: The new international standards on the rights of people of African descent and racial justice, and the Inter-American Convention against Racism

8M-International Women’s Day: Recognize and protect women’s leadership from an intersectional perspective

Salgueiro Massacre – Brazilian black population calls for help!: Race and Equality condemns genocide against the black population and calls to guarantee the life of black people

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