Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Calls for a Delegation to Investigate the Enforced Disappearance of Brooklyn Rivera in Nicaragua

Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Calls for a Delegation to Investigate the Enforced Disappearance of Brooklyn Rivera in Nicaragua

Geneva, October 23, 2024 – At the 149th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), delegates listened to the moving testimony of Tininiska Rivera Castellón, daughter of the Miskitu indigenous leader and YATAMA party deputy, Brooklyn Rivera Bryan, who has been forcibly disappeared since September 2023. The IPU Governing Council decided to request that the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians send a delegation to Nicaragua to meet with authorities from all branches of government, as well as other institutions or organizations that may provide information on the cases of Rivera and his alternate deputy, Nancy Henríquez.

Brooklyn Rivera Bryan was arbitrarily arrested at his home in Bilwi, and his whereabouts remain unknown. During her testimony, Tininiska highlighted her father’s legacy as a leader of the Miskitu community and tireless defender of indigenous territories. She also denounced the persecution her family has faced and called on parliamentarians worldwide to “take concrete action in my father’s case so that the Nicaraguan government provides proof of life and information on his whereabouts, his health status; and join the voices already demanding his immediate release.”

Nancy Elizabeth Henríquez James, also a Miskitu indigenous leader, took over Rivera’s parliamentary seat as his alternate in April 2023. On October 1, 2023, she was arrested by undercover police officers, and her whereabouts remained unknown for about two months. On December 13, 2023, she was sentenced to eight years in prison in a trial held inside the women’s prison “La Esperanza,” where she was denied legal representation.

To date, no legal proceedings have been initiated to terminate the parliamentary mandates of Brooklyn Rivera Bryan and Nancy Henríquez James in the Nicaraguan Parliament; however, both have been removed from the list of members of the National Assembly.

IPU Has Not Received Information from the Nicaraguan Assembly

According to the “Decisions of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians” document, the IPU formally requested information and official observations from the Nicaraguan National Assembly on both cases in April and September of this year; however, the Nicaraguan Parliament has yet to provide any information. The IPU encouraged the Nicaraguan National Assembly to engage in “a constructive and ongoing dialogue with the Committee to ensure a satisfactory and swift solution.”

The IPU expressed deep concern that Brooklyn Rivera’s disappearance is allegedly linked to his parliamentary activities as an opposition deputy and indigenous leader, as well as his participation in the 22nd session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York in April 2023. The IPU emphasized the responsibility of Nicaraguan authorities to thoroughly investigate his disappearance and ensure that his family is informed of his situation.

Regarding Nancy Henríquez, the Committee expressed concern over the serious violations of her right to a fair trial, as well as the deterioration of her health. The IPU called for her to receive urgent and appropriate medical treatment.

“Attacks and reprisals against parliamentarians for their work violate their fundamental rights and undermine the role of parliament as an institution,” states the Committee’s Decisions document.

IPU Mission to Nicaragua

The IPU Governing Council requested that the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians send a delegation to Nicaragua as soon as possible to meet with all authorities exercising legislative, executive, or judicial powers, as well as relevant prison authorities and any other institution, civil society organization, or individual in a position to provide relevant information on the case. The delegation was also tasked with visiting Nancy Henríquez in prison.

The Council expressed that it “sincerely hopes that the competent national authorities will fully cooperate and that the mission will swiftly contribute to finding satisfactory solutions to this case in accordance with applicable national and international human rights standards.”

Finally, the IPU called on all national parliaments, IPU Permanent Observers, human rights organizations, and the international community to take concrete action to help resolve these and other similar cases in Nicaragua.

Statement

From the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), we support the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s commitment to defending the human rights of parliamentarians and promoting justice in Nicaragua. The increasing reports of political repression and persecution against indigenous leaders and political opponents in Nicaragua are alarming. We urge the international community to continue applying pressure to demand truth, justice, reparation, and non-repetition, as well as the immediate release of Brooklyn Rivera and Nancy Elizabeth Henríquez.

“Enforced Disappearances Create a Climate of Terror Among Opponents”: Working Group Presents Report on the Effects of Enforced Disappearances in Electoral Contexts in Nicaragua and the World

 Geneva, September 23, 2024. The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances presented its most recent report on the impact that these actions have on electoral processes in the world and stressed, that the practice is being used by the “elites in power”, to maintain and consolidate it, mentioning the disappearances in Nicaragua since 2018 and, especially during the 2021 election year. 

During the presentation of the thematic report: “Enforced Disappearances and Elections”, the rapporteur in charge of the report, Aua Baldé, who is also the Chair and Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, mentioned that at least 60 countries in the world held elections in conditions of democratic deterioration. 

Baldé explained that forced disappearances are being used as a tool by some governments to create “a climate of terror among the opponents” of a country and thus consolidate power. 

“One of the most prominent trends is that of short-term enforced disappearances, where individuals are made to disappear for short periods of time, without telling their families, (while detainees) are victims of various human rights violations,” said President Baldé. 

Since then, thousands of people in the Central American country have been and continue to be subjected to conditions of forced disappearance, as in the case of Indigenous leader and former congressman Brooklyn Rivera, who on September 29 will mark one year since he was kidnapped by the regime’s police without clarifying his whereabouts or health condition. 

At the end of May 2021, in an election year, the Ortega-Murillo regime began a hunt against presidential candidates, journalists, human rights defenders, and anyone perceived as an opponent, in order to maintain power. 

Juan Sebastián Chamorro was one of those arrested, he disappeared for almost three months and, after being convicted, he was a political prisoner for two years. During his speech at the presentation of the report, Chamorro stressed: “It is extremely important to raise awareness that disappearance means the deprivation of liberty by agents of the State who refuse to reveal the whereabouts of the detainees, as well as their fate.” 

Chamorro mentioned that people who are victims of forced disappearances also go through a previous process of police harassment and political violence that can be identified as patterns that serve to prevent future forced disappearances in electoral contexts. 

“Electoral violence and forced disappearances are increasingly common to discourage political participation. And what is more important, it is a direct attack on the only form of survival of democracy: respect for the popular vote and the political right to elect and be elected,” Chamorro added. 

The report highlights that the practice of forced disappearances does not discriminate against age, gender, or profession; affecting all kinds of people, journalists, members of civil society, and their families. 

Race and Equality demands that the Ortega-Murillo regime report the whereabouts of people currently in a situation of forced disappearance. The international community must demand that those responsible be punished for such crimes. 

The report Enforced Disappearances and the Elections is available at the following link.

“Nicaragua is testing the limits of the United Nations system,” experts say at a side event during the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council

Geneva, September 13, 2024.- “Nicaragua is not only isolating itself; it is testing the limits of the United Nations system,” stated Jan Michael Simon, Chair of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN), during a side event organized by the Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality), held in the context of the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council. Simon called for coordinated advocacy from the international community, especially International Financial Institutions.

The event, titled “International Solidarity with Nicaragua: setbacks, progress, and future challenges,” was co-sponsored by CCPR, ISHR, MAM, INANA, and the embassies of Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador, Canada, Argentina, and Costa Rica in Geneva. The discussion included Nicaraguan human rights defenders, representatives of GHREN, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and delegates from allied embassies supporting the Nicaraguan people.

In her opening remarks, Chile’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Claudia Fuentes-Julio, reminded attendees that the foundation of the UN Human Rights Council and the broader UN system is built on the will to cooperate and work together, and therefore, Nicaragua’s isolation is a threat. “When we have a state like Nicaragua, which cuts off political relations with the outside world while its regime remains in power due to its economic ties, we must question the true priorities of the system we are building,” she warned.

Jan-Michael Simon, Chair of GHREN, pointed out that the only area where Nicaragua is not isolating itself is in multilateral financial bodies, known as International Financial Institutions (IFIs), particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He stressed that advocacy efforts must be directed at these bodies.

“We hope that the countries represented and the respective boards of these IFIs, whether it be the IMF, the Financial Action Task Force, or countries with bilateral relations with Nicaragua, take their commitments to free trade agreements seriously,” concluded the expert.

Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities targeted by the regime
According to GHREN expert Ariela Peralta, political persecution is focused on silencing any autonomous dissident voices that can organize. Peralta explained that the Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities of Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast are a “target” of the regime’s political persecution “due to their capacity to organize and express opposition… as evidenced in both findings and historical contexts.”

Peralta lamented that among the group of 135 Nicaraguans who were released from prison and exiled to Guatemala, Indigenous leaders Brooklyn Rivera and Nancy Elizabeth Henríquez were not included. Rivera has been in a state of enforced disappearance since September 2023.

Anexa Alfred Cunningham, a Nicaraguan expert on the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and founder of the INANA Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples’ Platform, denounced that violence against Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples is systematic. According to INANA’s records, massacres have been a constant from 2020 to 2023. During this period, three massacres were carried out in the Mayangna Indigenous communities located in the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, resulting in at least 20 Indigenous people killed, including women and girls who were subjected to sexual violence and torture. Alfred also lamented the recent closure of the Moravian Church, which provided assistance “in the absence of the State in matters of health and education.”

UPR is a crucial opportunity
“The exercise of fundamental rights is criminalized (in Nicaragua). For many years, terms like political advocacy or citizen participation have been punishable offenses. Demanding rights is called ‘terrorism.’ Insisting that officials and authorities comply with the law is labeled ‘undermining national integrity.’ Demanding democracy makes one a ‘coup plotter,’” denounced Azahalia Solís, a Nicaraguan human rights defender and member of the Autonomous Women’s Movement (MAM), who was arbitrarily stripped of her nationality in 2023.

Fiorella Melzi, Coordinator of MESENI, warned that “the repression has continued with even more severe manifestations against civic and democratic spaces. All of this is aimed at eliminating organized civil society and consolidating a regime with concentrated power in the Executive, orchestrated for years, based on a police state.” The Nicaraguan state continues to commit grave and systematic violations against the population, primarily due to political persecution, “or simply for being people deemed as not aligned with the government’s interests.”

Andrés Sánchez, Deputy Representative and Officer in Charge of the OHCHR Regional Office for Central America and the Dominican Republic, agreed, saying, “The situation is extremely alarming… This dismantling of the social fabric leaves thousands of people without access to essential services, exacerbating the country’s social and economic crisis.”

“In this context, I want to emphasize the importance of the upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The UPR is a crucial opportunity for states to present their recommendations to the Nicaraguan government, urging it to cease these violations and relying on the High Commissioner’s recommendations, which can serve as a solid base or guide,” he concluded.

Statement
The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) denounces that the Nicaraguan regime continues to use arbitrary detentions as a mechanism to silence dissenting voices. Carlos Quesada, Executive Director of Race and Equality, stated that the regime continues to resort to this practice, “keeping hundreds of people imprisoned, only to later release and exile them.” He recalled that in February 2023, 222 Nicaraguan prisoners were released and exiled, and now the regime has exiled 135 more, sending them to Guatemala. These actions destroy the lives of the affected individuals, leaving them in a state of helplessness.

Furthermore, Race and Equality urgently calls for the implementation of GHREN’s recommendation on the importance of advocating before International Financial Institutions. These institutions must recognize that crimes against humanity are being committed in Nicaragua and, consequently, implement human rights due diligence policies to identify, prevent, address, and remedy the negative impacts associated with their activities in the country.

Race and Equality and #NicasLibresYa celebrate the release of 135 political prisoners and demand that the Ortega-Murillo regime cease all arbitrary detentions and imprisonments for political motives

Washington D.C., September 5, 2024.- Race and Equality and the organizations that make up the campaign #NicasLibreYa, celebrate the recent release of 135 people who were deprived of their liberty for political reasons and held in inhumane conditions in Nicaragua.

This morning, the 5th of September, 135 people were liberated and subsequently exiled to Guatemala following negotiations between the country and the United States. There they were granted humanitarian assistance so they are able to restart their lives.

Among these 135 people, there are 13 detained members of the Mountain Gateway organization, as well as lay Catholics, students, human rights defenders, journalists, and others, “who Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo consider a threat to their authoritarian rule,” according to a statement published by the White House.

We are happy to know they will not longer suffer torture, and will be able to receive medical attention and have access to adequate nutrition, conditions that they did not have during their unjust imprisonments. However, we are worried that arbitrary detention and imprisonments for political reasons will continue being part of the repressive patterns that the regime has imposed upon all Nicaraguans since before the political crisis of 2018.

Following Guardabarranco Operation in which 222 political prisoners were liberated in February 2023, arbitrary detentions continued and the regime went from holding just 35 political prisoners in jail to 151, according to a statistic from the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners in July 2024.

Race and Equality and the #NicasLibreYa campaign demand that this pattern stop and that thinking differently stops constituting a motive for Nicaraguans to be incarcerated, tortured, isolated, and then exiled to other countries. We urge the regime in the coming months to cease arbitrary detentions for political reasons. 

Although leaving prison and Nicaragua allows these individuals to rebuild their lives in another country, this often entails psychological effects due to exile, health problems as a result of the lack of medical attention during incarceration and, on occasion, forced separation from their families, since the regime does not allow them to leave Nicaragua.

The regime must guarantee that no persecution will follow these people beyond Nicaragua’s borders and the international community must ensure that recent reforms in the Nicaraguan Penal Code do not extend the claws of repression to other countries where they might find exiled persons.  

The confiscation of property, cancellation of non-governmental organizations and chambers’ of commerce legal status, are also systematic human rights violations against the Nicaraguan people that continue and the international community must hold Ortega and Murillo responsible, as functionaries for all the crimes they have committed.

It is time that the Ortega-Murillo regime see that global solidarity with Nicaraguans is greater than its desire for power as demonstrated by the actions of the governments of Guatemala and the United States in the transfer and care of these 135 persons released from prison.

We appreciate that, for the second time, the government of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have used diplomacy to achieve the liberation of people deprived of their liberty for political reasons and that, in Guatemala, President Bernado Arévalo, accepted to receive and provide them with, in conjunction with the USA, humanitarian assistance as necessary.

As indicated by the statement by the White House, these people may opt to relocate to the United States or another country through the Secure Mobility program implemented by the Biden-Harris administration.

We do not forget that jails in Nicaragua still hold twenty people who have been detained for thinking differently and Race and Equality and #NicasLibreYa are resolute that we will continue to fight for their liberty.

All of them are innocent!

Nicaragua deserves to live in democracy!

Multifaceted Crisis in Nicaragua Requires Urgent Change of Course by the Government, Says UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Geneva, September 4, 2024 – “The multifaceted crisis that has affected Nicaragua since 2018 requires an urgent change of course by the Government,” recommended the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, in his annual report (2023-2024) published on Tuesday, September 3, in compliance with Human Rights Council Resolution 52/2.

In his report, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documented that the Nicaraguan government has intensified control over all state institutions and has pursued the persecution of any individual or organization acting independently or expressing dissenting opinions, including human rights defenders, independent media, and non-governmental organizations.

Officials Under the Regime’s Scrutiny

The OHCHR highlighted the severe situation within Nicaragua’s justice system, which is under the control of the Executive Branch and has enabled the persecution of individuals perceived as political opponents. According to testimonies from justice system officials before the OHCHR, there exists a climate of fear, intimidation, and harassment.

In November 2023, hundreds of officials were dismissed, allegedly due to conflicting political loyalties with different government factions. In a case documented by the OHCHR, a high-ranking official was subjected to arbitrary house arrest, and a judge had to flee the country to avoid politically motivated detention.

Sexual Violations and Abuses of Male and Female Political Prisoners

According to OHCHR data, as of last May, 131 people were under arbitrary detention, marking a significant increase compared to 54 individuals in June 2023. Notably, ten more arbitrary detentions occurred in June and July 2024.

The OHCHR raised alarms over five cases of detainees who were subjected to torture or ill-treatment, including brutal beatings, prolonged isolation, and stress or positional torture. Moreover, in the second half of 2023, the Office documented seven cases of detainees who reported being subjected to rape, sexual abuse, and electric shocks. Among the most alarming cases, three detainees reported having their testicles strangled.

The OHCHR also noted that the detention conditions for women are characterized by the use of sexual violence and gender-based violence, including death threats or threats to take their children away, deprivation of necessary medications and hygiene products, forced labor, forced nudity, rape threats, sexual abuse, and rape. Additionally, in 2023, it was documented that two- and three-month-old babies were separated from their mothers following arbitrary arrests, interrupting breastfeeding.

Forced Disappearances as a Tool of Control

The OHCHR has documented the use of forced disappearances as a tool of control. Among the cases documented is that of a 70-year-old merchant who was detained on October 10, 2023, for criticizing the Government in informal conversations in his store in Terrabona, Matagalpa. After more than a month of his whereabouts being unknown, constituting a forced disappearance, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for arms trafficking in a trial that did not guarantee his right to due process.

Another alarming case is that of a 65-year-old academic who disappeared on November 20, 2023, presumably in retaliation for a critical social media post. To date, his whereabouts remain unknown.

Forced disappearances represent a grave violation of international law and leave the victims’ families in a state of distress and uncertainty.

Expulsions and Denationalizations

In 2023, the Nicaraguan government arbitrarily stripped 317 people (60 women and 257 men) of their nationality, rendering them stateless, in clear violation of international human rights law. This action has had devastating consequences, leaving them without access to fundamental rights and essential services.

Additionally, 62 cases were documented where Nicaraguan nationals (33 women and 29 men) were denied entry to their own country. This denial occurred without prior notice, causing severe consequences such as the forced separation of families. “These expulsions and denationalizations have forced the victims to rebuild their lives far from their families, facing a situation of legal and personal insecurity,” the report cites.

Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples

The OHCHR has recorded multiple violations in the territories of Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples on Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast. In July 2023, two Indigenous forest rangers from the Mayangna Sauni As territory were killed by settlers, and another Indigenous person from the same region died from injuries sustained in an attack. The authorities have not taken adequate measures to investigate these incidents or prevent future abuses.

Additionally, on October 31, 2023, and April 22, 2024, mining concessions were granted in Indigenous territories without carrying out the necessary consultations. The Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples, Francisco Cali Tzay, expressed concern over the lack of information and pressure during the consultations for the Bio-CLIMA project conducted by the Government from August 18 to September 7, 2023.

On March 7, 2024, the Green Climate Fund announced that it had terminated the project due to non-compliance with its policies and procedures regarding environmental and social safeguards.

2026 Elections, “A New Opportunity for Nicaragua”

Among his recommendations, the High Commissioner urged the Government to: release all individuals arbitrarily detained in the context of the political crisis; adopt measures to prevent torture and ill-treatment in prisons; amend criminal legislation to align it with international human rights standards; ensure fair trials and due process; and restore civic and democratic spaces.

He also called on the government to ensure impartiality in the upcoming 2026 elections, which “have the potential to offer a new opportunity for Nicaragua… if they are held in a safe and conducive environment for human rights, where the right to political participation can be exercised meaningfully, and Nicaraguans are free to decide the future of their country.”

Finally, Türk urged the international community to strengthen accountability for the alleged international crimes committed since 2018 in Nicaragua, as well as to promote the appropriate application of universal and extraterritorial jurisdictions, and to “ensure that all international assistance and investments provided to Nicaragua, including through financial institutions and international companies, adopt a human rights-based approach.”

Statement

From the Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality), we emphasize the importance of the work carried out by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Despite the Nicaraguan government’s refusal to cooperate and provide information, the Office continues to play an essential role in monitoring the crisis in Nicaragua, protecting the confidentiality of sources at risk, and issuing crucial recommendations to the Nicaraguan State and the international community to put an end to this alarming situation.

Likewise, we commend the vital role played by Nicaraguan civil society organizations. Despite the extreme risk and difficulty under which they operate, these organizations continue, with courage and determination, to report on the situation, ensuring that the world is aware of the grave human rights violations that persist in Nicaragua. Their work is indispensable for the defense of human rights and the restoration of democracy in the nation.

Finally, we demand the immediate release of all individuals imprisoned for political reasons and call for justice for all victims of the repression by the Ortega-Murillo regime.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, Enforced Disappearances Hinder Democracy

Washington D.C., August 30, 2024 – In Venezuela, a month after its disputed presidential elections, more than two thousand people have been victims of forced disappearances and arbitrary detentions, according to the organizations Provea and Foro Penal.  In Mexico, “there are around 110 thousand people who are missing to date,” according to the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED). Meanwhile, in Cuba, according to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, there are cases of activists who are “victims of short term forced disappearances.” 

The situation in these three countries is evidence of serious human rights violations in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the member of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, Ecuadorian lawyer Juan Pablo Albán, with whom we spoke on International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, this Friday, August 30. 

Enforced disappearances occur “whenever persons are arrested, detained or transferred against their will, or otherwise deprived of their liberty by government agents of any sector or level, by organized groups or by private individuals acting on behalf of the Government or with its direct or indirect support, and who then refuse to disclose the fate or whereabouts of such persons, or to acknowledge that they are deprived of their liberty,” according to the United Nations. 

This is precisely what is constantly occurring in Latin America and the Caribbean, where, according to Albán, the highest number of forced disappearances in the world is registered, with Mexico being the country where this type of human rights violation has been documented the most. 

“The most notable trends in the region and in the world have to do with disappearances committed by non-state actors, disappearances in the migratory situations, disappearances in the context of protest suppression, or under the argument of the fight against terrorism or organized crime, and disappearances of people who are labeled as potential members of gangs, organized crime gangs or terrorist groups,” says the member of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances of the United Nations. 

Albán assures that when cases of forced disappearance are registered in a country, the quality of democracy is lessened because there is no social debate. “States lose a lot when they do not respond, do not confront this phenomenon, and worse still, when they practice forced disappearance as a state policy,” he adds.

Colombia

The phenomenon of forced disappearances in Colombia has been a persistent problem for more than six decades, and is closely linked to the armed conflict that ravaged the country. According to the Truth Commission, between 1985 and 2016, approximately 121,768 cases of forced disappearances were reported, although it is estimated that the figure could be as high 210,000 victims. This problem has also affected the migrant population, especially Venezuelans. According to the Andrés Bello Catholic University, from 2015 to 2020, 836 Venezuelan people were reported missing in Colombia. However, an absence of accurate data has hindered a complete assessment of the magnitude of these human rights violations.

In the framework of the 2021 National Strike, 4,846 transfers for temporary protection were documented, a legal figure that has been questioned for its arbitrary use and its impact on the rights of protesters. Despite the Constitutional Court’s resolution that requires detailed reports and the right to request the cessation of the transfer, these practices continue today and remain problematic, with numerous cases of abuse reported, including torture and sexual violence.

The handling of enforced disappearances in Colombia faces several critical challenges, such as the failure of the Attorney General’s Office to activate the Urgent Search Mechanism (MBU); the lack of compliance with international recommendations; and the use of euphemisms by the Government to minimize the seriousness of the problem. In addition, the underreporting of cases and the discrepancy between official figures and those reported by civil society organizations complicate the accurate assessment of the phenomenon. These issues underscore the need for comprehensive reform in police practices, and improved transparency and effectiveness in the state’s response to enforced disappearances.

Cuba

In Cuba, between January 2022 and July 2024, “93 incidents of human rights violations were recorded, which included conditions of forced disappearance for several hours, days, and even more than a week”, according to the organization Cubalex. The Ladies in White movement has reported that between 2013 and June 2024, 3,904 arbitrary detentions and forced disappearances have been documented against members of this women’s collective. Most have been victims on repeated occasions, and for periods ranging from 24 to 72 hours.  

These types of forced disappearances, which are not prolonged as in Colombia, mainly affect activists, independent journalists, artists and, in general, anyone who disagrees with the official discourse.

A report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances of July 2024, also expressed concern about the arrests and excessive use of force exercised by the Police during the historic demonstrations of July 11, 2021, known as 11J. According to this UN Special Procedure, most of the persons detained in that context did not appear before a judicial authority until many days, weeks or months later, and before that the fate and whereabouts of the detainees were unknown, which constituted an act of enforced disappearance.

Nicaragua 

In Nicaragua nine persons are in a situation of forced disappearance, according to the Registration Unit (UDR).  Among these persons are indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera, and journalist and cultural affairs director Fabiola Tercero. 

Brooklyn Rivera, 72 years old, is an indigenous Miskitu, regional deputy (2022-2026) and a leader of the Miskitu people (Ta Upla) and of the indigenous party YATAMA (Yapti Tasba Masraka Nanih Aslatakanka, “Children of Mother Earth united”). His family has had no knowledge of his whereabouts since September 29, 2023. In January of this year, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated that Rivera is in “enforced disappearance” and advocated for his release.

Fabiola Tercero is a journalist, activist and founder of “El rincón de Fabi”, a project that aims to promote reading among young Nicaraguans. Her home was raided on July 12 and since then her whereabouts are unknown, as are those of her mother and sister.

In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, the director of the Legal Defense Unit (UDJ), Alexandra Salazar, affirmed that the authorities refuse to provide information on the whereabouts of these people. “In such a way that there is no certainty of their conditions of detention, nor verification of their state of health and life,” she added. In addition, the UDJ identified cases in which prison authorities recommended that family members look for political detainees “in the morgues,” which increases anguish and constitutes an additional form of torture.

For its part, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, in its July 2024 report, stated that “short-term” enforced disappearances have been used as a “tool to repress opponents and critics of the Government” since 2018. The Group also emphasized that the State must promptly provide accurate information about the detention of persons deprived of their liberty and the place(s) they are held to their family members and any other person with a legitimate interest (art. 10, para. 2, of the Declaration), and that failure to do so constitutes an enforced disappearance. 

Peru 

In the case of Peru, according to the National Registry of Missing Persons and Burial Sites (Renade) of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, between 1980 and 2000, during the internal armed conflict, there were 21,918 missing persons, of which the whereabouts of 19,200 cases have yet to be determined. To date, the search for 2,718 missing persons has been completed, of which 39 were found alive. In addition, 682 skeletal remains were identified and returned to the families. At the beginning of July 2024, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) pronounced itself on the restitution of remains in the Putis case, encouraging the State to continue the search, identification, dignified restitution and prosecution of those responsible.

Unfortunately, the country has seen regression in the access to justice, the right to truth and reparation for the victims of forced disappearances. Recently, the Congress of the Republic approved Law 32107 that prescribes crimes against humanity or war crimes committed before July 1, 2002, that is, before the entry into force of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity. With this law, no one may be prosecuted, convicted or punished for forced disappearances, genocide, slavery, terrorism, systematic and widespread torture, and other crimes against humanity committed during the armed conflict. 

“All this is to give impunity to Fujimori and others involved in serious human rights violations,” Albán emphasizes. In fact, the acts committed by former president Alberto Fujimori led to the declaration of Peru’s international responsibility in the Barrios Altos and La Cantuta cases, which were resolved by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) and in which several of these actions have been classified as crimes against humanity.

Last June, through a communiqué, the IACHR expressed that the proposed law is contrary to international law and warned that it “openly disobeys the sentences of the IACHR Court.” In the same vein, Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a recent statement that these crimes should not be subject to amnesties or statutes of limitation. However, nothing prevented Congress from approving the law.

The cases of forced disappearances described in Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua and Peru are evidence of the serious human rights violations that also occur throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and which, at the same time, hinder democracy in the region. 

According to CED member Juan Pablo Albán, it is necessary that in each of these countries a culture of denunciation is promoted, cases are documented, protection channels are used, and more States that make up the United Nations General Assembly commit themselves to fight against this phenomenon, in order to reduce the number of forced disappearances worldwide. 

From the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) we commemorate the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, and emphasize that this type of violence affects thousands of human beings including activists, human rights defenders, indigenous peoples, artists of the region, and opposition members or people who are perceived as such, as well as their families, including children who suffer from this institutional violence, or by other actors. We condemn this phenomenon and call on the authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean to commit to finding those who are still missing, and to protect critical and dissident voices. We also urge independent civil society to continue to denounce this violence before international human rights protection mechanisms.



OAS General Assembly: Race and Equality to dialogue with civil society and experts on racial discrimination, gender-based violence and hemispheric security

Washington D.C., June 14, 2024 – Ahead of the 54th session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race & Equality) is reaffirming its commitment to the defense of human rights in the region by holding three parallel events. The first event, the Inter-American Forum against Discrimination, which has been part of the institutional calendar since 2005, will bring together leaders from different countries for a dialogue on reparations and the main demands of the Afro-descendant, indigenous and LGBTI+ population. The second event will address the human rights crisis in Nicaragua and international financial support; and the third event, coordinated by the Latin American Human Rights Consortium, will bring together key actors from different countries to discuss human rights as a pillar of hemispheric security in the Americas. 

The OAS General Assembly will be held from June 26 to 28 at Conmebol, located in the city of Asuncion, Paraguay, under the theme “Integration and Security for the Sustainable Development of the Region”. For Raza e Igualdad, the OAS General Assembly is a space for broad dialogue and exchange of best practices of civil society in the region, as well as an opportunity to strengthen its demands by listening to delegations from Member States and its Secretariat. In this way, the parallel events achieve the purpose of effective political advocacy before this international human rights mechanism. 

Inter-American Forum against Discrimination

This year, the Inter-American Forum against Discrimination will be held on Tuesday, June 25, and will consist of four sections with the following themes: “The role of human rights protection systems in the reparation of different groups discriminated against in the region”; “Experiences of reparation in the region and its scope in relation to racialized, mobile or displaced groups, sexual, religious, linguistic, political minorities, among others”; “Reparation in the context of gender”; and, finally, the section “The ethnic population and the 54th Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly”.

The opening panel of the Forum will feature Gloria De Mees, OAS Rapporteur on the Rights of People of African Descent and against Racial Discrimination. In the following panels, leaders from the region will join the debate with information about their contexts and their struggles for reparations, restitution and guarantees of non-repetition. In addition, in the context of gender reparations, several activists will present and discuss the implications of the general recommendation of the Follow-up Mechanism of the Belém do Pará Convention (MESECVI) on Afro-descendant women. 

The annual Forum will also discuss the strengthening of the Afrodescendant Coalition of the Americas and the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI). 

To participate, register here: https://tinyurl.com/2fx7uc29  

***

International financial support to Nicaragua despite democratic and human rights crisis

On Tuesday afternoon, June 25, Raza e Igualdad will bring together experts from the OAS, academia and civil society to discuss the responsibility of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) in relation to crimes against humanity and human rights violations in Nicaragua. It will also analyze the strategic relevance of these institutions in the use of human rights due diligence to address the negative impacts of their development projects. 

In a regime historically marked by systematic human rights violations, the continuity of international financial support brings to light several questions from civil society. From 2018 to the present, the authoritarian regime of Daniel Ortega, Rosario Murillo and their followers have carried out widespread and systematic attacks against the Nicaraguan civilian population in opposition for political reasons. Since 2021, the democratic and human rights crisis has significantly worsened. On February 9, 2023, 222 people were released from prison, then banished to the United States and arbitrarily stripped of their nationality and citizenship rights. Among the most vulnerable groups are human rights defenders, journalists, religious leaders, women, indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, and LGBTI+ people.

However, the abundant evidence of the democratic and human rights crisis in Nicaragua was not enough for the International Financial Institutions to decide to change their strategy towards the country, strengthen their human rights due diligence, or suspend and/or cancel the implementation of their projects in the country. In February 2024, the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank Group and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration supported 97 projects in the execution phase in Nicaragua, with the approval of US$5,082.43 million, according to information available on their websites. Of these, 57 projects were approved for a total of US$2,784.43 million, following the onset of the crisis in 2018.

To participate, register here: https://tinyurl.com/57r4b22m

***

Human Rights as a Pillar of Hemispheric Security in the Americas

The Latin American Human Rights Consortium – formed by Race & Equality, Freedom House and the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) – will hold the event “Human Rights as a Pillar of Hemispheric Security in the Americas” on Wednesday, June 26. This event aims to highlight human rights violations in Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Venezuela as a driver of the debate on security in the region. In these countries with insecure and repressive contexts, inequalities are generated in terms of freedom and security with a differential effect on the most vulnerable groups, such as Afro-descendants, women, children, LGBTI+ population and people deprived of liberty for political reasons.

Thus, new concerns and challenges, including the political, social, economic, environmental and human rights situation of OAS Member States, have led this organization to redefine its understanding of hemispheric security. Thus, on October 28, 2003, the States of the Americas promulgated the “Declaration on Security in the Americas”, proposing a new concept of multidimensional security that recognizes that the objective of hemispheric security is the “protection of human beings”.

In its declaration, the OAS considered that “representative democracy is an indispensable condition for the stability, peace and development of the States of the Hemisphere” and that it is “the responsibility of the specialized forums of the OAS, as well as inter-American and international forums, to develop cooperation mechanisms to confront these new threats on the basis of the applicable instruments”. 

In this context, the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the IACHR, Pedro Vaca; the Deputy Director of the Program for Latin America and the Caribbean of Freedom House, Alejandra Argueta; the lawyer of the organization Cubalex, Alain Espinoza; the legal professional of the Legal Defense Unit of Nicaragua, Arlette Serrano; the Venezuelan journalist from Voces de la Memoria, Victor Navarro; and the co-founder of the association Tracoda (Transparency, Social Controllership, Open Data) from El Salvador, Luis Villatoro, will discuss strategies to strengthen the security and protection of the population and human rights defenders, among the current challenges faced by authoritarian regimes in the Americas. 

To participate, register here: https://tinyurl.com/537cdu3w  

 

More information about the events 

Inter-American Forum against Discrimination

Date and time: Tuesday, June 25, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (Asunción and Washington D.C.) / 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (Brasilia time)

Location: Dazzler Hotel, Aviadores del Chaco avenue

Live broadcast via Zoom and Facebook Live @RaceandEquality

Registration: https://tinyurl.com/2fx7uc29  

Simultaneous interpretation in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

 

International financial support to Nicaragua despite democratic and human rights crisis

Date and time: Tuesday, June 25th, 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (Asuncion and Washington D.C.) / 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. (Brasilia time)

Location: Dazzler Hotel, Avenida Aviadores del Chaco

Live broadcast via Zoom and Facebook Live @RaceandEquality

Registration: https://tinyurl.com/57r4b22m  

Simultaneous interpretation in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

 

Human Rights as a Pillar of Hemispheric Security in the Americas

Date and time: Wednesday, June 26th, 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (Asunción and Washington, D.C.) / 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. (Brasilia time)

Location: Hotel Esplendor, Avenida Aviadores del Chaco

Live broadcast via Zoom and Facebook Live @RaceandEquality

Registration: https://tinyurl.com/537cdu3w 

Simultaneous interpretation in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

Mother’s Day in Nicaragua: The International Community Must Amplify its Cry for Justice

May 30th marks Mother’s Day in Nicaragua, a day that should represent happiness and peace, but in this Central American country it is marked by mourning and pain. We at the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race & Equality) recognize the tireless quest for justice of Nicaraguan mothers and renew our commitment to their struggle. We call on the international community to amplify their cries for truth, justice, reparation measures, and guarantees of non-repetition, and consider suing Nicaragua before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Since April 2018, at least 355 mothers have lost their children to state repression against the protests. Exactly six years ago, the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo unleashed a massacre on a peaceful demonstration entitled “the mother of all marches.” Its purpose was for the Nicaraguan people to express their solidarity with the at least 83 women who had lost their children during the first days of protests. During that mobilization, police and parapolice killed 19 more demonstrators.

“We will never forget ‘the mother of all marches.’ It was a day of mourning, a day to show respect and empathy to those who lost their children, but the dictatorship showed its cruelest face by shooting to kill. Ortega and Murillo turned this day into an atrocious massacre,” said Carlos Quesada, Executive Director and Founder of Race & Equality.

“The mothers of April have not been able to live their mourning in peace. They cannot even go to visit their children’s graves. However, in the midst of pain, persecution and exile imposed by the dictatorship, they continue occupying spaces of denunciation and preservation of historical memory. Their commitment to truth and justice remains a beacon of hope in the midst of the darkness imposed by the dictatorship. Their memory will never be forgotten, and their voices will never be silenced!” stated Christina Fetterhoff, Program Director of Race and Equality.

The mothers have organized peaceful marches and demonstrations to demand truth and accountability in their host countries. They have created the Museum of Memory against impunity “AMA Y NO OLVIDA” to honor and dignify their children, and to counter the government-driven discourse that “they were criminals.” This museum, unable to continue with its traveling exhibition in Nicaragua, has been temporarily installed in different cities in the United States, Europe and Latin America. 

In addition, the mothers have collaborated with human rights organizations to document cases of violations and abuses, providing valuable testimonies that help to build a historical record of the events. They have also taken their struggle to international bodies, participating in hearings at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the United Nations Human Rights Council and other venues to raise awareness of the situation in Nicaragua and press for concrete action.

“We must remember that in Nicaraguan prisons there are women who are mothers with zero contact with their sons and daughters, for using their voice to defend Nicaragua’s freedom. Nor can we forget that the regime has banished dozens of women who have sons and daughters who are minors, and whose family reunification has been severely hindered and even impossible to achieve,” said Carlos Quesada.

According to the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners, as of April 15, 2024, at least 23 women were being held for political reasons in unhealthy detention centers, in conditions that are considered cruel and inhumane treatment and torture, and exposed to additional gender-based risks, such as harassment and sexual violence.

On the other hand, there are dozens of mothers and grandmothers in the group of 222 former political prisoners of the regime who were banished to the United States and in the list of 94 people declared “traitors to the homeland” in February 2023. These women lost their nationality, citizenship rights, and their records in Nicaragua, directly affecting the physical and emotional stability not only of themselves, but also of their sons and daughters. The Nicaraguan administration insists on denying passports and, in the case of minors, not issuing exit permits, making family reunification impossible. 

Among these mothers and grandmothers are women over 60 years of age and suffering from chronic illnesses. The regime not only took away their citizenship and freedom of movement, but also stripped them of their retirement pensions and thus their right to a dignified old age. 

On this Mother’s Day in Nicaragua, the international community must listen and support these brave women in their struggle for justice and peace.

Cuba and Nicaragua: countries where independent journalism is a crime

On World Press Freedom Day, we demand that Cuban and Nicaraguan authorities respect independent journalism, without resorting to violence and repression against those who practice this profession.

Washington D.C., May 3, 2024 – In the authoritarian regimes of Cuba and Nicaragua, independent journalism is punished with imprisonment, exile, arbitrary deprivation of nationality, confiscation of personal property, and media outlets. On World Press Freedom Day, commemorated today worldwide, and recognizing that freedom is an essential pillar for accountability and the proper functioning of public institutions, the Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality) highlights the work of Cuban and Nicaraguan journalists, who tirelessly strive to bring visibility to the democratic and human rights crises in their countries and advocate for their people’s right to access truthful and diverse information.

Cuba: Arbitrary Detentions and Repression

In Cuba, “home arrests, summonses, and detentions of journalists and reporters continue to be one of the main tactics used by the government to intimidate them or as a way to inhibit independent and critical journalism,” according to Chapter IV.B of the 2023 annual report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

According to the report ‘Cuba: Resistance against Censorship,’ prepared by the organization Article 19, there were a total of 274 attacks against journalists and activists on the island last year. At least five journalists and reporters remain deprived of their liberty for political reasons, facing unjust charges for exercising their right to freedom of expression. These individuals are Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca, Jorge Armando Bello, José Antonio López Piña, Jorge Fernández Era, and Luis Ángel Cuza.

The authoritarian Cuban regime has also increased restrictions and obstacles for the entry and exit of independent journalists from the territory. As of April 2024, journalists Reinaldo Escobar, Camila Acosta, Anais Remón, and Henry Constantín were banned from leaving the country.

Additionally, Cuban authorities have imposed a series of regulations severely limiting the exercise of press freedom and journalistic work in Cuba. Among these measures are mandatory military service for women wishing to study journalism, Decree 370 which suppresses free expression on the Internet, and the Social Communication Law, which regulates media content on the island and disregards independent press as a legal entity.

This grim picture of Cuba forces independent journalists to work under precarious conditions, facing constant threats and reprisals; however, their determination to shed light on injustices and defend the human rights of this country is unwavering.

Nicaragua: Between Clandestinity, Exile, and Self-Censorship

In the 2023 Annual Report of the IACHR, the organization and the Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression (RELE) warned that “censorship and repression reached alarming levels” in Nicaragua.

Since the beginning of the socio-political and human rights crisis in April 2018, more than 250 journalists have been forced into exile, 56 media outlets have been shut down and their buildings confiscated, 22 journalists have been stripped of their nationality and their properties seized, and the murder of journalist Angel Gahona, who covered the start of peaceful demonstrations six years ago, remains unresolved.

In the past year, the Ortega Murillo regime has extended arbitrary detention for political reasons to journalists who weren’t even covering political topics. Such as the case of Víctor Ticay, arrested while covering a religious procession and sentenced to 8 years in prison for unproven charges of ‘spreading false news and conspiring to undermine national integrity.’

There are also reports of five journalists who were accused of the same false charges and detained for a few hours, as well as cases of 22 female journalists who have been victims of sexual harassment by police forces.

It’s worth noting that agents of the National Police, both uniformed and in plain clothes, are the main aggressors against press freedom in the country. Additionally, the regime employs the Directorate of Migration and Foreigners and the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications for coercive purposes. The approval of repressive laws, such as the Special Law on Cybercrimes and the Sovereignty Law, has exacerbated the situation by granting the regime powers to prosecute and punish anyone who criticizes the government.

This repression has led to independent journalism being completely silenced in 5 out of Nicaragua’s 17 departments. However, Nicaraguan journalists work clandestinely and in exile, overcoming censorship and disseminating the truth about the crimes against humanity committed in Nicaragua.

For Race and Equality, World Press Freedom Day recalls the importance of the right to press freedom and expression in the functioning of a democratic society. We take this opportunity to call on the international community to defend these rights and work together to ensure that the voices of independent journalists are no longer silenced by the authoritarian regimes of Cuba and Nicaragua. We demand that the authorities of both states guarantee this right and allow for the development of independent journalism, without resorting to violence and repression against those involved in this profession.

Six Years of Crimes Against Humanity in Nicaragua: Justice Must Not Be Delayed Any Longer! 

Washington D.C., April 18, 2024 – On the sixth anniversary of the socio-political and human rights crisis in Nicaragua, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) urges international solidarity with the direct victims of repression and their families, who deserve truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-repetition. Race and Equality urgently calls on countries allied with the Nicaraguan people to apply universal justice mechanisms to investigate the individual criminal responsibilities of dictator Daniel Ortega, Vice President Rosario Murillo and other high-ranking officials perpetrators of crimes against humanity, as well as to sue Nicaragua before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

“On this date we cannot stop thinking about the mothers of April, the families of political prisoners and the rest of the Nicaraguan people who have been clamoring for peace for six years. Peace can only come with truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-repetition for the victims of these atrocious crimes. The more time passes, the more difficult it will be to rebuild Nicaragua, Nicaragüita; therefore, countries friends of the Nicaraguan people: Justice must not be delayed any longer, let’s act, let’s seek mechanisms for accountability!“, urged Carlos Quesada, Executive Director of Race and Equality.

The atrocities committed by the dictatorial regime of Ortega and Murillo have left thousands of victims: At least 355 people murdered and more than 2000 protesters injured by state or para-state agents in the context of the 2018 protests; 317 people arbitrarily stripped of their nationality and citizenship rights, 200 journalists exiled; more than 240 people exiled, including Catholic religious figures; approximately 6.5% of the population in exile, seeking asylum or refuge; more than 3625 civil society organizations cancelled; and 121 people deprived of their liberty for political reasons, including women, elderly people, artists, political leaders and Indigenous forest rangers.

“Ortega and Murillo, with their intellectual accomplices and direct perpetrators, have managed to sow terror beyond Nicaragua’s borders with the implementation of statelessness; however, we see mothers of lethal victims, human rights defenders, journalists overcoming censorship, monitoring and advocating despite the risks and reprisals. Their resilience is impressive, let’s not leave them alone in the fight!” said Christina Fetterhoff, Program Director of Race and Equality.

The second report of the Group of Experts on Human Rights on Nicaragua identified high-ranking State officials as perpetrators of crimes against humanity. These include: Fidel Moreno; Public Secretary (FSLN), Municipality of Managua; Ana Julia Guido, Attorney General of the Republic; Maria Amelia Coronel Kinloch, Minister of the Interior; Luis Cañas Novoa, Vice Minister and Political Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior; Gustavo Porras, President of the National Assembly; Horacio Rocha, Ministerial advisor for security matters of the Presidency of Nicaragua; Alba Luz Ramos, presiding magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice; Marvin Aguilar, magistrate of the Supreme Court; Francisco Díaz, Director General of the Police Nacimiento; and Néstor Moncada Lau, security and intelligence advisor. The Group recommended that states strengthen sanctions against institutions and individuals identified for their involvement in the crimes.

Likewise, a group of British parliamentarians, following their recent investigation “The Nicaraguan Inquiry: The Silencing of Democracy in Nicaragua,” suggested that the States go to the ICJ to sue the dictatorship for violations of the conventions to prevent torture and statelessness, and to apply the mechanisms of universal justice to investigate individual criminal responsibilities for crimes against humanity.

“This year, justice must be a priority on the agendas of the allied states of the Nicaraguan people. From Race and Equality, we continue to accompany victims in reporting before the United Nations and the Inter-American Human Rights System, and to provide information to the Group of Experts for their investigations. To the victims we reaffirm that we are here to listen to them and echo their demands. To the international community and states we say: here you have an allied organization, we put our efforts at your disposal. Justice for Nicaragua! Carlos Quesada, Executive Director of Race and Equality.

Join Our Efforts

Help empower individuals and communities to achieve structural changes in Latin America.

Donate Contact Us