UPR Nicaragua 2024: Race and Equality calls for strong recommendations in the face of systematic human rights violations in Nicaragua

UPR Nicaragua 2024: Race and Equality calls for strong recommendations in the face of systematic human rights violations in Nicaragua

Geneva, November 12, 2024.- The State of Nicaragua will be evaluated in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations Human Rights Council tomorrow, Wednesday, November 13. The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) urges the participating States of this space to make forceful recommendations in the face of the systematic violations that the State of Nicaragua continues to commit to the detriment of justice, peace, constitutional order, and human rights in the context of the violent repression carried out after the protests of April 2018.

During the last four-year cycle, Nicaragua has shown total contempt for the recommendations of international human rights protection mechanisms, as well as the resolutions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, maintaining an environment of repression and violation of fundamental rights, particularly for human rights defenders, women, journalists, and indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples.

In Nicaragua, human rights defenders are the target of state repression, despite the fact that the state claims to promote, defend, and protect constitutional guarantees and human rights. International organizations have documented at least 2,000 arbitrary detentions, and cases of torture and forced disappearances against people considered opponents, activists and critical journalists. According to the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners of Nicaragua, 46 people are currently deprived of liberty for political reasons, including three indigenous leaders from the Caribbean Coast: Nancy Henríquez, Brooklyn Rivera, and Steadman Fagot.

The Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN) has also highlighted the expulsion and deprivation of Nicaraguan nationality of people considered critical of the regime, as well as the confiscation of their property and the restriction of access to Nicaraguan territory, in addition to facts and circumstances that constitute crimes against humanity. “particularly, persecution for political reasons.”

Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples continue to suffer invasions by settlers (non-indigenous third parties) without adequate state protection. The lack of implementation of the sanitation process for the eviction of illegal occupants has generated forced cohabitation between settlers and indigenous people, which has resulted in violent conflicts, forced displacements and murders of members of indigenous communities. In the first six months of 2024 alone, 643 cases of human rights violations were registered in these territories.

In addition, the State grants concessions for mining and agro-industrial activities without free, prior and informed consultations, which causes serious environmental damage and violates the rights of indigenous communities. These communities rarely benefit from the profits generated by such projects, thus perpetuating poverty and exclusion.

The absence of effective promotion and protection of women’s rights remains an alarming concern, especially in the face of the increase in cases of violence and femicide in the country. The lack of adequate response by the authorities to complaints of gender-based violence discourages victims from seeking justice. According to the Observatory of Catholics for the Right to Decide, so far in 2024 there have been 63 femicides.

It should be noted that government policies on gender are designed centrally, without consultation or effective participation of feminist organizations and rights defenders, who instead face state repression, criminalization, and harassment. This restriction of women’s participation in decision-making has resulted in a lack of sex education programmes and effective prevention of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

In the area of the rights to freedom of expression and association, the Nicaraguan State has approved regulations, such as the Cybercrimes Law and its recent reform and the Foreign Agents Law, which limit fundamental freedoms by allowing state surveillance and the criminalization of activism and journalism. As a result, at least 278 independent journalists have left the country for fear of reprisals, according to the Foundation for Freedom of Expression and Democracy (FLED).

Likewise, through these laws, the State has annulled the legal status of more than 5,000 organizations, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that provided health, education, and support services to vulnerable communities. With the disappearance of these organizations, entire communities have been left without access to social and health programs that depended on the work of NGOs, generating a direct impact on the well-being of the most vulnerable sectors.

Finally, the State of Nicaragua has a confrontational, non-collaborative stance and repeatedly despises spaces for dialogue in the name of “national sovereignty”, in addition to its rejection of accountability in the international arena. The State has ignored recommendations from international protection bodies and mechanisms and rulings of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in disregard of its international obligations.

It has also expelled international organizations such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) from the country, and has withdrawn from the Organization of American States (OAS). Finally, in the last two years Nicaragua has not submitted to the reviews of United Nations Treaty Bodies, such as the Committee Against Torture (CAT) or the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and in other cases, it has withdrawn as happened during the interactive dialogue with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. making unfounded accusations against the treaty body and its members.

For all of the above, within the framework of the Fourth Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) urges the member states of the Human Rights Council to issue firm and effective recommendations that oblige the State of Nicaragua to comply with its international commitments in the field of human rights. Only

through coordinated and determined action will it be possible to generate true accountability and contribute to restoring justice, peace and respect for fundamental rights in the country.

We demand that the State of Nicaragua cease political persecution, immediately release all persons deprived of liberty for political reasons, restore the independence of the powers of the State, allow the work of human rights organizations and comply with its international commitments.

“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.

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!

LGBTI organizations that make Pride possible in Latin America

Washington DC., June 28, 2024.- On International LGBTI+ Pride Day, Race and Equality recognizes that the fight for the rights of LGBTI+ persons has been a long and ongoing battle, marked by the fundamental role of civil society organizations (CSOs) and the significant advances in the promotion and defense of the rights of LGBTI+ persons that have contributed to their visibility and protection.

We also recognize that without the long-standing hard work of CSOs, no celebration or vindication of Pride Day as we know it today would have been possible. Right now, in Latin America and the Caribbean, after the anti-democratic and ultra-conservative wave that has destroyed some of the latest progress in human rights, the LGBTI+ movement continues to resist and defend itself.

For this reason, Race and Equality highlights the work of LGBTI+ organizations and defenders from Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Cuba who, even in the adverse contexts of their countries, make Pride possible and contribute strategically to human rights in the following ways:

  1. Defending the right to gender identity: Fraternidad Trans Masculina Peru, is a CSO, whose work objective is the defense of human rights of people who identify as transmasculine. Currently, they are carrying out judicial processes to change names and the category “sex” in national identity document for trans masculine people in situations of vulnerability. To date, FTM has managed to litigate more than 60 name change cases.
  2. Promoting political participation: The Articulação Brasileira de Lesbianas – ABL is a network of lesbian and bisexual women active in the five regions of Brazil. Its main activity is political education and participation in social and political advocacy. ABL has dialogued in the most diverse spaces such as terreiros, churches, schools, traditional communities, and in the peripheries and favelas of cities. Its role in the sapatão struggle has been to be in the spaces of power, mainly discussing the fight against lesbophobia, lesbocide, and lesbohate.
  3. Research and visibility: The Virtual Museum of Memory against Gender-Based Violence is a citizen organization that was born two years ago. This year it managed to launch, with the support of Race and Equality, the first report on lesbophobia in Cuba. Similarly, the trans-feminist and anti-racist collective Rosa Rabiosa from Peru have been monitoring the trans and non-binary populations of Peru during voting periods, in order to promote their participation and avoid any case of discrimination. From these experiences, they have prepared the report Vigilando Nuestro Voto, which will be available very soon.
  4. Fighting for the education of LGBTI people: Afro-descendant Foundation for Social and Sexual Diversities – Somos Identidad is a grassroots organization of black communities, created from an intersectional perspective that works to recognize, enhance, and make visible the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual diversity. They carry out anti-racist pedagogical processes to accompany the entry of Afro-LGBTI+ people to higher education in Colombia, specifically in the South Pacific and the peripheries of the cities.

The time and effort that LGBTI+ defenders and organizations dedicate to the fight for fairer societies in the region is invaluable. Not only have they been instrumental in promoting significant legal and social changes, but they have also played a crucial role in the cultural transformation of countries. With this in mind, Race and Equality reaffirms its commitment to continue working hand in hand with partners until full dignity is achieved, free of discrimination and violence against LGBTI+ persons.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, We Make an Urgent Call to Combat Religious Discrimination and Racism in the Americas

Washington DC, March 21, 2024.– As we commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) urgently calls on States to adopt measures to combat growing manifestations of religious discrimination and racism in the Americas, which significantly affect racialized population groups, such as Afro-descendants and Indigenous peoples.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, these groups face persistent challenges in expressing their sacred, ancestral, and cultural traditions without facing restrictions, stigma, repudiation, or violence. These reprisals include the persecution of members, as well as violence against places of worship and religious symbols associated with these traditions. Religious discrimination and racism can also manifest itself through stereotypes and prejudices that denigrate the beliefs and practices of these people, thus perpetuating their exclusion and marginalization.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) states that, in the case of the Afro-descendant population, their cultural identity encompasses the preservation of ancestral knowledge and the conservation of their historical legacy, so that traditions and beliefs such as the religions Lumbalú, Candomblé, Abakuá, Umbanda, Hoodoo, among others, which have their roots in Africa, are an intangible part of the heritage of the African diaspora and are part of the social process of resistance developed by enslaved people in the Americas.

In the case of Indigenous peoples, in terms of the right to freedom of religion or belief, the United Nations refers to a more diverse and complex spectrum of cultures and beliefs, since in line with their right to self-determination, Indigenous peoples are free to define and determine their own spiritual identity, according to the report “Indigenous Peoples and the Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief”, presented in October 2022 by the then-Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ahmed Shaheed.

“Many conceptualize spirituality as a ‘way of life’: the shaping of distinctive emotions, habits, practices or virtues, the modeling of distinct beliefs and ways of thinking, and a particular way of living and communicating. Spirituality is therefore related to the transcendent and is intrinsic to the everyday experiences and practices of Indigenous peoples. Beyond its uniqueness, Indigenous spirituality and culture are often based on community, identity, and relationships with traditional lands,” the report details.

A Growing Problem Rooted in Racial Discrimination

The fact that Afro-descendant and Indigenous populations are the most affected by religious discrimination and racism is intrinsically related to the racial discrimination and systemic racism that persists in the Americas. 

In the recent webinar “The Legacy of African Religious Practices and the Social Biases and Prejudices They Face”—organized by the Secretariat for Access to Rights and Equity of the Organization of American States (OAS) in the framework of the VII Week of People of African Descent in the Americas—representatives of civil society associated the rejection, persecution, and even criminalization of these practices to historical processes loaded with ignorance, stigmatization, and prejudice as they are not considered “civilized”.

The IACHR reports repeated denunciations of persecution and attacks against the life and integrity of leaders and practitioners of religions of African origin in different states of the region, as well as complaints of the destruction of temples and sacred spaces of Afro-descendant communities. In Brazil, Race and Equality is aware of cases of religious intolerance against religions of African origin that have triggered legal conflicts, with the disturbing result that practitioners have lost custody of their children.

In Bahia, the Secretary of State for the Promotion of Racial Equality registered 19 cases of religious racism between January and July 21, 2021, representing 65% of the total cases reported in 2020. Similarly, in Rio de Janeiro, the Commission to Combat Religious Intolerance (CCIR) received reports of 19 cases against religions of African origin, including two involving children, as of May of the same year.

On the other hand, in Mexico, a report by the organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reveals that Indigenous women in this country suffer more religious discrimination than their male relatives. Women who refuse to join the majority Roman Catholic faith face harassment and exclusion from the justice system, government benefit programs and services, and prenatal health care.

The report notes that although the Mexican Constitution guarantees freedom of religion or belief and other human rights to all its citizens, in practice, violations are common in certain regions: in particular, for Indigenous communities governed by the Law of Uses and Customs.

Standards in the Framework of International Law

Within the Inter-American System, the right to freedom of religion and belief is enshrined in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (Article III) and the American Convention on Human Rights (Article 12). Within the Universal Human Rights System, it is stipulated in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and has been further developed in the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, in 1981.

One of the most noteworthy Inter-American instruments on the subject is the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI), which states that States must prevent, prohibit, and punish any restriction or limitation on the use of people’s language, traditions, customs, and culture in public or private activities.

The “Study on Freedom of Religion and Belief: Inter-American Standards,” by the IACHR, unveils a broad framework for the protection of this right, where it also highlights instruments and jurisprudence applicable to Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples. It also points out the vulnerability of some groups, such as LGBTI persons, children and adolescents, human rights defenders, and persons deprived of liberty, and therefore provides an additional set of aspects of the right to freedom of religion and belief in relation to them.

A Call to Action

Race and Equality has integrated the fight against religious discrimination and racism into its lines of work. Since 2021, in Brazil, we have been developing a project aimed at promoting religious tolerance and the reduction of violence and discrimination against practitioners of Afro-descendant religions, through the strengthening of Afro-Brazilian organizations so that they can document cases of violence based on religious beliefs, prepare them for strategic international litigation, and foster a culture of respect for religious freedom, in addition to training entities so that they can provide legal support to victims of this scourge. Meanwhile, in Cuba, we are supporting the preparation of the report “Obstacles Faced by Leaders and Members of Afro-Cuban Religions in Cuba.”

Based on human rights principles, and considering that discrimination and religious racism are growing problems in the region, Race and Equality calls on the States of the Americas to adopt measures to address and contain it, one of the most vital being the ratification and implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance. In terms of monitoring, it is important to have statistics and qualitative information on the religious and cultural practices of people of African descent and Indigenous peoples. It is also important to promote information free of prejudices and stigmas regarding these practices and, of course, to sanction any action that hinders them and implies a violation of the human rights of their followers.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A Living Instrument Guiding the Defense and Protection of Human Rights in the Americas

Washington DC, December 8, 2023.– What are human rights? How can human rights be fully enjoyed? Who has the obligation to ensure respect for and fulfilment of human rights? The answers to these questions are as obvious as they are complex. Despite the fact that human rights are inherent to all people, the enjoyment of these rights is determined by a diversity of factors that every day, in every corner of the world, bring people closer or further away from the goal of living in freedom, justice, and peace.

As we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) wants to assert the relevance of the UDHR to the work of defending and protecting human rights carried out every day by civil society organizations and activists in the Americas. Although human rights violations persist and worsen in the region, we believe that the Declaration is the tool that pushes and strengthens the struggle for human rights.

“In these 75 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is important to look back and recognize all that has been achieved since its adoption. Thanks to the Declaration, the world, and the Latin American region in particular, today has a solid mechanism for the protection of the rights of all people. From civil society we know that there is a lot of work to be done to achieve full guarantees, especially at the level of the obligations of States, but we see the Declaration as a living instrument that guides our work,” says Carlos Quesada, Executive Director of Race and Equality.

A Bit of History

Following the atrocities committed during World War II and the creation of the United Nations, the international community set out to create a road map to ensure the rights of all people everywhere and at all times. Thus, on December 10, 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

But how did they get there? The UN General Assembly considered an initial document at its first session in 1946 and then forwarded it to the Economic and Social Council for consideration by the Commission on Human Rights, which was entrusted with the task of drafting what they initially called the “international bill of human rights”.

At its first session in early 1947, the Commission on Human Rights directed its members to formulate a preliminary draft of the charter, which was later taken up by a Drafting Committee composed of representatives of eight countries, which were chosen on the basis of geographical distribution. Eleanor Roosevelt, the widow of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, chaired the UDHR Drafting Committee.

The first draft of the Declaration was proposed in September 1948 and more than 50 Member States participated in the final draft. In its resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948, the General Assembly, meeting in Paris, adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Eight nations abstained from voting, but none voted against.

Did you know?

Delegates from several countries played a key role in ensuring that women’s rights were included in the Declaration. Hansa Mehta of India is widely credited with changing the phrase “All men are born free and equal” to “All human beings are born free and equal” in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

 Learn more.

75 Years Later

That document, which was formulated under the common ideal that all people live in freedom, justice, and peace, has paved the way for the adoption of more than seventy human rights treaties, which are now permanently applied at the global and regional levels. Race and Equality, in its work to defend and protect the rights of Afro-descendant and indigenous populations, LGBTI+ people, and other vulnerable groups, recognizes and champions international human rights law.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a permanent foundation for our work in documentation, capacity building, advocacy, and strategic litigation. To cite one example, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has been a key tool for strengthening allied organizations in their advocacy processes before States and the Inter-American and Universal Human Rights Systems on the rights of persons of African descent.

Meanwhile, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has been a fundamental piece in documentation and advocacy processes with partner organizations in the defense and protection of Afro-descendant, indigenous, and LBTI+ women. In 2022, Race and Equality supported and accompanied a collective of Peruvian feminist organizations in their participation in the review of the CEDAW Committee in Peru, achieving that it included recommendations to the State based on the demands of lesbian women for the first time.

In these 75 years of the UDHR, Race and Equality recalls that the application of human rights must be governed by the principles of universality, interdependence, indivisibility, and progressivity. We believe that the recognition and respect of the following are imperative: (a) that all persons are entitled to all human rights; (b) that human rights are linked to each other and, therefore, the recognition and exercise of one of them implies respect for and protection of many others; (c) that human rights must be recognized, protected and guaranteed in their entirety, that they cannot be fragmented; and d) that it is the obligation of States to ensure progress in the constructive development of human rights, and that any kind of regression is completely prohibited.

In addition, as a way of honoring these 75 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we have produced an illustration that recognizes the diversity of people in the Americas—and, therefore, the diversity of circumstances that affect them—and symbolically places at the center the Declaration that, in the days of its drafting, Eleanor Roosevelt envisioned it as a document of support, guidance, and inspiration, noting, “this is the first step in an evolutionary process.”

We also recall and put again as a point of reflection an excerpt from the speech “Where do human rights begin?” that Eleanor Roosevelt gave in 1958 on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the UDHR:

“Where, after all, do human rights begin? In small places, close to home. So close and so small that they cannot be located on any world map: each person’s environment, the neighborhood in which they live, the school or university they attend; the farm, factory, or office where you work. These are the places where every man, woman and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity, without discrimination. If these rights don’t mean anything there, they don’t mean anything anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to assert these rights close to home, we seek progress on a larger scale in vain.

Violence Against Women and the Importance of Addressing it Through an Intersectional Lens

Washington D.C., November 24, 2023 – Violence against women is as common as it is diverse in its manifestations. Similarly, its impact on victims is determined by the diversity of factors that intersect in their lives, from age and ethnicity to social status. On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, observed every November 25th, the Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality) emphasizes the importance of addressing violence against women through an intersectional lens while providing recommendations to States.

In this regard, it is necessary to start with a definition of violence against women, its main manifestations, and an explanation of what intersectionality is, with references to examples of how the intersectional approach has been applied within the United Nations and the Inter-American System. UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment, defines violence against women and girls as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering.

Regarding the types of violence, the organization refers to physical, psychological, economic, emotional, and sexual violence, including sexual harassment, rape, corrective rape, and rape culture. There are also issues such as human trafficking, female genital mutilation, child marriage, and online or digital violence, including cyberbullying, sexting, and doxing. And, of course, the most extreme form of violence against women, femicide.

About the Intersectional Approach

Kimberlé Crenshaw, an American lawyer and scholar specializing in race and gender issues, was the first to address the concept of intersectionality concerning gender to understand structural inequality. She defined it as “a metaphor for understanding how multiple forms of inequality or disadvantage sometimes combine and create obstacles that are often not understood in conventional ways.”[1]

Initially, the term was heavily criticized because it seemed to favor certain individuals or groups concerning rights, departing from the concept of equality. However, to date, the term intersectionality is fully accepted and integrated into human rights systems, not only concerning gender issues but as a necessary tool for providing comprehensive responses to situations of discrimination.

Within the Inter-American System, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) first used the concept of “intersectionality” in analyzing the discrimination suffered by a girl in accessing education in the case of Gonzales Lluy and Others Vs. Ecuador.[2] In this case, the Court affirmed that “multiple factors of vulnerability and risk of discrimination associated with being a girl, woman, person in poverty, and a person with HIV intersected.” The discrimination experienced “was not only caused by multiple factors but also resulted from the intersection of these factors. In other words, if any of these factors had not existed, the discrimination would have taken a different form. Indeed, poverty affected initial access to healthcare, which was not of quality and, on the contrary, resulted in HIV transmission. Poverty also impacted the difficulties in obtaining better access to the education system and decent housing,”[3] reasoned the Court.

For Race and Equality, the intersectional approach is one of its main working tools with civil society organizations. Through a recently initiated project, they aim to ensure that the priorities and needs of diverse women in Latin America are reflected, respected, and defended in international human rights protection mechanisms. They work specifically with women from Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, and Brazil, primarily with Indigenous, LBTI+, and Afro-descendant women who are in situations of particular vulnerability due to their gender and belonging to these discriminated groups. They seek to strengthen their capacities to have a voice in international human rights protection systems and at the national level, as well as to share their experiences with each other.

Race and Equality considers that defending and protecting women’s human rights is fundamental to advancing towards a just and equal society, and to ensure the inclusion of the intersectional approach in gender equality and women’s rights policies, they make the following recommendations to States:

  • Conduct awareness campaigns to break down gender stereotypes about women.
  • Provide training to state officials, especially judges, on the importance of adopting an intersectional approach to discrimination, to provide comprehensive responses to situations faced by women.
  • Review and develop legislation that allows officials to approach and respond to issues with an intersectional focus. Without legislation establishing an intersectional approach, it is difficult to implement policies in that direction.
  • Involve women from different groups in the exchange of experiences, allowing them to speak out about the types of violence they experience due to their living conditions. This interaction enriches perspectives and potential policies.
  • Implement special programs to ensure women’s access to basic services, education, and employment.
  • Collect data on violence against women using intersectional indicators, including sexual orientation and gender identity. Monitor the implementation and scope of women’s rights and gender equality policies with an intersectional approach.

[1] VOX, The Intersectionality Wars, https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/5/20/18542843/intersectionality-conservatism-law-race-gender-discrimination

[2] Case available at: https://summa.cejil.org/en/entity/s2eqbnvn4m0hh9gfp83t0529

[3] Cfr. Caso Gonzales Lluy y Otros Vs. Ecuador, supra, par. 290.

Race and Equality and Colombian Congress Members Join Efforts to Promote the Ratification of the Inter-American Convention Against Racism

Colombia, november 16, 2023. The Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality) organized a breakfast meeting to discuss the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI) with representatives from the Afro-Colombian Legal Commission and the Office of the Vice President of the Republic. During the activity, the Afro-Colombian Legal Commission committed to making all necessary efforts to promote the ratification of the Convention in the country. Race and Equality, in turn, pledged to provide technical assistance to promote the ratification of the international instrument by the Colombian state. 

The discussion addressed the current political context in Colombia, with a special emphasis on the significant representation of Afro-descendant individuals in the Congress of the Republic. Additionally, it highlighted the historic milestone of having the first Afro-descendant vice president in the country, underscoring the need to reach consensus on the adoption of normative instruments to eradicate racial discrimination and all forms of intolerance. 

 Moreover, a comprehensive analysis was conducted regarding the presence of racism in all sectors of society, including the Congress of the Republic and racialized communities. The need to undertake efforts leading to the eradication of systemic and structural racism was emphasized.
 

Among the identified points to promote the ratification and implementation of the CIRDI, the need for the Afro-Colombian Legal Commission to join forces to jointly drive this initiative was highlighted. It is important to invite all relevant stakeholders, such as the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to participate in the discussion. 

The event featured the participation of Cristóbal Caicedo Ángulo, President of the Afro-Colombian Legal Commission, James Hermenegildo Mosquera Torres, Representative to the Chamber from Chocó-Antioquia, Dorina Hernández Palomino, Representative to the Chamber for the department of Bolívar, Gerson Lisimaco Montaño Arizala, Representative to the Chamber for the department of Nariño, etc.
 

The ratification of the CIRDI is a fundamental step to strengthen the commitment of the Colombian Government to the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as the fight against structural racism and racial discrimination. 

 

 

The Strategies Employed by Cuba’s Authoritarian Regime to Restrict Mobility and Silence Dissident Voices

Washington, DC, October 11, 2023 – In 2019, five activists out of the six interviewed for this article were banned from leaving the island by Cuba’s authoritarian regime. The coordinator of the Red de Líderes y Lideresas de Cuba (RELLIC), María Elena Mir Marrero, was prevented from boarding a plane under the argument that she was regulated. The vice-president of the Consejo para la Transición Democrática en Cuba, Manuel Cuesta Morúa, was also prevented from flying to Belgium that same year. Osvaldo Navarro, member of the Comité Ciudadanos por la Integración Racial (CIR), was informed, before his flight date, that he was regulated. Marthadela Tamayo, also a member of CIR, was not allowed to board, being told that she had been fined and had to pay up before traveling abroad. And the National Coordinator of the CIR, Juan Antonio Madrazo, was not allowed to leave Cuba at that time either, because he was one of the regulated persons. They were trying to leave the country to denounce the serious social, political, economic, and rights crisis in this country, which has worsened in recent years.

But that has not been the only time that María Elena, Manuel, Osvaldo, Marthadela, and Juan Antonio have tried to travel outside the island to participate in academic spaces, assemblies, and dialogues, where human rights violations recorded in this country are addressed. After 2019 they have tried again and have been detained inside their homes or upon arrival at the airport. All with the aim of preventing them from boarding their flights. They have also been repeatedly told that they are regulated and are prohibited from traveling to another country, unless they want to leave and never return to the island.

In July of this year, the coordinator of the Centro de Estudio, Liderazgo y Desarrollo (Celide), Fernando Palacio, tried to travel to Trinidad and Tobago, and while inside the airport the Cuban authorities informed him that he was not regulated, but he could not leave the country because the commemoration of the Assault on the Moncada Barracks, an armed action carried out on July 26, 1953 by a group of young people led by Fidel Castro, to overthrow Fulgencio Batista, was approaching. Fernando is the other human rights defender interviewed for this article.

“The term regulation is a euphemism that the regime uses to prevent activists from leaving the country,” says Marthadela, who also maintains that it is an arbitrary measure. “As a human being you feel powerless, you feel fragile before a state that has all the power to decide when you leave, when you enter, when they put you in prison, when they take you out of prison…”, reflects Osvaldo. That, he says, is what he has felt every time he is notified that he is regulated.

A report released by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which reveals that more than 220 people and 25 organizations around the world suffered reprisals for cooperating with the United Nations, mentions the human rights violations suffered by Juan Antonio and Marthadela. The document points out that in the last year Cuban authorities prevented the two from leaving the country, and this has hindered their engagement with the UN, “including the current preparations for the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of Cuba, scheduled to take place in November 2023,” the report states.

From One Province to Another

The six human rights defenders who were consulted also say that state authorities have prohibited them from moving from one province to another. In 2008, Fernando was banned for two years from visiting Holguín. He was notified of the measure after being detained and held incommunicado for almost a week. Marthadela cannot go to that same region, even though she is a native of that part of the country. María Elena and Juan Antonio have been arbitrarily detained every time they go to Santiago de Cuba, while the authorities do not allow Manuel to travel to Villa Clara.

The Cuban state has restricted the mobility of this group of activists, who were also expelled from their jobs for being dissident voices against Cuba’s political system. All in order to silence them and prohibit them from continuing their struggle for a “free country”.

“I dream of a real Cuba, where we as mothers can raise our children, see them grow and develop. I dream of a Cuba full of freedoms, where the population is not oppressed, where each and every one of the laws that the country itself regulates is complied with. I dream of a free Cuba”, says María Elena, who has not seen her son for more than a year, nor her grandson or daughter-in-law. All three left the country because of the serious situation on the island.  

From the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) we reject the strategies of unjustified restrictions on mobility implemented by the Cuban State, whose sole purpose is to silence activists, human rights defenders, artists, independent journalists, jurists, and, in general, all dissident voices. We also urge the international community to follow up on the denunciations of Cubans who have suffered repression and harassment on the island, and to condemn these tactics carried out by the authoritarian regime of Cuba.

Principle Conclusions on the Situation of the Afro-Venezuelan Population in Migratory Contexts in Colombia

  • Race and Equality and the USAID INTEGRA Project present aninvestigation on the situation of the Afro-Venezuela population in migratory contexts in Colombia.
  • The research shows that Afro-descendant and migrant women suffer disproportionately from lack of access to services, mainly sexual and reproductive health services, due to a combination of discriminatory factors from a structural point of view, such as socioeconomic vulnerability, racial discrimination in medical settings, and lack of information and confidence in the mechanisms for access to justice to guarantee the fulfillment of their reproductive rights.
  • The report finds that, from an intersectional perspective, Afro-descendant women in migratory contexts have greater vulnerability and profound barriers to accessing their rights.
  • There is a close connection between racism, gender-based discrimination, and xenophobia. This means that migrant women of African descent are often victims of gender-based violence in their workplaces, formal and informal, and in accessing the health system. This violence is based on the reproduction of racial, gender-based, and xenophobic stereotypes. For example, due to hypersexualization and fetishization of Afro-descendent bodies constructed around the vulnerability of migrant women, in work spaces both formal and informal, the report identified cases of sexual assault, comments, and hypersexual insinuations.
  • The research findings highlight the need to integrate multiple approaches in sociodemographic and socioeconomic characterization procedures and to ensure the interoperability of information systems at the national level regarding the conditions of Afro-descendant individuals in migratory settings.

 

Colombia, September 29, 2023. The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), in the framework of the work carried out with USAID’s INTEGRA Project, presents the report: Situation of the Afro-Venezuelan population in migratory contexts in Colombia: Analysis and recommendations for the application of the ethnic-racial approach, product of the research conducted by Race and Equality, whose purpose is to generate recommendations for the inclusion of the ethnic-racial approach in the institutions of the migratory system and to promote the guarantee of their rights.

The investigation employed a methodology of life stories to analyze how gender, ethnic-racial belonging, and sexuality influence migratory trajectories. This came together in a qualitative investigation that identified sociodemographic and socioeconomic information, and life experiences of the Afro-descendant Venezuelan population residing in Bogotá, Cúcuta, Cali, Riohacha, and Medellín.

Findings

The lack of information and consideration of the differentiated experiences of Venezuelan Afro-descendants from a rights perspective and an intersectional approach cannot continue in a region historically and structurally marked by ethno-racial inequalities. In order to advance in the recognition of the rights of Afro-descendant people and to break down the matrix of racial and gender inequality in migratory contexts from a differential approach, it is necessary to recognize the existence and persistence of racial discrimination and racism. The current situation of Afro-descendant women interviewed in the framework of this research reflects that, although the notions of ethnic-racial self-recognition are different in the process of Venezuelan identity construction, the dynamics of inequality based on structural racism are reproduced in everyday life and condition the life experiences of these women. Furthermore, the lack of specific information about their experiences reinforces practices of institutional racism by not recognizing and characterizing this population in the same way as the rest of society.

In the workplace, research shows that there is a close relationship between racism, gender discrimination, and xenophobia. As a result, migrant women of African descent often experience gender-based violence in their workplaces, whether formal or informal, based on the reproduction of racial, gender, and xenophobic stereotypes.  Afro-descendant women tend to have access to jobs related to low-paid domestic work and mainly assume care duties in their homes, which acts as a barrier to their insertion into the labor market. Challenges were also recognized in accessing health, education, and justice mechanisms.   Therefore, it is urgent to advance in the construction of information from a differential perspective that recognizes these experiences, characterizes the population and their needs, and based on this, builds policies, programs, and projects to guarantee their rights.  Although socioeconomic indicators show that Afro-descendant women face greater economic vulnerability, this is not a “natural place”, but rather is the result of the inequalities among Afro-descendant women. It is the result of historical inequalities and power relations that condition and limit women’s lives.

Recommendations

According to the results of the research, Race and Equality recommends promoting the participation of all institutions that generate statistical information on people in migratory contexts to produce specific data on Afro-descendant people from Venezuela. The creation of variables on the socio-demographic and socioeconomic conditions of Afro-descendant people in migratory contexts should be guaranteed, incorporating variables from the approach of ethnic-racial self-recognition and heterorecognition. In this way, the identification of the population can be facilitated by understanding the Venezuelan socio-political and socio-cultural context and its diffuse relationship with ethnic-racial categories.

Likewise, it is important to guarantee the implementation of the ethnic-racial approach in the Comprehensive Migration Policy, recognizing the cultural and social contexts of migrants. It is recommended that characterization processes be carried out to collect relevant information. In addition, it is essential to promote and apply international standards against racial discrimination and migration, such as the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI), to develop policies and programs that benefit Afro-descendent migrants.

It is suggested that civil society organizations implement training processes with an ethnic-racial approach to the rights of Afro-descendant people in migratory contexts in Venezuela. Likewise, it is recommended to promote political advocacy processes to guarantee the rights of Afro-descendant Venezuelan people in migratory contexts in Colombia, establishing spaces for dialogue with state institutions. It is also important to stimulate knowledge management and training processes on the ethnic-racial categories in Colombia, as well as the normative opportunities that exist for the Afro-descendant migrant population.

 

Consult and Download the report: Situación de la población afrovenezolana en contextos migratorios en Colombia: Análisis y recomendaciones para la aplicación del enfoque étnico-racial

 

 

Press Contact:

Pablo Suárez / +57 3505824900 / periodista@raceandequality.org

 

Spokespersons:

Sofia Muñoz / +57 312 3233157

Lina María Velásquez / +57 318 2598076

 

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