Cuba: Warning about the escalation of repression against activists and human rights defenders four years after the 11J protests

Cuba: Warning about the escalation of repression against activists and human rights defenders four years after the 11J protests

Bogotá – Havana, July 11, 2025.– Four years after the protests of July 11, 2021 (11J), national and international organizations warn of a new peak of repression by the Cuban State against activists, independent journalists, human rights defenders and relatives of persons deprived of liberty for reasons of conscience. This situation demands urgent attention from the international community in view of the intensification of restrictions on fundamental freedoms and human rights.

We view with deep concern the persecution, threats and intimidation against journalist Camila Acosta, who through her social networks has denounced that she is being followed by state security agents to, according to her, impede her informative and investigative work in Havana. This situation is in addition to that of Henry Constantín, journalist and director of La Hora de Cuba, who was imprisoned for several days in Camagüey, accused of contempt for doing his job, and although he has been released, he must report regularly to the country’s authorities. It was also confirmed to Henry that he is still regulated and that he cannot leave the island.

The situation of the prisoners of conscience, several of them detained for participating in the July 2021 demonstrations, is of the utmost gravity: in recent days, opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer and rapper Maykel “Osorbo” Castillo had to resort to a hunger strike as a last resort in protest against the injustices that continue to be committed against them in prison. Ferrer, who was released from prison in January of this year and is now back in jail, is protesting the brutal beatings he has been subjected to in prison. For his part, Osorbo is protesting against the authorities’ attempts to transfer him to a prison even further away from his family, in violation of international standards of humane treatment. This measure has become recurrent, according to the relatives of those deprived of their liberty.

Donaida Pérez, opponent and president of the Association of Free Yorubas of Cuba, was imprisoned after the 11J protests and sentenced to 8 years in prison for the alleged crimes of contempt of court, public disorder and attempt against an official. Although she was released from prison in January 2025, on June 11 the Provincial Court of Villa Clara revoked her parole, arguing an alleged failure to fulfill her obligations. She is currently being held in Guamajal prison, where she faces unsanitary conditions, ill-treatment and possible acts of torture.

After being released from prison at the beginning of the year, Felix Navarro, also a prisoner of conscience, was once again imprisoned and remains in precarious conditions, with the aggravating factor that he is an elderly person with chronic health conditions. His wife, Lady in White Sonia Alvarez, was informed on July 2 that he would be transferred to Havana for medical examinations, but so far, she has not been able to communicate with him. Navarro remains without a clear medical diagnosis, without access to adequate treatment and held in inhumane conditions, without the minimum guarantees to protect his health and physical integrity. The lack of adequate medical attention constitutes cruel and inhumane treatment.

We also express our deep concern over the Cuban regime’s attempts to prevent the participation of activists and human rights defenders in the 4th of July commemoration at the U.S. Embassy in Havana. Several of those summoned were prevented from attending by various methods of repression. Some were intercepted en route and forced to get out of vehicles to prevent their arrival at the event.

The aforementioned cases are added to the alarming figure that, according to the organization Justicia 11J, speaks of 361 people detained for participating in the 11J demonstrations and who are still deprived of their liberty. Most of them have been convicted in trials without minimum guarantees and under politically manipulated charges.

At this juncture, we urge the governments of the region, multilateral organizations and diplomatic missions to:

  • Demand immediate and independent access to prisoners to verify their state of health and conditions of detention.
  • Hold high-level public meetings focused on the human rights situation in Cuba, with the participation of victims, family members and independent civil society organizations.
  • Continue to demand the immediate and unconditional release of all persons imprisoned for political reasons in Cuba.

Four years after 11J, repression has not ceased: it has transformed and expanded. Focusing attention on Cuba today is an imperative for the defense of human dignity and freedom.

Signed:

4Métrica

ARC – Artists at Risk Connection

ARTICLE 19 México y Centroamérica

Cadal

Civil Rights Defenders

ConEnfoque

Cuido60 – Observatorio de Envejecimiento, Cuidados y Derechos

Cubalex

Cubanet

De Mujer a Mujer y De Hombre a Hombre

Food Monitor Program

Instituto sobre raza, igualdad y derechos humanos – IRIDH

La Hora de Cuba

Mesa de Diálogo de la Juventud Cubana

Movimiento San Isidro

Museo de la Disidencia en Cuba

Museo V

Observatorio de Alas Tensas

Pride in Resistance: Persistent Challenges to LGBTI+ Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean

Washington, D.C., June 28, 2025.– LGBTI+ Pride Day was born from an act of protest and resistance in the face of discrimination and violence, and although it was an important turning point in the fight for the rights of people with diverse sexual orientation and gender identity, the truth is that 56 years after the Stonewall protests on June 28, 1969 in New York,  resistance is not past, it is present, especially in a region that marginalizes and violates LGBTI+ people.

In commemoration of LGBTI+ Pride Day, from the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), we recognize that Latin America and the Caribbean has experienced important advances in legislative terms, such as protection against discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity, equal marriage, and the recognition of gender identity for trans and non-binary people.

However, we emphasize that the region continues to face serious challenges to the effective application of this legislation, in addition to registering worrying figures of violence and murders against LGBTI+ people. This scenario is aggravated by the increase in hate speech by anti-rights groups, the installation of authoritarian governments in several countries and the drastic reduction of international cooperation.

The murder of people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity is a reality in Latin America, to the point that the region ranks as the most dangerous in the world for trans people, especially trans women. In this context, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia are the countries with the highest number of cases: According to Trans Murder Monitoring, between October 2023 and September 2024, there were 106 murders in Brazil, 71 in Mexico and 25 in Colombia.

In Colombia, the brutal murder in April 2025 of trans activist and human rights defender Sara Millerey has inspired the struggle for the approval of the Comprehensive Trans Law project, which in recent days was formally introduced for debate in the Congress of the Republic, marking a milestone in the struggle for the recognition and guarantee of the rights of trans and non-binary people in the country.

On the other hand, the restriction of civic space in countries such as Cuba and Nicaragua, and the approval of laws that limit and condition the work of non-governmental organizations in the field of human rights, as happened recently in El Salvador and Peru, is a serious setback in the fight for the rights of LGBTI+ people.

Added to this, is the sudden and drastic reduction in international cooperation since the suspension of funds by the United States government, which puts at risk years of community work, protection networks, basic services (such as health, shelter, legal care) and political participation. Without this support, many organizations cannot sustain themselves, especially in contexts where there are no real public policies of inclusion.

In the midst of this reality, we reaffirm our commitment to promote and defend the rights of LGBTI+ people, mainly before the human rights protection mechanisms of the United Nations and the Inter-American System. But we also call on the international community, governments and civil society to protect this population and guarantee their rights.

Today more than ever, pride must be translated into action, because for LGBTI+ people, resisting is not a symbolic act: it is a way to survive.

Nicaragua: Persecution of people perceived as opponents has become a recurrent practice and can transcend beyond its borders

Washington, D.C., June 27, 2025.– The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights pointed out that the persecution of the Government of Nicaragua against people perceived as opponents “has become a recurrent practice and can transcend beyond its borders,” which represents a high risk to the life and physical integrity of people in exile.

This information corresponds to the oral update on the human rights situation in Nicaragua, carried out this Friday, June 27, in the framework of the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council and in accordance with Resolution 58/18 of that body. It was presented by the director of the Global Operations Division of the Office, Maarit Kohonen.

Kohonen said that the persecution of people perceived as political opponents in Nicaragua includes human rights defenders, journalists, indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, religious and secular leaders, and that this situation “is exacerbated by legislative changes that reinforce the closure of civic space and increase restrictions on political participation.”

Arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances

The report indicates that arbitrary detentions continue to be used as a tool of political repression, consolidating a climate of fear to silence any critical voice, and that, according to information gathered by the Office, at least 54 people (47 men and 7 women) remain arbitrarily detained. “The real figure could be higher as many families are afraid to report for fear of reprisals,” he said.

Additionally, the Office has documented 13 cases of possible forced disappearance, of which 8 correspond to older adults and 2 to indigenous persons. Of these cases, they highlighted Evelyn Carolina Matus Hernández’s, whose whereabouts have been unknown since she was arbitrarily detained on June 25, 2024, and separated from her 5 and 10 year old children.

“Detention conditions continue to be worrying, with reports of torture and insufficient food. Of the 54 people detained 15 are elderly people with urgent medical needs without adequate care. Of particular concern is the case of Aníbal Martín Rivas Reed, 62, who suffers from degenerative arthritis and clinical depression and whose whereabouts have been unknown since his arrest last May,” he added.

In relation to the situation of the independent press, the office reported that  at least 168 journalists have had to go into exile since 2018 while those who remain in the country face surveillance, threats and censorship, highlighting the case of journalist Leo Cárcamo, who was arbitrarily detained in November 2024 and since then his whereabouts remain unknown, which could constitute an enforced disappearance.

In the oral update, the Office reiterated its call on the Nicaraguan authorities to immediately release all arbitrarily detained persons, to cease enforced disappearances and torture, and to ensure respect for international standards on dignified treatment in places of detention.

Legislative reforms

The High Commissioner’s report referred to the reforms to the Electoral Law approved last March, noting that they deepen the concentration of power in the Presidency and further weaken the guarantees of democratic participation, by eliminating the mechanisms of referendum and plebiscite and authorizing proselytism in public offices, as well as limiting the constitution and integration of political parties.

“These reforms together with the constitutional reforms adopted in January 2025 raise serious doubts about the existence, independent functioning of political parties, in addition there is uncertainty about the dates of the next presidential elections,” he said.

He also referred to the new organic law of the Judiciary, in that it grants the Presidency of the Republic the power to propose the presidency of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) and allows the restriction of the publicity of criminal proceedings at the discretion of the judicial authority.

“Recently enacted legislation has further weakened protections for indigenous peoples’ and Afro-descendant peoples’ territories and their forms of governance; These reforms have been adopted without due guarantees of the right to consultation and free, prior and informed consent. This, coupled with ongoing attacks against communities that include killings, sexual violence, and arbitrary detention of leaders, poses a serious threat to the survival of Nicaraguan indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples,” he added.

The report also denounced that the number of non-governmental or civil society organizations that have been arbitrarily terminated has now reached 5,535 and that this year the Office has documented 29 cases (17 women and 12 men) of people who were denied entry to their own country for political reasons.

Isolation of Nicaragua

The Nicaraguan representation was absent from the session and, therefore, did not respond to the complaints and demands raised. The Office of the High Commissioner, for its part, noted that despite the urgent need to address the human rights crisis, Nicaragua continues to isolate itself from cooperation with international organizations, notifying its withdrawal from UNESCO in May and from UNHCR in June.

“We once again call on the Nicaraguan authorities to resume dialogue to guarantee the promotion and protection of human rights in the country, including the conclusion of the Universal Periodic Review,” they said.

From Race and Equality, we reject the resistance of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo to be accountable before the Human Rights Council and warn that both the bodies of the universal system of protection of human rights and civil society organizations must continue to demand that the State be held accountable and that the victims receive justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition that they deserve. Turning our backs on international obligations and protection bodies will not provide them with the impunity they seek.

We share the concern of the Office of the High Commissioner about the persistence and worsening of politically motivated persecution and other forms of repression against people perceived as opponents, and we therefore call on the international community to maintain vigilance over the human rights situation in the country and beyond its borders regarding exiles.

We demand that the regime report on the whereabouts of all disappeared persons, as well as the immediate release of all those imprisoned for political reasons.

 

El Salvador: New Foreign Agents Law Threatens Rights and Freedoms of Civil Society Organizations and the Media

June 13, 2025.- In the context of serious human rights setbacks, the weakening of the rule of law, and the dismantling of institutional controls in El Salvador, the Legislative Assembly, controlled largely by President Bukele’s New Ideas party, passed a Foreign Agents Law without public debate.

The Law purports to promote “transparency” on the influence of foreign actors on public opinion and to safeguard security, national sovereignty, and the social and political stability of the country. However, the Law presents state authorities with an opportunity to control and sanction human rights groups and the media that have denounced corruption, human rights violations, and authoritarian practices by President Bukele. In doing so, the Law violates the rights to freedom of association, freedom of expression, press freedom, and the right to defend human rights. Similar laws have been used in Russia, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to control and neutralize independent organizations and media.

The Law requires individuals and organizations that receive funding internationally, directly or indirectly, to register as “foreign agents” with a newly established Foreign Agents Registry (RAEX) under the Ministry of the Interior. The law broadly defines foreign agents as any person or organization that “responds to interests, is controlled or financed, directly or indirectly by a foreign principal.” A foreign principal is any person or organization based abroad, including a government, political party, or organization, as well as any entity so determined by the RAEX. With a broad definition and discretion by the RAEX, the Registry may use this power arbitrarily.

Once registered, each financial transaction involving foreign principal funds is subject to a 30 percent tax. The Law does not clarify whether the current 10% tax on donations will be added to this new tax, which would further increase the financial burden and make it comparable to de facto confiscation, endangering the very existence and viability of organizations and independent media in the country.

Under vague and ambiguous terms, the Law prohibits the so-called foreign agents from conducting activities for political “or other” purposes that have the objective of altering public order or threatening the social and political stability of the country. These agents must use the funds for specific purposes outlined to the RAEX and cannot accept anonymous donations.

Among REAX’s broad powers, it can:

  • Exempt certain organizations from the tax without establishing clear parameters. This may result in unequal treatment–rewarding or punishing entities depending on their relationship with the Government.
  • Establish new requirements or obligations for foreign agents and new administrative procedures.
  • Impose sanctions. In the case of a failure to register, the RAEX may freeze bank accounts, prevent the performance of activities, either temporarily or permanently, and suspend or cancel the legal status or registration of organizations. Failure to comply with the provisions of LEAX may also result in fines ranging from $100,000 to $250,000. Actions that result in fines or sanctions are not clearly enumerated, which could lead to an arbitrary imposition.

The Law opens the door to criminal prosecution through failure to comply with prohibitions and the Anti-Money Laundering law. It targets civil society organizations, especially those that advocate for human rights, and the media by attempting to control and limit activities perceived as threatening to the government.

Additionally, REAX’s extensive authority to supervise and regulate the activities of foreign agents, coupled with the law’s vague language and absence of clear legal definitions, creates significant risks of intrusive government interference in the operations of private entities. For instance, the power to revoke an NGO’s legal status without judicial oversight—based on vague grounds such as disturbing public order or threatening social and political stability—poses a grave threat to organizations that do not align with government interests. This provision could be exploited to target dissenting or independent organizations while bolstering those aligned with the authorities.

For these reasons, the undersigned organizations call on: 1) the Organization of American States (OAS) to condemn this legislation and convene an urgent permanent council to address the democratic backsliding in El Salvador; 2) the U.S. Congress to call on the Trump administration to abstain from supporting measures that undermine the work of civil society and human rights defenders; 3) the United Nations (UN) to condemn El Salvador’s Foreign Agents Law, and to urge the State to derogate the law and comply with its international obligations; and 4) the OAS and the UN to speak out against the proliferation of this type of legislation in the region and their negative impact on civil society.

Acción Solidaria, Venezuela

Alianza de Organizaciones por los Derechos Humanos del Ecuador

Alianza Regional por la Libre Expresión e Información

Amnesty International

Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos APRODEH

Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)

Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (Venezuela)

Centro de Documentación en Derechos Humanos “Segundo Montes Mozo SJ” (CSMM)

Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS)

Consultoría para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento (CODHES)

Convergencia por los Derechos Humanos Guatemala

Corporación Humanas – Centro Regional de Derechos Humanos y Justicia de Género (Chile)

Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF)

Equipo de Reflexión, Investigación y Comunicación (ERIC-SJ Honduras)

Equipo Jurídico por los Derechos Humanos (EJDH)Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

Instituto de Defensa Legal – IDL, Peru

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights

International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)

Movimiento Autónomo de Mujeres, Nicaragua

Paz y Esperanza, Perú

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

Tejiendo Redes Infancia en América Latina y el Caribe

Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)

World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT),  in the framework of the Observatory for the    Protection of Human Rights Defenders

 

 

Serious Threat to Civic Space in Peru: Organizations Condemn Law that Restricts the Work of Civil Society and Violates Victims’ Rights

April 24, 2025. – The undersigned organizations express our strongest condemnation of the enactment last April 14, 2025, without observation by the Executive Branch of Peru, of the law approved in Congress on March 12, which represents a serious threat to the defense of human rights. Likewise, the approval of this law does not comply with Peru’s obligation to guarantee the rights of assembly, association, expression, defense of human rights of the members of civil society organizations, access to justice, and the right to petition before an international body of the victims. 

This regulation, which grants broad control powers to the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation (APCI), imposes a system of prior authorization on the activities of civil society organizations receiving international funding. Moving forward, these organizations must obtain the “prior approval” of the State to implement projects and activities, which subordinate their work to State authorization and directly undermines their autonomy and independence. 

Furthermore, the law purports that the alleged “improper use” of cooperation funds when used to provide advice; assistance or financing for administrative, judicial or other actions; in national or international instances; and that question the Peruvian State is a “very serious infraction.” In other words, any organization legally representing or supporting individuals or communities affected by human rights violations could be sanctioned. In the case of a serious infraction, the APCI may impose disproportionate economic sanctions of up to 500 Tax Unitary Units (approximately US$720,000) and suspend or cancel the organizations’ registrations. 

The enactment of this law is part of a troubling regional trend in the closing of civic spaces. Several governments have promoted regulations imposing disproportionate administrative and financial requirements on civic spaces. In addition to restricting funding, these regulations also grant broad control powers to state entities. In direct opposition of promoting transparency, these measures have been used as instruments of censorship and repression. Emblematic cases such as Nicaragua, where thousands of organizations have been outlawed since 2018; Venezuela, with the recent approval of a law granting the government broad powers to dissolve organizations; and Paraguay, with Law No. 7,363 of 2024, which imposes arbitrary restrictions on nonprofit entities, are examples of this trend. In this context, the recently enacted law in Peru adds to a dangerous regional shift that must be immediately addressed. 

We reiterate our solidarity with the Peruvian organizations that see their existence and important work threatened as a result of this law. We make an urgent call to the international community, to the organs of the Inter-American system and the United Nations, and to the governments of the region to continue to speak out and act in the face of this serious regression. Protecting civic space is essential to guarantee the fundamental rights of all people in Latin America. 

Singed by:

  • Aireana, grupo por los derechos de las lesbianas – Paraguay   
  • Akahata – Equipo de trabajo en sexualidades y géneros – Argentina   
  • América Diversa Inc – United States  
  • Amnistía Internacional – Global   
  • Apuesta Solidaria AC – México   
  • Asistencia Legal por los Derechos Humanos A.C. (ASILEGAL) – México   
  • Asociación ALFIL – Ecuador   
  • Asociación comunitaria víctimas defensa derecho de productores Agropecuario de Corozal Sucre – Colombia   
  • Asociación Nomadesc – Colombia   
  • Asociación Otras Voces – Colombia   
  • Asociación Panambi – Paraguay   
  • Asociación Panameña de personas Trans (APPT) – Panamá   
  • Asociación Pro-Búsqueda de Niñas y Niños Desaparecidos – El Salvador   
  • ASPIDH – El Salvador   
  • ATTTA Red Nacional – Argentina   
  • Centro de Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres A.C. – México   
  • Centro de Derechos Reproductivos – Latin America and the Caribbean  
  • Centro de Documentación en Derechos Humanos “Segundo Montes Mozo SJ” (CSMM) – Ecuador   
  • Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) – Argentina   
  • Centro de Promoción y Defesa de los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos (Promsex) – Perú   
  • Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional (CEJIL) – Regional 
  • CLADEM – Regional   
  • CMP Flora Tristán – Perú   
  • CODHES – Colombia   
  • Colectivo de Abogados y Abogadas “José Alvear Restrepo” (CAJAR) – Colombia   
  • Colectivo por la Igualdad de Género – Piura – Perú   
  • Colectivo Unidad Color Rosa – Honduras   
  • Colombia Diversa – Colombia   
  • Comité de Familiares de las Víctimas de los Sucesos de Febrero-Marzo de 1989 (COFAVIC) – Venezuela   
  • Comité de Solidaridad con los Presos Políticos – Colombia   
  • Convergencia por los Derechos Humanos de Guatemala – Guatemala   
  • Coordinación Colombia -Europa – Estados Unidos – Colombia   
  • Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos – Perú   
  • Coordinadora por los Derechos de la Infancia y Adolescencia – Paraguay   
  • Corporación Humanas – Chile   
  • COTRAVETD – Dominican Republic   
  • DEMUS – Perú   
  • Equipo de Reflexión, Investigación y Comunicación (ERIC-SJ) – Honduras   
  • Equipo Jurídico por los Derechos Humanos – Honduras   
  • Espacio Público – Venezuela   
  • Federación Internacional por los Derechos Humanos (FIDH) – International  
  • Féminas Perú – Perú   
  • Fundación Arcoiris – México   
  • Fundación Ecuménica para el Desarrollo y la Paz (FEDEPAZ) – Perú   
  • Fundación para el Debido Proceso (DPLF) – Regional   
  • Fundación para la Justicia – México   
  • Generación Orgullo Asociación por la Diversidad Sexual y de Género – Perú   
  • GRUFIDES – Perú   
  • Grupo Interdisciplinario GIDH – Colombia   
  • Humanidad Vigente Corporación Jurídica – Colombia   
  • IFEX-ALC – Regional   
  • Internation Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) 
  • Las Karahuayllas – Asoc. Mujeres Transformando Vidas – Perú   
  • Lesbianas Independientes Feministas Soc-LIFS – Perú   
  • Movimiento Autónomo de Mujeres – Nicaragua   
  • Movimiento Homosexual de Lima – Perú   
  • Movimiento Homosexual de Lima – Unidad de Lesbianas y Bisexuales – Perú   
  • Mujeres Libres COLEM, AC – México   
  • OTRANS-RN – Guatemala   
  • Programa Venezolano de Educación Acción en Derechos Humanos (Provea) – Venezuela   
  • Proyecto sobre Organización, Desarrollo, Educación e Investigación (PODER) – México   
  • Red de mujeres organizada del distrito de Carabayllo – Perú   
  • Red Mexicana de Mujeres Trans A.C. – México   
  • Rosa Rabiosa – Perú   
  • Secretaria Ejecutiva del Sipinna Estado de Aguascalientes – México   
  • Servicio Internacional para los Derechos Humanos – United States

Nicaragua: Seven Years After the April Protests, Victims of Repression Continue to Demand Justice

Washington, DC, April 17, 2025.– This April marks the seventh anniversary of the protests that unleashed violent repression by the regime presided by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, which left 355 lethal victims, more than 2,000 people injured, more than 2,000 people detained and more than 440,000 people in exile, according to the IACHR and its Special Follow-up Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI). Not only have the victims not received the justice they deserve, but they have been persecuted by a State that continued to retaliate against them.

Race and Equality expresses its solidarity with all victims of repression and our commitment to continue accompanying them until justice is served.

Seven years after the beginning of the April protests in Nicaragua, according to the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners, 52 people continue to be arbitrarily detained for political reasons, 11 of them in a situation of forced disappearance, including 5 women. More than 450 people have been stripped of their nationality. Independent journalism cannot practice in the country and the defense of human rights and freedom of association has been impacted by the closure of more than 5,400 civil society organizations and the confiscation of their assets.

Additionally, a profound constitutional reform that went into effect in February of this year completed the configuration of a dictatorial regime co-governed by Ortega and Murillo. As a consequence of this reform to the Constitution, more than 80,000 civilians have been armed and equipped with ski masks to terrorize the population and submit them to the will of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo to remain in power.

During these seven years, Race and Equality has accompanied the victims of the repression in their search for justice, as well as to guarantee them the protection conferred by precautionary and provisional measures in the face of the serious risks they face. Together with other civil society organizations, we have developed extensive advocacy and litigation actions with the purpose of contributing to overcoming this crisis.

Race and Equality has also accompanied civil society organizations, both local and those that continue to address the Nicaraguan crisis from exile, so that their documentation work can serve as input for reports to the Treaty Bodies that reviewed Nicaragua’s compliance with its international obligations in 2022 and 2023 and in the evaluations carried out under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in 2019 and 2024. Race and Equality has also carried out repeated advocacy actions before the European Parliament with the aim of having the regime condemned and persuaded to force it to comply with its international human rights obligations.

Seven years after the beginning of the April civic protests, it is with deep concern that we see the direction in which a ruthless and cruel regime is leading the Nicaraguan people through the exercise of unbridled power, which continues to massively and systematically violate human rights. The regime has decided to isolate itself, leave the Organization of American States and withdraw from all activities related to the Human Rights Council in order to avoid being held accountable for the grave crimes against humanity and human rights violations documented by the Group of Experts on Human Rights in Nicaragua (GHREN), by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and by the organs of the Inter-American Human Rights System.

Over the past seven years, the recommendations of the Treaty Bodies, the Universal Periodic Review, and the orders issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have been completely disregarded and the State has absented itself from these forums, raising unfounded questions in an attempt to evade its international responsibilities.

However, Nicaragua continues to be bound by universal human rights instruments and the American Convention on Human Rights.

The international community, civil society organizations, and human rights protection bodies must continue to make every effort to ensure that democracy is soon restored in Nicaragua and that respect for human rights is guaranteed.

Let’s continue working hand in hand to make it happen!

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights will judge the Mexican State in the case of Mrs. Ernestina Ascencio Rosario

Mexico City, January 28, 2025.– On January 30, 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights will hold a public hearing in the case of Ernestina Ascencio Rosario v. Mexico. A 73-year-old Nahua woman from the Sierra de Zongolica, Veracruz,  Ernestina died in 2007 after being attacked by members of the Mexican Army and being the victim of serious violations of her human rights, including sexual violence, racial discrimination, omissions, and undue intervention by the highest authorities of the State.

In the hearing, the Inter-American Court will judge the sexual violence and torture that members of the Mexican Army perpetrated against Ms. Ernestina Ascencio, resulting in her death due to the state’s failure to guarantee adequate and timely medical attention that could have saved her life. The Court will also judge the State for the feminicidal racial discrimination exercised against her because she was a woman, an impoverished Nahua Indigenous woman, monolingual, and an elderly person. The state authorities not only ignored her testimony about the sexual assault because it was in her language, which led to the dismissal of key evidence to clarify the facts and the diversion and improper filing of her investigation; they also attempted to thwart her family’s search for justice, resorting to her kidnapping to prevent them from challenging the decision. Likewise, the Court will judge the concealment of public information to ensure the impunity of the perpetrators. 

All the facts of this case took place in a more general context of patriarchal racism, of lack of effective guarantee of the rights of women and Indigenous peoples, and of a system of justice and access to public information subject to discretionary application and seriously weakened.

We, the local and regional organizations litigating the case alongside the relatives of Ms. Ernestina, invite you to follow this historic hearing that seeks justice and reparation for her and her family and that focuses on the struggle of Indigenous women against violence and racial discrimination, as well as the absence of full guarantees for the exercise of the right to truth and justice in the country.

Details of the hearing:

  • Date: January 30, 2025
  • Time: 9:00 AM CST
  • Location: San José, Costa Rica (live broadcast available on the Court’s YouTube channel and Facebook page

#JusticeForErnestina

Petitioning organizations

The case has been promoted by organizations committed to human rights and justice for Indigenous women, including:

 

Please contact for more information:

1.Angelita Baeyens 

RFK Human Rights

baeyens@rfkhumanrights.org 

2.Patricia Torres 

CONAMI

+524432734950 

ptorressandoval8@gmail.com

3.Arlet Garcia

CESEM 

centrohj@gmail.com 

11 Latin American leaders strengthen their capacities in Ecuador

Images from a conference held at the end of October in Quito, Ecuador, which brought together 11 leaders from Costa Rica, Panama, Peru and Uruguay, who shared their experiences and strengthened their capacities during a series of training sessions facilitated by FLACSO Ecuador, which addressed topics such as human rights in the region and the main challenges facing Latin America. 

This meeting, which took place within the framework of the project ‘Empowerment of emerging leaders’ carried out by Race and Equality, brought together a total of 10 independent civil society organizations, such as the Asociación Panameña de Debate (ASPADE), the Fundación Arias para la Paz y el Progreso Humano, the Fundación Mujer, the Fundación Convive Panamá, the Organización Social Salvador, the Unión Trans, the Centro de Promoción Social (CERPROS), the Centro de Desarrollo de la Mujer Negra Peruana, Mujeres Rímenses, and the Fraternidad Trans Masculina Perú. 

Human Rights and Strategic Litigation: Towards a Transformation of International Standards

  • In commemoration of International Human Rights Day, Race and Equality offers a comprehensive look at four cases that are being litigated before the Inter-American Human Rights System.

Washington, DC; December 10, 2024.– In the process of promoting and defending human rights, strategic litigation represents a key front of the struggle. For this reason, it is one of the four pillars of work for the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality).

With the idea that access to justice is fundamental to guarantee and protect human rights, Race and Equality litigates alongside victims and allied organizations, before human rights mechanisms at the Inter-American and universal levels, carrying out this work in two ways.

There is the emergency legal response, which is activated when counterparts face risks of violation of their human rights, and the Race and Equality Legal Team supports them in the documentation and timely submission of requests for protection and intervention before the Inter-American System and/or the Universal System.

Litigating before the IAHRS

To achieve comprehensive justice for victims and promote long-term, sustainable, and structural changes for greater protection of human rights, Race and Equality also conducts strategic litigation through constant coordination with civil society counterparts.

In commemoration of the International Day of Human Rights, Race and Equality presents four cases that are currently being litigating before the Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS), offering a comprehensive look at the facts of each case, their procedural status and, in collaboration with victims, relatives, and allied organizations, what we seek in terms of jurisprudence and transformation of international standards.

Race and Equality is currently litigating before the IAHRS 10 cases (3 vs. Nicaragua, 2 vs. Colombia, 3 vs. Cuba, 1 vs. Peru, and 1 vs. Mexico), for violation of human rights of 157 individual victims and three collective victims); each case is in a different procedural status. In 31 cases we seek protection before the Universal System and the IAHRS (13 from Nicaragua,  3 from Colombia, 14 from Cuba, and 1 from Brazil), in favor of 401 individual beneficiaries and two collective beneficiaries. The people and groups represented belong to the populations with whom the organization has worked since its inception: Afro-descendants, Indigenous people, LGBTI+ people, women community leaders, human rights defenders, and victims of political repression.

In addition, in compliance with the institutional vision of Race and Equality, the cases are approached from an intersectional perspective.

It is important to mention that the work of strategic litigation is intertwined and reinforced by the other pillars of the work of Race and Equality, which are advocacy, documentation, and strengthening the capacities of counterparts. Learn more here.

  • Petition of the Ladies in White (Cuba): Comprehensive Protection of the Right to Defend Human Rights

For their work in defense and promotion of human rights in Cuba, the Ladies in White are continuously threatened, harassed, persecuted, and repressed by state agents and are detained every week for hours or days, some of them being in arbitrary detention for political reasons. During the last few weeks, its President, Ms. Berta Soler, has been detained and forcibly disappeared on three occasions for almost 3 days.  In 2013, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted precautionary measures in favor of all the members of the organization, which are still in force; and in 2022 Race and Equality filed a petition for the human rights violations caused to the women who make up the Ladies in White and to the organization itself.

Currently, the deadline for the State to submit its observations on admissibility and merits is running, and the IACHR will subsequently be able to rule on the State’s international responsibility in this case.

Through the precautionary measures, a letter of allegation before the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, and actions before other United Nations bodies, Race and Equality seeks to guarantee the protection of the rights to life, personal integrity, personal liberty, freedom of thought and expression, to association, and to exercise the right to defend human rights and freedom of expression.

The petition alleges that the State of Cuba is internationally responsible for the violation of the rights to life, liberty, security, and integrity of the person, equality before the law, protection of honor, the constitution and protection of the family, the preservation of health and well-being, and protection against arbitrary detention for political reasons to the detriment of victims.

  • Petition of Kevin Solís (Nicaragua): Protection of Human Rights Defenders as Key Actors for the Strengthening of Democracy

The case of Kevin Solís is an example of the pattern of repression suffered by students who denounced human rights violations during the 2018 social unrest in Nicaragua. Between 2018 and 2020 he was deprived of his liberty on two occasions, being a victim of torture and punishment in prison, in addition to his academic records from the public university being destroyed. On February 9, 2023, Kevin Solís was released from prison, exiled to the United States, and stripped of his nationality.

Given the risk of the situation faced by Solís, the IACHR granted him precautionary measures and he was later the beneficiary of provisional measures ordered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR). In August 2023, Race and Equality filed a petition with the IACtHR denouncing the human rights violations committed by the State against it. The provisional measures are in force, while the petition is awaiting processing by the IACtHR.

With the strategy used in this case, we seek to protect human rights defenders as key actors in strengthening democracy, as well as to denounce arbitrary detentions through the use of legislation contrary to international standards to criminalize freedom of expression. This case will also contribute to the documentation of the human rights violations that have occurred since the beginning of the crisis for a) pressure from the international community and b) subsequent accountability, reparation, and the establishment of guarantees of non-repetition.

  • Precautionary Measures of Benny Briolly (Brazil): Guarantee for the Political Participation of Black People with Diverse Gender Identities

Benny Briolly Rosa da Silva Santos is a black travesti councilor elected in the City of Niterói, who was reelected in 2024 and who, from 2017 to date, faces a serious situation of attacks aimed at her gender identity and race, also affecting her advisory team. Such attacks, which are manifested through discriminatory content and death threats against them, were frequently used to provoke fear and insecurity in their political actions in defense of human rights. Faced with this situation, the organizations Criola, Terra de Direitos, Justiça Global, Instituto Marielle Franco, Instituto de Defesa da População Negra, and Race and Equality, requested precautionary measures before the IACHR, which were granted on June 11, 2022.

The organizations representing the beneficiary have sought the permanent implementation of precautionary measures and to put an end to the risks faced by Briolly and her team, without fully achieving it so far, since the State has not carried out the appropriate and timely actions to do so.

With the other representative organizations, we seek the effective protection of the Councilor and that the State of Brazil guarantees the political participation of black people with diverse gender identities.

  • La COMADRE (Colombia): Right to Collective Reparation for Women Ethnic Leaders

Community leaders of the Coordination of Displaced Afro-Colombian Women in Resistance (La COMADRE), an autonomous organization of women victims of the armed conflict who have been victims of sexual violence and forced displacement, continue to face multiple forms of violence due to their leadership. These are mainly people who belong to rural ethnic communities, who have been forcibly displaced in urban contexts in the face of the armed conflict and violence that persists in their ancestral territories.

In this context, La COMADRE demanded that the State of Colombia be recognized as an ethnic collective subject with the right to collective reparation through free, prior, and informed consultation. Despite having achieved this recognition, it has not been granted such reparation, so together with the Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES), ILEX Legal Action, Race and Equality presented in 2022 a petition to the IACHR against the violations perpetrated against the organization by the State and the violence and risks that the women leaders who make up the organization continue to face. The petition was opened for processing and is awaiting the IACHR in the admissibility and merits stages.

This case seeks, first, that collective reparation be granted to La COMADRE as an ethnic collective subject, after exercising the right to consultation to determine such reparation; guarantees for the cessation of violence and risks faced by Afro-Colombian women leaders who are victims of the armed conflict, as well as identification and punishment of those responsible and structural changes to ensure that Afro-Colombian women can defend their human rights by exercising their leadership in conditions of safety for themselves, their families, and their organization.

Gender-Based Violence and the Mental Health of Women Human Rights Defenders: Recognizing the Impact and Proposing Prevention, Care, and Reparation Measures

Washington, DC; November 25, 2024.– Berta Soler, leader of the organization Damas de Blanco (Cuba), began her activism when her son was four years old; today, he is 29. During that time, Soler was the target of different forms of repression by the Cuban government, due to her persistent struggle for people deprived of liberty for political reasons on the island.

“Sometimes children are neglected, and other roles are assumed, and that is shocking,” Soler shares, alluding to the double and even triple role assumed by women activists and human rights defenders in societies where sexist violence prevails and, in addition, in societies with authoritarian governments that are opposed to the actions of independent civil society.

In the last three months alone, the Cuban activist has been arbitrarily detained and subjected to forced disappearance on two occasions. The first occurred on September 22, when State Security agents arrested her and took her to a police station, where she remained for 67 hours; and the second time was on November 10, when she was missing for more than 76 hours.

“Here (in Damas de Blanco) we have women who have stood at the door of their homes selling thermoses of coffee, and the only thing they get out of it is a miniscule payment, and the Cuban regime arrives and tells you ‘You can’t sell that, because if you do, I’ll put you in jail’. Because you are a human rights defender, your life is already marked, your life is marked. They exclude you from society,” she explains.

Recognizing a Nuanced Problem

To commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) proposes raising the visibility of the testimonies of women activists who, by promoting and defending human rights, are exposed to multiple forms of violence that impact on their mental health, and we are making a series of recommendations to put an end to this scourge.

The United Nations has recognized that women working for women’s rights and gender equality are frequently the targets of gender-based violence, discrimination, and threats because their work challenges traditional gender norms and exposes structural inequalities in society, and because they face the usual risks of defenders – considered to be one of the most dangerous activities in Latin America – they suffer specific attacks due to their identity, membership in feminist movements, or the focus of their work, such as the promotion of the rights of LGBTI+ people.

For Maria Eduarda Aguiar, a trans woman, lawyer, and volunteer, with the Grupo Pela Vidda in Rio de Janeiro, and president of the LGBT State Council for 2022-2024, the violence faced by women in the political sphere in Brazil is marked by the murder of Marielle Franco, a human rights defender, and Rio de Janeiro councilor who was brutally murdered in March 2018.

“In this way, women’s mental health is extremely affected by the countless forms of violence to which we are exposed to for defending an idea, occupying a space, or raising a banner. But we must continue fighting for inclusive, anti-racist, anti-LGBTIphobic, and feminist education,” she says.

The violence faced by women activists is compounded by stigma and a lack of effective protection mechanisms, which impacts their mental health and manifests itself with high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and in many cases, post-traumatic stress disorder. These consequences are linked not only to the physical and psychological aggressions they face but also to social isolation, emotional exhaustion, and the overload of responsibilities in hostile contexts.

Such is the case of Berta Soler and other members of the organization Damas de Blanco, in Cuba, whose case recently led to a joint communication to the Government of Cuba by eight United Nations Rapporteurs and specialists, including the Office of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the Office of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, the Office of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and the Office of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

In this communique, they express their concern over the situation of arbitrary detentions, criminalization, violence, harassment, surveillance, and threats against Berta Soler and members of the organization Damas de Blanco, and request that the Government respond to the alleged facts within sixty days.

Azahalea Solís, a Nicaraguan human rights defender, highlights the fact that violence against women also affects the people around them and that fear, as one of the consequences, translates into a lack of fullness of life, participation, action, and self-expression. “The civic life of women who suffer violence is also affected and, therefore, their political participation, as well as their economic autonomy, and their social relationships,” she stresses.

From Peru, Jimena Holguín, a member of Lesbianas Independientes Feministas Socialistas (LIFS), delves into the effects that gender-based violence can have on women’s lives.

“We can experience stress; that is, a state of tension, alertness; insecurity, fear to the point of terror or panic. It can cause anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, isolation, sleep and eating disorders […]. Depression can become very severe, losing sense of life and even of being, to such an extreme that, wanting to escape from their reality of abuse, oppression and violence, they may commit suicide,” she highlights.

María Camila Zúñiga Saa, a member of the Movimiento de Mujeres Unidas, Diversas y Empoderadas (MUDE), brings up that women’s lives are marked by the violence they suffer in the private sphere, especially from their partners. In this regard, she points out: “One of the first manifestations of the aggressor is to attack you psychologically, make you feel ugly, weak, incapable, among other things. All with the intention of having control over you and making you dependent so they may abuse you to their liking and need.”

To this, she adds that, in the public sphere, such violence can be aggravated because “society reproduces patterns and stereotypes, and in fact, they come to blame you for many of the situations you experience as a victim. In addition, the negligence of institutions increases mental health crises by feeling alone and unprotected.”

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, in the document Practical Guide on Guidelines and Recommendations for the Preparation of Risk Mitigation Plans for Human Rights Defenders, states that the impact of violence is aggravated when women activists belong to vulnerable groups. “For example, Afro-descendant, Indigenous, or LGBTQ+ women face intersectional forms of discrimination that add additional layers of violence and exclusion,” it says.

Recommendations for a Comprehensive Response

Gender-based violence not only seeks to silence women activists but also has a profound and lasting impact on their mental and emotional health. By recognizing the magnitude of this problem, we can move toward a comprehensive support system that not only allows them to heal but also to continue their invaluable work for justice and human rights.

For Nedelka Lacayo, of Enlace de Mujeres Negras de Honduras (ENMUEH), it is essential that States design and implement prevention, care, and reparation programs. Furthermore, she points out that access to justice is a key element in this process, since the high rates of impunity generate mistrust in women who suffer violence and inhibit them from deciding to turn to the authorities.

It is the responsibility of States under international human rights standards, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention of Belém do Pará to guarantee the protection of women’s human rights defenders and eradicate all forms of violence that affect them.

Therefore, Race and Equality, makes the following recommendations:

  1. To States:
  • Adoption and implementation of a legal framework against gender-based violence: Adopt and implement laws that address all forms of violence against women, with effective monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. These laws should ensure the comprehensive protection of women, especially women human rights defenders, and address intersectional violence.
  • Strengthening protection systems for women defenders: Create specific mechanisms to protect women defenders, designed in consultation with them, to prevent aggression, criminalization, and stigmatization for their work.
  • Creation of effective response systems: Establish specialized units in the security forces and the justice system to address gender-based violence, guaranteeing exhaustive, impartial investigations and sanctions for those responsible.
  • Eradication of restrictions on fundamental rights: Ensure the full exercise of freedom of expression, assembly, and association, eliminating any measure that limits women or their organizations in their work to defend human rights.
  • Public policies and dialogue with civil society: Allocate sufficient resources to implement programs for the prevention and care of gender-based violence and guarantee the participation of women’s organizations in their design, execution, and evaluation.
  1. To international organizations:
  • Consolidation of monitoring and reporting mechanisms: Establish or strengthen independent monitoring and documentation systems on the situation of women human rights defenders and gender-based violence in countries, ensuring that findings are used to pressure States to comply with their international obligations.
  • Technical assistance and training: Provide technical assistance and training programs for civil society organizations and States on international standards on human rights, gender-based violence, and protection of women human rights defenders, promoting local capacity building.
  • Political and diplomatic advocacy: Use their influence in international forums and diplomatic relations to demand that States implement effective measures to eradicate gender-based violence, protect women human rights defenders, and guarantee respect for fundamental freedoms.
  • Funding and sustained support to women defenders and local organizations: Provide financial resources to women-led organizations in highly vulnerable contexts, ensuring that they can continue their work with independence and resilience in the face of threats.
  1. To civil society:
  • Strengthen internal and external support networks: Organizations should create safe and confidential spaces where activists can share experiences and seek support without fear of reprisals. Promoting collaborative networking between activists and allies can help foster collective resilience and combat isolation.
  • Build capacities in gender-responsive mental health: Train allied mental health professionals to understand the dynamics of gender-based violence and the specific challenges of women human rights defenders. This includes facilitating access to specialized therapies that address both the immediate effects and prolonged impacts of trauma.
  • Influence inclusive and protective public policies: Promote dialogues with government institutions to promote the adoption of specific protection protocols for women activists.
  • Implement community awareness campaigns: Design and execute campaigns that highlight the fundamental role of women human rights defenders and the risks they face.

In view of the different levels of violence that human rights defenders can face in their day-to-day lives, both physically and emotionally, Race and Equality developed the Guide to Self-Care “If I take care of myself, I can take care of others”, whose objective is for people to become aware of the risks to which they are exposed – especially for their mental health – and to take self-care actions.

 

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