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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#26A Lesbian Visibility Day: challenging the heteropatriarchy

Washington D.C., April 26, 2022.- Every April 26, several countries around the world commemorate Lesbian Visibility Day. As the date was created as a political act that vindicates the presence and role of lesbian people in public spaces. It is also an opportunity to continue fighting for their human rights and to make visible the multiple challenges lesbian women face in society and the State. 

The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), in addition to reaffirming its commitment to the promotion and defense of the human rights of the LGBTI+ population, gives special recognition to lesbian lives that rebel and confront the mandate of heteronormativity, a system that normalizes and institutionalizes violence against diverse sexual and gender identities. Throughout time, this contribution has been and is very important for the fight for human rights and a dignified life. 

This is also an opportunity to remember the courageous struggles of the lesbian movement and the pending tasks Latin American and the Caribbean States have with lesbians. In the history of Peru, for example, this year for the first time a couple of lesbian mothers and wives, Jenny Trujillo and Darling Delfín, sued the Peruvian State before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) “after waiting almost 5 years for the Peruvian justice system to guarantee the rights of their son and of them as lesbians and mothers”, as indicated by the Demus, the organization litigating the case. The National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC) of the country refuses to register both women as mothers of their son in his national identity document, despite the fact that, in the first instance, the Judicial Power ordered it to do so. Currently, the case has been brought before the IACHR and thre is also a request for a precautionary measures. In Peru, LGBTI+families continue to be taboo and do not enjoy the rights that correspond to them by law. Lesbian mothers are often criminalized by their male ex-partners and by the Peruvian justice system, who try to take their children away from them during custody proceedings. For this reason, the case of Jenny and Darling would mark a great precedent in the legal recognition of diverse families. 

In Colombia, the case of Marta Lucía Álvarez Giraldo also reached the IACHR and had an important precedent. She serving a prison sentence in the Dosquebradas “La Badea” Detention Center, in Pereira, when she sued the State because the prison authorities refused to authorize the exercise of her right to intimate visits due to her sexual orientation. As a result of a 9-year legal process and a Friendly Settlement in the Inter-American System, the State had to apologize for its discriminatory action and reform the regulations of the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC) to prohibit the sanctioning of expressions of affection between members of the LGBTI+ sectors inside prisons. 

On the other hand, in the Dominican Republic, organizations for the promotion and defense of the rights of LGBTI+ people such as TRANSSA, the Observatory of Human Rights of Trans People and the GLBT Volunteers are in charge of documenting and producing data on situations of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, a task that the States in the region do not carry out. In their latest report entitled “Homicides of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Trans and Intersex in the Dominican Republic” they point out that between 2020 and 2021, two lesbian women were murdered in this country, one in each year. 

The lack of a State registration system that collects data on violence against LGBTI+ people makes it difficult to formulate public policies for prevention and care, and makes it impossible to produce disaggregated statistical data that makes visible the violence and adequately address it. 

For its part, Nicaragua is experiencing a sociopolitical and human rights crisis that exacerbates the situation of those groups that have been historically marginalized, such as LGBTI+ people. This situation is aggravated even more so if they participate in political spaces and in defense of human rights. For example, since the outbreak of the civic rebellion in April 2018, more than 70 sexually and gender diverse people have been victims of hate campaigns, and more than 4 have been imprisoned for political reasons and in discriminatory conditions due to their sexual orientation and gender identity. Two exiled lesbian leaders from the National LGBTIQ+ Committee of Nicaragua assured that, in Nicaraguan political spaces, both pro-government and opposition, the demands of lesbian women are made invisible and measures that guarantee their rights are not prioritized. In addition, they stated that lesbian women do not have real access to decision-making spaces and specially if they are young. 

In Cuba, since 2002, Las Isabelas -the first activist group made up of non-heterosexual women in Cuba- have been demanding recognition of their unions and families, their patrimonial rights as couples, conjugal visits for lesbian women in prisons, comprehensive sexual education and the inclusion gender perspective in the formulation of public policies. Currently, the government of this country promotes a series of meetings to publicize the proposed bill on the Family Code. However, this initiative that would recognizes LGBTI families and marriage equality for the first time in Cuba will be sumitted to a referendum, an unusual situation because human rights are not subject to popular consultations. 

As Race and Equality, we continue to work in favor of the rights of LGBTI+ people and with our partners in order to eradicate stereotypes, prejudices and social norms that discriminate and normalize violence against lesbians in public and private spaces. We will work to break down the compulsory heterosexuality that perpetuates lesbophobic bullying, conversion therapy, corrective rape and other hate crimes. LGBTI+ rights are human rights! 

In this sense, we recommend that States: 

  • Implement Comprehensive Sex Education policies that include a human rights approach so that diverse sexual and gender identities are recognized and respected. 
  • Guarantee the dignified treatment of lesbian women and GBTI+ people in all public and private services in the region through the strengthening of training programs for authorities, justice operators, public officials and administrative personnel, and through the implementation of protocols and guides.
  • Collect, document and analyze data on violence against lesbians and GBTI+ people in order to better illustrate situations of violence and subsequently formulate public policies. 
  • Guarantee access to justice through the investigation and sanctioning of discriminatory acts and crimes committed against lesbian women and GBTI+ people. Likewise, develop mechanisms that avoid the criminalization of lesbian mothers in custody proceedings.
  • Guarantee and defend the civil rights and the right to family of lesbians and LGBTI+ people through access to equal marriage and legal recognition of lesbian mothers and diverse families. We also urge States to respect marriages entered into abroad and the familial rights of children born to LGBTI+ people abroad.
  • Promote the access of lesbians and GBTI+ people to political spaces and positions of power in order to guarantee the right to political participation without violence and the representation of diverse identities. 

IACHR Rapporteur for Nicaragua: “We will continue to monitor the situation, accompanying and listening to the victims”

The work of monitoring, documentation, denunciation, and condemnation of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has been essential since the beginning of the serious sociopolitical and human rights crisis in Nicaragua. Recognizing their work, on the fourth anniversary of the civic rebellion of April 2018, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) interviewed the IACHR Rapporteur for Nicaragua, Esmeralda Arosemena, about the role that this agency has played in the situation that the country is going through since April 2018 and what could be the next steps to achieve truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition for the victims of violence and repression.

In a report published in October 2021, the IACHR warned that in Nicaragua there is a weakening of the rule of law and a profound deterioration in the area of Human Rights that has been brewing for two decades. What progress or setbacks have there been in Nicaragua in terms of Human Rights since the publication of this report (October 2021)? What new patterns have been identified and what is currently of greatest concern?

The report includes several elements that account for what its title indicates, concentration of power and weakening of the rule of law in Nicaragua. In November 2021, elections were held in a context of repression, corruption, electoral fraud, and structural impunity, which made it possible to ensure that the Executive remains in power and, in turn, consolidate an anti- democratic regime in the country.

The IACHR observes that the State continues with a strategy aimed at keeping civic and democratic space co-opted by imposing a perpetual police state, and new measures and laws that arbitrarily restrict the rights of the population. Recently, from the IACHR, we rejected the massive and forced closure of civil society organizations, foundations, universities, cooperation and development agencies, feminist groups, medical unions, among others.

On the other hand, we are very aware of the violation of criminal law, including (those) included in the constitutional norms of the country; and the criminalization of people identified as opponents of the government, an element that responds to the lack of judicial independence and separation of powers of a Public Ministry and a Judicial Power subject to the will of the government in a clear detriment to the rule of law and the democracy. This is in memory of the political prisoners who, between February and March, were tried and sentenced to very high sentences, without judicial guarantees.

Four years have passed since the beginning of the crisis in the country, and the Ortega and Murillo regime continues without responding to the recommendations and precautionary measures granted by the IACHR and fails to comply with sentences and resolutions of the Inter-American Court. How do you assess this position of Nicaragua? What is the position of the IACHR to contribute to the end of the repression and the way out of this crisis? What additional international mechanisms or instruments exist for accountability in Nicaragua?

Among the roles that the IACHR has is to raise awareness about human rights, make violations visible, and make use of its protection mechanisms such as precautionary measures. In this sense, we will continue to monitor the situation, accompany, and listen to the victims, and demand that Nicaragua restore its democracy and repair the serious and unacceptable violations that continue to occur under a regime that decided not to be democratic.

The Commission has assessed the lack of compliance with its recommendations for the inclusion of the State of Nicaragua in section B of Chapter IV of its Annual Report for three consecutive years. We have granted more than 30 precautionary measures to people, leaders, political opponents for being in a situation of risk and irreparable damage to their rights. For its part, the Inter-American Court in 2021 communicated to the OAS the contempt of the State of Nicaragua for the provisional measures issued in favor of the release of political prisoners in the country. This exemplifies that the organs of the Inter-American System are making use of all available conventional tools to contribute to compliance with the recommendations made to the State.

We must remember that the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) for Nicaragua was a body established through an agreement between the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS OAS), the IACHR and the Nicaraguan government to investigate the acts of violence that occurred in the period from April 18 to May 30, 2018. The GIEI presented its report that reported the serious violations that occurred and continued. Subsequently, the IACHR installed its Special Follow-up Mechanism also for Nicaragua (MESENI) to continue monitoring and raising awareness. Now the United Nations has resolved to establish a group of experts to investigate human rights violations in Nicaragua.

Recently, in a hearing of the IACHR, it stated that it had tried to establish a dialogue with the State but had not received any response . Do you think there are possibilities of obtaining a positive response from the State in the short term? What results can be expected from this dialogue?

The Inter-American Commission has permanently expressed its willingness to collaborate technically with the State for the restoration of human rights, the rule of law and compliance with the recommendations. From our role, we will continue to insist that the national dialogue with the organizations that fulfill the function of defending and promoting human rights is one of the ways that must be assumed in any democratic system for reparation, for the memory, truth, and justice.

You have previously stated that political prisoners are a priority for the Commission. From your Office of the Rapporteur: Do you see progress that could result in the prompt release of political prisoners? What other efforts are planned to demand the release of these people?

For the Commission, the 171 political prisoners are a priority, and it will continue to work for their release, as well as to guarantee due process and access to a defense. However, as I mentioned before, we regret the lack of will of the State to comply with the recommendations made and release them immediately. Due to the foregoing, the Commission will continue to make use of all its mechanisms so that prisoners are released and receive justice and reparation.

In my capacity as rapporteur for Nicaragua, I will continue to accompany the women and men who are political prisoners today, through their families, friends, and their lawyers.

As Rapporteur for Indigenous Peoples, what is your assessment of the recent cancellation of the human rights organization for indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants CEJUDHCAN? What challenges exist in relation to the state obligation to respect the self-determination of these peoples in Nicaragua?

Without a doubt, the closure of this organization (CEJUDHCAN) has serious consequences for the protection of the traditional rights and territories of the peoples of the North Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. In this regard, members of different communities have denounced the serious effects that the closure of this organization has for the protection of their rights, lands, and traditional territories in a context of systematic attacks by “settlers” (non-indigenous third-party invaders). It is worth remembering that the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, civil, political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights are closely linked to their own lands, territories, natural resources, social, cultural, and political institutions, and their self-determination.

In the report on the right to self-determination of indigenous and tribal peoples of the IACHR, reference is made to the fact that the different constitutive elements of self-determination such as political participation, consultation, and free, prior and informed consent, are part of commitments and States’ obligations under international instruments. This is one of the challenges that the States, including that of Nicaragua, have with respect to indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants.

On March 7, the United Nations High Commissioner affirmed that “the Indigenous Peoples of Nicaragua have continued to suffer violent attacks in the context of territorial disputes, most of them with total impunity.” Given this background: In what way do you think the IACHR could coordinate with the United Nations System to seek an improvement in the situation of lack of protection in which indigenous peoples live?

Since the beginning of the crisis, the IACHR has been working in coordination with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to address serious human rights violations. Last year, given the intensification of the repression in the context of the elections, the IACHR also announced that they were reinforcing this work, as well as the intention to establish articulated strategies to provide timely responses to the situation observed in the country […]

On March 23, the former Nicaraguan ambassador to the OAS, Arturo McFields, denounced crimes against humanity committed by the Ortega regime against Nicaraguan citizens: How important is this complaint to the IACHR? Could it be taken as further evidence of the deterioration of the human rights situation?

The IACHR considers that the statements by Ambassador Arturo McFields confirm the serious human rights violations that are being committed in the country, the institutional deterioration, and the sharpening of the Executive’s strategy to silence dissenting and opposition voices […] It also demonstrates the persistence of a police state that, in coordination with government groups, attacks, monitors, threatens, and harasses any person identified as an opponent, and this, in this case, is reflected in the dismissal of Arturo McFields as Nicaraguan ambassador to the OAS .

What is your message for Nicaraguan citizens, particularly for the victims of state violence? What call do you make to the Government of Nicaragua? What is your message to the international community and other States in the region in the face of the deepening of the crisis?

Four years after the beginning of the human rights crisis, the IACHR reminds the victims, their relatives, and civil society organizations that it maintains its permanent commitment to continue working to achieve justice and reparation, the reconstruction of democracy, and ensure that national reconciliation arrives with memory and historical truth. From our role, we will tirelessly ensure that the protection of life and physical integrity of each person is guaranteed, as well as the freedom of expression of the Nicaraguan people.

#31M: Recognize and respect the gender identity of trans people for the full guarantee of their human rights

Washington DC, March 31, 2022. – On International Transgender Day of Visibility, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) wishes to magnify the importance of recognizing and respecting the gender identity of trans people, as a basis for the full guarantee of their human rights, specifically their economic and social rights. In Latin America, people with diverse gender identity and expression face great challenges in accessing basic services which, in turn, constitute fundamental rights that every person should enjoy without suffering any type of discrimination or violence.

In at least 11 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean there are legal or administrative processes for trans people to rectify their identification documents according to their gender identity. For example, in Brazil—the country with the highest number of murdered trans people in the world—the Federal Supreme Court (STF) established in 2018 that trans people and transvestites over 18 years of age, regardless of sex reassignment surgery, hormonal treatment or the presentation of medical or psychological documents, have the right to change their name, gender, or both, at any Civil Registry office in the national territory, without the presence of a lawyer or public defender.

Meanwhile, in Mexico, 14 of the 32 States of this country recognize in their legislation the right to gender identity, so that trans people can access the modification of their sex or gender through an administrative process, without having to go through a judicial process. The State of Mexico was the last to incorporate this recognition, in July 2021, with a vote in Congress that had 59 votes in favor, one against and eight abstentions. The other states are Coahuila, Colima, Chihuahua, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sonora and Tlaxcala.

In countries such as Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic, there is no legal or administrative framework for trans people to rectify their identity documents, or there is no jurisprudence in this regard; therefore, if a trans person decides to start the process, this is at the discretion of the administrators of justice and it can be a long and costly path economically and emotionally. That is the case of Mística Guerrero, a trans woman from Nicaragua who until May 2021 did not have an identity document. In 2012 she began the process of changing her name before the Supreme Court of Justice and since then there has been no ruling on her case, according to a local media report.

The lack of recognition of the gender identity of trans people is not only determined by the existence or not of processes to change their name, but also by the will and management capacity of State institutions that must implement these regulations in civil registries. And the fact is that, despite the existence of these processes in many countries, activists and LGBTI+ organizations usually experience difficulties for trans people to access them, due to factors such as lack of clarity and transphobic attitudes, which generates delays and people desist from continuing the process.

Added to this is the fact that there are very few trans people who have the support of their families in these processes. The home is configured as the first space in which people with diverse gender expression and identity experience acts of rejection, violence and discrimination, a dynamic that is maintained throughout their lives.

“[…] There are countless barriers that keep trans and gender diverse people from being able to develop their full potential and from accessing basic rights from an early age, which has to do with the rejection and violence they receive since they begin to externalize their gender identity. In that order, there are numerous reports that show a high prevalence of trans and gender diverse adolescents who suffer expulsion from their homes at an early age”, explains the Report on Trans and Gender Diverse People and their economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, published in August 2020 by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

Gender identity and economic and social rights

The non-recognition of gender identity has serious implications for the recognition and exercise of human rights, including economic and social rights. It is important to point out that States have an obligation to fulfill and guarantee these rights based on the principle of equality and non-discrimination of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights.

“The lack of guarantee of the right to recognition of gender identity has as a consequence because trans and gender diverse people often carry identification documents that are not consistent with their gender identity,” the IACHR points out in the aforementioned report. In this way, access to rights such as health, education, housing and employment is limited and subject to prejudice. In addition, the possibilities of people suffering situations of violence and discrimination are increased.

Agatha Brooks, a trans woman from the Dominican Republic and a member of the organization Trans Siempre Amigas (TRANSSA), has experienced discrimination when trying to access housing. “We are not allowed to rent a house, because they believe that we are depraved people and that we are bad examples for children or families around us,” she indicates.

Apart from the problem of access to these rights, trans people also face violence and discrimination when they exercise them. Arturo Nicolás, a trans man from Peru and a member of Transmasculine Diversity, says that urgent measures are needed in the educational field to guarantee full access of trans people to this right. “ This does not mean only opening the spaces through quotas or similar measures. The care and containment protocols in case of violence are pillars to support trans or gender diverse people in educational spaces”, he affirms.

While Bruno Pfeil, a trans man from Brazil and coordinator of the Revista Estudios Transviades, shares his experience in access to health: “In the field of health, the (dis)access that weighs me down the most is gynecological health. Whether it’s for testing, or just for a routine checkup; It is always a headache to have to explain that I have a uterus, that I need a certain consultation, and that the regard that should be given to my body cannot be built under the cisgender prerogative.”

In its Report on Trans and Gender Diverse Persons and their economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights, the IACHR gives a comprehensive account of how the impossibility of rectifying personal documentation has been identified as one of the greatest obstacles to the effective enjoyment of other human rights, both civil and political as well as economic, social and cultural, for which it considers it urgent that the States adopt measures to guarantee this right in accordance with inter-American and international standards on the matter.

Although we recognize and celebrate the adoption of judicial and administrative processes for the recognition of the gender identity of trans people in several Latin American countries, we believe that this does not only depend on correcting their name and/or gender in their respective identity documents, but it is also closely related to the implementation of educational processes and public policies to eliminate LGBTIphobia in society and guarantee effective services that are tailored to their needs, respectively.

We also appreciate and thank the role of the United Nations Independent Expert on Gender Orientation and Identity, Víctor Madrigal-Borloz, who, through reports—such as the latest titled Law of Inclusion and Exclusion Practices—and numerous interventions before civil society and States, has positioned the issue of gender identity as a determining experience in people’s lives and, therefore, subject to a framework of rights that States must guarantee.

Along with this, we submit some recommendations to the States, many of which were set out by the IACHR in the aforementioned report and which we consider key steps to guarantee the human rights of trans people in the region:

  • Adopt gender identity laws that recognize the right of trans and gender diverse people to correct their name and the sex or gender component on their birth certificates, identity documents, and other legal documents. This is based on Advisory Opinion 24/2017 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IA Court).
  • Eliminate from their legislation and public policies any form of criminalization, direct or indirect, of the conduct of people in the exercise of their gender identity or expression.
  • Include protections against discrimination based on gender identity, in the public and private spheres.
  • Develop and implement policies and programs to promote respect for the rights of trans and gender diverse people and their acceptance and social inclusion. These must be comprehensive, transversal and based on the human rights approach and particularly including the gender perspective.
  • Develop and implement informative awareness and awareness campaigns in the public and private media on body and sexual diversity and the gender approach.
  • Promote information campaigns for trans and gender diverse people about all their human rights and existing protection mechanisms.

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

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

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

The mechanisms and their mandates

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

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

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

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

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

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

Situation in Latin America

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

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

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

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

Relevance of the CIRDI for Colombia and Brazil

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

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

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

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

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

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

Before the IACHR: State of Nicaragua fails to comply with precautionary measures granted in favor of independent journalists

Within the framework of the 182nd regular period of sessions of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), this Tuesday, December 14th, independent journalists—the beneficiaries of precautionary measures—and representatives of the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) participated in a public hearing to expose the absolute failure to implement the measures awarded in favor of 49 members of the independent media Confidencial, Divergentes, Radio Darío and La Costeñísima. They also pointed out that the intimidating acts the beneficiaries have continued to be subjected to are part of the systematic patterns of repression of freedom of expression and the press that exist in Nicaragua.

Since 2018, the IACHR granted the first precautionary measures to the journalistic team of Confidencial and Radio Darío. Later, in 2019, measures were granted to the director of La Costeñísima Sergio Warren León (D.E.P.), his family and other members of the media; and recently, 6 months ago, the IACHR granted measures to the press officer of said Caribbean outlet, Kalua Salazar, and her family. Unfortunately, to date, the State of Nicaragua has not adopted any measure to protect the life and integrity of these people, has not removed any obstacles so that they can carry out their work risk-free, and has not investigated the facts that gave rise to the award of said measures or those that occurred later. On the contrary, it has taken actions against these measures, forcing the majority into exile.

For Divergentes’ photojournalist Carlos Herrera, “Nicaragua has become an openly hostile terrain, under constant threat, or a prison for those who practice independent journalism from within the country.”Faced with the danger of physical aggression, assault and confiscation of our assets and work instruments, the siege of the police and paramilitaries, and even the possibility of being arrested and criminalized for exercising his profession, Herrera decided to leave the country a few months ago.

On his part, the Director of Confidencial Carlos Fernando Chamorro denounced that he had been forced into exile again, and emphasized that since May of this year, the Public Ministry unleashed a new repressive wave against independent journalism. At least 45 journalists – among them, beneficiaries of precautionary measures – were subjected to hostile interrogations and were even threatened with opening investigative processes against them, under the Special Law on Cybercrimes.

Wilfredo Miranda, a journalist for the digital outlet Divergentes, who is in exile for the second time, warned that the beneficiaries who continue on the ground are victims of persecution and siege, acts of surveillance and intimidation both in their homes and of their relatives.

Aníbal Toruño, director of Radio Darío -outlet that suffered a fire in the context of the social protests of April 2018- denounced that, the day after the election on November 7th, the Radio facilities were besieged by motorcycles belonging to supporters of the regime, who detonated mortars with the aim of frightening and intimidating the workers who were at the facilities at that time.

Finally, the legal advisor of Race and Equality, María Luisa Gómez, pointed out that the workers of La Costeñísima continue to be exposed to a situation of very serious risk. In addition to the continuous threats and smear campaigns, police and parastatal agents regularly besiege the radio facilities and the homes of their workers …”

It should be noted that, in the middle of this year, the IACHR’s Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression warned that at least 65 Nicaraguan journalists were in an extreme situation of vulnerability and risk. 

At the hearing, Rapporteur Pedro Vaca, IACHR Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, stated that, in the current “censorship regime” there are no guarantees for freedom of expression; However, “the reconstruction of the rule of law in Nicaragua involves guarantees of freedom of expression and the work of journalists, and … justice for the victims also involves the press, that document human rights violations”, Which is why one recognizes the importance of Nicaraguan journalism that, in adverse circumstances, “not only persists, but also with standards of quality and rigor.”

Petition

 The beneficiaries and their representatives asked the Commission to issue a follow-up resolution, urging the State to implement the measures granted, and to use the mechanism of petitions to examine the violations of the American Convention that the State has provoked.

They also asked that efforts to monitor, scrutinize and report the situation faced by the beneficiaries of the measures and the people of Nicaragua be intensified, and they urged the IACHR to require the State of Nicaragua to:

  1. Immediately cease any retaliation against the beneficiaries, journalism, and independent media, revoking the arrest warrants issued, refrain from issuing new ones.
  2. Release all people arbitrarily detained for political reasons, for exercising their right to express themselves and for supporting the work of the independent media.
  3. Take all necessary measures so that journalists who had to go into exile can return to the country with the due guarantees for their safety, life and physical integrity. Likewise, to refrain from imposing arbitrary impediments or obstacles to those who wish to leave Nicaragua.
  4. Repeal legislation that restricts freedom of expression and the press, as well as international cooperation towards independent journalism.

Cuba: IACHR Grants Precautionary Measures to Independent Journalist Héctor Valdés Cocho and Human Rights Defender Raúl Soublett López

Washington D.C., December 3, 2021. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has granted precautionary measures to independent journalist Héctor Valdés Cocho and his partner Raúl Soublett López, LGBTI+ rights and human rights defender, in response to a request from the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality). Based on the documentation presented by Race and Equality, the Commission determined that both are in a situation of serious and urgent risk of irreparable harm to their rights in Cuba.

The IACHR requests that the Cuban government abide by Resolution 100/2021 and adopt the necessary measures to protect the rights to life and personal integrity of the beneficiaries and allow them to carry out their activities without threats of violence, intimidation, and harassment. Furthermore, it requests that the Government agree upon the measures to be adopted with the beneficiaries and their representatives, and report – within 15 days – on the steps taken to investigate the alleged facts which led to the adoption of these precautionary measures in order to avoid their repetition.

Alleged Facts

The information presented by Race and Equality to the IACHR recounts the constant rights violations experienced by the beneficiaries in past few years, which include police barricade of their home, interrogations, threats and detentions in the framework of their activities as journalist and human rights defender, respectively. In both cases, the rights violations come just as frequently from authority figures as they do from anonymous individuals through social media.

As of this past October, Valdés Cocho has been arrested eight times. During one of those arrests, which occurred while he was returning home on October 30th, he was intercepted by State Security agents who then took him to Villa Marista and forced him to undress on the grounds of conducting a search. He stayed there that night and was interrogated two times. Later, on November 12th, he was a target of repudiation, and on November 15th – a day which civil society marked as the Civil March for Change – State Security agents were assigned to watch his house and prevent him and his partner from leaving.

In Soublett López’s case, the information indicates that he has been the victim of harassment by State Security since 2018, when agents began confronting and threatening him regarding his activism by saying that his activity could affect his work and his studies and that he could be jailed. At the start of his relationship with Valdés Cocho in October 2020, the threats intensified and he has since been interrogated on various occasions. One of the interrogations occurred on the 18th of June at the Municipal Directorate of Education, where he was intimidated and threatened with prosecution for his activism against racism, and on LBGTI+ issues and gender-based violence.

“It is really important for us that the IACHR, following the request from Race and Equality, has granted precautionary measures, since it is a protection against harassment, all the violence which the State has exercised against us for our activism to promote and defend human rights and professions”, said the beneficiaries.

Discrimination and Censure

In its analysis of elements which constitute serious, urgent, and irreparable harm to rights, the IACHR notes the hostile and censorious environment in which independent journalists work on the Island. Journalists encounter various forms of repression, such as the requirement of official membership to practice journalism; threats, citations, and interrogations with the intent to intimidate; arbitrary detentions; raids and seizure of journalistic equipment or other property; dismissals and loss of authorizations to practice their profession or other economic activities; threats and pressure to family members, social circles, and defamation; and impeding travel and other arbitrary restrictions regarding the right to free movement.

The Commission also highlights the particular form of violence, discrimination and restrictions regarding the rights to gather, association, and freedom of expression which members of the LGBTI+ community and human rights defenders whose work relates to sexual orientation and gender identification suffer. “The Commission, in particular, observes that the intersection between discrimination for reasons of ethnic-racial origin, diverse sexual orientation, and gender identity would disproportionately affect the Afro-Cuban LGBTI community,” it said.

Race and Equality urges the Cuban State to adopt the precautionary measures granted by the IACHR in favor of Héctor Valdés Cocho and Raúl Soublett López, and to allow them and all independent journalists and human rights defenders to pursue their work without the threat of discrimination, violence, and detentions, in accordance with their international obligations concerning human rights.

Race and Equality Releases Report About Women Political Prisoners in Cuba and Calls on the State to Cease Persecution and Criminalization of Human Rights Defenders

Washington D.C., November 24, 2021.– On November 18th, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) released a report entitled “Voices in Resistance: Women Political Prisoners in Cuba.” The report documents the experience of women who are or have been political prisoners in Cuba and the impact their criminal sentences and other acts of oppression have had on their lives. Furthermore, the report contains recommendations to the Cuban State as well as the international community oriented towards changing the situation of persecution and criminalization which women activists and human rights defenders face on the Island.

The event to launch the report was attended by the Rapporteur for Cuba from the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), Commissioner Stuardo Ralón, as well as women ex-political prisoners, who suggested policies and shared their experiences from different perspectives. Caitlin Kelly, Latin America Legal Program Officer at Race and Equality and author of the report, presented the report’s main findings; and Christina Fetterhoff, Director of Programs at Race and Equality, gave a welcome statement in which she highlighted the relevance of this event in the context of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which is commemorated every 25th of November.

“Women human rights defenders in Cuba suffer structural violence every day in a very particular way. They have to endure the dual burden of paid and unpaid work, which is common for women in any part of the world, but Cuban women activists are also subjected to harassment, threats, acts of repudiation, interrogations, and arbitrary detentions, among others, which many times include physical as well as emotional violence. The consequences of this violence are felt by the activists’ families and their communities. And in the cases in which women become political prisoners, the impact of the structural violence becomes much worse,” she said.

The Report

Caitlin Kelly, Latin American Legal Program Officer at Race and Equality, explained that apart from the “dual burden” which the Cuban women carry within the context of political control and shortage of food and medicine, the key factors that inspired this report are that Cuba does not have a law to protect women from gender-based violence and the lack of information on women political prisoners in the international community.

The report includes the cases of 12 women activists who were convicted for different crimes after expressing opinions in opposition to the government. The majority of them spent six months or more in a penal institution in Cuba, while others served their sentences under house arrest. The information was collected through interviews which were done directly with the women or with the families of those imprisoned.

“The interviews with the political prisoners confirm that the prisons in Cuba are inhumane and do not provide the basic provisions needed to survive. The women were in dirty cells, filled with rats and insects and, in some cases, even human waste. They were left hungry and isolated from their families and from other prisoners. Some suffered violence from inmates or guards. None received adequate medical treatment, which resulted in serious illness,” the report said.

Testimonies

The Lady in White (Dama de Blanco) and former political prisoner, Jacqueline Heredia, is one of the protagonists of the report. She was detained in April 2016 and, after spending more than a year in prison (May 2017), was sentenced to three years in prison for the crimes of “contempt” and “assault of an authority.” In August 2017 they granted her leave for serious health complications. Today, the activist faces the risk of returning to prison, as both she and her husband, Carlos Alberto Álvarez, are being accused of the crime of “assault of an authority”.

Jacqueline’s husband has been detained for six months in Prison 1580, in San Miguel del Padrón, La Habana. “They detained him for [the non-payment of] a few arbitrary fines that they gave us both, and now they accuse us of assault, and are asking for four years in prison for him and three for me. They say that we committed this assault in 2019, on the 8th of September, the day of the Sunflower March, which we participated in peacefully. He is awaiting trial in prison, and I at home,” she said through a video shared at the event.

Yamilka Abascal, who is a member of the Cuban Youth Roundtable (Mesa de Diálogo de la Juventud Cubana) and other organizations that promote human rights and democracy on the Island, was sentenced in 2017 to two years of house arrest. Yamilka was accused of “contempt” when she and her husband – the activist José Rolando Casares – were on their way to Havana to participate in an international press conference to present a civil campaign of the Roundtable.

Yamilka was eight months pregnant when she was convicted. She participated in the event over the phone and explained how the constant harassment by police she experienced during her house arrest has psychologically affected her and her children. Although she has already served her sentence, the young woman is still followed and harassed by Cuban authorities and supporters of the government.

Lisandra Rivera is part of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) and because of her activism has been harassed, threatened, and physically attacked in recent years. In June 2014, she lost her four-month pregnancy due to a beating by State Security agents and the National Revolutionary Police. “In 2016, I was detained because I came out in defense of some self-employed people who were being attacked and at the end of 2016 I was tried and taken to prison for the crime of assault”, she said in a video which was shared at the event.

Rivera was sentenced to two years in prison. She spent the first 11 months in the Santiago de Cuba prison during which time she was not allowed visitors and was denied the right to make phone calls. Later she was transferred to the Kilo 5 Prison in Camagüey, where on five occasions she was placed in solitary confinement, once for a period of three months and ten days. Furthermore, Lisandra suffered due to the terrible hygiene and food conditions of the prison.

The work of the IACHR

In his speech, the IACHR Rapporteur for Cuba stressed that civil society in Cuba reports “a systematic pattern to persecute peaceful demonstrators, political opponents, and activists,” which has worsened as a result of the July 11 protests and the demonstration announced by independent civil society for November 15th. The November 15th protest could not be carried out due to the strong repression of the government. “And this continues through harassment, arbitrary detentions and trials that do not observe the minimum guarantees of the legal process,” he said.

Commissioner Ralón, in the name of the IACHR, called upon the international community to demand that the State immediately end the persecution and arrests of dissenting or opposition voices and release those imprisoned. He also emphasized that the Commission is very motivated to continue the work of monitoring “because there is full conviction that in order for full respect for human rights to exist, the principal liberties for which these voices clamor must be guaranteed.”

At Race and Equality, we continue to follow the human rights situation in Cuba, including the persecution and criminalization which women activists and human rights defenders confront. With this report we hope to contribute to change this reality, demanding that the Cuban State abides by its international human rights obligations and sharing with civil society and the international community some of the voices in resistance.

Race and Equality recognizes and appreciates the role of Antonia Urrejola in promoting human rights in the region

Washington, D.C., November 12, 2021. – The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) joins in the expressions of recognition and gratitude to the President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Antonia Urrejola, for her outstanding and committed work for the promotion and protection of human rights in Latin America and the Caribbean. We especially recognize the key role she played in monitoring and making visible the grave human rights situation in Nicaragua since April 2018, as well as pushing for the adoption of measures to address the crisis.

This Friday, November 12, 2021, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) elected representatives of its organs, agencies, and entities, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In this process, Urrejola presented her candidacy for reelection as Commissioner of the IACHR on September 22, a role she has held since January 1, 2018 — after being elected in June 2017 — which ends on December 31.

Within the IACHR, Urrejola is currently the Rapporteur for Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, and Nicaragua, as well as the Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Rapporteur on Memory, Truth and Justice. In addition, on March 15, she was elected internally to the IACHR as its President, along with Julissa Mantilla and Flávia Piovesan as its first and second Vice President. Notably, it is the first time in history that this body’s board was composed entirely of women.

In 2018, Urrejola was also the Rapporteur for Brazil, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Cuba. In the case of the latter country, her Rapporteurship was instrumental in monitoring and making visible the human rights situation on the island. As the Rapporteur for Colombia and on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, she has closely observed the problems faced by this population in the country, mainly because of their territories being intruded upon by illegal armed groups and the lack of implementation of the Ethnic Chapter of the Peace Agreement.

In this Friday’s vote, held in the framework of the 51st OAS General Assembly, most of the country representatives voted for Joel Hernández García, of Mexico (27 votes), Carlos Bernal P, of Colombia (21 votes), and Roberta Clark, of Barbados (23 votes) as new members of the IACHR, thereby not reelecting Urrejola.

A friend of Nicaragua

Since the socio-political and human rights crisis broke out in Nicaragua, Antonia Urrejola’s voice has been particularly tireless in two ways. On the one hand, the Chilean lawyer and specialist in Transitional Justice has kept the critical situation in the country visible, and on the other, she has been a close figure of consolation and hope for the relatives of political prisoners, exiles, and those who have been tragically murdered. Her forthcoming departure from the IACHR causes a shock within civil society and human rights organizations in the country.

Likewise, international human rights organizations, such as Race and Equality, are particularly shaken by the news. Urrejola has been a key ally in the process of monitoring the crisis in Nicaragua and influencing the Inter-American System for the Defense and Protection of Human Rights in the country. Race and Equality counts on her committed participation in international events, campaigns, and thematic hearings.

When referring to the situation in Nicaragua, Urrejola has been insistent in stating that impunity and injustice will not perpetuate in the country. Today we return to the words she provided Race and Equality with during an interview conducted on the third anniversary of the crisis in Nicaragua: “Efforts in international human rights law usually do not have immediate effects, but it is also true that history shows that these are efforts that ultimately produce results.”

With this hope as well as the commitment to continue the work of defense and protection of human rights in Nicaragua, Race and Equality extends our sincere recognition and gratitude to Antonia Urrejola, and expresses our desire to continue to work hand in hand in the promotion of fundamental rights in the region.

Activists, human rights organizations and the families of persons deprived of liberty in Cuba collectively urge the IACHR to conduct an in loco visit to Cuba in order to understand the situation

  • The work being done by these collective groups represents a beacon of hope for Cuba, and the entire region – IACHR

Thursday, October 21, 2021.- A public hearing titled “Human rights situation in the context of the protest in Cuba” was held today 10/21, during which families, activists and human rights organizations urged the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to request that the Cuban government allow the IACHR to conduct an in loco visit to the country in order to verify the full extent of the situation of persons deprived of liberty.

The hearing took place during the 181st period of sessions, where more than twenty organizations participated, expressing their desire for the IACHR to initiate a dialogue between the Commission, the Cuban government and the participating organizations. Regretfully, the government did not participate in the hearing.

Sayli Navarro, a promoter of Cuba Decide (“Cuba Decide”) and a member of the Ladies in White, told the Commissioners about the detention she and her father suffered on July 11. Felix Navarro, 68, and president of the Party for Democracy “Pedro Luis Boitel,” has not been seen since, and has also contracted COVID in prison. Ms. Navarro also mentioned the cases of José Daniel Ferrer, the national coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU); Fernando González, Roilán Zárraga and José Pupo, members of UNPACU and promoters of Cuba Decide; Keilylli de la Mora and Rosa Jany Milo Espinosa, among others.

Laritza Diversent, the director of Cubalex, expounded that since July 11, Cubalex and the Justicia 11J Working Group have recorded the arrests of 1,130 people, 572 of whom remain deprived of their liberty and several of them having denounced acts of torture and ill-treatment. Diversent also highlighted the cases of vulnerable groups, such as young people, Afro-descendants, women, and members of the LGBTIQ+ community. Although these groups do not represent the majority of arrests, the type of repression committed against them has been disproportionate, causing an exemplary impact in their communities, particularly against those who belong to civil society groups perceived as critical of the government.

Diversent shared about agressions committed against journalists while covering the protests in order to suppress the flow of information. Agressions were registered against 18 journalists – five women and 13 men – from eight independent media outlets. Despite all being released, the majority of them were subject to repeated unlawful house arrest. She also warned about the legal framework implemented by the government to limit freedom of expression in the digital space. After the July 11 protests, Decree-Law No. 35, which legalizes mass interruption in internet access and imposes an obligation on operators and public telecommunications service providers to monitor Internet content, was imposed. Under this regulation, live transmission of demonstrations or online calls for protests can be qualified as harmful dissemination, cyberterrorism, cyberwar, and social subversion, according to Diversent.

Representing the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR) was Osvaldo Navarro Velóz, who shared that the organization had been following arrests against artists in the context of the July 11 protests and the ill treatment of members of his organization by the government “in an attempt to dismiss the many demands of the most marginalized sectors of Cuban society.” As such, he urged that “the support of the entire Inter-American System is vital.”

Michel Matos, a member of the San Isidro Movement – an organization founded in 2018 with the mission of ensuring and safeguarding the cultural rights and human rights of citizens in Cuba – recounted the information that civil society organizations have documented since July 11. At least 39 arbitrary detentions against artists related to protests; abusive use of pre-trial detention either in prisons or in homes; confiscation of work materials; restrictions to leave the country; systematic cuts in communications; and denial of access to essential services such as health or housing.

Finally, Marthadela Tamayo González, a member of CIR and representative of the Council for the Democratic Transition of Cuba (CTDC), denounced that violence against women and their bodies represents only one aspect of systematic cruelty. She referred in particular to the cases of sisters María Cristina and Angélica Garrido Rodríguez, both human rights activists, who were violently arrested by six police officers on July 12 in their homes. Both are mothers and are awaiting trial on charges of alleged contempt, assault and resistance, and for participating in the protest at their place of residence.

The IACHR’s response – led by Commissioner Edgar Stuardo Ralón Orellana, who is the Country Rapporteur – recognized the efforts and courage for the work carried out by organizations in such adverse conditions. Importantly, he also emphasized that the economic embargo should not be argued as the cause for situations that constitute violations of the main freedoms, liberties and human rights. These violations have another cause – “There is no freedom or a democratic government. Until this situation is resolved, it will be very difficult to be able to move forward guaranteeing human rights.”

“We are concerned about violations of due process and disproportionate sentences whose sole objective is to discourage the right to protest and freedoms. The IACHR reiterates its commitment to continue making the situation in Cuba more visible.”

Julissa Mantilla Falcón, first vice president of the IACHR, reiterated the Commission’s commitment to continue monitoring and supporting the work that the organizations are doing, as it represents a hope not only for Cuba but also for the region.

The Commissioners coincided in their concern for the threats emitted by the government in direct opposition for the upcoming announced protests for November 15, and that they will continue to monitor with special attention the situation during the coming weeks.

UNDERSIGNED ORGANIZATIONS

International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality)

Centro para la Apertura y el Desarrollo de América Latina (CADAL)

Civil Rights Defenders (CRD)

Cubalex

Consejo para la Transición Democrática en Cuba (CTDC)

Movimiento San Isidro (MSI)

Comité Ciudadanos por la Integración Racial (CIR)

La Hora de Cuba

IFEX‐ALC

ARTICLE 19 México & Central America

Fundación para la Democracia Panamericana (FDP)

Red Latinoamericana de Jóvenes por la Democracia (Juventud LAC)

Centro de Acción y Defensa por los Derechos Humanos (CADEF)

Impulsa Latinoamérica (IL)

Civil Rights Defenders (CRD)

Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU)

Instituto Patmos (IP)

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