Civil Society Organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean will participate at the 49th OAS General Assembly

Civil Society Organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean will participate at the 49th OAS General Assembly

Throughout the 49th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Medellín, Colombia from June 25-28, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), alongside a variety of organizations from Latin American and Caribbean countries including Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Nicaragua, will coordinate several events discussing the panorama of human rights in the region, especially among vulnerable populations and in countries currently facing violence.

All events will be broadcast live on Race and Equality’s Facebook page. There will also be extensive coverage of the events on social media, under the hashtags #AsambleaOEA and #RazaeigualdadOEA

Below please find details for each of the events that Race and Equality will host during the regional summit:

INTER-AMERICAN FORUM AGAINST DISCRIMINATION

Objective: To reflect upon and analyze the situation of Afro-descendent people in Latin America and the Caribbean in the framework of the International Decade for People of African Descent.

  • Date: Tuesday, June 25
  • Time: 8:30am – 1:00pm
  • Location: Hotel Estelar Milla de Oro (Medellín)

You can find the full program here (in Spanish only).

Opening:

Carlos Quesada – Executive Director of Race and Equality.

Panelists:
Erlendy Cuero Bravo – Vice-president AFRODES, Colombia
Paola Yánez – Regional Coordinador, Red de Mujeres Afrolatinas y Afrocaribeñas de la Diáspora
Margarette May Macaulay – IACHR Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons of African Descent and against Racial Discrimination
Christian King – Executive Director, Trans Siempre Amigas, Dominican Republic
Rodnei Jerico da Silva – Coordinador SOS Racismo, Brazil
Catherine Pognant, Director of the Office of Civil Society, Organization of American States
Juan Antonio Madrazo, National Coordinator, Comité Ciudadano por la Integración Racial, Cuba
Harvey Maradiaga, Coordinator ADISNIC, Nicaragua
Elvia Duque, representant of Race and Equality

Moderators:
Adriana Rodríguez –  Race and Equality
Cecilia Ramírez – Centro de Desarrollo de la Mujer Negra Peruana (CEDEMUNEP)

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COLOMBIAN PEACE ACCORDS: SOCIAL INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRO-COLOMBIAN TERRITORIES

Objective: To discuss the opportunities for meaningful and effective implementation of the peace accords in Colombia, while also identifying the causes of increased killings of Afro-descendent social leaders.

  • Date: Tuesday, June 25
  • Time: 5:00pm-7:30pm
  • Location: Hotel Estelar Milla de Oro (Medellín)

Panelists:
Ángela Salazar, Commissioner, Colombian Truth Commission
Nixon Ortiz, Fundación Arcoíris libre de Tumaco
Audes Jiménez, Red de Mujeres Afrolatinoamericanas y Afrocaribeñas y de la Diáspora (RMAAD)
Emigdio Cuesta Pino, Conferencia Nacional de Organizaciones Afrocolombianas CNOA
Melquiceded Blandon, Consejo Nacional de Paz Afrocolombiano (Conpa)

Moderators:
Elvia Duque, Race and Equality
Wilson Castañeda, Caribe Afirmativo

WHERE IS NICARAGUA HEADING? CHALLENGES TO HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE CONTEXT OF CRISIS


Objective:  To discuss the challenges facing Nicaragua after 14 months of crisis, particularly the obstacles to guaranteeing human rights in the country, and to discuss the path to renewed dialogue between the Nicaraguan Government and the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy.

  • Date: Wednesday, June 26
  • Time: 6:30-8:30pm
  • Location: Hotel Estelar Milla de Oro (Medellín)

Panelists:

Roberto Desogus, Coordinator for Nicaragua on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Antonia Urrejola, Commissioner and Rapporteur for Nicaragua, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Sofía Macher, member of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI), Nicaragua
Marlin Sierra, Executive director CENIDH
Azahalea Solís, member of Alianza Cívica and representative of the MAM
Lucía Pineda, Head of Press 100% Noticias

Moderator:
Ana Bolaños,  Race and Equality

LAUNCH OF THE IACHR REPORT “RECOGNITION OF THE RIGHTS OF LGBTI PEOPLE”

Objective: For the first time in Colombia, Race and Equality will debut the results of an IACHR study published in May on the advances that American states have made the protect the rights of LGBTI people, so that other countries can advance the agenda of equality, inclusion, and non-discrimination for the LGBTI community.

  • Date: Thursday, June 27
  • Time: 6:00-8:00 pm
  • Location: Hotel Estelar Milla de Oro (Medellín)

Panelists:

Antonia Urrejola, IACHR Commisioner and Country Rapporteur for Brazil, Cuba, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and Uruguay.
Ernesto Zelayandia, Fellow IACHR Special Rapporteurship on the Rights of LGTBI Persons
Sandra Milena Arizabaleta,  Somos Identidad, Colombia
Alessandra Ramos, Transformar, Brasil
Belén Zapata,  Red de Jóvenes Afroperuanos Ashantí, Perú

Moderator: 

Mauricio Noguera, LGBTI Program Officer, Race and Equality

HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS URGE THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TO RESPECT & PROTECT THE IASHR

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, May 29, 2019 – The undersigned organizations express our concern regarding the State’s rejection of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ recent resolution with respect to the Dominican Republic, in which the Court reiterated its jurisdiction to hear cases against that State. The Inter-American Court determined that the Dominican Constitutional Tribunal decision TC-256-14, which, according to the State, would prevent the Court from making any ruling concerning the country, is invalid under international law.

On April 26, the Dominican State affirmed in a press conference that it will continue not to recognize the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court on the basis of the TC-256-14 decision, despite the Court’s recent resolution. The current president of the Dominican Constitutional Tribunal and the former president of the Republic, Leonel Fernández, have made similar statements. It bears noting that in 1999, President Fernández himself formally accepted the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on behalf of the Dominican State. In addition, while different political actors have spoken out against the Court’s resolution, prominent legal experts have supported its conclusion, asserting that the Inter-American Court maintains its jurisdiction and that, constitutionally, its decisions are as binding as those of the Constitutional Tribunal.

As human rights organizations, we are concerned about the position expressed by representatives of the Dominican State, as it forms part of an effort by the State to limit access to justice for all people living in the Dominican Republic. It is important to point out that there are currently more than 86 cases of human rights violations with respect to the Dominican Republic before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which deal with issues such as women’s rights, political participation, the rights of persons deprived of their liberty, due process, and the right to an effective remedy before the law, among others, which could eventually be decided by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Given the Dominican State’s position, these victims may see their possibilities of justice and reparation seriously affected.

Over the years, both the IACHR and the Inter-American Court have been essential pillars for the defense and protection of human rights throughout the continent, and have contributed significantly to the advancement of human rights in our countries. Thus, for example, the organs of the Inter-American human rights system (IAHRS) have developed international human rights standards in the fight against corruption in countries such as Guatemala and Honduras, which have contributed to initiatives such as the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) or the Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH). Likewise, they have been fundamental in the defense and guarantee of the rights of diverse groups such as LGBTI persons, persons deprived of their liberty, Afro-descendants and indigenous people, children, adolescents, people with disabilities, human rights defenders, and migrants, among many others.

It should be noted that, beyond the great uncertainty for the victims who already have received judgments in their favor, the position of the Dominican State with respect to the competence of the Inter-American Court limits the possibilities of all persons residing in Dominican territory to obtain redress for violations of their human rights in the absence of a solution at the national level. For them, the IAHRS may be the last hope of finding justice, truth and redress.

For all the above reasons, the signatory organizations, all of which work in the defense of human rights, urge the Dominican Republic to recognize its international obligations, legal certainty, and avoid limiting the guarantees of protection.

Download pronouncement

International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

While commemorating the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, we remember the unmet obligation of all countries, especially those in Latin America and the Caribbean, to support persons with diverse sexual identities and gender expressions, as well as to acknowledge and protect their rights. Respect for these rights must be the base for creating public policies and programs that create diverse, peaceful, and just societies.

Although there has been considerable progress in the recognition of LGBTI rights for people around the globe, violence that endangers the physical and moral integrity of those who express diverse sexual orientations or gender identities is still prevalent. A general lack of concern and complicity on the part of the general population perpetuates and makes it impossible to overcome structural violence against LGBTI people. In addition, the lack of access to health, education and work services of these individuals reproduces dynamics of poverty, discrimination and violence.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, acts of hate and discrimination are often based in religious beliefs or principles. These dogmas frequently restrict identity to binary gender norms that do not recognize diverse expressions, and prevent this population from asserting their rights in social and political spheres.

The Experience of LGBTI People in Latin America 

The outlook for LGBTI people in Latin America and the Caribbean for 2019 continues to be discouraging. They are facing the threat of losing advancements that were already fought for and won because of efforts of fundamentalist groups that are continuously spreading misinformation and stigma against LGBTI individuals.

Similarly, it is concerning that intolerance continues to be one of the main motives behind murders committed against LGBTI people, which are often carried out with excessive cruelty. Statistics on these crimes are mostly collected and analyzed by civil society, while States show a lack of interest in collecting this information or in adequately documenting and investigating these crimes.

Brazil, for example, is a country with one of the highest rates of murders of trans persons, according to a report presented by Brazil’s National Association of Travesties and Transsexuals (ANTRA) and the Brazilian Trans Education Institute (IBTE). The report documents that in 2018 alone, a total of 163 trans individuals were violently murdered because of their sexuality and gender expression. According to ANTRA’s president Keila Simpson, these cases occurred during an election period and were motivated by anti-LGBTI speeches given by some of the Brazilian presidential candidates. This situation continues to deeply concern civil society organizations that are working on the defense of LGBTI rights, especially in the context of the current Bolsonaro regime in Brazil. This regime has emphatically refused to denounce or even acknowledge the existence of the concerning violations of LGBTI people’s rights.

Likewise, in the Dominican Republic, the situation for LGBTI people is alarming because of the lack of public policies that promote social acceptance. Civil society organizations have reported many cases of violence against these individuals, but they are not taken into account by state institutions or mass media. According to the last annual report made by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, this situation results in greater discrimination against LGBTI people, who also face discrimination based on nationality, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, etc.

The Dominican State’s refusal to acknowledge the rights of LGBTI rights allows for social acceptance of violence and aggression towards these individuals. Even state authorities often do not see this violence as a problem, as described in a report published by Amnesty International and TRANSSA Trans Siempre Amigas on abuse, violence, and police harassment against trans women sex workers. These women are victims of constant acts of violence perpetuated by police agents who are motivated because of prejudices around their gender identity.

During this significant day, it is important to consider the difficulties that people with diverse sexual identities and gender expressions have in accessing justice. Particularly, laws and government programs in most of the countries of the region have partially or completely ignored the specific ways the LGBTI population’s rights are violated. State responses to these violations must be designed for the specific needs of this population. For example, according the Victims Registry (Registro Único de Víctimas – RUV), created as a part of the Colombian peace process, 3.368 victims of the armed conflict are reported and recognized as LGBTI. Most of them are reported as victims of forced displacement, threats, homicides, and crimes against sexual freedom and integrity. However, one person may have been victim of multiple crimes. Colombia must use these statistics to create programs to address the specific needs of the LGBTI population, who have been victimized in multiple ways.   

Challenges for inclusion

To decrease the poverty and marginalization experienced by LGBTI individuals, shared prosperity for all social groups must be promoted. States have a duty to work toward this, given that one of the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to “not leave anyone behind.” Additionally, the five areas for the protection of LGBTI people prioritized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) are: 1) economic wellness; 2) personal safety and elimination of violence; 3) education; 4) healthcare; and 5) political and civic participation.

There are still many challenges in the region for protecting the rights of LGBTI people. One of these challenges is the lack of data about the LGBTI population and their needs. If States have no information on LGBTI people, they cannot design programs that will have the needed impact. This lack of data also impedes the development of progressive policies that can achieve the SDGs and the goals of the UNDP.

LGBTI people are victims of intersectional forms of violence that interact with prejudices about their sexual orientation or their gender identity. For example, the violence against an Afro-descendent trans woman who lives in a rural area must be thought from an intersectional perspective that considers these different aspects of identity. This intersectionality is lived by many LGBTI individuals and is not contemplated by States when planning strategies to guarantee their rights. In consequence, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, and intersexual individuals are revictimized because their reality is not adequately analyzed.

Regional governments should start implementing intersectional policies that recognize the multiple oppressive experiences lived by each person. These policies must recognize that individuals do not fall under one category, but experience the world in ways influenced by their many different identities, including race, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity. In most cases, these identities interact and are experienced intersectionally. Having separate policies for different population categories continues to isolate people and produces more barriers to access to rights.

Secondly, there must be recognition of the particularly vulnerable populations that require immediate and clear protection from the State. Homicidal violence and violence perpetuated by State armed agents against trans people in general, and Afro LGBTI people in particular, shows the need for a prompt solution. The structural discrimination against this population requires a significant intervention from the States and should be prioritized in the region in order to substantially decrease those cases of violence and abuse.

Finally, the current context shows an increase in the popularity of religious fanaticism, which endangers not only the safety and integrity of LGBTI individuals, but also the development of democratic and secular States. Religious fanaticist ideas are boomerangs that tend to hit their own promoters. Tactics of moral blame, sexual repression, or criminalization of people based on religious beliefs promote social instability and lead to a radicalization of opinions and actions. The defense of a secular State is more important than ever when specific religious groups are trying to violently impose their beliefs on others.

Statement 

The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race & Equality) joins its voice to thousands of organizations working for the protection of LGBTI people’s rights so that “Justice and Protection for Everyone” can be a commitment assumed by the States and a reality for all individuals. In making this commitment, policies and actions have to be made to protect those that have historically been more vulnerable and oppressed by those who have abused their power.

Race & Equality is aware of the importance of listening to the voices of LGBTI people and calls on States to promote education and dialogue so that inequality, discrimination, and marginalization can be eradicated. Likewise, we urge the international community to continue making statements to promote the protection of LGBTI individuals, especially in this moment of crisis for human rights throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Human rights defender Vilma Núñez asks the IACHR to demand respect for the right of association in Nicaragua

Jamaica, May 9, 2019. Yesterday, the President of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH, for its initials in Spanish), Vilma Núñez, asked the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to address the State of Nicaragua in conjunction with the relevant bodies of the United Nations regarding the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association in the country. That right that has been widely violated by the authorities during the crisis that has enveloped Nicaragua since April 2018.

Núñez’s request was made during the regional hearing entitled “Human rights, development and freedom of association” during the 172nd session of the IACHR. The hearing occurred five months after the CENIDH’s legal status was invalidated.

“Thirty years of work by CENIDH were practically eliminated on December 12, 2018, when the National Assembly, controlled by the Ortega-Murillo presidential couple, annulled our legal status,” Núñez said. “On the night of December 13, the Ministry of the Interior gave the order to break into our offices in Managua, and 60 policemen forcefully entered through the roof. They tied our guard’s hands and feet together, beat him, and forced him to remain under a desk for four hours. They destroyed and stole everything,” she added.

Nuñez explained that the Chontales office of CENIDH was also ransacked by the police. On December 14, the organization’s bank accounts were frozen.

Eight other NGOs in the same situation

In addition to having canceled the legal status of CENIDH, the National Assembly invalidated the legal status of eight other Nicaraguan organizations: the Let’s Do Democracy Association, the Center for Health Information and Advisory Services (CISAS, for its initials in Spanish), the Institute for Strategic Studies and Public Policies (IEEPP, for its initials in Spanish), the Segovias Leadership Institute, the River Foundation, the Institute for Development and Democracy (IPADE, for its initials in Spanish), the Popol Na Foundation for Municipal Promotion and Development, and the Communication Investigation Center (CINCO, for its initials in Spanish).

“Repression has an impact on the development of our country in all aspects, since development requires a basic dialogue between the government and civil society, a smooth cooperation between governors and the governed. CENIDH, as well as the other organizations legally invalidated, represented a legitimate expression of citizen participation for the defense and promotion of human rights,” Núñez emphasized.

The human rights defender also denounced that the National Assembly that outlawed nine NGOs has granted legal status to parastatal associations, including the one named “Defenders of the nation.” “This is the legalization of paramilitarism in our country,” stated Núñez.

Petition

Núñez asked the IACHR to accurately assess the status of violations of the right of association in Nicaragua and to include this information in its report on the country.

In addition, she requested that the IACHR demand that the State of Nicaragua, in conjunction with the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, respect the right to freedom of association, the right to collectively defend rights, and consequently, immediately restore  the legal status of CENIDH and the other eight NGOs and return all of their assets.

Reactions

Other human rights defenders from Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia also participated in the hearing to denounce violations of the right to freedom of association in their respective countries.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Clément Nyaletsossi, urged defenders to send his office information that can be used as an input on his next report and called on States to eliminate any restrictions on this human right.

“Today we see how, in Venezuela and Nicaragua, the living conditions of citizens are deteriorating because civil society cannot offer their services. Civil society must stimulate and mobilize communities to fight against inequities,” he said.

During the hearing, the Special Rapporteur for freedom of expression of the IACHR, Edison Lanza, revealed that his office is working on a thematic report on social protest in the Americas. “The idea is to develop clear standards regarding the interaction and connection between freedom of peaceful assembly and association with the development of democracy, and economic, social, and cultural rights in the countries,” he explained.

Human rights defenders denounce the context of serious violence faced by Indigenous and Afro-descendant people of the Nicaraguan Caribbean

Jamaica, May 8, 2019. The indigenous and Afro-descendant communities of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua are facing a serious situation of violence as a result of the invasions of ancestral territories by settlers, human rights defenders denounced today before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), during its 172nd period of sessions.

Lottie Cunningham of the Center for Justice and Human Rights of Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast (CEJUDHCAN, for its initials in Spanish), explained that the conflict between indigenous people and settlers has had “devastating consequences,” because it has impacted rights to integrity, health, food, access to water, a healthy environment, cultural identity, and a decent life. Furthermore, this situation has resulted in the forced displacement of indigenous communities, seriously affecting their traditional ways of life.

The hearing entitled “Situation of the Indigenous and Afro-descendant people of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua” was also attended by Ana Bolaños of the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality); Nora Newball of the Creole Government of Bluefields and the Alliance of Indigenous and Afro-descendant People of Nicaragua (APIAN, for its initials in Spanish); and Esteban Madrigal of the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL). The State of Nicaragua, which was invited to participate in the event, did not attend.

Context of the conflict

The Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua is a multi-ethnic, pluricultural and multilingual region where nearly 508,000 people with origins from the Mískitu, Sumu/Mayangnas, Rama and Afro-descendant (Creoles and Garífunas) communities live.

This territory “has been ravaged for years by poverty and by a systematic violation of the right to ancestral territories,” said Ana Bolaños, attorney at Race and Equality. As a result of a ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2005, the State of Nicaragua approved Law 445, which established a process of demarcation and titling of these communities’ lands.

Under this law, between 2007 and 2016, 23 territories benefiting 304 indigenous and Afro-descendant communities were demarcated, but the title-clearing process has not been carried out, which is the State guarantee to the indigenous people of “the effective use and enjoyment of their titled territories when faced with their occupation by third parties or settlers.”

In the absence of this process, the settlers, mostly ex-soldiers operating under the Nicaraguan State’s tolerance, extract the natural assets of the communities for marketing purposes.

Despite the fact that the IACHR granted precautionary measures in favor of 12 communities on the Northern Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua and that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the State to adopt measures to guarantee the life, integrity, territory and cultural identity of seven of these communities, “as of today, there has yet to be an effective response from the State,” according to activists.

Increase in violence

Cunningham warned that violent actions by settlers have increased lately. For example, in February, two women from the community of Santa Clara were kidnapped by 25 armed settlers and forced to work cleaning beans under threat of death.

CEJUDHCAN has documented that between 2011 and 2018, a total of 34 community members have been killed, 44 injured, 25 kidnapped, and four disappeared in the context of the conflict.

Additionally, Cunningham said that the violence has generated a food crisis for members of the communities who cannot access their plots or perform other activities such as hunting and fishing. “In that sense, it has affected maternal health, access to education, and hindered access to the basic means necessary to sustain a dignified life,” the activist added.

According to a study conducted by CEJIL and CEJUDHCAN in 2018, about 23% of children on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua suffer from chronic malnutrition and approximately 11% suffer from severe chronic malnutrition.

However, the acts of violence continue with impunity. Out of 65 complaints filed by CEJUDHCAN with the corresponding authorities, 49 were rejected.

Political participation neutralized

Nora Newball, representative of APIAN, an alliance created in 2015 to demand and monitor human rights violations against indigenous and Afro-descendant people, explained to the IACHR Commissioners that the State of Nicaragua has neutralized the civic and political leadership of its people and has installed parallel communal governments.

“In the recent regional elections (of 2019), the participation of the indigenous and ethnic population has decreased due to the high levels of invasion of settlers. 95.5% of councilors belong to national parties and only 4.5% belong to the indigenous party,” Newball said.

The human rights defender and political leader also highlighted that the State has seriously damaged forests and natural resources, with the deforestation caused by the Alba-Forestal company and the imposition of the Interoceanic Grand Canal. The private sector has also affected their communities through the expansion of the African palm, the advancement of the agricultural frontier, extensive cattle raising, and an increase of mining activity and fishing.

Request

Members of the civil society asked the IACHR and the international community to take all the necessary actions to stop the invasion of the territories in the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua and to ensure respect for the human rights of indigenous and Afro-descendant people.

In particular, they requested the IACHR to demand that the State of Nicaragua immediately cease the repression against indigenous and Afro-descendant people and the human rights defenders who participated in the hearing; to include this situation in Chapter IV(B) of its annual report; and to request the Follow-up Mechanism of Nicaragua (MESENI, for its initials in Spanish) to monitor the situation of indigenous and Afro-descendant people.

In addition, they asked the IACHR to urge the State of Nicaragua to establish a dialogue with the traditional authorities to implement the title-clearing process of the territories and to comply with the protection measures ordered for indigenous and Afro-descendant people, as well as to demand that the State of Nicaragua guarantee the right of indigenous people to choose their authorities according to their traditions and customs.

IACHR interested in visiting the Caribbean

After listening to the interventions of human rights defenders, the Rapporteur on the Rights of Afro-descendants and against Racial Discrimination, Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay, expressed her intention to visit the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua to “talk to the people, to make this situation more visible and more palpable.” She stressed that her visit would depend on the consent of the State, but remarked: “I hope to and I have the plan to do it if I can.”

The First Vice-President of the IACHR, Joel Hernández, assured that the Commissioners took note of the petitions raised by civil society and stressed that their role is key “in a context of a serious human rights situation, where an absence of the State and where the access to justice has dissipated.”

Other rapporteurs of the IACHR who were present at the hearing, including the Rapporteur for Nicaragua, Antonia Urrejola, and the Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights, Soledad García Muñoz, showed a high level of interest in learning details about the situation of the indigenous and Afro-descendant people of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua.

Race and Equality Calls for Peace, Justice and Democracy for Venezuela

Colombia, 1st May 2019 – On April 30th, the interim President of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, called on the Venezuelan population to join “Operation Freedom”, a massive demonstration to usher in what he himself describes as the “beginning of the end of the usurpation” of the Nicolás Maduro regime. Along with Guaidó, who issued the call in the early hours of the morning from the military base La Carlota in Caracas, was also the opposition figure Leopoldo López, who until yesterday was a political prisoner, and was freed from house arrest by defecting soldiers. The Maduro regime has described these actions as an attempted coup d’état.

In spite of this, the Venezuelan people took to the streets to demand the military forces to join them on the call for justice and freedom. However, the Police and National Guard, who are still allied to the Maduro regime, suppressed demonstrators of several cities by running over them, by using tear gas and rubber bullets, leaving dozens of people injured.

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) strongly condemns the violence and repression carried out by Venezuelan authorities against the people who demand justice, democracy and freedom through their legitimate right to protest. We urge the Venezuelan State to put an end to the violence, to guarantee peace and the right to life, freedom of expression and opinion, as well as the personal integrity of the demonstrators who today call for democracy through the constitutional path.

We urgently call on the international community to continue speaking in the face of the serious human rights crisis that Venezuela is going through, which has left more than three million people displaced to different countries in the region, as reported by UNHCR Americas, as well as serious attacks to the fundamental rights of the people who continue to demand their freedom.

What does Jair Bolsonaro’s defense of the Brazilian military dictatorship mean to the Afro LGBTI+ community?

Brazil – April 29, 2019.  The month of April was marked by several protests and political activities in Brazil against the country’s former military dictatorship. These protests occurred because the 55th anniversary of the coup that established a dictatorship in the country, from 1964 to 1985, was in April 2019.

These protests were motivated because Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil, had determined that the Ministry of Defense would honor the 55th anniversary of the coup. In 2011, the former President Dilma Rousseff had forbidden the Army to make commemorations on that date.

In fact,this is the first time since the re-democratization of Brazil that a president has publicly and openly defended the military dictatorship. On the day of the impeachment vote against Dilma, Bolsonaro declared that his vote was in honor of Carlos Brilhante Ustra, known in Brazil as the greatest torturer under the military dictatorship.

Many efforts were made to erase the political censorship and torture to which people who organized to oppose the military regime were subjected from Brazilian memory. However, little is discussed about what kind of relationship the Brazilian dictatorship had with the LGBTI + population – especially with Black LGBTI+ persons. Thus, it is essential to ask what the effects of the authoritarianism of the military dictatorship on the LGBTI + black community were, and to what extent the regime created and deepened the violent way in which the Brazilian State treats these lives today.

Violence against LGBTI+ persons in the Brazilian dictatorship

In 2012, a National Truth Commission (Comissão Nacional da Verdade) was installed in Brazil, with the objective of bringing the human rights violations carried out by agents of the State in repressing all those who were considered opponents of the regime out of hiding, as well as to push the State to assume responsibility for these violations. In 2014, this Commission published a report which sought to publicize the violations that have occurred against LGBTI+ persons.

The attempt to tell an untold story of a dictatorship that tried to erase its tracks makes it extremely difficult to assess the extent of this violence, especially when it comes to the LGBTI+ Afro community. However, efforts must be made to overcome the scarcity of official records.

It is important to note that, in the military regime’s view, there was no distinction between sexual orientation and gender identity. All LGBTI+ persons were considered “homosexuals” and were seen as a homogeneous mass. This is another difficulty, because the official records themselves treated those who identified themselves as trans persons or “travestis” as homosexuals, for example. Travesti is a gender identity that exists in some Latin American countries like Brazil that describes people assigned male at birth who take on a feminine gender role and gender expression, sometimes through the use of feminizing body modifications such as hormone replacement therapy, breast implants, and silicone injections.

As the National Truth Commission report points out, there has not been a formalized state policy to exterminate the LGBTI+ population nor to criminalize these persons. However, the ideology that justified the coup and the disenfranchisement of democratic rights and other kinds of violence was permeated by conservative values and an lgbt-phobic perspective, which considered sexual diversity and diverse gender identity to be subversive. This association of LGBTI+ with subversion was used to justify the repression that were perpetrated against them. Therefore, it was possible to see the growth of a vision of the State that saw LGBTI+ as harmful, dangerous as well as contrary to family, morality and good manners. This legitimized violence against this population.

The National Association of Travestis and Trans Persons (ANTRA, for its initials in Portuguese) confirms that trans women, homosexuals, and other people seen as “perverted” were subjected to persecution, arbitrary detention, layoffs, censorship, murder, and other forms of violence because they were seen as undesirable people.

In São Paulo, for example, the Joint Ordinance nº 390/76 authorized the arrest of those who identified themselves as “travestis” that were found in the central region of the city for interrogations, determining that the police records of the travestis should contain “pictures of the perverts, so that the judges can assess their degree of dangerousness.”

In 1987, in the transition between the military regime and democracy, São Paulo was also the scene of a police operation that became known as “Operation Tarantula.” This operation sought to arrest the travestis in the main prostitution points of the city. It was presented as an effort by the police to reduce the number of cases of AIDS. More than 300 travestis were detained.

São Paulo is an example of how the military government adopted persecution techniques, with special attention to travestis, in order to sanitize the public space through their extermination, considering them as dangerous in the most diverse senses.

Given the violence against them, travestis had to find strategies to survive. The black travesti Weluma Brum said that she was once stopped by the police while she was a prostitute in Rio de Janeiro. Four policemen beat her, gave her electric shocks, and then forced her to have oral sex with them. Later, she discovered a common strategy among travestis to avoid arbitrary arrests: “We cut ourselves with razor, so the cops would not arrest us, look, I still have scars.

The travesti Thina Rodrigues, from the city of Fortaleza, capital of Ceará, says she was arrested for being a travesti and would always hide herself, not expressing her gender identity in order to prevent to be arrested again: “At the time, the Secretary of Public Security said that Fortaleza should clean its dirt. In the eyes of society, homosexuals, travestis, lesbians, prostitutes, and homeless people were all delinquents who damaged the image of Fortaleza and had to be taken from Duque de Caxias, Fortaleza downtown.”

Black travestis suffered more physical aggressions according to referred by Marcelly Malta “it was common for them to simply disappear after being approached by police officers”.

According to the sexologist Armando Januário, many of them were tortured, taken to beaches where they were thrown in the sea, or had their belongings taken by the police and were only released if they used man’s clothing. This meant that many of them were detained only because their existence defied the norm of gender: a norm that is cis, heterosexual, masculine, and white.

In addition to the Black population, the indigenous population was also severely affected. During the dictatorship, the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI, for its initials in Portuguese) maintained two detention centers for indigenous persons considered to be “offenders” in Minas Gerais.  More than 100 persons of different ethnic groups were taken to these centers. The detention centers were known as the Krenak Reformatory and the Guarani Farm. There are a large number of allegations of human rights violations in both places, such as the widespread practice of torture. Some documents mention the use of “inappropriate sexual relations” and “pederasty” as the reasons for the arrests, as well as drugs, prostitution, and vagrancy, among others.

Moreover, the Black intellectual Lélia Gonzalez said that systematic police repression imposed a psychological submission through fear, intending to prevent any form of unity and organization of the group that suffered repression.  Any and all means that could perpetuate internal division within the LGBTI community were used. This generalized repression contributed to the fact that an organized political movement among the LGBTI+ population only began  to exist in the late 1970s, because there was a repression aimed at preventing LGBTI+ persons from organizing.

What remains today

Although it is extremely important give visibility to the violence and the strategies of survival during the period of the military dictatorship, thinking about their effects  on the Afro LGBTI+ population is not enough. It is not enough to ask what happened to this population during that period and to identify what kind of specific violence was perpetrated against them. It is essential to investigate the legacy of the military dictatorship and its effects on how Brazilian State currently deals with the lives of black LGBTI + persons. In other words, it is necessary to determine what remains of this authoritarianism.

Currently, Brazilian police are extremely violent towards LGBTI+ people. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to hear reports, especially from Black LGBTI+ people, who have been physically attacked by police officers or have been mocked by them. To this day, the police control who has the right to be on the street, especially trans women and travestis.

Sexual repression and repression committed by the police that was common during the military dictatorship still exists today. The fact that there has been no break with this way of dealing with LGBTI + persons in Brazil helps to explain how the growth of a powerful conservative movement in the country in recent years has been possible. Additionally, it helps to explain why Brazil is such a dangerous place for these people.

When Jair Bolsonaro, supported by several Brazilians, calls for the military coup to be celebrated and denies that there was a dictatorship in Brazil, he denies the possibility of breaking with a past that has perpetuated hierarchies that determine that gay, lesbian, bisexual, travestis, trans persons and other sexual dissidents  are in positions of political and social disadvantage to this day. This is especially true for Black LGBTI+ persons. More than that, it is celebrated and demanded that the State has the right to exterminate lives considered as undesirable.

We must be on alert for the increasing attempts to attack LGBTI+ lives. We can not tolerate the State celebrating torture and political persecution. Knowing the past and breaking with what remains is fundamental to create possibilities of a dignified existence for the Afro LGBTI+ population in Brazil.

 

O que significa para a população afro LGBTI+ a defesa que Jair Bolsonaro faz da ditadura militar brasileira?

Leia aqui artigo em português

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About the autor:

Isaac Porto – LGBTI Consultant for Race and Equality in Brazil

We continue demanding freedom, justice, and democracy for Nicaragua

Washington, DC, April 18, 2019 – Today marks one year since a genuine popular uprising began in Nicaragua led by young people, which has ended up changing the country’s direction in pursuit of three concrete demands: freedom for those who have been arbitrarily arrested and the reestablishment of constitutional freedoms, rights, and guarantees; justice for the victims of the repression [and] guarantees of reparations and non-repetition; and democracy for the country.

What has happened in Nicaragua

Twelve months ago, a group of mostly university students together with older people organized protests in the cities of León and Managua due to some reforms that were made to the Social Security Law without holding consultations.  The repression on April 18, 2018 against older people, youth, and journalists by government-aligned mobs and groups caused so much outrage on the part of the population that the protests expanded to several cities throughout the country.  However, the repression also escalated and began being committed with support from the police and parastatal entities utilizing weapons of war.  The first three deaths were reported on April 19.

Thus, during the first six months of the crisis, the violent State repression resulted in at least 325 people dead and another 2,000 injured, according to figures provided by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), an organ that installed the most extensive in-country mission in its history: from July through December, the Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI) and the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) recorded the incidents of violence and accompanied the victims until the government decided to shutter the former’s mission and not extend the latter’s mandate, as well as pressure it to immediately leave the country.

Through August, the IACHR missions worked jointly with a mission from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which was itself thrown out of the country after presenting a report in which it confirmed that the State had abused its authority and caused extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, torture, and sexual violence.  The GIEI labeled those same incidents as crimes against humanity.

Fearing deadly violence, possible torture, or arrest, thousands of people fled the country: it is estimated that between 40,000 and 60,000 Nicaraguans went into exile in Costa Rica alone.

In the second six months of the crisis, the repression was selective.  The authorities arrested more than 700 people and hundreds of them were tried for crimes such as terrorism, assassination, robbery, [and] disrupting public order, simply for having participated in the protests.  That was followed by a ban against demonstrations of any kind by citizens in the opposition; the shuttering and confiscation of independent media and forced exile of tens of journalists in the face of imminent arrest; persecution and harassment of Nicaraguan human rights defenders and deportation of nationalized defenders; and arbitrary cancelation of the legal status of non-governmental organizations dedicated to protecting human [and] environmental rights or performing research.

In February of this year, a new attempt at establishing a dialogue has opened the way to a possible peaceful resolution to the crisis; however, while the government has committed to freeing all political prisoners, canceling the judicial proceedings against them, and respecting the citizen rights and guarantees that were revoked a year ago, these commitments have not been respected and the police continue to prohibit peaceful protests and maintain an intimidatory presence on the streets.

What do the Nicaraguan defenders have to say about this?

“It has been a year of pain, outrage, and impotence, a year in which the harshest and most depraved repression in our history has been unleashed,” note the defenders from the Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos [Nicaraguan Human Rights Center] (CENIDH).

Notwithstanding, they affirm that the crisis “has revealed the unflagging capacity of the Nicaraguan people to persist in its demand for justice,” as well as its high capacity for organization, “despite all of the victims, assaults, and latent threat of being assaulted by the National Police, paramilitaries, and shock troops.”

The Centro por la Justicia y Derechos Humanos de la Costa Atlántica de Nicaragua [Center for Justice and Human Rights of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua] (CEJUDHCAN) also highlights that human rights violations continue in the country, and despite the fact that the agreements in the current negotiations have not been upheld by the government, the Center continues to believe that dialogue is necessary and urgent because the crisis in the country is unsustainable.

CEJUDHCAN believes that another issue that has not been included in the negotiations is justice for the indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants with regard to the violations of the indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination, lack of guarantees for indigenous people’s communal property, [and] vulnerability of defenders [and] indigenous community and territorial leaders, among others.

The Asociación Diversidad Sexual Nicaragüense [Nicaraguan Sexual Diversity Association] (ADISNIC) believes three issues of the utmost importance that should be prioritized in the current negotiations are “the return of international human rights bodies; restoration of legal status to civil society organizations who had it canceled; and a cessation of the persecution of defenders and activists.”

In order to comply with these agreements, the human rights organizations agree that it is necessary to be accompanied by international human rights organs such as the IACHR and OHCHR in order for the agreements established by the parties to materialize and inter-sectoral commissions to be created that include civil society, the government, and social movements that act as internal auditors regarding compliance of said agreements.

Nevertheless, CENIDH believes that “as long as there is no political will to guarantee and respect human rights, all of the demands of the Nicaraguan people will remain unsatisfied.”

The organizations recommend that the international community should support Nicaragua in the following ways: continue expounding upon, denouncing, and calling for a cessation of the repression within the framework of regional and international human rights legislation; act as an indispensable bridge in the search for a peaceful solution that guarantees compliance with the accords; continue the conversations in diverse international fora so as to generate greater commitments from other international actors; constantly follow and monitor the state of indigenous peoples’ human rights in Nicaragua; [and carry out] actions to support and monitor the situation of Nicaraguans who have been displaced to other countries, especially countries in the Central American region.

Other ways in which they can show support if the negotiations do not produce the expected results are to promote the application of the Inter-American Democratic Charter in the face of the lack of human rights guarantees and impacts on Nicaraguan democracy; activate extraordinary political and financial pressure mechanisms to confront the human rights crisis (including on the Caribbean Northern Coast of Nicaragua) that has yet to be declared by the national government; and [perform] actions to support and finance civil society organizations in the face of the closure of spaces and imposition of administrative and financial obstacles, so as to guarantee their work in defense of human rights.

Our stance

On this day, Race & Equality adds its voice to the cries for freedom, justice, and democracy for the Nicaraguan people.  We join the urgent call that broad sectors of the national and international communities have repeatedly issued to the State of Nicaragua to commit itself to the efforts undertaken by many sectors of society to reestablish peace and the rule of law that have been weakened since Daniel Ortega returned to power in 2007.

It is our desire that the solution to this conflict that has inflicted so much pain and financial loss on the Nicaraguan people be pursued through dialogue, by guaranteeing critical spaces for political participation, freedom of expression and association, and the full and effective enjoyment of the human rights enshrined in the Nicaraguan Constitution and international human rights instruments.

We call on the State of Nicaragua to have the guarantees of reparations and non-repetition serve as the emblem of the political will that is necessary to ensure that the crimes against humanity which have forever marked the history of the Nicaraguan people within the framework of this conflict do not go unpunished.  To that end, we believe the participation of the international community in the role of mediator is of the utmost importance in the negotiation spaces that have effectively been established in the country, especially in order to guarantee that the voices of the victims, exiled Nicaraguans, and historically invisible sectors are heard and taken into account as a part of the justice process that leads to the reestablishment of peace and democracy.

We urge the government of Nicaragua to establish the necessary conditions to put into practice the agreements that have already been reached by the negotiation roundtable regarding the enforceability of the rights inherent to all Nicaraguans.  To that end, we call for the release of the more than 700 political prisoners who have been arbitrarily detained and unjustly tried.  Likewise, we call for the cessation of the criminalization and harassment of political prisoners, so that their reincorporation into the life of society transpires with due guarantees of their fundamental rights, rather than under conditions of fear and persecution that threaten their integrity and life projects.

We urge the State to guarantee the legitimate right to freedom of expression, opinion, and social protest, participation mechanisms that guarantee societal equilibrium and therefore, q milieu that is favorable for democratic life.  Likewise, we demand that the social organizations, human rights defenders, independent media, and all other opinion leaders cease being victims of persecution, criminalization, and designation as “instigators of social unrest,” and are [instead] permitted to freely and fully participate in the discussion and dialogue as befits a pluralist and inclusive nation.  To that end, we urgently request that the right to freedom of association be guaranteed by restoring the legal status of independent civil society organizations that today are victims of the arbitrary decisions of the government of Daniel Ortega.

We issue a special call to the international community to continue monitoring the state of human rights in the Central American country, particularly at this time of supposed openness to dialogue and negotiation, so that truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-repetition recognize the differentiated impacts the crisis has had on the lives of women, the indigenous population, Afro-descendants, and the LGBTI community, social groups that have historically and structurally been ‘invisibilized’ and marginalized and have become the target of multiple assaults within the context of the sociopolitical conflict that has yet to be resolved.

As an institution that works for the defense and recognition of human rights, Race & Equality dedicates itself to continue working to ensure that the voice of Nicaraguans is heard and effectively taken into account, and so that the crimes committed against those who gave their lives to defend freedom in Nicaragua do not go unpunished.

Remarks in Geneva: Need for International Guarantors to Ensure Respect for Human Rights in Nicaragua

Two Nicaraguan human rights defenders, a journalist, and the relative of a political prisoner discussed on April 4th in Geneva, the current state of the deterioration of human rights in their country and asked for more pressure to be exerted on the Nicaraguan government to permit international guarantors to guarantee the agreements that emerge from the negotiations between the government and civil society.

More than 40 diplomatic missions interested in knowing first-hand about the status of the crisis that began in April 2018 gathered at the event – “Rights, Reprisals, and Repression in Nicaragua” – hosted by the missions of the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Georgia in the Palace of Nations at the UN.

As a result of violent State repression, 325 people have died and more than 2,000 have been injured, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).  To date, at least 647 people continue imprisoned for having participated in civic protests.  In addition, media outlets have been shuttered, organizations declared illegal, and more than 50,000 people have had to flee the country to avoid becoming victims of the violence.

The event was moderated by Roger Carstens, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; speakers included Paulo Abrão, Executive Secretary of the IACHR; Vilma Núñez, President of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH, for its initials in Spanish); Aníbal Toruño, Director of Radio Darío; and Winny Sobalvarro of the Committee in Favor of the Release of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua.

Carstens maintained that it is essential that “all prisoners who were detained for peacefully participating in opposition protests must be released; we want accountability for any crime committed against those prisoners and against all Nicaraguans during the last year,” and he went on to note that “the respect for human rights must be reinstated” in Nicaragua.

Abrão declared that without the presence of international guarantors, the relatives of the victims will not have any assurances that there will be compliance with the agreements assumed by the government: “They will have no assurance that exiles will be able to return to their country without fear and without reprisals, that the process of freeing political prisoners will follow correct protocols, that human rights organizations that were shuttered in the country will have their legal status reinstituted, and that freedom of the press will be restored along with the return of the assets of independent media and radio and television stations that were closed.”

Nor, according to Abrão, will it be possible to guarantee that “the electoral system will be able to produce new elections in the future that can be considered legitimate and that the country’s justice system will be in a position to fulfill and respond to the victims’ demand for the correct sanctions on those responsible for these grave human rights violations.”

Vilma Núñez, for her part, maintained that it has been vital for the human rights defenders and the citizenry in general to have the support of the international community, both in terms of the work of the international human rights protection mechanisms, as well as various countries’ commitment to democracy and human rights.

The Permanent Representative of Argentina to the UN Human Rights Council, Carlos Foradori, recalled that last March the delegations of Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, and Argentina presented Resolution L8, “Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in Nicaragua,” which was approved by the Council; its objectives are to include the state of human rights in that country on the international agenda and encourage the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to periodically present information on Nicaragua to the Council.

“Our countries continue to monitor the sponsors so as to ensure a dialogue process in Nicaragua.  We believe that an inclusive and meaningful dialogue is the best way to make progress in guaranteeing a peaceful solution to the situation,” added Foradori.

Nicaraguan delegation describes the situation of its country to the UN Human Rights Council before the next UPR

Geneva, April 3, 2019. In anticipation of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Nicaragua by the Human Rights Council in May, a group of human rights defenders and members of the Nicaraguan civil society described the current situation of their country to the international community in Geneva. The country has had a deep human rights crisis for almost a year.

This UPR Pre-Session was attended by representatives of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh, for its initials in Spanish), Ipas Central America, the Women’s Autonomous Movement (MAM, for its initials in Spanish), the Del Rio Foundation, the Nicaraguan Platform of NGO Networks, the Center for Justice and Human Rights of Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast (CEJUDHCAN, for its initials in Spanish), and the Marist International Solidarity Foundation (FMSI, for its initials in Spanish). All of the human right defenders exposed the violations of human rights committed in Nicaragua with the objective of educating the States that will evaluate Nicaragua in the near future.

Every five years, the UPR offers each State the opportunity to declare what steps they have taken to improve the human rights situation in their countries and to comply with its obligations in this area. However, no representatives of the State of Nicaragua attended the pre-session held today.

The event was attended by 43 diplomatic missions in Geneva, including the missions from Chile, Colombia, Belgium, Canada and Argentina. These missions asked questions focused on the situation of the more than 700 political prisoners, as well as questions regarding judicial independence and the progress of the negotiations that are currently being held between the government and civil society.

Presentation

“There has been a profound deterioration in the state of human rights in Nicaragua characterized by the repression begun in April 2018 and its effects: deaths, persons injured and disappeared, and hundreds of persons now facing trial without the guarantees of due process,” said Vilma Núñez, president of the Cenidh, during her presentation.

Núñez added that “the current government – authoritarian, repressive, and a human rights violator – has plunged the country into a profound crisis marked by social discontent and a decline in the economy that has generated unemployment, the migration of thousands of Nicaraguans, and the impoverishment of broad sectors of the population”.

Since April 2018, Nicaragua has been submerged in a serious human rights crisis that has continued to intensify. During the last two months, the government has been silencing dissenting voices. Violence is more selectively manifested towards human rights defenders, women, journalists, independent media, LGBTI persons, and civil society organizations.

Juanita Jiménez, of the MAM, emphasized that Nicaragua “has weakened the fundamental guarantees for exercising freedom of expression and protest, characterized during the 2014-2019 period by assaults, repression and intimidation, arbitrary detentions, police oversight, the tapping of independent journalists’ phones, and in the case of women, they have been victims of repeated acts of institutional violence, with attacks recorded against female journalists laced with violence and misogyny.”

Regarding the indigenous peoples and ethnic communities of the Autonomous Regions of Nicaragua, Lottie Cuningham of CEJUDHCAN pointed out that “they continue living under unacceptable conditions of inequality in a reality marked by violence, invasion of their territories, disrespect for the elections of their traditional authorities, installation of megaprojects without their prior consent, corruption, and impunity.”

Recommendations

Each of the human rights defenders who attended the pre-session of the UPR presented their recommendations to the State of Nicaragua, which could be taken up by the States that will evaluate the country in May. The recommendations included the following:

– Guarantee the rapid, exhaustive, independent, and transparent investigation of all denunciations of rape, torture, and other abuses allegedly committed by the authorities and by those acting as agents of the authorities, demand rightful responsibility, and provide reparations and compensation to the victims.

– Respect the right to social protest and refrain from continuing to criminalize protest. Persons incarcerated for having questioned the regime through their ideas and actions must be immediately released.

– Draft, together with human rights defenders, a Protocol for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in Nicaragua in order to overcome the current conditions of insecurity, harassment, stigmatization, and criminalization.

– Promote, together with an international support team, an in-depth investigation of all denunciations made against hospitals and other entities that did not provide appropriate medical attention during the protests in April 2018 and subsequent months.

– Demand that the State permit international bodies to enter and remain in the country and have unlimited access to relevant information so that they may analyze, verify, and indicate the responsibilities and define the corrective measures and sanctions for those responsible for violating the population’s right to health.

– Guarantee a system for recording information so as to provide an understanding of the real state of the violence, sexual violence, and maternal mortality in the country in order to develop appropriate strategies and actions for timely prevention and attention.

– Develop a State policy for attending to other victims of femicide, including sons, daughters, and other relatives, and create a Special Fund for compensating the families of femicide victims.

– Restore the territorial rights of indigenous communities, protecting them from the invasions of “settlers/colonists” or non-indigenous persons and third parties by establishing a dialogue with the traditional authorities to reach agreement on the procedure for freeing 23 titled indigenous lands of encumbrances.

– Consult indigenous peoples prior to initiating planned legislative or administrative measures that can directly affect them, such as megaprojects, extractive activities, or infrastructure works.

State did not comply with recommendations

The recommendations that were made to the State of Nicaragua in the previous UPR, in 2014, “were not implemented,” said Mayte Ochoa, of Ipas Central America, who maintained that the government “in some cases took on commitments it did not fulfill and in others, refused to undertake the required reforms and adapt legislation to international standards.”

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