Combating racism and racial discrimination, a permanent and growing task of Race and Equality

Combating racism and racial discrimination, a permanent and growing task of Race and Equality

Washington D.C., March 21, 2023.- The fight against racism and racial discrimination must be formulated and executed at the level of the manifestations and impacts of these human rights violations. On this International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) wishes to highlight the work we have been doing to promote and protect the rights of Afro-descendant and indigenous populations in the region.

In order to carry out this work, we understand that to the extent that the different factors that expose a person or a population to racism and racial discrimination are recognized, comprehensive protection and reparation measures can be applied. For this reason, intersectionality is a constant feature in the projects we formulate and implement together with partner organizations in Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua and Mexico.

It is appropriate that this year, 2023, the United Nations dedicates this date to the urgency of combating racism and racial discrimination. This urgency is supported by events ranging from the police response in 1960 that left 69 people dead for demonstrating against apartheid in Sharpeville, South Africa – which is why the United Nations proclaimed March 21 as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination – to the police killings of people of African descent such as George Floyd (2020) and Tyre Nichols (2023), and the precarious situation of the indigenous Yanomami population in Brazil.

The consolidation of Race and Equality’s work on racial justice has been driven by the adoption – both at the level of the Universal and Inter-American Human Rights Systems – of special protection mechanisms, such as the International Mechanism of Independent Experts to Promote Racial Justice and Equality in the Context of Law Enforcement (EMLER), and the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Intolerance (CIRDI), which, despite having been adopted almost a decade ago, represents a key and effective tool in this area.

Adequate Statistical Data Collection, a Key Step

Race and Equality has positioned itself as a reference partner organization for the inclusion of the Afro-descendant self-recognition question in national censuses. Together with local counterparts and through work that includes awareness-raising and training of key actors and the development of educational campaigns, post-census results show an increase in the Afro-descendant data collected. For example, in Peru, it increased from 1% (ENAHO – 2000) to 3.6% (CPV – 2017) and in Mexico, it increased from 1.2% (EIC – 2015) to 2% (CPV – 2020).

Race and Equality is the only regional campaign promoting the signature, ratification and effective implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance. In this process, we have raised awareness of the potential of this Convention and its importance among ethnic populations, providing technical support to civil society organizations and States. Through this campaign, we have brought authorities and representatives of ethnic groups in the region to the table to contribute to the generation of strategies in favor of Afro-descendant, indigenous and Rrom (also known as Roma or Gypsy) populations, allowing for the exchange of experiences and efforts for the common good.

Litigating before the Inter-American System

In 2022 alone, at the request of Race and Equality, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted three precautionary measures to Afro-descendants, in whose cases the respective States were requested to implement them with an ethnic-racial and gender focus. Of these precautionary measures, two correspond to Colombia (in favor of Silvia Gelen Rodríguez and her nuclear family, and in favor of A.A.V.B. and her nuclear family), and one to Brazil (Benny Briolly and others).

Together with Colombian and regional organizations that litigate before the Inter-American Human Rights System, we were able to get the IACHR to grant a hearing on the implementation of precautionary measures in Colombia, in which we made a presentation on the lack of implementation of precautionary measures with an ethnic-racial and gender focus, and made requests on the need for a protocol for the implementation of the measures that guarantees the incorporation of such a focus.

We were also able to document and present to the IACHR two petitions denouncing the State of Colombia. One concerning the murder of an Afro-Colombian leader after his protection measures were withdrawn by the National Protection Unit (UNP); and another for the Colombian State’s refusal to provide reparations and protection to an organization of Afro-Colombian women displaced by the armed conflict and who continue to live at latent risk.

In Alliance

Within the framework of the Latin American Human Rights Consortium, Race and Equality has four partners in Brazil that develop programs aimed at documenting the closure of spaces for participation with a racial perspective. Through agreements with CRIOLA and GELEDES, the closing of spaces has been documented and actions and advocacy have been developed to draw attention to the discrimination and lack of spaces for black, cis and trans women to participate in the political space. With the Marielle Franco Institute, actions are being developed to monitor the impact of the legal framework on racial equality. Finally, through the work with the Institute for Indigenous Research and Training (IEPE), actions are being developed to strengthen the knowledge of indigenous leaders on the universal and regional mechanisms for the protection of human rights.

In Nicaragua, the Consortium works with organizations that promote the defense and protection of indigenous communities whose livelihoods have been threatened as a result of land usurpation and depredation of their natural resources. The work, which focuses on the northern Caribbean coast, seeks to strengthen capacity building for women and young women defenders who are part of 15 communities.

In this country, in 2022, we accompanied several indigenous organizations and defenders of indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants rights of the southern Caribbean Coast to present information to CERD. Representatives of these organizations participated in an advocacy tour in Geneva last August during the review of the State of Nicaragua, which was absent. In its concluding observations, the Committee expressed concern about racial discrimination in the country and recommended, inter alia, that appropriate measures be taken to combat racial prejudice, as well as to advance the process of demarcation and titling of communal lands.

We would also like to highlight our commitment to the Haitian and Haitian-Dominican population in the Dominican Republic, where we have been accompanying our counterparts, the Socio-Cultural Movement for Haitian Workers (MOSCTHA) and the Jacques View Network, in different thematic hearings, including in their March 2022 hearing, contributing to visualize the reality faced by this population in this country.

A Pillar in Brazil

In Brazil, racial justice is a pillar of all our projects. In the last year, we developed national and international advocacy activities, as well as strategic projects and litigation to promote democracy and protect human rights in the country. Among these actions we can highlight the promotional visit of Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay, IACHR Rapporteur on People of African Descent and against Racial Discrimination, who in 2022 was in Brazil to address issues such as political violence, LGBT rights, police violence and religious racism.

In terms of international advocacy, we worked intensively in the pre-sessions of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), where we promoted a series of meetings, in July and August, between civil society organizations working on the issue of race, gender and sexual orientation in Brazil, with Embassies in Brasilia and their respective Permanent Missions in Geneva, Switzerland. We also developed the Afro-Latina Advocacy Week in which we took human rights organizations from Brazil and Colombia to Washington, DC to promote the rights of black and LGBTI+ people with congressmen, state departments and international organizations. It is worth mentioning that we participated in the 108th review session of Brazil’s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), where we technically supported 10 of the 15 reports submitted, and all recommendations made by our partners were included in the final CERD report.

In Cuba

The fight against discrimination based on race has been one of the main lines of work in Cuba due to the persistent institutional racism on the island. One of the central objectives has been to highlight this reality before the international human rights protection bodies. To this end, we have promoted advocacy meetings with the special procedures and treaty bodies of the United Nations, with the European Union, and with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

In addition, we have provided legal assistance and representation to victims of human rights violations, specifically we have sent a petition and requests for precautionary measures highlighting how being Afro-Cuban has differentially affected the victims. We have also submitted a letter of allegation on behalf of a leader of a religion of African origin in Cuba, and his wife, who are arbitrarily deprived of their liberty.

We have also shared information with the United Nations system in response to requests for information in connection with the study conducted by the Human Rights Council at its 54th session on systematic, structural and institutional racism and racial justice. We also provide training and ongoing technical assistance to counterparts on human rights, equality and non-discrimination issues, and we are following up on the issue of the census in Cuba.

As part of this assistance, we have supported the preparation of advocacy reports that have analyzed the situation of Afro-descendants and the exercise of their human rights in Cuba; we have also guided the preparation of alternative reports for the IV cycle of the UPR, highlighting the outstanding debt that Cuba has with Afro-Cubans.

On the New Mechanisms

We have participated in requests for inputs for the preparation of the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights under Human Rights Council Resolution 47/21; of the International Mechanism of Independent Experts to promote racial justice and equality in the context of law enforcement; and the follow-up questionnaire within the framework of the June 2021 IACHR Visit to Colombia in the context of the National Strike. We also participated in person in the first consultation in South America held in Chile of the Expert Mechanism and in the OHCHR Follow-up Session on civic space and the situation of Afro-descendant human rights defenders in South America.

Based on these new tools at the international level, we have taken on the task of sensitizing and training counterparts to include them in their institutional agendas as essential issues to raise their demands and recommendations for the fight against racism and racial discrimination.

Racial justice in Mexico

In Mexico, we promote various processes of professionalization and accompaniment of Afro-descendant, indigenous, migrant, and human rights organizations that contribute to advocacy and advocacy actions with governmental institutions and international organizations. We also promote comprehensive strategies in the fight against structural racism, racial discrimination, and related forms of intolerance, which continue to be naturalized in Mexican society.

We are currently implementing the project “Promotion of an Anti-Racist Agenda to Strengthen the Work of CSOs in the Fight against Racism and Racial Discrimination in Mexico”. The activity is part of a comprehensive strategy focused on improving and promoting actions against structural racism and the promotion of international tools such as the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI), with our partners and educational institutions.

Latest Documentation

Evidence gathering is a key focus of Race and Equality’s work. In this sense, we published the reports “Traces of Racism: Voices of Excluded People and Structural Violence Inside and Outside the Social Unrest in Cali” and “Silence and Impunity: Systemic Racism and Police Violence Against Afro-descendants in Colombia”, which we developed with allied organizations.

In this way, Race and Equality hopes to contribute to a more just and equitable society, especially in terms of combating the racism and racial discrimination that generate so much violence and inequality in the region. At the same time that we listen to the needs of Afro-descendant, indigenous and Roma populations, we advocate with the States so that, in accordance with their international obligations, they guarantee the rights of these people. For this reason, our international litigation work is a key element, which we continue to strengthen.

On this International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, we raise our voices for those who are defenseless and call on States to urgently take up the fight against racism and racial discrimination. The evidence and the tools are there.

“I miss everything about Cuba”: Activists forced into exile

Washington D.C., 13 February 2023 – During 2022, more that 270,000 Cubans arrived by land and sea to the United States, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Coast Guard.[1] Around seventy Cuban migrants died or disappeared in the Caribbean, a large majority due to poor weather conditions that made navigation difficult and the use of boats that were not apt for navigating in the high sea, according to the Missing Migrants Project of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).[2]

The statistics of people who left the island in 2022 surpassed previous migratory waves: the first which occurred after the triumph of the Castro Revolution between 1959 and 1962, in which 250,000 citizens were expatriated; the departure that began in 1980 at the port of Mariel, where 125,000 Cubans left the island; and the Balsero crisis in 1994, in which more than 30,000 people abandoned the country.[3]

Most Cubans have left the island due to the serious economic crisis, the shortages of goods and medicine, unemployment, and the difficult political and social situation, which has worsened since the historic citizens protests in July 2021, also known as 11J. However, there also exists a group of Cubans who migrated because they were exiled from the island. Activists, human rights defenders, independent journalists, artists, jurists, and critics of the government have been forced to abandon the island in the last several years,[4] in exchange for not being prosecuted and imprisoned, especially since the new Criminal Code, which intensifies the criminalization of individuals and organizations that fight for the recognition of human rights in the country, entered into effect in December.[5]

These exiled Cubans, who are not able to return to Cuba, have found themselves in the United States and other countries with the purpose of beginning a life where they are free and can live without fear.

With Psychological Attention in Argentina

The writer and independent journalist, María Matienzo; and her partner, the activist Kirenia Núñez, arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina on the 22nd of August of last year. There they were settled after fleeing the repression and constant threats they suffered due to their denunciations against the Cuban government. “We were detained on many occasions in Havana, and if we group all of the time in detention, we would have almost a year of deprivation of liberty,” says Matienzo, who remains in the country thanks to the support of the Centro para la Apertura y el Desarrollo de América Latina (CADAL), an organization that also has helped her receive psychological attention.

“I have not succeeded in enjoying (Buenos Aires) like I have wanted. I have spent much time recuperating, and it is not as easy as people think. In fact, in the first days when I arrived here there were many police in the street, that hardly looked at us. But still we were not able to shake the nervous feelings,” admitted María.

Waiting for Political Asylum in Germany

The story of María and Kirenia is very similar to the activist Jancel Moreno and his partner Wilfredo Carmenate, who had to leave the island on the 13th of September of 2022. With only the backpacks on their backs they arrived in Frankfurt, Germany, where they have requested political asylum and have had to demonstrate that the Cuban government threatened Jancel with jail time, and stopped supplying Wilfredo with the medications he takes to treat osteoarthritis of the hip, which has afflicted him for several years.

Between July and September last year, Jancel was threatened approximately three times by State Security. They told him that if he did not publicly renounce activism and leave Cuba, he would be accused of crimes of “engaging in mercenary activity, inciting criminality, usurpation of functions, and enemy propaganda.” All of this occurred while they also threatened his partner with the crime of “illicit economic activity.”

Jancel and Wilfredo remain in a camp for migrants in the city of Zirndorf. They are waiting on the German government to give them a response to the political asylum request, that should be known after a year; meanwhile, they learn the language of the European country and wait to be transferred to another zone in Germany.

Surviving in the United States

The independent journalists Orelvys Cabrera and his partner Yunior Pino were also forced to abandon the island. “On the 19th of December 2021, I left Cuba because I was threatened since they told me I would be accused of a series of crimes that would result in thirty years of jail time. They gave me an ultimatum: if you are here after the 5th of January 2022, you will be arrested. My partner and I then sold everything, and we went to Moscow,” says Orelvys.

They stayed in the Russian capital for three months, until Orelvys was threatened again, this time for denouncing the violations of human rights suffered by Cuban migrants in the Eurasian country. From there they went to Egypt, where an international organization informed them that the Parliament of the Czech Republic had granted them political asylum, so they traveled there. But after a time, they noted it was very difficult to learn Czech (the official language of the country), and therefore find a job; thus, they decided to leave for Mexico, and from there they crossed the border with the United States and surrendered to U.S. authorities on the 28th of March last year.

Orelvys and his partner found themselves in Miami protected by form I-220A, that prevented deportation or being taken to prison. Both are waiting for a migration judge to grant them political asylum.

A Beneficiary of the Cuban Adjustment Act

The art historian Claudia Genlui is another activist that was forced into exile. She left Cuba on the 1st of November 2021, four months after the peaceful protests of 11J. She arrived in Miami, United States, after constant besiegement by State Security, who surveilled and threatened her for her denouncements of human rights violations experienced on the island, and for being a member of the Movimiento San Isidro, a collective of Cuban artists founded by her partner, performance artist and activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who has been in prison for five years for demanding the fulfilment of human rights.

“Thinking of Cuba is an open wound that is always right there. I still have not succeeded in stepping up to the plate on that, it is extremely painful for me, above all because I never wanted to leave… I miss everything about Cuba,” says Genlui, who also assured that it was difficult to leave Luis Manuel, and her family in general, especially her grandmother, a woman of more that 80 years who lived with her before her departure.

Claudia is a beneficiary of the Cuban Adjustment Act, a federal law that permits her to request U.S. residency after being in the country for a year and a day. She is waiting on a response from the government, while also studying English.

The stories of María, Kirenia, Jancel, Wilfredo, Orelvys, Junior, and Claudia represent hundreds of activists, human rights defenders, independent journalists, and critics of the Cuban government who have been forced to flee Cuba. They have been forced to leave their families for countries with different languages, cultures, and traditions.

From the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights we demand that the Cuban State cease the use of forced exile as a strategy of repression, and that it recognize and guarantee the human rights of every person that resides in its territory. We reiterate our call to the government of the island to comply with the dispositions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and we urge the international community to guarantee the protection of Cuban migrants, independent of their migratory status.

***

[1] Cuba: 4 razones que explican el histórico éxodo desde la isla a EE.UU. en 2022. Enero 3 de 2023. Disponible: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-64104551

[2] En 2022, cifra récord de migrantes desaparecidos en el Caribe. Enero 24 de 2023. Disponible: https://www.iom.int/es/news/en-2022-cifra-record-de-migrantes-desaparecidos-en-el-caribe

[3] Cuba: 4 razones que explican el histórico éxodo desde la isla a EE.UU. en 2022. Enero 3 de 2023. Disponible: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-64104551

[4] Cuba: Crisis migratoria y prácticas represivas en el contexto de la movilidad humana. Octubre 27 de 2022. Disponible: http://oldrace.wp/es/cuba-es/cuba-crisis-migratoria-y-practicas-represivas-en-el-contexto-de-la-movilidad-humana/

[5] Raza e Igualdad alerta sobre nuevo Código Penal que recrudece la criminalización del ejercicio de derechos fundamentales. Junio 14 de 2022. Disponible: http://oldrace.wp/es/cuba-es/raza-e-igualdad-alerta-sobre-nuevo-codigo-penal-que-recrudece-la-criminalizacion-del-ejercicio-de-derechos-fundamentales/

Murder of Tyre Nichols, A Complete Dehumanization of African-American Lives. Enough Is Enough!

Washington DC, January 30, 2023.– In light of the evidence of the racist police violence that led to the death of the young African-American Tyre Nichols, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) issues its strongest condemnation of the events and calls attention to the persistence of racism and disproportionate use of force by police in the United States and around the world.

Once again, we see how systemic racism manifests itself in brutal and deadly ways. The verbal and physical violence of the five officers who attacked Nichols are indicative of the dehumanization that weighs on African-American lives, just as it did in the arrest that led to the death of George Floyd in May 2020.

Given the fact that the five police officers in question are also African-American, we emphasize that systemic racism must be viewed beyond the skin color of the people who reproduce its manifestations. It is, in short, a set of expressions – and also omissions – that lead to a dehumanizing treatment of people of African descent and African-Americans, especially those of low income.

A few days after commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr.’s struggle for racial equality (January 16) and on the eve of Black History Month, Race and Equality calls attention to the seriousness of these facts and reiterates the urgency of implementing an action plan to unravel, once and for all, systemic racism in the U.S. police forces, taking into account international mechanisms for combating racist police violence and promoting racial justice.

We also stress the importance in this context of the visit to the United States of the Expert Mechanism to Promote Justice and Racial Equality in Law Enforcement (EMLER), to be held from April 24 to May 5. We urge its members to schedule a visit to the city of Memphis to reinforce its mission in light of new developments, the outcry of the victims, and the demands and proposals of civil society fighting for racial equality.

Race and Equality Denounces Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela arbitrarily holding more than 1,500 people deprived of liberty for political reasons

Washington D.C., January 23, 2023 – In the framework of the 7th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States (CELAC), the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) denounces Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela hold on the largest number of people deprived of liberty for political reasons in the Americas. In these three countries more than 1,500 people have been or are in the process of being subjected to unfair trials, as well as physical and psychological torture.

Cuba holds the most people deprived of their liberty. According to figures from the 11J Justice working group. as of January 10, 2023, more than 600 people remained in detention for having participated in the peaceful protests of July 2021.

However, the number of Cubans who have been detained for demanding their rights is even higher. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) revealed at the end of last year that more than a thousand citizens remain in prison for political reasons on the island.

As of January 17, 2023, Foro Penal registered 274 persons deprived of liberty for political reasons in Venezuela, the second country with the highest number of this type of arbitrary detention. Meanwhile in Nicaragua the numbers continue to increase, and as of November 2022, the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners counted more than 235 persons arbitrarily deprived of their liberty for political reasons.

Due to this situation, Race and Equality is carrying out a series of actions to denounce the situation in Argentina, the country where the VII CELAC Summit will be held, so that the heads of state are aware that they must continue to demand the release of these people.

As part of these strategic actions in the framework of the CELAC Summit in Buenos Aires, we have installed 200 two-sided vertical posters that are at the eye level of passers-by, with a message demanding that the more than one thousand people deprived of their freedom for political reasons in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela be released.

The posters were placed at strategic points in the city of Buenos Aires, including near the Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Center, where the Summit will be held.

We also installed two billboards for a period of three days (January 20, 21, and 22); one demanding the release of the more than 600 people deprived of liberty for political reasons in Cuba, and the other for the more than 235 people arbitrarily detained in Nicaragua. These were placed in front of the Quinta Presidencial de Olivos, the official residence of the President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández.

We reiterate our commitment to the people deprived of their freedom in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, so that their stories are known, as well as the arbitrariness to which they have been subjected to.

The organizations in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela that demand the release of persons deprived of liberty for political reasons will be accompanying us in the denunciations and

demands for freedom. The loved ones of the detainees will also raise their voices using social media networks, so that the immediate release of the arbitrarily detained persons remains on the agenda.

From Race and Equality and allied organizations, we continue to carry out litigation and advocacy actions before the international bodies of the Inter-American System and the Universal System of Human Rights to facilitate a path towards the freedom of all persons unjustly deprived of their liberty in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Tragedy Announced: Anti-Democratic Movements Must Be Investigated by the Brazilian State

Brazil, 10th January, 2023 – The action of Bolsonaro protesters that culminated in the dispossession of the Brazilian public and historical patrimony in the federal capital, in a vile attempt of an anti-democratic coup, is marked as a tragedy. The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) calls on the Brazilian state to prioritize, in its public security plan, the investigation and containment of anti-democratic acts on the rise in the country. As such, we urge accountability and justice of all those involved in acts of vandalism at the headquarters of the three branches of power, as well as the identification of the financiers of this criminal articulation.

Since the establishment of the Democratic State of Law, for the first time, this insurgent act threatens Brazilian democracy at the national and international level. The events of January 8, 2023 are worrying not only because they undermine the popular sovereign will established in the 2022 electoral process, but also for seeking to legitimize hate crimes and escalating violence under the cover of freedom of expression. Thus, we align ourselves with the international repudiation and call for haste and rigid investigations with the observation of due process.

The omission of the military police and the convenience of the army resonate as a warning to those currently in the administrative office that the worst can happen. Therefore, Brazil needs to prioritize, at the national level, the agenda of democratic security to face such situations of sharp polarization especially with the victory of President Lula. The nearly 150 buses that arrived in Brasilia with Bolsonaro protesters were known to the state and the security forces. Thus, the deliberate omission of the invasion of public buildings besides representing an affront to Brazilian democracy, reveals the country’s impunity dressed as a political tonic of forgetfulness and privilege. The caricature of the ‘Capitol Bolsonarista’ is elitist, racist, sexist, and LGBTIphobic.

Thus, Race and Equality as a human rights organization, repudiates the attacks against the three branches of power, and hopes that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva can reestablish the defense of peace and democracy. It is also essential to foster a policy of confrontation and monitoring of anti-democratic movements that, motivated by the Bolsonaro agenda, will not cease during the next four years of office. Therefore, it is urgent that any possibility of amnesty is out of the question for the Republic of Brazil to move towards equity and social justice.

Permanent Forum on People of African Descent of the UN: Race and Equality and Brazilian CSOs Reaffirm their Commitment to Combat Systemic Racism

Brazil, December 23th, 2022 – Between December 5th and 8th, the first session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent took place in Geneva, Switzerland. Created through Resolution 75/314 of the United Nations General Assembly in 2021, the purpose of this consultative mechanism is to contribute to the fight against racism and to promote the rights of the black population, collaborating with the Human Rights Council and other UN mechanisms. The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) was present at the Forum with Brazilian partner organizations including NGO Criola, Ilê Axé Omiojuaro, Geledés – Institute of Black Women, and the National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals (ANTRA).

The creation of this Forum emerged through the activities implemented by the International Decade of Afro-descendants. The event was attended by Epsy Campbell Bar, President of the Permanent Forum, and former Vice President of Costa Rica; Francia Marquez, Vice President of Colombia; and Federico Villegas, President of the UN Human Rights Council. Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), oversaw the opening table ceremony. The Forum had more than 900 people (virtual and face-to-face), with almost 700 people present during four days of intense debates, including human rights activists, United Nations experts, and civil society of several countries whose work center around racial justice.

The convention was held through thematic panels, meetings, and featured 27 parallel events. Notable themes were identified in the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and other forms of intolerance, including shared strategies of good practice among civil society. The main debates centered on the fight against systemic racism and police brutality; the inclusion of Afro-descendants in the sustainable development agenda – climate justice; the right to redress; the drafting of the United Nations Declaration on the Right of Afro-descendant Peoples; the need for equity for all, and the need for intersectionality to understand the various forms of racial discrimination, with emphasis on the right of women, young people, the LGBTI+ community, and migrants.

On the last day, the meeting ended with conversations concerning the future of the Permanent Forum. All panels included the participation of civil society leaders with statements on the proposed themes. It should be noted that the Durban Declaration and its Plan of Action were mentioned continuously by all who were present. In addition, approximately 300 people were able to present their contributions to collaborate with the construction of the Forum. The event also featured a cultural activity through the presentation of the group, “Escuelita del Ritmo,” from Panama, and the group Ubufakazi Besoweto from South Africa.

Several Brazilian civil society organizations participated in the debates, including Race and Equality’s CSO partners in Brazil. These partners had the opportunity to condemn racism among cis and trans women, denounce maternal mortality, criticize systemic racism in the justice system, articulate the importance of combating religious racism, and expressed the need of the Forum’s commitment to support trans black women. From Race and Equality, the Executive Director, Carlos Quesada, and Race and Gender Officer in Brazil, Leilane Reis, were present. In her statement, Leilane Reis highlighted the importance of the interaction of the future United Nations Declaration with the Inter-American Convention against Racism, emphasizing that the present States that have committed themselves to ratify and implement the document must fulfill this promise in pursuit of the effective fight against racism.

To close the four intense days of dialogue and work, following the listening process, Rapporteur Michael Eachrane made a few preliminary remarks to the Forum’s Work Plan for the next three years, and expressed the need to extend the Decade of Afro-descendants to 2034. The next meeting will take place in May 2023 in New York. Race and Equality celebrates the implementation of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, and intends to contribute to all opportunities of collective construction by encouraging the participation of civil society and Afro-descendant activists in the fight for human rights.

Human Rights Day: In Search of Dignity, Liberty, and Justice

This year, the commemoration of Human Rights Day is marked by the beginning of the celebration of 75 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which will be celebrated on December 10, 2023. The United Nations announced that it would launch a yearlong campaign to promote the UDHR centered around its legacy, relevance, and activism.

As we near the 75th anniversary of the proclamation of the Declaration – which established a grand variety of human rights and fundamental liberties to which all people, in every part of the world, have a right – it is important to reflect about what has gotten better and what has gotten worse over this time.

A good starting point for this reflection is the chosen theme of the United Nations for Human Rights Day this year: “Dignity, liberty, and justice for all.” In post-pandemic Latin America, they are three principles that are being seriously questioned by the aggravations caused by COVID-19 of the diverse crises that crosscut the region: inequality, poverty, racism and discrimination, authoritarianism, violence, and corruption.

Cuba: Civil Society in the Shadow of the New Criminal Code

On December 1, Cuba’s new Criminal Code entered effect, which involves a deepening of the situation of persecution and criminalization that activists, human rights defenders, artists, and independent journalists face, as it establishes new ambiguous offenses and increases the penalties for other existing ones, but always within the scope of freedom of expression and public protest. For example, the code states that it will sanction acts that it considers “provocative,” without specifying the meaning of this terminology.

During 2022 the island registered record levels of protest by citizens, principally due to the shortages of food and medicine. This was one of the drivers of the historic protests on July 11, 2021 and subsequent days that provoked the detention of over 1,000 people, of which over 600 remain in prison.

Nicaragua: The Repression that Endures and Reinvents Itself

While the sociopolitical and human rights crisis in Nicaragua continues to deepen, the authoritarian regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo continues to evade its international obligations on human rights and is making use of new repressive strategies to attack dissident voices.

The government has denied entry to Nicaraguans in retaliation for their activism or political role. The most recent cases are those of Anexa Alfred Cunningham, lawyer, and expert member of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, who – despite her privileges and immunity – was rejected entrance to Nicaragua this past June; and the journalist Luis Felipe Palacios, delegate of the EFE agency in Managua, who while boarding a plane in Miami to return to Nicaragua, was notified that he was not authorized to return.

In addition, according to the monitoring of the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners, at least 235 people were found to have been deprived of liberty for political reasons in state-run and clandestine facilities of which “information on torture and ill-treatment continues to be received… and information has been provided on cases of sexual and gender-based violence…” Additionally, between the most recent arrests, a new pattern of repression is emerging: when the National Police have not found the persons of interest to them, they have proceeded to arbitrarily detain relatives of those persons.

Colombia: The Second Most Dangerous Country for Social Leaders in the Region

One of the principle human rights concerns in this country is the continuing violence against social leaders and human rights defenders, who are persecuted, kidnapped, and assassinated, as retaliation and punishment for their daily labors. According to statistics from the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz), in 2022 alone 180 social leaders have been assassinated, including Breiner David Cucuñame, a 14-year-old environmentalist.

As such, information from the Ombudsman’s Office indicates that between May and August of 2022, they received and verified 62 cases of homicide against social leaders and human rights defenders, according to a press release from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) about this problem in the region, which is particularly worrying in Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico as well.

Peru: Between the Political Crisis and the Onslaught of Anti-rights Groups

On December 7, Peru opened a new chapter in the deep political crisis it has been experiencing for months. Hours after President Pedro Castillo announced the dissolution of Congress to install a new one with the task of beginning a Constituent Assembly, the Legislature proceeded to approve his dismissal and Castillo was arrested. Vice-President Dina Boluarte was appointed in his place. This impeachment process – or vacancy motion – was the third one faced by Castillo in less than two years, as serious accusations of corruption are weighing on him together with several Ministers and close associates.

In addition, conservative groups in the legislative branch are trying to position an agenda to the detriment of women and LGBTI+ persons, by directly attacking the gender focus in education, the decriminalization of abortion, LGBTI+ rights, for which they openly invite anti-rights groups to their offices to consult them. The last bill approved was Bill 904/2021, which was proposed by the ultra-conservative Renovación Popular party and takes away autonomy from the Ministry of Education (Minedu), as well as eliminates the gender approach and comprehensive sexual education in the content of educational materials in schools.

Brazil: Protagonism of Social Movements in the Fight for Human Rights

The protagonist of the fight for the protection and guarantee of human rights in Brazil is the leadership of social movements that historically have denounced the situation of the excess use of force by the police in the Favelas, attacks on the lives of black Brazilians, LGBTI+, practitioners of religions of African origin, and racism in the Brazilian justice system that has generated impunity for aggressors. Indigenous activists have exposed the impacts of mining and illegal logging in their territories and how the state has failed to protect the lives of its peoples, heralding a call to the international community to think on solutions and strategies that enable the defense of the population.

Since January 2019, with Jair Bolsonaro assuming the presidency, human rights offenses have resurged against the black population, indigenous peoples, and the LGBTI+ community in Brazil, marked by racism, prejudice, discrimination, and hate speech. Additionally, due to violent actions committed by the state itself, which is supposed to protect and promote human rights, as well as the dismantling of public policies created by previous governments, the situation has weakened the maintenance of wellbeing for people in vulnerable situations in the country.

Thus, the Brazilian black, indigenous, and LGBTI+ movements are actively working to build an agenda to combat racism and all forms of intolerance, prejudice, and violence, with a view to guaranteeing and protecting human rights.

Dominican Republic: Under a Policy of Discrimination and Exclusion

In the Dominican Republic, the government of Luis Abinader is carrying out a racist and xenophobic campaign of persecution and massive expulsions against Haitian immigrants, Dominicans of Haitian descent and Black Dominicans. In this sense, according to data from the Haitian Directorate of Migration, at least 50,000 Haitians have been deported from the Dominican Republic in the last quarter (September-November).

Human rights organizations have also documented house raids without warrants, threats and torture by police and migration agents, arbitrary detentions, including the arrest of pregnant women and children unaccompanied by their legal representatives, theft of belongings, unhealthy conditions in detention centers, expulsions of persons through unofficial border points on days and at times other than those established, among other violations.

In order to legitimize these serious human rights violations, the President issued Decree 668-22 “to prevent and prosecute invasions and irregular occupations of private property and the State” on November 11. This constitutes violations of international human rights treaties and covenants, particularly those referring to the right to refuge.

Thus, a hopeless scenario arises, where the existence of national and international mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights does not seem to be enough for the States to adopt and implement policies and measures that guarantee a life of dignity, freedom, and justice for all people. What is needed to achieve this goal, which for now appears to be a mirage? How can we move from words to deeds?

The human rights movement, made up today of hundreds of organizations that work in the promotion and defense of fundamental rights and freedoms from and for various sectors, has been gaining significant strides in making visible the needs and demands of vulnerable and excluded population groups, formulating public policy recommendations, implementing projects with social impact, and activating protection mechanisms at the national, regional, and international levels.

However, in recent years, a barrier has been erected that prevents us from moving forward with a firm footing and is composed of different factors: the lack of political will, the increase in hate speech and conservative groups, the strengthening of authoritarian governments, the operation of irregular armed groups with impunity, and extractivist activity, to mention a few.

Joining Forces, Sharing Hope

Faced with the multiple difficulties for the promotion and protection of human rights, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), together with thirteen civil society organizations across Latin America and the Caribbean, decided to lead the creation of the Regional Forum on Human Rights, RegionaR. Analyzing the regional context from an intersectional perspective, this initiative looks to overcome the fragmentation and chart a path that facilitates the integrated and simultaneous defense of all human rights.

The Forum held its first joint meeting on November 29-30 in Bogotá, Colombia, through the Regional Conference on Human Rights, RegionaR. In this space, more than 150 social organizations from across the region attended to converse, reflect, and establish common action points to continue their work. The result was a joint letter with six key points for the defense of human rights, fundamental liberties, and the protection of Mother Earth from an intersectional, diverse, inclusive, and pluricultural perspective.

Race and Equality, in its firm commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, considers this type of joint work key to achieving structural changes and constructing an inclusive and democratic society. Through joining wills and coordinating actions we will be able to have a complete panorama about reality and what is necessary to do in order to transform reality, and we can formulate strategies of effective advocacy with States and international mechanisms, so that our recommendations are taken up and implemented. In the search for dignity, liberty, and justice, unity is strength.

The Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Visited Peru with the Support of Race and Equality

The UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity met with State authorities, students, and LGBTI+ organizations from two regions of Peru to promote his mandate.

From November 21 to 26, the IE SOGI, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, held a promotional visit in Peru, which was carried out with our Senior LGBTI Program Officer, Zuleika Rivera, along with the support of the Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality).

During his visit, Mr. Madrigal-Borloz met with various State authorities, university students, and LGBTI+ human rights organizations from Arequipa and Lima, Peru. The purpose of this trip was to provide information on 1. The functions of the mandate and 2. The mandate’s critical support in effective sate measures to address SOGI-based violence and discrimination.

The United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, in one of the meetings with LGBTI+ organizations in Lima, Peru.

It is worth mentioning that the SOGI mandate was created in 2016 thanks to the advocacy work of a group of civil society organizations worldwide. Through the mandate’s creation, the UN Human Rights Council affirmed its commitment to combat discrimination and violence on the grounds of SOGI and reminds all States of their obligations towards LGBTI+ and gender-diverse persons. To learn more about the work of the mandate and access its reports, visit the official website.

Dialogue with civil society

Arequipa was the first stop for the IE SOGI. There representatives of transmasculine, lesbian, and gay organizations highlighted the issues they face due to their sexual orientation and gender identity in the region, as well as the stigmas towards LGBTI+ persons that are generated from conservatism.

The United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, at the meeting with LGBTI+ organizations in Arequipa, Peru.

In addition, four thematic meetings were held in Lima: a) Discrimination, b) Violence, and Access to Justice; c) Data; d) Health and Comprehensive Sex Education; e) and Gender Identity. These meetings incorporated dialogues with various LGBTI+ individuals and organizations. Peru is one of the countries within the Andean region that does not have a gender identity law, so there is no administrative procedure that facilitates legal name change nor the “sex” category in the National Document of Identification (DNI).[1]

On the contrary, trans people must litigate through the courts against the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC), which constantly appeals favorable resolutions that are in accordance with the human rights of trans people. You can watch the interview that Race and Equality conducted with Bruno Montenegro on the subject.

In turn, the same entity refuses for Jenny Trujillo and Darling Delfín, a lesbian couple, to get their child an ID that registers two mothers on the identification document; learn more here. Regarding discrimination and violence against LGBTI+ persons, the State’s registration systems do not include sexual orientation and gender identity categories, as a consequence there is no database with disaggregated records that account for the number of LGBTI+ persons violated.

Juveniles and the law

The UNICXS Legal Office —a project of the Academic Office of Social Responsibility in Peru’s Faculty of Law at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú that offers free legal advice in cases of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity— invited Victor Madrigal to give a workshop to discuss his mandate, the criminalization of LGBTI+ people around the world, and the task of guaranteeing the human rights of all people.

The United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, at the workshop for members of the Unicxs Legal Clinic, of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, in Lima.

Moreover, the IE SOGI also met with various Peruvian State authorities, including the Peruvian Foreign Minister, Cesar Landa, and the Congresswoman of the Republic, Susel Paredes.

Race and Equality, reaffirms support for the mandate of the Independent Expert in order to contribute to the visibility and respect for the rights of LGBTI+ persons. In this sense, it will continue to promote its visits to the countries of the region so that LGBTI+ activists and groups learn about the work of the mandate and collaborate with its documentation and analysis actions.

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[1] The DNI, Documento Nacional de Identidad, is the Peruvian version of an ID card. It’s the only personal identity card recognized by the Peruvian State for all cases (civil, commercial, administrative and judicial) in which a person has to identify themselves.

25N and 16 Days of Activism, a Time to Reflect and Act Against Gender Violence

Washington DC, November 25, 2022.- In 2021, 56% of women murdered worldwide died at the hands of their partners or other family members, according to UN Women, the United Nations organization dedicated to promoting the rights of women and girls. This statistic was released on the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which is commemorated this November 25 and marks the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence

According to the organization, every hour, more than five women or girls were murdered in the world by a member of their closest environment in 2021. In the case of Latin America and the Caribbean, and in the context of Covid-19, the problem of femicides has been described as “the other pandemic”. Although it is difficult to establish exactly how many femicides occur in the region each year due to the lack of official data or the bias with which some States record violence against women, the approximations made by international agencies or civil society organizations reveal a serious situation.

According to the report La pandemia en la sombra, by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), at least 4,091 women were victims of femicide in 26 countries (17 in Latin America and 9 in the Caribbean) in 2020. An snapshot by country reveals equally worrying figures. In Mexico, in 2021, authorities recorded 977 murdered women, 18% of whom were under 18 years of age. In Honduras, that year there were 381 femicides, for a rate of 4.7 per 100,000 women.

Although femicide is the most extreme expression of violence against women, it is important to bear in mind that there are various manifestations that violate their rights. Unfortunately, this is a generalized and trending dynamic in our societies: every day, at every moment, a woman, girl or adolescent is a victim of gender-based violence. UN Women estimates that 1 in 3 women in the world suffer gender-based violence during her lifetime.

For the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), monitoring and analyzing the situation of violence against women in the Americas, as well as making recommendations to States to combat it, is a fundamental axis in our work of promoting and defending human rights from an intersectional perspective, as we understand that gender-based violence is structural and has multiple expressions that can affect disproportionately according to national origin, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender diversity.

A wave that grows and resists

Undoubtedly, the movement against gender violence has grown significantly in the Americas. The work of recording and denouncing the violence faced by women in different areas of society has made it possible for this issue to become a key pillar in the creation of public policies for the protection of their rights and the elimination of this so-called pandemic.

This International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we not only want to contribute to make the problem visible, but we also want to highlight the profiles of women who confront gender violence and seek to transform the reality of their communities to ensure a life free of violence and with equal opportunities for women and girls.

Fighting gender-based violence without a legal framework

Eroises González is an Afro-Cuban activist who heads the Plataforma Femenina, an organization that for 12 years has been working for women to identify and confront the various manifestations of gender violence. This work continues despite the fact that Cuba does not have a law on violence against women and is one of the few countries in the region that does not typify the crime of femicide. “Today Cuban women, despite the fact that we still have a long way to go to achieve a life free of violence, are trying to break with the patriarchy imposed for years,” she says.

Resisting political violence

Anexa Alfred Cunningham is a Nicaraguan indigenous Miskitu woman, lawyer and member of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) for Central and South America. In July 2022, at the end of her first official mission to the fifteenth session of the EMRIP, the expert was unable to board her flight back to Nicaragua on orders from the country’s authoritarian regime. Thus, she was left in a situation of illegal exile from her own land, where she resided and where her family was waiting for her, including her young sons and daughters.

Confronting Vicarious Violence

In Peru, Sabrina Rodríguez fights against vicarious violence through the Frente de Lucha Materna. This type of violence is aimed at harming women through their loved ones, especially their children. Its most extreme manifestation is the murder of sons and daughters, but it is also expressed when parents impose conditions for alimony, threaten to remove custody and harass with legal complaints, among other actions, to continue exercising control, harming, inflicting pain, emotional and economic wear and tear on women who have decided to cut off the familial relationship.

Accompanying migrant women

Gaby Arenas, from Colombia, is the founder and director of TAAP (Taller de Aprendizaje para las Artes y la Paz), an organization that has been working for 15 years to build peace through art and the promotion of human rights, with a special focus on women victims of gender-based violence and migrant women. Its mission is to transform the realities of communities through the arts and social innovation so that they can live without violence and achieve wellbeing.

Understanding to act

Following this year’s United Nations theme for the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, “UNITE! Activism to end violence against women and girls”, and understanding that to achieve this the different forms of violence that affect women must be addressed, we present an ABC on issues and aspects relevant to the understanding and prevention of gender-based violence.

GBV: Acronym used to refer to Gender-Based Violence.

25N: November 25th, the date on which the International Day for the Elimination of Gender-Based Violence is commemorated.

Gender-based violence: Refers to the different forms of violence that affect women and girls. It can be physical, psychological, emotional, economic, social, etc.

Femicide: The murder of a woman/girl because of her gender. They are usually carried out by people close to the victims and with whom there is a familial or emotional bond.

Feminism: Social movement that seeks equity between men, women and other genders.

Machismo: Social and thought structure based on the assumption of a false superiority of men over women.

Gender identity: Refers to how a person identifies themselves in terms of gender. If the biological sex (penis or vagina) is in accordance with what is socially associated with that gender, it is a cisgender person; if there is no such social concordance, it is a transgender person.

Feminization of poverty: Social phenomenon according to which women have experienced a series of social, structural and historical forms of violence and barriers that make it impossible for them to have equal access to resources.

Care work: Often unpaid work that has been socially feminized.

Gender equity: Actions that seek equity in access to possibilities and resources between men and women.

Intersectionality: Concept that refers to the intersection of identities understood as historical and socially vulnerable.

At Race and Equality we understand that the processes of awareness and analysis, both for women and men, and at different levels of society, comprise a fundamental pillar to design and implement actions against gender-based violence. We recognize that progress has been made in this regard, thanks, in large part, to the role of civil society. For this reason, we continue to demand greater will and diligence from the States to formulate and implement public policies aimed at guaranteeing the integrity and lives of women and protecting their rights.

On the other hand, the creation and effective functioning of state mechanisms to address gender-based violence is important -and in those countries where they already exist-they must operate without biases and delays and be in line with the standards established by international treaties such as the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, known as the Convention of Belém Do Pará, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Editorial – Brazil: Blackening the political agenda with gender perspectives in the 2022 elections

Brazil, October 06th, 2022 – On October 2, Brazilians were heading to the polls to define the political scene for the next four-years in Brazil. These elections have sparked several episodes of political violence. In recent weeks, it has become clear that this violence is not only directed towards candidates, but also to voters, especially when they defend agendas considered progressive and linked to human rights. The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), as a non-partisan organization, expresses deep concern around the challenges of a guaranteed Brazilian democracy, freedom of expression, and political participation during the election period.

Recent cases reveal the extreme brutality and attempts at silencing. For instance, on September 26, in Cascavel, Ceará, a man was stabbed to death after being asked about his vote and declaring that he would vote for former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Councilman and candidate for federal deputy, Renato Freitas, even had his mandate revoked by the Chamber of Curitiba, which was reinstated after the decision of the Federal Supreme Court that recognized the presence of structural racism in the act. Both situations point out that conservative practices are strategically implemented through the promotion of hate speech and the persecution of any opponent of their government, creating greater democratic disparity.

Fear has become an anti-human rights political tool, and as it has been denounced by Brazilian social movements, political violence is exacerbated when it permeates through the black and LGBTI+ population. Black, transvestite, and transgender women are systemically impacted through political violence as a way of making their political participation unfeasible, through use of offenses, threats, public humiliation, and intimidation.

We know that poverty in Brazil involves class, race, and gender and that this part of the population is still underrepresented in the spheres of power, whether in Congress, political parties, or state and municipal governments. Considering the importance of centering the racial agenda in the electoral debate and also in the government’s public policies, through this editorial we highlight the following: in a country whose population is mostly black (56%), with an unpayable historical debt between Afro-descendants and indigenous peoples [1], the political agenda needs to be darkened: the intersectional racial debate needs to be effectively incorporated in order to build political accountability for social inequality.

Debate around blackening the political agenda also means discussing the support and strengthening of black candidates committed to the racial agenda. TSE data show that, of the 28,966 candidacies registered in the court, 14,497 are from black people. However, a few days before the elections, most political parties had not reached the minimum percentages of transfers from the electoral fund to black candidates, who had received only 36% of the fund’s resources. It should also be noted that, on one hand, in the few electoral debates of presidential candidates, the racial agenda was not addressed, moreover among most Brazilian states, the candidates with real possibilities of winning the presidential and congressional elections are white and cis-heterosexual men.

Therefore, we highlight some political reflections that we consider urgent and necessary to break with the paradigms of violence proposed by the current discriminatory, racist, sexist and LGBTIphobic structure. Furthermore, this is a call to the political class and the social movement to, without fail, demand that any construction of public policies include the intersectional racial perspective of 2022-2026.

Black women: Racialization of the Maria da Penha Law and political plan for care economy

The most recent data show that in Brazil, between 2009 and 2019, the number of homicides against black women increased by 2%, while the number of homicides against non-black women fell by 26.9% in the same period. Thus, even after the implementation of the Maria da Penha Law, rates of violence continue to disproportionately affect black women. For these reasons, the black women’s movement claims the need to racialize the legislation for the construction of public policies that contemplate their safety.

The insertion of a social justice plan aimed at black women presents a reparatory path within a culture of hatred and violence against women. The current patriarchal structure needs to recognize the precarious living conditions and food insecurity in which most black women live in. We must not forget that a woman (black domestic worker) was the first death victim of COVID-19 in Brazil.

Racialization of the public security debate and federal accountability in the face of police lethality

As long as the racial agenda is not incorporated into the culture and militarized structure of public security in Brazil, the criminalization of the black population will continue to deepen in the country. It is essential that criminal justice practices seek new ways to combat violence and reduce mass black incarceration. In Brazil, the state does not take responsibility for the fundamental rights of its population and encourages violence through massacres and the reproduction of militias.

The number of licenses to carry weapons, expanded during the Bolsonaro government, and grew 325% in three years. In this way, we focus on the creation of collective strategies that seek a new public security policy to mitigate racist police violence, and encourage the collection, systematization, and referral of violations by state agents, especially in the favelas and peripheries of the state country.

Cartography of violence against LGBTI+ bodies in Brazil

It is important to remember that the LGBTI+ political agenda is not disconnected from the racial agenda, on the contrary, the violence data reflect that black trans women are the biggest victims of cruel murder in the country. Therefore, we focus on the transversality of public policies that can contemplate the LGBTI+ population in its particularities. It is necessary that data collection be a governmental responsibility and that a collective agenda be put into practice that starts from a sociocultural and educational reorganization, in which LGBTIphobic practices are in fact held accountable and do not remain unpunished. It is necessary to remove Brazil from the regrettable record of being the country that kills the most LGBTI+ people in the world and, for that, a governmental commitment to the rights of this population is necessary.

Religious racism: Implementation of a strategic plan to contain violence against African-based religions

In a secular state, the discourse that uses religion to legitimize and promote violence, as well as express prejudice, needs to be fought against. We express strong concern especially in a scenario of advancing neo-Pentecostal fundamentalism. Religion should not reverberate a culture of hatred and intolerance against other religions. In Brazil, we know that this hatred is directed especially towards practitioners of religions of African origin, and in recent years there has been an aggravation of what many terreiros and organizations have called religious racism. Thus, we urge the defense of the rights of African-based religions and traditional peoples of the country.

Indigenous peoples: representation and defense of Amazonian territories

We emphasize that the claims for the racialization of public policies contemplate, in their entirety, the ethnic-racial demands of the Brazilian population. Therefore, the native peoples and quilombolas need the new government to meet their specificities and protect their territories. Environmental racism occurs from the devastation of the Amazon Forest and indigenous and quilombola territories. This includes the disruption of sanitary and housing conditions of peripheral communities that live on slopes and riversides. Indigenous underrepresentation, whether in parliaments or in any other decision and power space, is leading to yet another decimation of many peoples, and exploitatively benefits agribusiness and mining companies.

The indigenous call for the end of the time frame is just one of the survival strategies in which they continue to denounce the massacre of their communities by miners. The increasing destruction of the Amazon rainforest continues to be denounced by activists and human rights defenders– a fact that has led Brazil to enter the UN’s “dirty list” as a dangerous country for these leaders. Thus, we insist that this governmental intimidation imposed on civil society with the closure of civic spaces cease, and we continue to demand that the next government reactivate committees and councils that value the preservation of human rights.

Implementation of international agreements that value the fight against structural racism

Since May 2021, Brazil has ratified the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI) and, as a next step, the government must implement the Convention. With the status of constitutional amendment, the CIRDI also deals with economic and social rights, representing a legal instrument that allows a new horizon for projects of historical reparation and representation.

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Over the last few years, Race and Equality has been working in Brazil to strengthen civil society organizations in the fight against racial discrimination and gender inequalities, fostered by current exclusionary policies and the growth of hate speech. Since then, as a human rights organization, we have continued to denounce human rights violations in the country. Difficult challenges continue to arise as civil society encourages the government to incorporate the intersectional racial debate.

Race and Equality will continue to monitor the Brazilian State and bring to light, at the international level, patterns of violations that are repeated at the expense of vulnerable populations. We are all responsible. There is no possible neutrality in a society who is the agency for change. Voting, in its democratic process, is the exercise of the right to change, and at this moment, an exit door for hate speech.

 

[1] Black, quilombola and indigenous population

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