Salgueiro Massacre – Brazilian black population calls for help!: Race and Equality condemns genocide against the black population and calls to guarantee the life of black people

Salgueiro Massacre – Brazilian black population calls for help!: Race and Equality condemns genocide against the black population and calls to guarantee the life of black people

Brazil, November 25th 2021 – On the basis of the International Declaration of Human Rights, according to which life is an inalienable right, Race and Equality urges the international community to pay attention to police violence taking place in Brazil. We denounce yet another massacre taking place during the global pandemic, in the city ​​of São Gonçalo, in Rio de Janeiro. It is important to mention that the black movement considers that violence resulting from structural racism in Brazil must be seen as genocide against the black population. In fact, when analyzing the situation of the Brazilian black population in its country report, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) mentions that there appears to be a process of “social cleansing, aimed at exterminating sectors considered “undesirable””, which happens with state support. [1]

A year ago, and on the eve of Black Consciousness Day, João Alberto was brutally murdered by property security agents in Carrefour market [2]. In 2021, the trend of violence against black and poor bodies is repeated a day after the same date that calls out to society for a conscience about black struggle and freedom. If the State ignores the anti-racism agenda made in favor of its people, how will we build a black history that does not include pain, suffering and violence? The result of this policy of fear and terror is yet another bloody killing: the Salgueiro Massacre.

On Monday, November 22, residents of the favela complex located in São Gonçalo, metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, woke up recovering bodies in the community’s mangrove swamps. So far, nine bodies have been found (residents say 20) [3], both men and women, and even an elderly woman who was shot in the arm. In addition, residents denounce that many innocent victims lost their lives in retaliation for the death of a police officer. The reports of this massacre are from mothers who had to remove the bodies of their family sunk in the mangrove swamp. No weapons were found among the bodies [4]. Orphaned families from yet another tragedy that could have been avoided if the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro had not acted through revenge. Thus, we asked Governor Claudio Castro – who authorized the police operation?

We continue to denounce the State’s complete disregard of complying with the restrictions placed by the Supreme Court on police operations in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro during the pandemic, known as the ‘ADPF das Favelas’ throughout 2021. Institutional racism and police brutality continue to be the State’s daily exchange of life and death towards the black population. Tragedies are enumerated in black bodies this year; 21 dead in the Jacarezinho Massacre in May; 14 dead in the Salgueiro Massacre in November. Bullets, which are considered “lost” by the police, were found in a dead pregnant woman, Katheleen Romeo back in June.

Furthermore, data from the Rede de Observatório da Segurança (Security Observatory Network) serves to confirm the lethality of police intervention in Rio de Janeiro: In 2021, 71% of the killings in Rio de Janeiro were carried out by state agents, totaling in 128 deaths. A survey by the Instituto de Segurança Pública (Public Security Institute) corroborates this – from January to July, 811 people died in police actions, a 38% of total homicides and an increase of 88.2% over the same period last year. This figure represents the highest percentage in the last 15 years. [5].

Considering the facts, Race and Equality refers to the Inter-American Convention against Racism and Related Forms of Intolerance and calls the attention of all protection mechanisms under international law that have pledged to cooperate to prevent and punish acts of killings of vulnerable populations around the world. We urge that international law treaties be enforced in the face of the extermination policies of the Military Police and the acceptance of violence by Brazilian governments. The Brazilian black population asks for help, because, to ask for peace, it is first necessary to have the right to live.

Finally, we urge the Brazilian State to make the following recommendations:

1 – Urge the local government of the state of Rio de Janeiro so that those responsible for the Salgueiro Massacre do not go unpunished.

2 – The creation of laws and mechanisms with an intersectional and anti-racist focus to curb and punish violent police actions in favelas.

3 – The veto of the anti-terrorism bill, already approved by the Chamber and which is going to be approved by the Senate, whose proposal approves the exclusion of illegality for police officers during their operations and creates the secret police for the President.

4 – The construction of an educational anti-racism agenda for the military police and all national public security agents.

 

[1] http://www.oas.org/en/cidh/relatorios/pdfs/Brasil2021-en.pdf

[2] https://www.poder360.com.br/brasil/saiba-quem-era-joao-alberto-espancado-ate-a-morte-no-supermercado-carrefour/

[3] Official data not yet released

[4]https://extra.globo.com/casos-de-policia/resgatamos-os-corpos-nao-achamos-nenhuma-arma-fizeram-uma-chacina-diz-morador-do-complexo-do-salgueiro-25286728. html

[5]https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2021/09/03/no-rj-38percent-dos-homicidios-foram-cometidos-por-policiais-em-7-meses- e-proporcao-bate-recorde.ghtml

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

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

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

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

The Report

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

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

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

Testimonies

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

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

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

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

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

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

The work of the IACHR

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

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

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

Trans Day of Remembrance: An urgent call to combat transphobia in Latin America

Washington D.C., November 20, 2021. As we commemorate another year of International Transgender Day of Remembrance, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) wishes to draw the attention of States and the international community to the chilling numbers of murders of transgender people in the Americas – a reality that unfortunately places the region once more at the top of the list of most homicides worldwide. At the same time, Race and Equality wants to urge governments to prioritize issues of violence and discrimination against gender-diverse people and to adopt swift actions to combat transphobia.

On November 11, TGEU’s Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide (TvT) research project published its annual Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM) report, released every year on the eve of November 20, International Transgender Day of Remembrance. According to the data, between October 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021 there were 375 murders of trans people worldwide, of which 311 occurred between Mexico, Central and South America. Globally, the total represents a 7% increase from the previous report (October 2019 – September 2020).

Transphobic tragedy

In Latin America, Brazil continues to be the country with the highest number of murders against transgender people, followed by Mexico (65), Honduras (53) and Colombia (25)*. Regarding global figures, the TMM report highlights that 96% of the murdered persons were transgender women or transgender feminine persons, and 58% were transgender sex workers. This is a pattern that has been corroborated in the region by reports published by LGBTI+ organizations.

“The data indicates a worrying trend regarding the intersections between misogyny, racism, xenophobia and hatred towards sex workers, with the majority of victims being black and colored transgender women, migrants and sex workers,” warns TMM, which also alerts that these numbers are only a small sample of the reality, since many murders remain unreported, or are misidentified.

Lives taken away

Brazil, which represents 41% of the global murders against transgender people, also commemorates on this day the National Day of Black Consciousness. Therefore, November 20 represents a date among human rights organizations in the country – especially those working in the defense of the trans population and the black population – to honor both populations and coincides in the intersection of their vulnerabilities in the midst of a transphobic and racist society.

Brazil began 2021 with the brutal murder of a transgender teenager. In the early morning of January 4, Keron Ravach was stabbed and beaten to death by a 17-year-old who was identified and arrested as the perpetrator of the hate crime. The young woman, who was going through a gender transition process, was defined by her friends as a shy person, but who at the same time dreamed of being a social media influencer. According to the TMM report, the average age of trans people murdered in the last year is 30 years old, with Keron being the youngest of all victims, at just 13 years old.

Indolence and Impunity

In most cases of murdered transgender persons there is a history of violence and threats, but these are often ignored by the authorities or are not dealt with in a timely manner. As such, when the murder occurs, there is insufficient information to identify the person or persons responsible. This issue has been expressed by organizations who promote and defend the rights of the LGBTI+ population and was manifested in the murder of Gina Rodríguez Sinuiri on September 21, in Callao, Peru.

Gina, 28, was stabbed several times in a hotel room in the city. Although immediately taken to a hospital, she was pronounced dead 18 hours later. The suspect is a man who regularly solicited the services of transgender sex workers and contacted them through his social networks using different names. According to her companions, it was not the first time the man contacted Gina. In addition, Agencia Presentes, which is in charge of making visible the situation of the LGBTI+ population in Latin America and the Caribbean-collected statements from Gina’s partners, in which they pointed out that on several occasions they have approached the Peruvian National Police to report acts of violence against them but are always ignored.

On top of the authorities’ lack of action there is the fact that Peru does not have a Gender Identity Law, which means that transgender people cannot carry out procedures with their social name, and this exposes them to discrimination and mockery in various sectors of society. “We denounce to the authorities and the police, but they do not pay attention to us, and that is what makes us frustrated and angry. We have families, we are human beings with feelings. Every time we file a complaint, when we turn around, they put it away. The worst thing is that they laugh and throw us out,” said a colleague of Gina on that occasion.

Dying in Invisibility

Although the murders of transgender people are generally silenced, when addressing this issue reference is usually made only to transgender women, because statistics show that they are the main victims, which is undoubtedly a reality. However, transgender men are also the focus of violence and discrimination due to transphobia and, as in the case of trans women, this can become deadly for them. One such example is the case of Samuel Edmund Damian Valentin, a young transgender man who was shot and killed on January 9 in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.

Samuel Edmund was a student at Atlantic University College, in Guaynabo. On January 1 he had written on his Facebook page, “a new year to come, grateful for all the experiences that [taught me] how strong we really are, to life, to good and evil and for all the justice that is to come.”

“About transgender men and invisibilization in the public sphere, the truth is that it is the violence we suffer the most. Everyday life is designed for cis-gender men; we cannot be guaranteed public health issues in a dignified and efficient way for us. It is important that our identities are named, that trans men or transmasculine people get pregnant. What is not named does not exist. If we exist in the spaces, let us exist in the word”, says Danilo Donato, transmasculine activist and member of the GAAT Foundation in Colombia. According to the record of this organization on death of trans people, so far this year 2021 in the country 32 have been killed to date, while 8 have died from complications arising from surgeries and handmade interventions and barriers to access to rights.

Hate at its maximum expression

Kendra Contreras, known as “Lala”, was a 22-year-old transgender woman who lived in the town of Somotillo, in western Nicaragua. Those who knew Lala say that she was a young dreamer, hard-working, with a desire to better herself and who wanted her gender identity to be respected. Sadly, on March 3, 2021, two men ended her life in an atrocious way; they tied her to a horse and let it drag her twice for at least 400 meters and then stoned her. This is the ultimate expression of hatred towards women, bodies and diverse identities in a highly macho society, such as the Nicaraguan one.

Unfortunately, that was not the only time they killed Lala, as they do it every time they disrespect her gender identity and call her by her “first name” when they refer to her as “man” in news reports. Many media outlets fail to properly handle these cases by focusing on information and prejudices that generate morbidity and revictimize the victims of transphobia and gender violence.

Urgent appeal

Every year, Race and Equality takes advantage of this date to remind countries of their obligation to respect and guarantee the rights of all people without any kind of discrimination. Regarding the situation of violence and murders against trans people, we make the following recommendations:

  • Monitor and publicly sanction transphobic speeches that often slip into the media and incur in calls for discrimination and violence against the trans population.
  • Adopt the necessary laws and policies to guarantee the recognition, respect and inclusion of people with diverse sexual orientation and gender identity.
  • Establish special mechanisms to respond to acts of violence and murders against LGBI and trans persons, which lead to the clarification of the facts and the punishment of those responsible, as well as the establishment of guarantees of non-repetition.
  • Collect data on acts of violence and murders against trans persons, disaggregated by specific gender identity and ethnic-racial identity.
  • Promote through the institutions and official channels a campaign to educate and sensitize the population on sexual orientation and gender identity, with a view to generating a context of recognition and respect for the integrity and life of LGBI and trans persons.

*In the case of Colombia, the Foundation Grupo de Acción y Apoyo a Personas con Experiencia de Vida Trans (GAAT) recorded 32 murders of transgender people so far in 2021.

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

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

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

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

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

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

A friend of Nicaragua

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

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

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

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

Let us not forget Nicaragua!

This Sunday, November 7, 2021, Daniel Ortega Saavedra will secure a fourth consecutive term as president of Nicaragua in an electoral process “tailor-made” and give him and his wife, Vice-President Rosario Murillo, another five years in power. Now, more than ever, the international community must not forget about the people of Nicaragua and must reject the validity of a government being imposed onto the Nicaraguan people, without any minimum safeguards to consider it “democratically elected”.

Nicaragua’s democracy began its progressive deterioration many years ago, with the pact between former President Arnoldo Alemán and Daniel Ortega. The social unrest in April 2018 and the repressive response by state authorities and paramilitary forces – which escalated to lethal levels – caused a deterioration of the rule of law where the Executive co-opted all other state powers and institutions. Subsequently, the crisis deepened further as a consequence of the closing of spaces of participation and dialogue, censorship and the increasing violations of citizens’ human rights in the electoral context. With Sunday’s elections, Nicaraguan democracy will finally erode.

November 7 will be a somber day for the people of Nicaragua, who have been in mourning for more than three years and longed for free elections to begin a process of democratic transition and guarantees for truth and justice without impunity, full reparation and non-repetition. Unfortunately, there are no signs of a swift improvement to the situation in the country. Everything points to the fact that a government which systematically violates human rights will continue in power.

Therefore, it is time to dispell any remaining suggestion that Sunday’s voting represents anything but Ortega and Murillo’s Democratic facade. It is urgent that the international community, multilateral organizations and international human rights organizations use all the resources at their disposal to prevent human rights violations to continue, particularly against people who are identified as opponents of the regime.

To contribute to this point, Race and Equality shares the following update on the grave human rights situation in Nicaragua.

Political prisoners – According to the most recent report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), since the beginning of the socio-political crisis in 2018 more than 1,614 people have been arbitrarily deprived of their liberty and 149 people remain imprisoned for having participated in protests in opposition to the Ortega government.

Since May of 2021, the National Police, supported by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, unleashed a wave of arrests aimed at criminalizing at least 39 people – including seven presidential candidates, human rights defenders, non-governmental organization workers, journalists, businessmen, peasant and student leaders and other dissident voices. The most recent arrests were carried out against the President and First Vice President of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP), Michael Healy and Álvaro Vargas, respectively, on October 21.

In most of these cases, a group of legislation passed in 2020 has been applied, which have been highly criticized by the international community because they fail to comply with the country’s human rights obligations and cause a perverse effect on the administration of justice, selectively criminalizing the opposition. These include the Foreign Agents Law (Ley de Agentes Extranjeros), the Law for the Defense of the People’s Rights to Independence (Ley de Defensa de los Derechos del Pueblo a la Independencia), the Special Law on Cyber Crimes (Ley Especial de Ciberdelitos), the Anti-Money Laundering Law (Ley contra el Lavado de Activos) and the Reform to the Criminal Procedural Code Law 1060, which expands the term of detention to 90 days, without minimum guarantees of due process.

As families of political prisoners, local and international organizations, we denounced violations of due process and detentions without communication. Many victims were in a situation of “forced disappearance” until August 31, when state authorities finally allowed the first family visits at the Judicial Assistance Directorate (Dirección de Auxilio Judicial). More recently, on October 11, a second visit was allowed, through which the families of the detainees observed aggravated conditions of detention, such as isolation and being kept in the dark or under permanent electric light, continuous weight loss and lack of adequate medical attention.

Deprivation of liberty for political reasons must be eliminated from Latin America, and Nicaragua is no exception. For Race and Equality, one political prisoner is too many and we will not rest in our demand for freedom. Given the perpetuation in power of the Ortega Murillo family, 2022 will be a key year to advocate before international bodies and mechanisms to urge the regime to release all those people who are now in jail unjustly and to immediately cease all forms of repression against those who oppose 

Freedom of expression and freedom of the press – During the last three years, attacks against the media, journalists and media executives have not ceased. The independent press in Nicaragua has been the victim of harassment, threats, smear campaigns, judicial harassment, theft of equipment, withholding of paper and ink, raids, immigration detention and deprivation of liberty of journalists, commentators and media executives.

Since May 2021, in the framework of the administrative and criminal investigations against the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation – one of the main organizations dedicated to the defense of freedom of the press in the country, which had ceased to operate in February 2021 – more than 25 journalists and media workers were summoned to testify before the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and some were threatened with the application of the Special Law on Cybercrime. Likewise, arrest warrants were issued against some of their workers, as in the case of the defender Guillermo Medrano and journalist Lourdes Arróliga. This situation has forced at least 40 journalists into exile.

The pattern established by the Nicaraguan authorities of preventing the entry and expulsion of journalists from international media interested in reporting on the human rights crisis, and more recently on the electoral process is of deep concern. All of the above, coupled with the Supreme Electoral Council’s refusal to accredit journalists and independent media outlets is further evidence that Ortega and Murillo intend to undermine freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

Repression against indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples – The Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples of Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast have been targeted by armed groups since 2015. The number of fatalities and systematic violence has increased considerably this year.

On August 23, “settlers” executed a massacre in the Kiwakumbaih hill of the Mayangna Sauni As territory, in the North Caribbean of Nicaragua, where at least 9 Mayagna and Miskitu indigenous people were killed, including women and children. Forty-one days later, on October 4, invaders kidnapped and murdered Mayangna Martiniano Macario in Kimawkas (known as Tigre Negro), within the Mayangna Sauni As territory.

After these events, the pro-government media blamed members of the indigenous peoples for the growing violence and deforestation of the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve. Likewise, they tried to disqualify recognized organizations defending the rights of indigenous peoples such as the Center for Justice and Human Rights of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua (CEJUDHCAN), the Center for Legal Assistance to Indigenous Peoples (CALPI) or the River Foundation, calling them “organizations aligned with the political opposition” and claiming that indigenous leaders do not feel represented by them. Recognizing the violence suffered by indigenous peoples, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) extended the provisional measures granted to 9 Miskitu communities.

Race and Equality recognizes the invaluable work of organizations and defenders working on the ground, and of those who have been forced into exile but continue to advocate for Nicaragua’s indigenous peoples’ rights. We must not remain indifferent in the face of discrimination, assassinations and dispossession of indigenous lands. The government must guarantee security in the face of the invasions and the regulation of titled territories; likewise, the armed groups must be dismantled, dismantled and brought to justice.

Nicaragua at the UN – Despite the fact that the United Nations Human Rights Council has followed the situation in Nicaragua for three consecutive years and has adopted three resolutions to promote and protect human rights in the country, the Nicaraguan government has shown no willingness to overcome the serious human rights crisis. 

In accordance with Resolution 46/2, on September 13, High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet gave an oral update on Nicaragua in which she lamented the deterioration of civil and political rights in the electoral context, and urged the Human Rights Council to consider all measures within its power to protect human rights in the country. To date, the regime has not complied with any of the recommendations made by the High Commissioner.

In addition, on October 7 and 8, the State of Nicaragua was summoned to a dialogue with the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) to review the implementation of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Nicaraguan representative chose to participate in a “listening capacity”, refusing to engage in a constructive exchange with the expert members. Despite the State’s lack of cooperation, the Committee published its concluding observations and concerns on October 20.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights considered persecution and reprisals against human rights defenders, violence against indigenous peoples and the lack of access to information on the COVID-19 pandemic to be of particular priority; and made recommendations related to guaranteeing the impartiality and independence of the Judiciary and the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office, reestablishing international dialogue and cooperation with human rights protection mechanisms, and providing effective protection to victims of corruption cases, among others.

Nicaragua in the Inter-American Human Rights System – The Inter-American Court has also pronounced itself on the extreme gravity of the current context in the country. The Court ordered the immediate release of 21 persons arbitrarily detained in the current wave of repression In the framework of the provisional measures granted in favor of them. Likewise, this Court has repeatedly expressed its willingness to carry out an on-site visit to Nicaragua with the objective of verifying the conditions in which the detainees are being held. However, the State has not given its consent.

For Race and Equality, the Ortega regime has not shown the slightest willingness to cooperate “in good faith” with the United Nations, nor with the Inter-American Human Rights System. Far from this, it insists on remaining absolutely closed to international scrutiny and has tried to disqualify their work by accusing them of being “repressive” and “interfering”. Faced with this negative stance of the Nicaraguan State, it is essential that human rights organizations continue to carry out the excellent work of monitoring, documenting and denouncing human rights violations that they have done so far.

In view of the next session of the Human Rights Council in March 2022, we request that the monitoring mandate of High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet be renewed and that an investigation and accountability mechanism be established for Nicaragua. This mechanism should investigate the grave human rights violations that we civil society organizations have documented since April 2018, as well as the structural causes that have caused Nicaragua to remain immersed in this crisis. This mechanism would allow the mandate to verify the facts, identify perpetrators, and preserve evidence for when the conditions for a justice process in Nicaragua are in place. It is a key tool in the fight against impunity and we will strongly support its establishment.

The Nicaraguan people deserve justice and freedom. Let us not forget Nicaragua!

United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Visits Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala in a Mission of “Active Listening” coordinated by Race and Equality

Washington DC, October 19, 2021.- The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), in conjunction with the delegations of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Guatemala, Honduras and Panama, organized a promotional visit with the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Víctor Madrigal-Borloz, to Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

The visits took place between October 11 and 16, the Independent Expert (IE SOGI) had the opportunity to meet with activists and LGBTI + groups from each country. In each “Listening Visit” — as the IE SOGI called them — he actively listened and dialogued with representatives and members of organizations that promote and defend the human rights of LGBTI + people, this contributed to strengthening the links between civil society and his Mandate.

The meetings were held in Tegucigalpa (Honduras), San Salvador (El Salvador) and Guatemala City (Guatemala). In total, around 35 organizations attended the meetings, and more than 100 activists from the LGBTI + community participated, including people who attended a public event in the Honduran capital, where the IE SOGI presented his latest report on gender identity, entitled, The Law of Inclusion & Practices of Exclusion.

In Honduras, Madrigal-Borloz listened to organizations that expressed concerns around the criminalization of LGBTI + people, particularly in the electoral context that the country is experiencing before the general elections scheduled for November 28. They noted that both the candidates and President Juan Orlando Hernández continue to spread hate speech which contributes to an increase in violence against LGBTI + people. This is aggravated, they said, by the multiple barriers that this community faces in access to justice, starting with discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Honduran civil society also described the various efforts that have been made to introduce a draft Gender Identity Law to the National Assembly, but to date have not been able to discuss it in Parliament. In this regard, they referred to the lack of guarantees for trans persons to have access to work, education and health, and in cases where they have had access to these spaces, they have been victims of expulsion and ill-treatment, especially in the area of health where staff are not trained and therefore engage in stereotypes and discriminatory practices.

The LGBTI+ population in El Salvador confronts a similar situation, where in May -after a new National Assembly was installed with a resounding majority of President Nayib Bukele’s party -the National Assembly archived a draft Gender Identity Law that had been introduced in March 2018. While organizations noted a decrease in official homicide figures, they were concerned about the increase in the number of missing persons. Likewise, lesbian women organizations highlighted that the fear of identifying as a lesbian woman due to the discrimination and violence they face prevails among this community.

The organizations also raised concerns regarding the persecution of trans women who are sex workers, and the lack of attention and protection of the State in the face of hate crimes suffered by LGBTI+ people in El Salvador. This, they said, is affecting the internal displacement and migration of this population, for which the spaces for participation and denunciation are increasingly closed. The Independent Expert also had the opportunity to meet with academic organizations and institutions who engage in data collection and legal and humanitarian assistance. In that regard, the importance of carrying out such work from a differential and intersectional perspective was highlighted.

In Guatemala, the organizations expressed concern about the NGO Law, because it implies limitations and threats to organizations that promote and defend human rights, and by the initiative of Law 5940 or Law to guarantee the comprehensive protection of children and adolescents against disorders of gender identity, because it proposes to remove the right to self-determination of gender identity of children and trans adolescents. This bill adds to the proposed Law 5272 or Law on the Protection of Life and the Family, which is also of great concern to civil society because it criminalizes abortion and uses retrograde and stigmatizing ideas to support the concept of cis-heteronormative families.

Activists were also able to share information on discrimination in the field of employment and education. They highlighted that transgender people are expelled from schools for making their gender identity visible and are constantly facing bullying. In addition, a large part of the transmasculine population cannot access employment because of their gender expression.

They also referred to the invisibility of lesbian and bisexual women, which means that crimes against this population are not reflected in official statistics or are categorized as crimes against heterosexual women. They also indicated that this group faces many barriers to accessing health because many do not feel comfortable going to a gynecologist and exposing their sexual life.

Race and Equality accompanied each of these meetings and will continue to support the work of the Independent Expert. In addition, Race and Equality is committed to continue working with civil society in these countries to make their struggles visible. We thank all civil society organizations, the delegations of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and all those who made this visit possible.

Brazil’s 600 thousand deaths: the crisis of representative democracy in a country of fake news

Brazil, October 8th, 2021 – Under the guidance of a president who continues to ignore health protocols and incite crowds during a pandemic, Brazil has officially reached the milestone of 600,000 deaths from COVID-19 this October. In his 2 years in power, Jair Messias Bolsonaro has been accused of being in denial. However, further analysis show that COVID-19 played a central role in the Bolsonaro government’s strategy to implement a policy of death and exclusion. Bolsonaro didn’t just simply deny the existence of a pandemic, it can be said that the President was. and continues to be COVID-19’s ‘propaganda boy’, a virus activists and disseminator that brought about the crisis of democracy in the country through his fiery and radical speeches that have fueled the spread of false information and complete disregard for human rights.

The current government’s rise to power was facilitated largely by Jair Bolsonaro’s “myth”. A character who is a spokesperson for a Christian God and the traditional Brazilian family, and who evokes order and patriotism, seeking to restore a country filled with uncertainty and systemic corruption. The President is in a political alliance with center and right-wing parties, in addition to its obedient ministerial leadership. His family reveals itself as the focal point in the government’s corruption scandals. These factors paved way to a sequence of approved laws, signed decrees and controversial reforms with the consent of the legislative parliament.

In this context, public institutions, civil society organizations and activist leaderships that look after the democratic rule of law and human rights have become the target of political attacks, ranging from physical and/or online hate attacks to restriction of spaces of representation and citizen participation. There exists a political project which focuses on the expansion of inequalities, “fake news” and removal of rights from entire populations, among which, the most affected were already in a vulnerable situation, such as the black, quilombola, indigenous and LGBTI+ populations.

In this regard, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) publishes this editorial letter to ask the international community for a joint statement urging the Brazilian State to provide clear and transparent information, and respect for the independence of federal entities and institutions, as well as the Universities, Federal Police and Supreme Court for the free exercise of freedom of expression, guaranteed by the Constitution, and for an impartial investigation process into the Bolsonaro government. After all, what are the interest of an authoritarian President who imposed government secrecy of up to 100 years to his vaccination card and to his children’s badges about their access to the Government head office?

Below is an updated overview of the acts of power that are triggering the crisis of representative democracy in Brazil, in which 600,000 lives have been lost to COVID-19. Brazil is the nation with the second-highest mortality rate, and occupies the 62nd place in the global ranking of application of vaccines against the coronavirus(1). Until now, 44.61% of the Brazilian population has been fully immunized.

CPI of COVID-19 – Established in April 2021 and with a deadline for completion in November this year, the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI in Portuguese), headed by the Federal Senate, aims to investigate irregularities in the Bolsonaro government’s policies to combat the pandemic in the country. Since its inception a series of scandals has been uncovered, including a major corruption scheme in the purchase of vaccines 1000% more expensive. In addition, the government also acted so that the private health operator `Prevent Senior´recommends the ´Covid Kit`, which contains a package of drugs that have been proven to be ineffective for the treatment of COVID-19, making its patients human laboratory experiments for the Federal Government’s lucrative and hidden interests. It was also proven that in the first year of the pandemic 120,000 lives could have been saved had Brazil followed effective public health and world health protocols.

In addition, the study also brought to light the focus of racial, class and gender inequality in pandemic-related deaths. Among preventable deaths, it was found that the black population was severely affected, having a 17% higher risk of dying in the public network. Therefore, the CPI is revealing the intricacies of necropolitics that it has underlined before every nation that “death is also hospital discharge”.

2022 Elections and Judicial Inquiries – The Bolsonaro government’s plan for reelection follows its manipulation during the pandemic, the populist appeal and disrespect for democratic institutions. The President launched voracious attacks against the Brazilian electoral system, campaigning for the return of the printed vote and, despite losing the appeal, continued to attack the legitimacy and reliability of Brazil’s current election model. However, to guarantee his re-election, Bolsonaro continues to pass laws and decrees that remove rights from the population and benefit political and private sectors of society, in other words, the economic elite.

Some examples include: The Electoral Fund, which provides for the parties’ budget to carry out electoral campaigns and , despite vetoes, can withdraw R$3.5 billion from health in 2022; The Mini Labor Reform, which makes working conditions even more precarious and makes labor justice inaccessible for the workers; The anti-terrorism law, already approved in the Chamber of Deputies, which provides for the creation of a secret police for Bolsonaro and the approval of the exclusion of illegality of public security agents, a fact denounced by civil society as a license to kill. This law has even been criticized by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, who considered its text a threat to human rights activists and civil society entities; and the Land grabbing project, favoring deforestation and impunity for environmental crimes – this bill is one of the subterfuges of the rural caucus for the occupation of public lands.

Despite all these schemes to stay in power, Bolsonaro is investigated in five inquiries which are ongoing at the Supreme Court (STF – its acronym in Portuguese) and at the Superior Electoral Court (TSE – its acronym in Portuguese). From the fake news inquiry to irregularities in the purchase of Covaxin vaccines, government allies are also being investigated for attacks on democracy and state institutions. In addition, his sons; Carlos, Eduardo and Renan Bolsonaro, and his wife Michele Bolsonaro, are also being investigated for various crimes, among which are suspected of leading a criminal organization to passive corruption. During this period, Bolsonaro once again acted against the transparency of information and authorized a secret budget for 2022, in which it maintains in its power the release of resources in exchange for votes in the legislative house.

Protests for Bolsonaro’s impeachment and the undemocratic protests –With a growing rejection of the current government, demonstrations erupted across the country in favor of impeaching Bolsonaro. Even some parties that campaigned in favor of the election of the President, organized themselves into acts calling for the end of the government. With the motto “Vaccine in the arm and food on the plate”, civil society organizations denounce the racist and genocidal barbarism allied to the current dismantling of public policies. The economic crisis, aggravated by high food prices and inflation, together with the increase in vaccination, have encouraged more people to take to the streets in protests calling ‘Bolsonaro Out‘. The last demonstration took place on October 2, 2021 and managed to bring together various sectors of society. There are more than 123 requests for impeachment presented that attribute crimes to the President, in addition to several accusations to international bodies and even in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), for crimes against humanity and genocide.

However, between the fall of his popularity and the current crisis of his government, Bolsonaro has not renounced the media strategies of abuse of power and authoritarianism. He challenged legal institutions by inciting protests on September 7th, Brazilian Independence Day, where anti-democratic demonstrations took place in which the people, inflamed by the President’s warlike and despot speech, exalted disobedience to justice through military intervention and against the STF. Still, other anti-democratic demonstrations were ignited with the support of some truck drivers which also intended to massively paralyze some of the country’s highways on the same date. However, fearing reprisals, Bolsonaro sent an audio message asking them to put an end to the attempt. As the situation only got worse, a few days after his attacks on democracy, the President issued a media note attempting to pacify tensions, proposing a truce between the country’s institutions of power. Whether an irony of fate or a camouflaged electoral move, the statement released was written by Michel Temer, former president of Brazil.

Bolsonaro at the UN – In addition to being the only unvaccinated G20 leader present at the 75th UN General Assembly, Bolsonaro, in his opening remarks distorted facts and spread false information. In an illusory communist attack on the country, the President cried out in the name of God in a secular country and claimed there was no corruption in his government. He defended his ineffective early treatment for COVID-19 and opposed the health passport and concealed data on deforestation in the Amazon, even ignoring the consequences of the pandemic on indigenous peoples and territories. As if that wasn’t enough, some members of the President’s entourage were diagnosed with COVID during the trip, including the Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga. The minister had a week earlier suspended the national adolescent vaccination strategy, making it difficult to provide doses in several states. Even so, on the recommendation of Anvisa(2), those infected during the trip had to undergo isolation in New York, at the expense of the Brazilian taxpayers.

Hunger and Unemployment – Food and nutritional insecurity has grown exponentially in the country due to the crisis caused by the pandemic and the high rate of unemployment and informal work. According to the National Survey on Food Insecurity held in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic, 43.4 million Brazilians do not have enough food and 19.1 million (9% of the population) are starving. An example of this bleak and severe scenario recently reported in the media is the distribution of remnants of meat and bones for the hungry population and without any financial resources. In this way, it appears again that the current political project dialogues with necropolitics by allowing hunger to reach these levels, especially affecting the black population. While the population is starving, the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, disdains the rise in inflation, and the results of his economic policy are reflected in the rise in prices of basic food and cooking gas.

Environment: Thesis on the  Marco Temporal (Time Limit) and Ricardo Salles’ Dismissal – The Marco Temporal interpretative framework  goes against the rights of Brazilian native peoples. According to this thesis, indigenous populations are only entitled to the lands they occupied before the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution. However, there are still isolated peoples, those who were expelled from their territories and lands acquired and recognized as having indigenous rights after 1988. Thus, the review of the demarcation of indigenous lands serves the interests of the agrobusiness sectors, land grabbers and miners, in search of extractive and commercial exploitation. In August of this year, more than six thousand representatives of 147 peoples from the country camped in Brasília, to accompany the judgment by the STF. Despite all the indigenous mobilization that took large proportions even on the international scene, the judgment, which was tied at 1×1 between the rapporteurs, was suspended at the end of September without a deadline for resumption. It is worth remembering that even though it is a racist and discriminatory thesis, what is widely discussed about the Marco Temporal is the indigenous territorial issue.

Among the agendas of the environment, the then Minister of Environment, Ricardo Salles, became the target of investigations for involvement in a scheme of illegal timber import between support for changes in environmental rules. Accusations include corruption and favoring burning in the Amazon, and other various environmental crimes in levied against Salles. As soon as he became a defendant, Salles asked to be removed from office and was dismissed. The operation triggered by the STF also determined the removal of the President of IBAMA (3), Eduardo Bim, on suspicion of irregularities.

This editorial seeks to fulfill the mission of Race and Equality, of denouncing human rights violations in Latin America. Our work in Brazil recognizes that the crisis of representative democracy combined with political interests, further deepens socioeconomic inequalities. The circulation of disinformation and fake news needs to be addressed urgently, as they serve to expand a polarized political debate in which there is the criminalization of poverty allied to racist, anti-LGBTI and sexist discourses and violence. The pandemic slaughter has already cost 600,000 lives, many of which could have been preventable, but will it be that, in the face of so many accusations, Bolsonaro’s Brazil will reach the deplorable mark of 1 million deaths? We hope not.

  • Data from September 13, 2021
  • Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency
  • Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources

First report on transmasculinities and non-binary AFAB people in Peru: A key step for the recognition and protection of diverse identities in the country and the region

Washington DC, September 30, 2021.- With the aim of contributing to the promotion and protection of the rights of transmasculine and non-binary persons assigned women at birth (AFAB) in Peru, the Institute on Race, Equality and Rights Human (Race and Equality) launched on September 24, 2021 the first report that demonstrates the situation of this population in the country. The report includes recommendations to the State, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and the United Nations Organization to guarantee their human rights.

The report, entitled “Bodies and Resistance that TRANSgress the Pandemic: Transmasculinities and Non-Binary AFAB People in Peru,” was launched through a virtual event with the participation of representatives of the transmasculine and non-binary movement in Peru, including two individuals who helped produce the report, and the United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz.

“In Peru, the rights of trans people are not yet recognized, starting with the limitations to access the right to identity, which means that other fundamental rights cannot be accessed,” said the Executive Director of Race and Equality, Carlos Quesada. He also mentioned that when talking about the trans population, one usually thinks only of trans women, which means that the experiences and demands of transmasculine and non-binary AFAB people are not reflected in public policies and, on certain occasions, are also not present in the agenda of the LGBTI + movement.

Zuleika Rivera, LGBTI Program Officer for Race and Equality, indicated that the preparation of this report sought to understand the situation of transmasculine and non-binary AFAB people in Peru. She highlighted that one of the most important findings being the fact that the discrimination and violence that this population faces begins in the nucleus family, something that – Rivera said – is determined by the lack of information and the stigma that predominates in society regarding people with diverse sexual orientation and gender identity.

The situation

It should be noted that the completion of this report included a documentary review, data processing of transmasculinities and non-binary AFAB people who participated in the first survey for LGBTI people, which was carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (INEI) in 2017; a self-applied virtual interview called, “The Situation of Trans Masculine, Trans Men, Non-Binary Transmasculines and Non-Binary AFAB People Before and During the COVID-19 Situation in Peru,” and eight semi-structured interviews.

The report was presented by Alithu Bazan Talavera, a member of the report’s research team, non-binary trans activist and researcher, and by Santiago Balvin Gutiérrez, also part of the research team, non-binary transmasculine activist and member of the organization Rosa Rabiosa. The third individual who made up the research team is activist, researcher and teacher Denisse Castillo Matos, who is also part of the organization Más Igualdad Perú.

During the presentation Bazan mentioned that most of the people interviewed reported that they began to experience their identities from the age of 22, due to little or no information on the trans and non-binary spectrum. The activist and researcher pointed out that non-recognition in the family environment entails a series of violations and a systematic exclusion of trans-masculine and non-binary people.

Balvin Gutiérrez included in his presentation that in the case of trans men and trans-masculininities, 85.44% have identity documents that do not represent their desired social name, and in the case of non-binary people, 48.57% expressed the same sentiments. In addition, among both populations, 70% reported difficulties when exercising their right to vote due their identity documents not corresponding with their gender identity and/or gender expression and for fear of suffering violence. 

Significance of the report

Bruno Montenegro, National Coordinator of Transmasculine Fraternity-Peru, described the report as “historic” and said it will contribute to generate great advances in the struggle of the transmasculine and non-binary population. Montenegro further stated that all the information and evidence contained in this report will serve to demystify the belief that trans and transmasculinity men have privileges only because they are male or because they identify with masculinity.

“Transmasculinities do suffer violence even though we identify ourselves from masculinity (…) This report is important to demystify transmasculinities and put our realities on the agenda. Trans men also abort, trans men also decide to gestate, trans men also suffer so-called corrective rapes,” he emphasized.

The United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Víctor Madrigal-Borloz, highlighted the relevance and significance of this report. “This report has a particular impact on Peru, but this information can also be raised as a working theory regionally and globally. For me it has been incredibly revealing in levels, perspectives and consciences that were not at all visible in my mandate,” he affirmed.

“There is data that, in addition, in its deep personalization call us to reflect; the testimonial is of great value and this study is extraordinary in that sense,” added Madrigal-Borloz.

Recommendations

The report, “Bodies and Resistance that TRANSgress the Pandemic: Transmasculinities and Non-Binary AFAB People in Peru,” contains recommendations to the State, the IACHR and the UN, with the aim of contributing to the adoption of public policies and/or measures in favor of the human rights of trans-masculine and non-binary people. In the case of the State, we recommend that the State urgently adopts a gender identity law.

In the case of the IACHR, one of the recommendations is that it creates dialogues with civil society organizations and independent activists related to the population of transmasculinities and non-binary AFAB people. In the case of the UN, the report recommends that the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity make an official visit to Peru and publish a report with specific recommendations for the protection of this population.

Access and download the report in Spanish here: https://bit.ly/3uxtklx

Executive summary in English here: https://bit.ly/3o5oZ7S

Race and Equality launches regional campaign to promote the ratification and implementation of the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Related Forms of Intolerance

Washington, D.C.; September 4, 2021.- On September 2, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) launched its new campaign Toward a Region Free From Racial Discrimination, which will last until 2024 and seeks to promote the universal ratification and implementation of the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Related Forms of Intolerance (known by its Spanish acronym CIRDI).

The campaign, which takes place in the context of the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024), was launched in a virtual event that featured Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay, Rapporteur for the Rights of Afro-descendants and Against Racial Discrimination at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR); Gay McDougall, who was recently re-elected to serve a third term on the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD); and Vice President of Costa Rica Epsy Campbell.

Representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, and Mexico, all State Parties to the Convention, also participated. Carlos Quesada, Race and Equality’s Executive Director, introduced the campaign while Latin America Program Officer Elvia Duque served as the moderator.

“This campaign is necessary, especially during the International Decade for People of African Descent, for the majority of countries in the Americas to ratify and implement this important Convention,” remarked Quesada in his introduction to the event.

The campaign

Race and Equality considers the ratification and implementation of CIRDI a necessary step to make the systemic forms of racism and discrimination against Afro-descendants, indigenous peoples, and other minorities in the region more visible. Race and Equality also emphasizes that the Convention is a key step for states to fulfill their international obligations to promote equitable conditions, ensure equality of opportunity, and combat racial discrimination in all individual, structural, and institutional forms.

The ultimate goal of the campaign is for all 35 members of the Organization of American States (OAS) to sign, ratify, and implement CIRDI by the end of 2024.

To that end, the campaign will consist of bilateral and multilateral initiatives across the region. These activities will offer accompaniment and resources to states as they move towards ratifying and implementing the Convention. Civil society organizations will also play an important role in the campaign, receiving training and tools to monitor the ratification and implementation processes.

The importance of CIRDI

Although the OAS General Assembly approved the Inter-American Convention against Racism in 2013 and it entered into force in 2017, only 6 of the 35 OAS Member States have ratified it: Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, and Uruguay. During the event, Costa Rican Vice President Epsy Campbell explained that improving the rate of ratification had become all the more important after UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet released a report on global systemic racism in 2020.

Bachelet’s report stemmed from UN Human Rights Council Resolution 43/1 (Promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and of people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers), which was passed in the context of worldwide protests against the killing of George Floyd. The Resolution calls on all states to take an active role in achieving racial justice, using all available human rights instruments to combat racism and discrimination.

Joy-Dee Davis Lake, the Alternative Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the OAS, stated that CIRDI was passed by the OAS General Assembly in a moment of international attention on the need to build upon the human rights protections enshrined in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

Together, said Davis Lake, the CERD and CIRDI “represent the most ambitious efforts to prohibit discrimination under international law, be it on the grounds of race, color, national or ethnic origin, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, language, religion, cultural identity, opinions of any kind, social origin, socio-economic states, level of education, refugee or migrant status, or disability.”

Paulo Roberto, Brazil’s National Secretary for Policies to Promote Racial Equality, celebrated his country’s ratification of the Convention and called on other states to do the same: “We ratified the Convention on May 13 of this year, which is also the date of the Áurea Law [which abolished slavery in Brazil], a great step forward for Brazilian society. The Convention is an instrument to fight racism and the cultural impacts of colonialism.”

Christopher Ballinas, General Director for Human Rights and Democracy at the Secretariat of Foreign Relations of Mexico, stated that “racism and discrimination is a theme of vital importance in our region because it allows us to integrate our multicultural societies, and also because failing to fight racism and discrimination in multicultural societies leads to hateful discourses and hate crimes.”

Ballinas explained that Mexico was motivated to ratify CIRDI by a hate crime committed in August 2019, when 23 people, including 9 Mexican nationals, were murdered in El Paso, Texas.

Commissioner Macaulay pointed out that CIRDI calls for the creation of an Inter-American Committee to Prevent and Eliminate Racism, Racial Discrimination, and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance, an independent body that will consist of one representative from each State Party and will monitor the State Parties’ commitments under the Convention.

“I strongly recommend that all Member States ratify and implement the Convention. The structural discrimination against Afro-descendants, indigenous peoples, and other groups demands a strong and serious commitment to combatting discrimination and all forms of intolerance in our hemisphere,” said Macaulay.

Gay McDougall of the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) emphasized that the entire international community has a responsibility to combat racism and racial discrimination, saying, “the killing of George Floyd created a new level of urgency to speed up our response.”

Sonia Guajajara, an indigenous leader who serves as the Executive Coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), celebrated Brazil’s ratification of CIRDI, but also denounced ongoing structural, institutional, and environmental racism in the country, challenging the audience to ask themselves, “racial harmony for who?” when considering these issues. Guajajara discussed the experiences of the Lucha por la vida (Fight for Life) protest movement, in which 6,000 people have assembled to oppose the Hito Temporal court decision that puts indigenous territories protected under Brazil’s Constitution at risk.

“In Brazil, there is a tendency to deny the existence of racism or only acknowledge it in cases of extreme hate crimes. Indigenous people have fought for respect for our ways of life around the world, and in the Americas it is no different. We have seen our leaders killed, our women raped, our territorial rights violated, and our young people dying of suicide,” she said.

Paola Yáñez, Regional Coordinator of the Network of Afro-Latina, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora Women, discussed the work of women’s organizations in the region to bring issues of racism to the foreground across the region, saying, “the adoption of the Convention is an important milestone for the Afro-descendant movement that will allow us to move forward in recognizing racism and the need to act against it across the region.”

According to Noelia Maciel, a member of the National Afro-Uruguayan Coordination, “It is important for all states to ratify this Convention because it represents the culmination of three decades of struggle against racism and racial discrimination, and it is necessary to integrate this into our national frameworks so that we can protect the rights of Afro-descendants, indigenous peoples, and other ethnic or racial minorities.”

Join us

More information about the campaign’s goals, strategies, and activities can be found at Cirdi2024.org. The website also includes more information about CIRDI and the region’s progress towards signing and ratifying it, along with the tools needed to advance this process. The website is available in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. The campaign will also be active on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

IACHR extends precautionary measures to Cuban activists Richard Adrián Zamora Brito and Irán Almaguer Labrada

Washington, D.C.; September 8, 2021.- At the request of the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has extended precautionary measures to the activists Richard Adrián Zamora Brito, a member of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR, in Spanish) and Irán Almaguer Labrada, a member of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL). The Commission made this decision after finding that both men face a serious and urgent risk of irreparable harm to their rights to life and personal integrity.

Richard Adrián Zamora Brito

In January and June 2021, the IACHR granted precautionary measures to four members of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration, finding that their lives and personal integrity were at risk due to their efforts to promote human rights. This risk has increased as a result of the repression of protest and activism after the protests of July 11, affecting additional members of CIR including Richard. Race and Equality therefore requested that the precautionary measures be extended to include him, to which the IACHR agreed on August 22 via Resolution 64/2021.

Richard Adrián Zamora Brito, who records and performs as “El Radikal,” is a musician, activist, and the coordinator of CIR’s activities in the province of Matanzas. In this role, he works to protect and promote human rights in his community. As a result of his work as both an activist and artist, he has suffered serious violations of his right to freedom of expression and faced government persecution on multiple occasions.

On July 11, Richard approached a protest taking place in Matanzas with the goal of documenting the events. That evening, he returned home without issues. Early the next morning, however, he was detained at his home by State Security and National Revolutionary Police (PNR) forces. Authorities told his wife that he would be taken to the Colón Municipal Police Station to be “investigated.”

On July 14, Richard’s family approached the Matanzas Criminal Processing Center to obtain information about where and why Richard was being held. The officials there informed them that once 96 hours had passed (the maximum time period allowed under Cuban law), the charges would be stated. This time elapsed on July 15, but no information was provided. His family requested a revision of his status, which was denied, and was also prevented from viewing his case files. The only information they were given was a verbal, unofficial remark that Richard was being charged with “public disorder” and “disturbance.” After being held incommunicado for more than 40 days, Richard was finally released on a 10,000 pesos (approximately US$500) bail on August 20.

Irán Almaguer Labrada

On January 7, 2021, the IACHR granted precautionary measures to Yandier García Labrada, who had been deprived of liberty since November 2020. Yandier and his brother Irán Almaguer Labrada are both members of the Christian Liberation Movement and, as a result of their activism, have faced persecution and harassment at the hands of Cuban authorities, putting their lives and personal integrity at risk.

Irán is MCL’s coordinator for the areas of Manatí, San Andrés, and Alfonso, where he leads activities for the defense and promotion of human rights. Irán suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, which requires regular treatment to prevent his losing his eyesight. State Security forces have used this condition against him, threatening him that if he continues his activism, they will arrange to have his healthcare cut off.

In addition to these threats, Irán has suffered intimidation, arbitrary detention, and harassment due to his affiliation with the MCL. This persecution has worsened since Yandier was detained and Irán took up action to demand justice for his brother. Since January of this year, Irán has suffered at least one short-term detention every month. While he is being held, he is prevented from contacting his family, which causes great suffering and distress for his wife and 14-year-old daughter.

Irán was most recently detained on July 21, in the context of the July 11 protests. Around 9:00 am, he was arrested in his home and brought to the El Anillo police station in Holguín, around 20 kilometers from his house. There, he was held incommunicado until being released on July 23. While being detained, he was held alone in a cell and interrogated twice. His interrogators told him that he would be imprisoned if he continued with his activism and warned him not to speak publicly about the economic or social situation in Cuba, telling him that he had been heard doing so in a bakery. They finally informed him that if he continued “inciting people,” he would be prosecuted.

Based on these facts, the IACHR decided to extend precautionary measures to Irán via Resolution 68/2021.

Race and Equality calls on the State of Cuba to implement these precautionary measures by guaranteeing Richard and Irán’s fundamental rights to life, personal integrity, liberty, security, and due process. We also join the IACHR in calling on Cuba to ensure that the two men can carry on their work as activists without suffering intimidation, persecution, or threats.

Join Our Efforts

Help empower individuals and communities to achieve structural changes in Latin America.

Donate Contact Us