Race and Equality condemns the Jacarezinho Massacre

Race and Equality condemns the Jacarezinho Massacre

Brasil, May 07 2021 – The International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality) condemns and rejects the excessive use of police force that resulted in the massacre of 25 people in the favela of Jacarezinho, in Rio de Janeiro, on May 6, 2021. Houses were raided, residents were assaulted, and airstrikes terrorized the entire community. This police operation marks the largest death toll that Rio de Janeiro has experienced. For all the human rights violated, we urge for the accountability of Governor Claudio Castro, along with the military police involved in the operation.

The city is tied to several massacres where its citizens are not protected. Historic massacres include: 1993, Vigário Geral (21 dead) and Candelária (8 dead); 2017, Alemão (19 dead) and, 2021 Jacarezinho (25 dead). Citizens were shot at a train and subway station; there is no security policy that can be explained by the crossfire and close-range shooting. There is no anti- drug policy that justifies the lethality of those who live in vulnerable situations. According to the Security Observatory Network (Rede Observatório de Segurança), in the first quarter of 2021 alone, there were 257 police operations, with 69 deaths in Rio de Janeiro. This tragic number of deaths was even after the trial of “ADPF Favelas.” Within this trial, the Supreme Court (STF) held a public hearing to discuss the ADPF, Allegation of Violation of a Fundamental Precept (Arguição de Descumprimento de Preceito Fundamental) Case No. 635, known as “ADPF Favelas.” The aim of the debate was to collect information that supports a plan to reduce police lethality in the state of Rio, including banning police operations during the pandemic.[1]

Race and Equality calls on the international community to demand justice in the face of the violence of a state whose death policy has executed youth and children living in the community. We emphasize to international human rights organizations that in Brazil, people whom the state considers as “suspects,” are those historically subjected to violence because of their race and class. Historical and structural racism play a role in the current security policy, with the black population suffering the most from police violence and representing the majority of the country’s prison population. We also remember that Governor Claudio Castro, in addition to failing to comply with the decision of the Supreme Court, caused the death of children. In Rio de Janeiro alone, from January to June last year, 99 children and adolescents were killed by police officers, 27% in the capital and 73% in other municipalities.

Read: The world needs to see what is happening in Brazil

We offer our solidarity to the entire community of Jacarezinho and to the families of the victims in the face of barbarism. A state that accounts for 45,000 deaths by COVID-19 while conducting a truculent police operation is the same as saying that it does not value the lives of its citizens. What lives really matter in the face of a policy of death? We remind you that to combat organized crime, we need strategy, intelligence, monitoring and coordinated actions. Violence cannot be combated with more violence! Carlos Quesada, Executive Director of Race and Equality, expresses his outrage and declares that the police action that took place today has several names: barbarism, massacre, slaughter– all directed to black, poor and favela bodies. We demand answers from the Public Ministry and the Justice Department about this operation where, once again, we are witnessing black youth genocide in Brazil!

[1] “Why the Supreme Court Suspends Police Operations in Favelas of Rio de Janeiro,” Conectas Human Rights (2020). Available here: https://www.conectas.org/en/news/understand-what-led-the-supreme-court-to-suspend-police-operations-in-rio-de-janeiros-favelas

Human Rights Absent from the Eighth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party

Washington, D.C.; April 27th, 2021.- The eighth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party, held from April 16th-19th, failed to discuss the country’s serious human rights problems or take action to address them. Independent Cuban civil society felt that the Congress was ‘more of the same,’ despite the government and official media’s efforts to declare it a success.

Since the Communist Party is the county’s highest authority, the Party Congress, held every five years, invariably gives rise to speculation about changes in the country’s direction. On the first day of this year’s Congress, President Miguel Díaz-Canel tweeted that “here we refine ideas, recognize the past, and discuss the future.”

At the international level, the most newsworthy element of this year’s Congress was the passing of the position of First Secretary of the Party from Raúl Castro to Miguel Díaz-Canel. For Cuban civil society, meanwhile, the Congress was yet another official forum that neglected the most basic issues plaguing the country: difficulty accessing basic goods, lack of access to medicine, the spread of COVID-19, violence against women, and restrictions on the freedoms of expression and association.

The Afro-Cuban leader and national coordinator of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR) Juan Antonio Madrazo told Race and Equality that “the Party Congress focused more on strengthening the ideological front, which has been showing cracks for some time now, than on addressing the immediate problems in society.” According to Madrazo, “the Party vanguard did not discuss how they will modernize social policy nor how they will use the social protection system to tackle poverty and inequality.”

The Congress also ignored Cuba’s human rights obligations and the structural failure of Cuban law to conform with international human rights law. When Cuba drafted its new Constitution in 2019, the original proposed text stated that “the rights and responsibilities established in this Constitution shall be interpreted in conformity with international human rights treaties ratified by Cuba.” This text was removed during the drafting process, however, and Article 8 of the ratified Constitution now states that the Constitution takes precedence over international treaties such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and others.

The struggle against racism

Activists and organizations fighting against racism and racial discrimination were concerned by the Congress’ failure to address these issues, especially considering that the government’s National Program Against Racism has had no tangible impact and that few Cubans even know of its existence. “Efforts against racism, homophobia, and gender-based violence were not included because the State considers these issues to be part of an ‘enemy agenda,’” said Madrazo.

CIR’s efforts to hold the National Program Against Racism accountable for its stated goals has brought persecution, attacks, and arbitrary detentions down on its members, as Race and Equality has denounced before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the United Nations. In January 2021, the IACHR granted precautionary measures to Madrazo, Marthadela Tamayo González, and Osvaldo Navarro Veloz because of these violations, and in March, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor called on the Government of Cuba to end the intimidation of CIR’s members.

“The Congress leaves a bitter taste in our mouths – it is clear that repression, ideological vigilance, and constant human rights violations will be the tools to maintain control over diversity,” reflected Madrazo.

Violence against women, repeatedly left off the agenda

President Díaz-Canel’s call to “discuss the future” rang hollow for activists working for a future free of violence against women, particularly those fighting for a proposed law to criminalize gender-based violence. Violence against women and girls was left off the agenda of the Congress.

As of April 23rd, 16 women have been murdered in Cuba this year. Violence is also inflicted constantly against women activists in the form of persecution, deprivation of liberty, and threats. In response, a coalition of women’s groups on the island is demanding a comprehensive law on gender-based violence, formally petitioning the National Assembly to take up the issue on November 21st, 2019.

María Matienzo, a Cuban writer, was unsurprised by the Congress’ failure to address the situation of women and other vulnerable groups, explaining to Race and Equality that the Congress’ purpose was strictly ideological. Although President Díaz-Canel issued a presidential order on April 8th (International Women’s Day) creating a National Program for the Advancement of Women, Matienzo explained that “this is merely an ideological response from the Party to the demands we have been making for two years.”

Marriage equality delayed again

Marriage equality, an urgent demand from Cuban civil society and a right that must be enshrined for Cuba to fulfill its international obligations, was also left off the agenda. The 2019 Constitution, in defining marriage as a union “between persons,” opened the doors to marriage equality, but the government ultimately capitulated to anti-LGBT sentiment and removed the legalization of non-heteronormative marriage from the text. The government promised to implement marriage equality through the referendum process of the upcoming Family Code, but a year and a half later, no progress has been made on this front.

COVID-19

The COVID-19 situation in Cuba is highly concerning, even as the possibility of mass vaccination approaches with the trials of two vaccines developed on the island. On April 26th, health authorities counted 23,056 patients in hospitals for COVID-19. Of these, 5,466 were confirmed cases; 3,302 were suspected cases; and 14,288 were “under observation.” The pandemic, however, did not appear on the Congress’ agenda.

Repression

While the Congress unfolded, a series of repressive actions against independent activists, journalists, and artists was also underway. Between April 19th and 25th, the civil society organization Cubalex counted 25 cases in which activists and journalists were prevented from leaving their homes by the police. Cubalex also registered at least 15 detentions, principally against members of the San Isidro Movement and the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU).

According to Maria Matienzo, “The Party Congress maintains the machinery of terror. We all have to ask ourselves what will be the next incident of repression, if we will be detained, disappeared for hours at a time, or given arbitrary and unjust prison sentences. Since the Congress was announced, there has been a rise in violence and hate speech.”

It is concerning and disheartening to observe the Communist Party, Cuba’s highest authority, failing to heed the Cuban people’s demands. Race and Equality calls on the Cuban government to prioritize public policies that will respond to unmet basic needs and to end its repression against activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and artists.

Race and Equality also expresses our particular concern at the elevation of Humberto López, host and director of the Cuban television program Hacemos Cuba (We Make Cuba), to membership in the Party’s Central Committee. Under his direction, Hacemos Cuba has launched countless vicious attacks against those who criticize the government and demand respect for human rights.

Race and Equality is committed to the belief that respect for human rights is a necessary base for all societies and the first step towards a dignified and prosperous life for all. We will continue to support independent Cuban civil society organizations in their struggle for human rights and their work to ensure that Cuba’s human rights obligations are enshrined in national politics and society.

Colombia: Race and Equality and Partner Organizations Present the First Report to the Truth Commission on the Impact of the Armed Conflict on the Afro-LGBT Population

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), the Corporación Caribe Afirmativo, Afrodescendiente por las Diversidades Sociales y Sexuales (Somos Identidad) Foundation, and the Arcoíris de Tumaco Foundation, with the support of the Canadian government, formally delivered to the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Reconciliation and Coexistence (CEV) the report, “They Told Us: You’re not just Black, but Maricas Too. Experiences and Impacts of the Armed Conflict on Afro-LGBT People in Southern Bolívar and the Colombian South Pacific.” The event took place virtually on March 30 and was broadcast live on the Truth Commission’s social networks and YouTube channel.

The report was motivated by the need to contribute to the recognition by the Truth Commission, state institutions and the greater society of the aggravated forms of violence, discrimination, and exclusion that Afro-LGBT people faced. Such violence, discrimination, and exclusion are due to the intersection of vulnerabilities associated with ethno-racial, sexual orientations and diverse gender identities, and conditions of socio-economic marginality in the midst of the Colombian armed conflict in Southern Bolívar and in the Colombian South Pacific.

The evented was attended by Carlos Quesada, Executive Director; Zuleika Rivera, LGBTI Program Officer; and Laura Poveda, LGBTI Consultant in Colombia. From partner organizations, Cindy Paola Hawkins, Lawyer of the Area of Peace and Armed Conflict of Caribe Afirmativo; Justo Arévalo, President of Arcoíris de Tumaco; Sandra Milena Arizabaleta, Legal Representative of the Somos Identidad Foundation, and Andrés Quiñonez, Lawyer of the Arcoíris de Tumaco Foundation.

Salomé Gómez Corrales, Coordinator of the Gender Working Group of the Truth Commission; Sonia Londoño, Director of Ethnic Peoples, Nikita Simonne, Gender Working Group Analyst all received the report for the CEV.

Carlos Quesada began the event by thanking the members for delivering this report, especially to the Afro-LGBT victims for their courage in coming out and sharing their stories. He highlighted the work that has been done with Race and Equality which serves as a bridge between victims, their life experiences and the transitional justice created by the Peace Agreement.

THE REPORT

The report is the end result of the three partner organizations and is focused on the work regions of each organization: Southern Bolívar, Cauca, Valle del Cauca, and Nariño. In the report the organizations focused on the period between 1998 and 2014, this allowed for the construction of a matrix of cases. The organizations monitored the media relating to the context of the armed conflict and the human rights situation of Afro-LGBT people.

Cindy Paola Hawkins, from Caribe Afirmativo, emphasized the importance of the Afro resistance process in the southern department of Bolívar. She noted the connection between the displacement of Afro-communities from Cartagena to the south and the State’s abandonment, the poverty and poor management of resources Afro-communities face, a situation that foments their victimization by armed groups.

Hawkins expressed, “This territorial context places peoples of African descent in conditions of vulnerability and precariousness, which were exacerbated and deepened in the context of the armed conflict, an environment that was also full of hostility to the LGBT people. Being Afro and lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, place victims at greater risk, vulnerability, marginality and exclusion when faced with the burden of racist, sexist, heteronormative and cisgender prejudices and imaginaries.” Hawkins specified how paramilitary groups and the National Liberation Army (ELN) used intimidation and violent strategies such as threats, sexual violence, forced displacement and femicide to persecute and attack Afro-LGBT people.

THE NEED FOR AN INTERSECTIONAL FOCUS

“You can’t conceive of a divided or fragmented identity, you inhabit the territory being Afro-LGBT as a whole,” said Laura Poveda, LGBTI Consultant for Race and Equality in Colombia, alluding to the importance of self-recognition in understanding people’s lives. Poveda stressed that the analysis of the intersection of multiple and simultaneous discriminations allows for the recognition of diversity in the territories. In addition, she expressed that it should be understood that victims have forged their identity in different ways.

Justo Arévalo, President of the Arcoíris de Tumaco, described the context in their region, and denounced the normalization of multiple forms of violence against the Afro-LGBT people in their territory. “Being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender and being black, adding coming from a rural region and in some cases disabled, poor, with or without little education in a territory without access to fundamental rights, historically forgotten, is a reality.” He pointed out that only now and after overcoming their fears, many people raised their voices and shared their testimony, but much remains to be said.

Sandra Milena Arizabaleta, from the Somos Identidad Foundation, made an analysis of the particularities of violence in her territory (Cauca and Valle del Cauca), emphasizing the importance of recognizing that all armed actors have violated the black community and that this violence, accompanied by constant State abandonment, has led these communities to displacement and eviction from their territories.

The lawyer from the Arcoíris de Tumaco Foundation, Andrés Quiñonez, articulated what should be the focus of the exercise of truth-seeking and non-recurrence of violations of the rights of Afro-LGBT victims. “The exercise should be aimed at the Colombian State and society recognizing prejudice and discrimination based on sexual orientation and diverse gender identity as the main pattern in which violations of the rights of Afro-LGBT victims are based.”

At the close of the event, the Truth Commission shared its impressions. Salomé Gómez, Coordinator of the Commission’s Working Group on Gender, highlighted the report’s contribution to the analysis of violence based on prejudice, as well as the importance of including an intersectional approach. Sonia Londoño, Director of Ethnic Peoples of the Commission said, “This work is fundamental for the Commission, because it allows us to fill the intersectional approach with content.” Nikita Simonne, Gender Working Group Analyst, closed the discussion with the following words, “To make invisible other expressions of body, gender and sexuality is in itself a colonial action,” and also made a call to understand that the effects of the conflict are systematic and systemic and seek to annihilate the different.

Race and Equality expresses its gratitude to the civil society organizations who prepared this report, as well as the Truth Commission for allotting the space to present the impact of the Colombian armed conflict on the Afro-LGBT population, in the hopes that this report will contribute to the clarification of the truth, and the search for justice and non-repetition of these human rights violations. In this regard, we reiterate the following recommendations:

  1. That the final report of the Truth Commission explicitly recognizes Afro-LGBT persons as victims of the armed conflict.
  2. Such recognition should investigate how prejudice and the invisibility of Afro-LGBT people exacerbated the consequences of the armed conflict, highlighting the differential impacts.
  3. That the Commission integrates specific recommendations in its final report for overcoming the invisibility of the Afro-LGBT population and for its due attention.
  4. That the Commission integrate an intersectional approach in the mechanisms for socializing the report and in the mechanisms established to follow up on its recommendations.

Call for Photography: “Portraying Diversity”

Washington D.C., April 16, 2021- The call for photography: “Portraying Diversity” is a regional initiative of the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality). This project is part of the commemoration of the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (May 17) and the International LGBTI+ Pride Day (June 28), with the aim of making visible the diverse identities in Latin American and the Caribbean, as well as demanding for the respect and guarantee of rights of the LGBTI+ population.

“Each year we commemorate these dates in order to create more visibility around people with diverse sexual orientation and gender identities, as well as make visible the situations they face in their respective countries. This year, among the commemorative actions that we have proposed, we include this call to portray the LGBTI population in an authentic and artistic way, and what better way than through photography and with the collaboration of people who support or identify with the cause,” explained Zuleika Rivera, Officer of the LGBTI Race and Equality Program.

Context

Latin America and the Caribbean is an adverse region for LGBTI+ people. The continent has record numbers of violence and murder against this community. According to the Map of the Murders of Transvestites and Transexuals in Brazil, a report published by the National Association of Transvestites and Transexuals (ANTRA), in Brazil alone, 175 trans people were killed in 2020, that is once every two days.

In the absence of laws to protect and promote their rights, LGBTI+ people, including diverse couples and families, suffer daily physical and verbal abuse, discrimination and exclusion. They also face serious difficulties in accessing basic rights and services such as health, education, housing and justice.

Call for entry

With the call for photography “Portrait Diversity” we hope to share a collaboration of photos by amateur or professional photographers from all Latin American and Caribbean countries, that through their work we help make visible the diversity and reality of the LGBTI+ community. The following are the terms of reference for this entry.

Call period: April 16 – May 21

Information to accompany the photograph:

  • Name or pseudonym of the author
  • Country
  • Photograph name (ideally two words)
  • Brief description of the photograph (where was it taken, who are the protagonists, and what does it reflect)

Format: JPEG. Minimum resolution of 1500 x 2000 pixels. Full color and/or BN. Only one photo per participant

Style: Free (artistic, journalistic or self-portrait photography)

Send: To the email (igualdad.comunicaciones2021@gmail.com) with the subject link “Call for photography: Portraying Diversity.”

The photographs will be shared through Race and Equality accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, as well as its website, along with the author’s credits and the information received about the photograph. This dissemination will begin on May 17 and end on June 28.

This entry of photography is completely open, so we invite you to share and participate to make visible the diversity in our region and together contribute to the construction of a more inclusive society for all people, without discrimination.

Cuba: activists demand an adequate response to the “silent pandemic” of gender-based violence

Washington, D.C., April 12, 2021.- On International Women’s Day 2021 (March 8th), the Cuban government published Presidential Decree 198/2021, which inaugurated the National Program for the Advancement of Women (known by its Spanish initials, PAM). According to the decree, the PAM “forms the cornerstone in the development of pro-women policies, while furthering the advancement and development of gender equality in Cuba and the institutionalization of this right.”

The decree comes as Cuban activists and civil organizations demand a law against gender-based violence in response to alarming levels of violence against women and girls on the island. So far in 2021, civil society organizations have documented 10 murders of women; civil society counted 32 women, including two girls, murdered in 2020.

Cuban women’s demands

On November 21, 2019, 40 women representing independent civil society submitted a petition to Cuba’s National Assembly requesting a law against gender-based violence, highlighting the following key points, among others:

  • Article 43 of Cuba’s new constitution (approved in 2019) requires the State to create institutional and legal mechanisms to protect women from gender-based violence.
  • The 2016 National Survey on Gender Equality found that partner violence is an issue for women across the country and that the majority of survivors do not seek justice or assistance from State institutions.
  • Cuba’s own National Report on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda (presented in 2019) officially recognized ‘femicides’ as an official category of documentation and analysis.

The National Assembly, however, sent a response to the presenters of the petition on January 10, 2020, informing them that a law against gender-based violence would not be included on the next legislative calendar, which includes all potential bills and laws until 2028.

A campaign for equality

Despite the Assembly’s refusal to consider the matter, activism to fight gender-based violence is vibrant throughout Cuba. Several organizations have pushed the issue forward through Twitter, Facebook, and other online channels. The increasing availability of internet and mobile data in Cuba has allowed these women and other Cuban activists to fight for their rights. Denunciations of sexist violence grow more and more visible, as do activists’ demands.

Cuban civil society organizations emphasize that in the Americas, only Cuba and Haiti lack laws criminalizing femicide. On International Women’s Day 2021, as the government published the decree creating the PAM, women’s organizations published their own manifesto, entitled “Gender-based Violence: The Silent Pandemic,” which documents the various forms of violence facing Cuban women on a daily basis.

“Understanding violence as a personal issue facing individuals puts women into a situation of subordination to men and takes for granted historically unequal power relations between men and women, legitimating the maintenance of men’s domination over women,” the manifesto reads. “This prevents women from denouncing the violence they face due to feelings of fear, shame, or guilt.”

The need for a comprehensive law

Gender-based violence is rooted in the gender inequalities facing women and people with feminine gender identities. These inequalities are imbedded in cultural and social structures, relegating all those who do not fit a male and heterosexual ideal to second-class status. Direct, symbolic, and structural violence are all inflicted upon women, manifesting as physical, verbal, and psychological attacks along with denial of opportunities. Sexism and misogyny also manifest in violence committed against women for reasons of gender, presenting a specific and differentiated threat of femicide.

The Cuban government must act swiftly to approve a comprehensive law addressing gender-based violence. Having signed and ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Cuba is bound to advance legislation promoting gender equality. A law that criminalizes gender-based violence and promotes women’s enjoyment of their rights is a necessary step towards fulfilling Cuba’s commitment under the Convention.

Various international mechanisms have already recommended the passage of such a law. The UN Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, which oversees the implementation of the Convention, expressed concern at the levels of violence against women in Cuba and recommended a law outlawing gender-based violence, acknowledging that gender-based violence against women represents a serious form of discrimination in society.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) also recommended the creation of a legal framework to address women’s rights violations in its last country report on Cuba, including legal standards on discrimination against women. The IACHR also called on Cuba to sign and ratify the Inter-American Convention to Prevent, Sanction, and Eliminate Violence Against Women, known as the Convention of Belem do Para.

Race and Equality urges Cuba to use the creation of the National Program for the Advancement of Women (PAM) as a first step towards the creation of a comprehensive law on gender-based violence. Full implementation of the PAM should include the creation of trustworthy, disaggregated statistics so that Cuban policy can respond to women’s diverse and intersectional needs. With both the COVID-19 pandemic and the ‘silent pandemic’ of violence against women raging across Cuba, such policies will save many women’s lives.

Cuba must also formally recognize and criminalize all forms of violence against women. The end of impunity for these violations is a critical step to advancing women’s well-being. The tireless work of activists in Cuba has made violence against women a pressing issue at the national and international level. Race and Equality is proud to join this campaign and call for the passage of the proposed Comprehensive Law Against Gender-Based Violence.

IACHR begins formal process to determine the State of Cuba’s responsibility for human rights violations against activists

Washington, D.C. – April 8, 2021.- The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has agreed to process a petition presented by the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality). In the petition, Race and Equality requested that the Commission find the State of Cuba responsible for human rights violations including arbitrary detention, unjust imprisonment, and torture against members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) between October 2019 and April 2020.

The petition lists José Daniel Ferrer García (UNPACU’s founder and leader), Fernando González Vaillant, Roilan Zarraga Ferrer, and José Pupo Chaveco as victims, documenting that the four men were detained without an arrest warrant on October 1st, 2019, in violation of both Cuban law and Cuba’s international human rights commitments.[1]

Race and Equality has requested that the IACHR declare the State of Cuba responsible for violations of the men’s rights to freedom, security, personal integrity, freedom of expression, protection of personal reputation and honor, familial protection, health, protection from arbitrary detention, and due process, all of which are guaranteed in the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man. Race and Equality also requested that the IACHR officially establish a legal category of “political prisoner” to characterize the four victim’s situations. The Commission transmitted the petition to the State of Cuba, requesting the State’s observations and response within a period of three months (beginning March 15th of this year).

With the petition now in processing, the Commission will receive arguments from both Race and Equality and the State regarding the admissibility of the case under the Commission’s rules of procedure. Should the case be found admissible, the Commission will investigate the facts of the case to determine whether the State is responsible for human rights violations and, if so, what recommendations will be given to the State to ensure justice.

Continuous violence against UNPACU

After being detained on October 1st, 2019, the four UNPACU members were placed in pre-trial detention, where they suffered inhumane prison conditions for six months and two days before being released to parole or house arrest on April 3rd, 2020. During their time in prison, they experienced cruel treatment, were often prevented from communicating with the outside world, and suffered violations of their personal integrity.

These violations are only some examples of the constant repression that UNPACU suffers at the hands of the Cuban government, which works ceaselessly to prevent the organization from carrying out its mission of defending human rights and promoting democracy.

Led by José Daniel Ferrer, dozens of UNPACU members have been on hunger strike since March 20th to protest a police cordon that has surrounded UNPACU’s offices for over three weeks. During this standoff, police have arbitrarily arrested several UNPACU members and members of Ferrer’s family.

On April 7th, the Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) announced that the organization is on “high alert” regarding the health and well-being of the hunger strikers. The OAS also condemned the Cuban government for carrying its repression of UNPACU to such extremes. IACHR Commissioner Stuardo Ralón, the Commission’s Rapporteur on Cuba, also expressed his solidarity with the strikers, calling on the State to comply with its human rights obligations and avoid “risking the life and integrity of the people, who are already suffering a visible physical deterioration.”

Race and Equality calls on the Cuban government to end its repression of UNPACU and its members and to heed the demands of independent civil society as it calls for democracy and respect for human rights in Cuba.

[1] Race and Equality included José Pupo Chaveco as one of the victims in the original petition submitted in 2020. Since then, Mr. Chaveco has left UNPACU and is no longer in communication with the organization or with Race and Equality. He is no longer represented by Race and Equality.

Cuba: The International Community Must Demand Accountability from the Cuban Government For Its Actions and to Immediately Stop Unlawful Short-term Arbitrary Detentions, House Arrests, Forced Exile, and Smear Campaigns against Dissenting Voices

In response to the aggressive acts committed by police officers in recent weeks against Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) activists on hunger strike; the beatings and arrests of members of the San Isidro Movement; the forced exile imposed on Cuban citizens, making them stateless; permanent house arrests; and smear campaigns against journalists, artists, and dissidents, the undersigned 7 organizations issue the following statement:

“We are deeply concerned about the ongoing pattern of repression against critical voices which are freely expressing themselves over the current status quo in the country. We call on the international community to urgently focus on Cuba. International organizations, the foreign press, democratic governments, and embassies present in Havana must rigorously monitor systemic human rights violations, provide assistance to human rights defenders who suffer abuse, and demand a reliable response from the Cuban government. There is an urgent need for solidarity for the victims and a common international position against the abuses perpetrated by Cuban State Security. These acts cannot be normalized in the eyes of global public opinion.

The Cuban government must immediately act with accountability and end the police siege and physical attacks directed against UNPACU members, who in response have been on hunger strike for more than 20 days. The beatings against members of the San Isidro Movement and the short-term arrests carried out by civilian officers against these and other artists, journalists, and dissidents must end. It is unacceptable that the Cuban government has converted the activists’ homes into permanent prisons, and that it continues to intimidate its emigrants with the condemnation of statelessness. The media manipulation campaigns deployed by official press outlets, which constitutes incitement to hatred and violence against those who disagree with the political system, must be urgently denounced.”

Background

On March 20th, after years spent seeking an international response to serious human rights violations, UNPACU leader José Daniel Ferrer[1] and nearly 50 of its members began a hunger strike as a final plea for Cuban State Security to end a siege against the organization.  Despite the delicate physical and mental state of the 31 activists who were 15 days into their strike, mobs organized by the Cuban authorities stoned Ferrer and his wife, Nelva Ortega Tamayo, on April 3rd. The authorities also cut internet and telecommunications access and have even detained the children of those who remained on strike. As the country faces an ever-mounting economic and humanitarian crisis, UNPACU has become a staple in the community, providing basic hard-to-find food and medicine.

During the first quarter of 2021, the wave of repression also impacted members of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), a group of artists who launched their own hunger strike in November 2020 and who have been outspoken against restrictions to their freedom of expression. In recent months, the state security has used tactics that have essentially transformed activists’ homes into makeshift prisons, preventing the occupants from leaving. Short-term arbitrary detentions, involving physical violence and mental abuse, have been disproportionately used as a tactic to silence dissent. Luis Manuel Otero and Maykel Obsorbo, two of the primary targets, have frequently returned home with bruises, cuts, and torn clothing.

We have also witnessed a spate of arrests and detentions, that last no more than a few hours, carried out by undercover officers who do not inform their victims or document their actions in official records. On April 5th, activists and journalists Luis Manuel Otero, Hector Luis Valdés, Esteban Rodríguez, María Matienzo, Kirenia Yailit, and Manuel Cruz were detained in Havana. In Camagüey, Bárbaro de Céspedes remained unaccounted for several days, after being arrested at the door of a church. He had been carrying a wooden cross bearing the inscription “61 years of communism” as a symbol of protest.

In another instance where the Cuban government has backtracked on its human rights commitments, journalist Karla Pérez González was prohibited from entering the country on March 18th. Upon graduating from the University of Costa Rica, Pérez González had legally requested and received the documentation needed to return home to Cuba. However, upon landing at her connecting airport in Panama, state officials informed airline representatives that she was banned from entering Cuba. Pérez González was forced to return to Costa Rica, where she finally received political refuge. The Cuban government continues to intimidate its emigrants by threatening to prohibit their return home if they speak out against government policies while abroad.

In addition to the aforementioned events, the government has renewed its media-defamation strategy, which is deployed by the state-run media against independent artists, journalists, and activists. This mechanism seeks to curb critical voices and intimidate victims and their families, while also condemning international support for domestic civil society voices, which are labeled “mercenaries” or “enemies of the homeland.”

At the international level, Cuba has not ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, nor the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Furthermore, the Cuban government has not extended an invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which visits political prisoners, has not been able to enter Cuba since 1989. Cuba is also the only country in the Americas that Amnesty International has not been able to visit since 1990, and it is the only country with a closed civic space in the Americas according to the CIVICUS Monitor, an online platform that records civic rights violations globally. Lastly, in the newly released 2021 edition of Freedom House’s Freedom in the World report, Cuba was rated Not Free, earning 13 out of 100 possible points—the lowest score in Latin America.

List of signatories:

CADAL

CIVICUS

Civil Rights Defenders

Freedom House

People in Need

Race and Equality

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

[1] Ferrer is one of the most prominent opposition leaders on the island. He suffered an arduous period in Cuban prisons in 2019. Amnesty International also previously recognized Ferrer as a prisoner of conscience while he was incarcerated from 2003 to 2011, when he was a victim of a wave of government repression against dissidents known as the “Black Spring”; 75 people were sentenced to long prison terms under Law 88: The Protection of National Independence and the Economy of Cuba.

Public Hearing on Political Violence in Brazil: Black Parliamentarians (cis and trans) urge the IACHR for Protection and Denounce the Negligence of the Brazilian State

Brazil, april 06, 2021 – In a hearing exclusively dedicated to denouncing the absence of political rights in Brazil, black councilors (cis and trans) and civil society organizations presented before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The presentation consisted of the current scene of violations of civil and political rights that afflict the security of several parliamentarians in the country. The hearing took place on March 23, in the context of the 179th calendar of virtual hearings of the IACHR, it was filed by the organizations: The National Association of Travestis and Transexuals of Brazil (ANTRA); Criola; Terra de Direitos; Marielle Franco Institute; Justiça Global, Rede Nacional de Negras e Negros LGBT, and The Institute of Race and Equality.

The following participated in the hearing: Erika Hilton (PSOL/SP); Ana Lúcia Martins (PT/SC) and Carolina Iara (PSOL/SP); representatives of civil society organizations included: Anielle Franco, Executive Director of the Marielle Franco Institute; and Bruna Benevides, Secretary of Political Articulation at ANTRA. Despite the discriminatory historical context that structures the Brazilian political scene, progress in relation to identity, anti-racist and anti-LGBTIphobic issues promoted the growth of parliamentary representation in the country’s legislative houses, provoking the existing system of hierarchical powers. However, the reactions of conservatives in political and social sectors, based on a culture of hatred, further foment the phenomenon of political and electoral violence in the country.

Given this framework of systemic persecution, Anielle Franco opened the debate denouncing how political violence is used as a tool to deprive black and trans women from exercising their political rights, which as a result prevents discussions on gender, race, and sexuality inequalities from taking place in political and institutional spaces. Moreover, Anielle exposed data on political violence during the 2020 elections, one of the most violent elections in recent years, which proves the escalation of political tension against black and trans parliamentarians in the country.

According to a survey by the Marielle Franco Institute [1], 98.5% of black candidates reported having suffered at least one type of political violence. The main violence was virtual, representing 80% of the total attacks suffered. In addition, only 32% of the candidates denounced the experiences they suffered, and among the reasons for not making the complaint public is the fact that they do not feel safe or are afraid to report the violence. In addition to not having support from the political party nor the police, among those who condemned the attacks, 70% said that it did not bring more security,

“There is an urgent need to promote mechanisms to tackle all forms of violence against black, transgender and travestis women, and to reorient existing policies in Brazil that today are still insufficient to guarantee their protection and their political rights,” Anielle concluded.

Parliamentary member, Ana Lúcia Martins, reported that sought protection through legal means, in addition to denouncing the threats on social network platforms, she did not receive any assistance or security from the state nor from her party. She had to bear the costs for her defense. Faced with negligence from the institutions, Ana Lúcia reported that almost nothing happened regarding the investigation of death threats and racist violations suffered. She continues to be a victim of political violence on social networks with messages that incite hatred and intolerance.

Ana Lúcia spoke before the IACHR, “We know that the State’s omission has an origin, the same that ignores the daily death of the black population of this country, whether by urban violence, lack of public policies to eliminate inequalities, racism that structure these inequalities, or by the hands of the State itself (…) Anielle Franco’s question has not yet been answered: Who guarantees the safety of black women elected?”

 Co-councilwoman Carolina Iara, who suffered an attack in her home in January of this year, was direct in her questioning: “What is the connection between these threats towards trans parliamentarians and to the 175 trans women and travestis murdered in Brazil in 2020? What is the connection between Brazil’s high number of deaths of human rights defenders and the threats we are suffering? Who’s going to restore the trauma I have now? What kind of country is this where in addition to being silent, the president, in numerous statements, encourages LGBTIphobia?”

Alluding to the memory of Marielle Franco, Carolina pointed out that she will not be a martyr of this systemic violence that finds black and trans bodies in a necropolitical framework, further trivializing death in the country. Thus, she reiterated that the Brazilian State has an obligation to ensure that all black and trans leaders live safely to take part in politics. Additionally, the responsibility of their security cannot be exclusively left to civil society or the party.

In her speech, Councilwoman Erika Hilton denounced the persecution of human rights defenders and the women elected as an attempt at silence. As councilwoman she recalled a threatening experience of an attempted break-in to her office, as well as the university where she studied the walls were vandalized, “with spray-painted expressions: woman, black, elected, dead. I started my mandate having to prosecute more than 50 people for racist and transphobic attacks. How can I carry out political functions without being guaranteed physical integrity?” she questioned.

With the task of reporting the recommendations to the IACHR, Bruna Benevides further exposed the situation of political violence, especially the negligence of the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights, which made no statement, action or mobilization around political violence against cis and trans black women. As an example, Bruna cited the bill [2] that aims to protect victims of political violence, but through the transphobic movement of parliamentarians aligned with the fallacious narrative of “gender ideology,” it prevented the extension of protection to trans and travestis parliamentarians.

Bruna reported, “We have also observed several attempts to institutionalize transphobia by assigning biological criteria for access to and guarantee of fundamental rights, denying the right to the recognition of self-declaration and gender identity of trans people in various projects at the federal, state and municipal level. This disregard is corroborated by the negligence and omission of the State in recognizing these political acts of violence, especially against those who do not make up the government base and who are the most affected by political violence.”

Brazilian State representatives sought to escape the complaints with insufficient responses to the demands requested during the hearing, reaffirming a negationist position in relation to racial, transphobic, and political violence that harm political rights and the lives of parliamentarians. Through evasive arguments, representatives avoided and minimized the phenomenon of political violence in the country, attributing the facts to a world context.

In reference to the complaints, the IACHR Commissioners requested explanations from the State. Margarette May Macaulay, Rapporteur on the Rights of People of African Descent and against Racial Discrimination and Rapporteur on the Rights of Women, argued how the Brazilian State monitors cases of violence in the country, moreover she criticized the implementation in law of the Inter-American Convention against Racism, which was already approved by the Federal Senate.

In addition, Joel Hernández, Rapporteur for Brazil, concluded the hearing by emphasizing the importance of advancing women’s political rights and highlighting the State’s rejection in hearing allegations concerning political violence. In addition, Hernández stressed the necessity in observing the ways that virtual harassment operates in order to understand the exercise of political rights in Brazil.

In accordance with complaints cited during the hearing and aimed at guaranteeing the rights and protection of women who are part of the political body of the country, the following recommendations were delivered to the IACHR:

  • Instigate the Brazilian State to be in development with the legislative chambers, as well as in dialogue with the city council members and organs of the justice system. Create mechanisms for referrals and prompt treatment of allegations of political violence against black women- cis and trans/travestis, ensuring identification and accountability of perpetrators of violence and providing psychological support to victims, their advisors and family members;
  • Urge the Brazilian State to promote coordinated and integrated actions with specialized cyber-crime investigation police departments to hold perpetrators accountable and inhibit the use of online tools and platforms for attacks of political violence, in particular when driven by mass and deliberately sponsored professional structures;
  • Prompt the Brazilian State to guarantee the training of judiciary members, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, the Law Office, and the civil and federal police to increase their awareness of political violence against black women, trans and travestis, racial and gender discrimination, hate speech, and create anti-racist legislation, victims’ rights, redress measures, among other topics;
  • Promote public hearings, debates and inter-sectoral discussions between public bodies and society on the impacts of political violence motivated by transphobia and issues related to the trans population;
  • Urge the Brazilian State to advance in its adoption of specific legislation on political violence against women with actions that include preventing, restraining and punishing this type of violence, with a specific look at black women, travestis and transexual peoples;
  • Carry out political tasks by listening to social movements and local civil society organizations to learn more about the current context of violations of the rights of black women, transexuals and travestis who are candidates and elected human rights defenders, with worsening situations of conflict. As well as present the perspectives of international standards that can contribute to the improvement of national protection policies;
  • Place pressure on the Brazilian State to expand the structure and budget of the program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders under the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights, and the inclusion of candidates and parliamentarians in this program, in order to ensure the protection of human rights defenders and their free exercise of political rights;

 

Missed the public hearing? Watch the full video here: youtu.be/Uu-U3OIoh2I

[1] https://www.violenciapolitica.org/

[2]https://g1.globo.com/politica/noticia/2020/12/10/camara-aprova-lei-com-medidas-de-combate-a-violencia-politica-contra-mulheres.ghtml

The world needs to see what is happening in Brazil

After one year of a pandemic, Brazil is experiencing the worse moment of its democratic history with a crisis that is spreading to all spheres of power. On one hand, the health and economic sectors find themselves in a state of disaster, aggravated by uncertainty and government abandonment and gravely affecting the black community, women, LGBTI+ persons, indigenous people, and quilombolas. On the other hand, there is a political crisis orchestrated by the current government, which through the dissemination of false information, has found in the COVID-19 pandemic a strategic opportunity to increase its power through institutional means. Along with more than 322,000 lives lost, government ministries are succumbing to an authoritarian increase of orders and counter-orders from the Bolsonaro government, culminating in a wave of poverty and unprecedented violence.

The world needs to look at what is happening in Brazil. Latin America must look at what is happening in Brazil. This editorial letter is a call for help from the International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality) for the international community to take a look at Brazil and to hear that, while world leaders are planning how to end the pandemic in order to rebuild their countries, President Bolsonaro in Brazil has turned his population into a guinea pig and has made them hostage to a project to spread the virus in view of pursuing his own interests camouflaged in the salvationist rhetoric of “economic recovery”. What Bolsonaro did not include in his policy of death is that the political polarization aroused by his ruling base could collide with his plans for power. Since wherever there are extreme crises, there are human rights violations, we describe below some events caused by Bolsonaro’s governance and the tragedies affecting the country in an unprecedented manner.

Health crisis and pandemic – During the month of March 2021, the country for five consecutive days recorded a record high average of COVID-19 deaths reaching 3,950 deaths in 24 hours on the last day of the month. Even with a free public healthcare system that is a world reference, the hospital system collapsed due to presidential vetoes on protective measures which resulted in the absence of basic hospital and respiratory kits. Furthermore, government negligence concerning the pandemic continued on in the form of failed social distancing measures, encouraging mass gatherings, spreading of the virus in indigenous villages and quilombo, and encouraging the use medications without proven efficacy. Due to the absence of an effective vaccination plan, the country did not join the international pact against COVID-19 encouraged by the World Health Organization (WHO), remaining more and more isolated from the rest of the world. It must be remembered that the health crisis is the tip of the iceberg for generalized political instability.

Political and ministerial crisis – During the pandemic alone, the Bolsonaro government welcomed four different Health ministers: Luiz Henrique Mandetta, Nelson Teich, Eduardo Pazuello e, o atual, Marcelo Queiroga. Even those most in line with proposals from the ruling faction did not succeed making progress with the pandemic and, in the midst of constant conflict with a lack of public policy and a framework for a vaccination plan, all of them were criticized for their submission to the President and for lacking autonomy in the exercise of their duties. The current crisis leads Bolsonaro to having to negotiate with political parties in the center over positions important to the country’s public life so that his political plan is prioritized, leaving aside the social policies necessary for recovering from the social crisis that has exponentially struck the most vulnerable populations such as black and Indigenous people and quilombo residents.

Crisis in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Last week, the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs resigned after intense political pressure from the National Congress and from his own ministry. Ernesto Araujo’s management is seen as a tragic period of Brazilian diplomacy. In the UN he was responsible for Brazil’s veto of the term “gender” in resolutions and for stances contrary to sexual education, which was seen as confrontational with women and the trans community. Moreover, Araujo accused the coronavirus of being an ideological virus that was working for the construction of a “communist nightmare” through encouraging countries to transfer their power to the World Health Organization. His conflictual attitude was accused of delaying Brazil’s purchase of vaccines and of not having established a diplomatic relationship with countries that could be important partners at a time when the pandemic is worsening in Brazil and when there is a shortage of vaccines and raw materials.

Military crisis and allusion to the dictatorship – In recent days, the Brazilian population has been gripped by a profound feeling of political uncertainty upon encountering a true military crisis characterized by a meeting of the Armed Forces. For the first time in the history of the country, the three chiefs of the Armed Forces tendered their resignations due to disagreements with the President of the Republic. According to experts, Bolsonaro was pressuring the Armed Forces to engage in political defense of the government and in support of measures against social distancing – a flagrant attempt at turning the Armed Forces into his personal institutions in order to defend his interests, demonstrating a crisis that generated collective fear for the country’s political future. This episode occurred the same week that marks the 57th anniversary of the beginning of the military dictatorship of business in Brazil, which was a bloody, antidemocratic period in which there were at least 434 people killed or disappeared and in which triumphed censorship, the repeal of civil rights, and the serious violation of human rights. Fifty-seven years later, the Ministry of Defense emphasized that the military regime period is a part of the trajectory of Brazilian history and should be celebrated. This attitude as well as Bolsonaro’s attempts to incite the Armed Forces to his defense should be rejected as harmful to process of redemocratizing Brazil.

Political violence – The 2020 electoral process was recorded as one of the most violent in recent years. It is not by accident that we organized together with other Brazilian black organizations and state council members (cis and trans) a thematic hearing at the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IACHR) to report the worsening of political violence against these organizations and to demand their lives be protected. Victims of physical threats and/or online attacks, these State Council members  faced daily racist and transphobic hate speech without being afforded government protection. Uncoincidentally, 2020 was also marked by a considerable increase in the murder of trans people with 175 murders – 41.12% more than in 2019. The Brazilian government’s failure to act in the face of political and electoral violence directed at these groups exposes the fragility of Brazilian democracy, which due to the impunity of crimes spanning gender and racial violence, deprives black and trans women from exercising their political rights, threatening democracy in Brazil and covering up intersectional debate in institutions of power. Thus, the silencing of these women is reinforced in spheres of power.

Economic crisis: impoverishment of the population and unemployment – Brazil was removed from the UN Hunger Map in 2014. Nevertheless, due to the crisis’ exponential growth in the country, the estimate for the end of 2020 was that 14.7 million people or 7% of the population fell into extreme poverty because of the pandemic. The Brazilian population is living through a moment of extreme poverty due to the political and economic crisis that, because of disinterest in political coordination, deprives the population of assistance and fails to provide the means necessary for social distancing protocols to be respected through financial subsidies. Emergency assistance, which was around $600 Brazilian reals in the beginning of the pandemic, has not run out solely due to the fight led by civil society. Even so, after a significant decrease in 2021, the assistance now varies from $150 to $375 reals – an amount that does not take into account the price spike of basic staples and the minimum wage, much less the cost of gas cylinders which serves as the nutritional basis for thousands of families in the country. Even the financial speculation fostered by the Bolsonaro government, which spans from damaging large state corporations aiming for privatization to abandoning large multinational businesses in the country, is facing a permanent rollercoaster with the President’s changes in important offices in the land. The high unemployment rate witnessed a leap from 45% to 53% during the pandemic, causing latent growth of informal jobs without any guarantee of  rights and protections for workers who are primarily black. Analyzing the economic crisis in Brazil is to directly look at the country’s historical racial problems.

Police violence – Despite the decision of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to suspend police raids in communities of Rio de Janeiro unless absolutely necessary while the state of disaster stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic is in effect, this is not the reality in Rio’s favelas according to the judgement of Claim 635 Violation of a Fundamental Principle (ADPF) since police violence in these areas still remains. Additionally, during the first two months of 2021, were reported nine massacres in police operations in the state. For this reason, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rio de Janeiro along with human rights defense entities petitioned that the STF speak up concerning the continuation of those police actions. It must be highlighted that such instability affects the pace of vaccination, which has had to be interrupted in the favelas because of shootouts. In Rio de Janeiro alone, from January to June 2020, 99 children and adolescents were killed by police, 27% in the capital and 73% in other municipalities. The report “The Color of Violence: the Bullet Does Not Miss its Target”, written by the Rede de Observatórios da Segurança (Network of Security Observatories), points to the data on racist violence in 2019. In Bahia, a state with a mostly black population, 97% of people murdered by police were black. In Rio de Janeiro, which has 51% of the black population, 86% of people killed by police were black people, the highest number in decades.

Environmental crisis – Even in his speech at the opening session of the 75th UN General Assembly, President Bolsonaro spread fake news about the government’s stance on the loosening of environmental guidelines during the pandemic. As a consequence, the Indigenous population and residents of quilombos suffer the most from deforestation and land-grabbing, in addition to the spread of the virus in their communities. Beyond not fulfilling any signed environmental agreement, the country will have to redo its climate goals in order to meet the Paris Agreement. If the Bolsonaro government does indeed have any environmental policy, it is compromised by political parties that seek to exploit protected natural reserves just as environment minister, Ricardo Salles, pointed out during a ministerial meeting when referring to “pushing through” simplifications of environmental rules and norms. Nevertheless, in 2020, between the deaths of various Indigenous leaders and human rights defenders in the fight against the pandemic and for the forest, an enormous increase was recorded in the deforestation of the Amazonian forest.

As part of Race and Equality’s commitment to the fight for human rights and racial and gender equity from an intersectional perspective, this editorial is more than a report before the international community on what is happening in Brazil. It is also a call for international actors who defend human rights to exhort the Brazilian State in its federal, state, and municipal jurisdictions to adopt distinct public policies that meet the specificities of black and Indigenous populations that are the most affected by hunger, poverty, and the domino effect of neglect, which is the political project that has become the pandemic in the country. It is also crucial that the racial problem be recognized as an aggravating factor of the inequalities that finds in policies and meritocratic projects, beyond the State’s failure to address police violence, the violent death and mass incarceration of the country’s black population. Furthermore, the government should adopt the WHO protocols to tackle the pandemic and, finally, it should urge the Armed Forces to respect the country’s civil and democratic order.

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: Americas Regional Forum on Conflict prevention and the protection of the human rights of minorities

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

Contextualisation

There is a broad global consensus that addressing inequalities and making institutions more inclusive are central to addressing the root causes of conflicts. Most conflicts are characterized by the insufficient inclusion of minorities, and, in the specific context of the Americas, indigenous peoples. Given that this is often coupled with disregard for their identities and grievances, as well as with a denial of their human rights, the main challenge now is to better understand what this means in practice.

Since 2010, the number of major violent conflicts has tripled globally, and much of the increase is in the rise of intrastate conflicts, usually involving minorities. “There are now more violent conflicts globally than at any time in the past 30 years, and the world is also facing the largest forced displacement crisis ever recorded”1.

Peace, stability and justice – in other words preventing violent conflicts – require addressing the core grievances of minorities associated with their exclusion, discriminatory practices in matters of participation in public life and other areas, accommodating their cultures, religions or beliefs, and languages, as well as other breaches of their human rights of significance to protect their existence and identities. The exclusion of and discrimination against minorities rather than ensuring their inclusion and protection in society through the implementation of their human rights, are the main root-causes of most contemporary conflicts.

Preventing conflicts requires addressing these failures in implementation. Guaranteeing the protection of the human rights of minorities, and those of indigenous peoples where they also constitute minorities, and ensuring their implementation before grievances have the chance to fester increases the chances that a conflict might not occur. These are the pathways to respect the dignity and equality of all persons to achieve justice, peace and stability as foreseen in the Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and emergence of the international human rights system after the Second World War. The pathways for peace and conflict prevention are therefore to be found in the proper understanding and implementation of the human rights of minorities.

The full concept note for the 2021 Regional Forums is available here.

Objectives

The main purpose of the Americas Regional Forum on “Conflict prevention and the protection of the human rights of minorities” is to provide regional insights, which will feed into the thematic work of the Special Rapporteur for his report to the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council in March 2022. Furthermore, discussions will inform the work and recommendations of the 14th session of the Forum on Minority Issues, which will take place in Geneva in December 2021.

Specific objectives include:

  1. Develop mutual understanding about the role of the protection of the human rights of minorities in preventing conflicts.
  2. Discuss legal, institutional and policy challenges to the recognition and implementation of the human rights of minorities to address long-standing grievances that may lead to tensions and possible conflicts.
  3. Identify why the root-causes of most conflicts, the denial of the human rights of minorities and their aspirations, are seldom acknowledged or addressed.
  4. Strengthen partnerships among various stakeholders and build capacity to address the root-causes of contemporary conflicts and more effectively prevent conflicts.

Date and Venue

Date: 27th – 28th April 2021

Online Meeting

Participation

The Americas Regional Forum shall be open to the participation of states; intergovernmental organizations including United Nations agencies and mechanisms; national human rights institutions and other relevant national bodies; academics and experts on minority issues; representatives of minorities as well as civil society organizations specializing in minority issues.

Participation is open to individuals involved in minority issues in the Americas region (see list of eligible countries here), and with a clear focus and expertise on conflict prevention and minorities.

All individual participants must register online here. Registration will close at 11pm CEST, Wednesday 21st April 2021.

Participants are encouraged to submit any proposed recommendations in advance of the Americas Regional Forum to regionalforum@tomlantosinstitute.hu. In the event that proposed recommendations are written in French, Portuguese or Spanish, the organizers ask that these be submitted by Friday 23rd April, so that they can be translated. All written recommendations submitted in writing are collated and considered as part of the final set of recommendations developed during the regional forum.

The Americas Regional Forum will be a virtual event.

The Government of Mexico has graciously accepted acting as host for the regional forum.

Further details for joining the meeting will be sent following confirmation of registration, a few days before the event.

Areas of Discussion

In light of the main objectives of the regional forums, the discussions will address the following overarching themes. These will be informed by the framework of international human rights law and standards:

  1. Substantive root causes of contemporary conflicts involving minorities
  2. Normative framework: the human rights of minorities and conflict prevention
  3. Obstacles to implementing the rights of minorities and early effective conflict prevention
  4. Ways forward towards addressing gaps in human rights mechanisms to protect minorities and prevent conflicts

The importance of including gender perspectives in conflict prevention activities has been increasingly recognized in recent years. Therefore, discussions will take into account gender and the role of women in relation to conflict, and sexual orientation and gender identity as well as their specific intersection with minorities.

In addition to the four thematic panels, the regional forum will also include a high-level state panel consisting of several state presentations. This will highlight the positive experiences and lessons learnt by states that have been involved in conflict prevention activities, deepening the understanding about the role of the protection of the human rights of minorities in preventing conflicts.

Outputs

Based on the discussions and the contributions of the participants, the main output produced from the Americas Regional Forum will be a document with practical recommendations reflective of regional contexts and challenges.

Working language of the forum is English. Interpretation will be provided in French, Portuguese, Spanish and Mexican sign language.

1 UNHCR, Global Trends,13

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