High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet calls on the government of Nicaragua to cooperate with international human rights mechanisms and to guarantee free, fair, and transparent elections

High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet calls on the government of Nicaragua to cooperate with international human rights mechanisms and to guarantee free, fair, and transparent elections

Washington, D.C.; February 25th, 2021.- The socio-political crisis that has gripped Nicaragua since April 2018 has been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and by the effects of Hurricanes Eta and Iota, reported UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. Bachelet delivered these remarks during the 46th period of sessions of the UN Human Rights Council, where she presented her report on the situation in Nicaragua. Her report was met with approval by many diplomatic missions and international human rights organizations that participated in a public discussion after the presentation.

“As the elections scheduled for November 2021 draw closer, the rule of law continues to deteriorate in Nicaragua. The adoption of several laws contrary to the freedoms of association, expression, political participation, and the right to due process demonstrate the continual closing of civic and democratic space,” stated Bachelet, whose report covered the period from August 2019 through December 2020.

According to the report, the Office of the High Commissioner documented 117 cases of harassment, intimidation, and threats by police or pro-government groups against students, rural communities, political activists, human rights defenders, women’s groups, and organizations of the victims of rights violations. The report also documented “34 cases of intimidation, threats, criminalization, and smear campaigns against journalists and media outlets perceived as loyal to the political opposition.”

High Commissioner Bachelet emphasized that arbitrary detentions, most of them short-term, persist and called attention to the situation of political prisoners. According to the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua, 111 people remain imprisoned for their political beliefs as of February 2021. Bachelet also highlighted that indigenous communities on the Atlantic coast continue to suffer land invasions and violent attacks in addition to the devastation of the two hurricanes. Furthermore, the report found that femicides and underage pregnancy rates have risen.

Human rights violations and impunity

“Impunity has persisted for human rights violations committed during the 2018 protests,” the report states, emphasizing that recommendations previously issued to Nicaragua in the High Commissioner’s reports and in the Bulletin of the Regional Office of the High Commissioner have not been implemented.

“Incorporating a focus on human rights and on participation by the most vulnerable people will contribute significantly to a resolution of the current crisis and to the post-disaster reconstruction efforts. Again, I call on the government to allow my Office access to the country to monitor human rights during the electoral process and provide technical assistance to ensure the exercise of human rights. Electoral reforms must be adopted to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections,” concluded Bachelet.

Nicaragua’s response

On behalf of the State of Nicaragua, the Attorney General, Wendy Carolina Morales expressed, the “absolute rejection and non-recognition” of the report, which she called “unilateral” and “biased.” “The government strongly rejects these interventionist and interfering reports that seek to disqualify and denigrate our national authorities and institutions, such as our legal system,” she said.

International support

The High Commissioner’s report was endorsed by the diplomatic delegations of Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Georgia, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, Uruguay and the European Union, as well as by international human rights organizations that participated in a discussion following the presentation of the report, which included the intervention of representatives of Nicaraguan civil society.

The representatives expressed their concern regarding the ongoing repression against civil society, journalists, media outlets, opposition figures, human rights defenders and the recent approval of the Foreign Agents Law, as well as the government’s refusal to take responsibility for the human rights violations committed during the protests of 2018.

The president of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), Vilma Núñez was among those who spoke on behalf of Nicaraguan civil society, Race and Equality, the International Service for Human Rights, and the International Federation of Human Rights. She denounced the destruction of several buildings that once housed civil society organizations and independent media outlets, which were expropriated and occupied illegally by the authorities. These buildings are in the process of being converted into Ministry of Health facilities.

Remarks by the Center for Justice and Human Rights of the Atlantic Coast (CEJUDHCAN), the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) and CENIDH emphasized that “throughout 2020, land invasions and violent attacks have increased, with at least 13 indigenous people killed, 8 wounded, 2 kidnapped, the forced displacement of an indigenous community, and 2 attacks on indigenous girls.”

To view the High Commissioner’s presentation, click here.

Read the High Commissioner’s report here.

Six years after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Cuban women demand a comprehensive law on violence against women

Washington, D.C. February 4th, 2021.– The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) held a webinar on Wednesday, February 3rd to discuss women’s and girls’ rights in Cuba with representatives of independent Cuban civil society. The webinar also marked the official launch of the report Cuban Women: Left Out of the 2030 Agenda.

The webinar, entitled “Cuba and the 2030 Agenda: Progress on SDG 5 on gender equality and empowerment of women and girls,” featured Damaris Rozo López, director of the Regional SDG Observatory at University of the Andes in Colombia; María Matienzo, a Cuban journalist and writer who authored the report; Marthadela Tamayo, a human rights defender and member of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR); and Eroisis González, coordinator of the Cuban organization Women’s Platform (Plataforma Femenina).

Johanna Villegas, Legal Program Officer at Race and Equality, served as the moderator, while Executive Director Carlos Quesada offered opening and closing remarks. Carlos remarked that SDG 5 aims to end discrimination and violence against women and girls, give proper recognition to gendered labor, improve women’s participation in public life, ensure access to reproductive health, and provide women with equal access to economic resources and opportunities.

Leaving No One Behind

In her remarks, Damaris Rozo López explained that one of the most important principles of the 2030 Agenda, the vision for sustainable development for which the SDGs provide the roadmap, is the commitment to “leave no one behind.” This commitment requires an intersectional approach to sustainable development, with particular attention devoted to the circumstances of vulnerable groups of women, including Afro-descendant, LGBTI, and indigenous women.

Damaris warned that Latin America and the Caribbean face serious headwinds in achieving the SDGs. The Observatory’s data indicates that the region is not on track to achieve the goals by 2030, and at its current pace would not even achieve them in the next 50 years. Damaris explained that although COVID-19 has posed an unprecedented challenge, “We may be lagging, but we cannot stay still. I encourage all of civil society to pressure their States to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”

The Situation in Cuba

In her intervention, Maria Matienzo summarized her report Cuban Women: Left Out of the 2030 Agenda, which uses documentation of human rights violations and first-hand testimonies to analyze Cuban women’s experiences with the country’s sustainable development process. “In Cuba,” she concluded, “there exists a pattern of violence against women that has repeated itself over many years, demonstrating a failure to achieve SDG 5.”

Maria emphasized two key points. First, the lack of a juridical framework ensuring protection and equality for women, particularly the lack of a comprehensive law on violence against women that defines femicide as a crime. “In November 2019,” she explained, “a group of 40 activists, all women, presented a model law on violence against women to the National Assembly, but they were ignored.”

Second, she pointed to a clear pattern of criminalization against women’s rights activists. An environment of constant violence faces these activists, with assaults, arrests, and threats documented throughout 2020. The case of journalist Camila Acosta, who has been evicted from several rental homes due to security forces’ pressure on her landlords and who was arbitrarily detained while attempting to report on the peaceful protests of January 27th, is emblematic.

Marthadela Tamayo and Eroises González, both Afro-Cuban women, described the compounded forms of violence and discrimination facing Afro-Cubans who advocate for human rights and sustainable development. The activists described racialized abuse at the hands of police or State Security. Marthadela remarked that Cuban officials often insist, “you should be grateful, because the Revolution made you [Afro-Cubans] fully human.” Eroises also stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has fallen the hardest on Afro-Cuban women, especially those who do not live in the capital of Havana.

Cuban Women’s Demands

All three activists agreed that the Cuban government must produce trustworthy and accessible data on the situation of Cuban women and girls. They also demanded legal reforms to ensure gender equality and to protect women from violence, including a specific measure to criminalize femicide. According to statistics from the initiative Cuba I Believe You, 32 women, 2 of them underaged, were killed in Cuba in 2020. The Cuban Women’s Network documented 4
more killings in January of this year.

Race and Equality is committed to supporting the demands of independent civil society in Cuba, including the demands for gender equality, for an end to violence against women, and for an end to gender-based discrimination. We call upon the Cuban State to fulfill its international obligations by listening to the voices of women’s rights activists and following their recommendations to take all necessary steps to build a free and equal society.

Read and download the report Cuban Women: Left Out of the 2030 Agenda (Spanish) here

Watch the webinar here

Human Rights Day: Continuing on the path towards human rights for all

Washington, D.C.; December 10, 2020.- 72 years after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the world has not yet achieved the full guarantee and enjoyment of each person’s inherent rights. In Latin America and the Caribbean, structures that contribute to human rights violations, particularly violations against historically marginalized populations, remain persistent and in some cases are worsening.

This December 10th, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) joins the international celebration of Human Rights Day by reviewing the human rights situation across the region, particularly the countries where we partner with civil society: Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama, and Peru.

The killing of George Floyd

Race and Equality added our voice to the global outrage sparked by the killing of George Floyd, a Black U.S. citizen, at the hands four white police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25th. Video of the tragedy on social media sparked indignation and a re-examination of the realities of racism and police brutality in the U.S.

We were heartened by the rapid and forceful response of the international human rights protection system to this travesty, including the June 17th Urgent Debate of the United Nations Human Rights Council on “the current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and the violence against peaceful protest” and the adoption of Human Rights Council Resolution 43/1. We are concerned, however, at the lack of follow-up effort to strengthen the various international human rights mechanisms’ ability to monitor States’ compliance with their obligations in this regard.

COVID-19: a multiplier of inequality

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clearer than ever that economic inequality and inequality in access to health and education have deadly consequences across the region. It has also made clear that when States fail to design public policies with an intersectional approach, indigenous, Afro-descendant, and LGBTI populations who have suffered historical marginalization and discrimination are the hardest-hit.

In Brazil, for example, the Afro-Brazilian population has seen its most fundamental right to life threatened by the denialism of President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration. Afro-Brazilians have been the population most negatively impacted by the current government’s refusal to implement proper public health measures. During the most critical months of the pandemic, Brazilian women were murdered at a rate of one every nine hours. Of these victims, 73% were Afro-descendant women.

Discrimination for reasons of sexual orientation and gender identity has also manifested itself in the context of COVID-19. In Colombia, a trans woman and sex worker named Alejandra Monocuco died in late May after medical personnel refused to give her emergency care. The personnel, who had been called by Alejandra’s companions when she suddenly became unable to breathe, refused to approach her when they learned that she was HIV-positive and told her companions that she must have been suffering an “overdose.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has coincided with the 2020 Census in Mexico, a situation that Afro-Mexican activists fear has affected census-takers’ ability to collect trustworthy data on the Afro-descendant population. Particularly in parts of Mexico not normally thought of as Afro-Mexican population centers, low rates of self-identification among Afro-descendants can lead to undercounting.

Anti-LGBTI violence and hatred

Latin America continues to be the region with the most murders of trans people. In Brazil, where the current government continues to tolerate and encourage LGBTI-phobia, 151 trans people have been murdered this year. In Colombia, Race and Equality has worked with our grassroots partners to record 65 incidents of discrimination, harassment, assault, and murder against people with diverse sexual orientations and/or gender identities.

The refusal to recognize LGBTI people’s rights and respond to their demands for justice is concerning across the region. In Peru, for example, the Constitutional Court rejected Óscar Ugarteche’s effort to have his marriage to his husband Fidel Aroche, celebrated in Mexico in 2010, inscribed in the National Civil Registry. Peru also failed to account for the rights of trans and non-binary people when it implemented its quarantine policy known as pico y género,[1] leading to acts of discrimination against this population.

In Panama, civil society continues to demand that the government introduce a law legalizing marriage equality for legislative debate, while LGBTI organizations in the Dominican Republic are leading a campaign for a Law on Equality and Non-Discrimination to protect the rights of Afro-descendant and LGBTI people.

Human rights defenders continue to be murdered

Four years after the historic Final Peace Accords ended more than 50 years of armed conflict between the Colombian government and the FARC rebels, the country is suffering one of the worst periods of violence in recent memory. The rise in violence is attributable to attacks against social leaders, human rights defenders, and ex-combatants participating in the peace program and to violent murders of civilians, such as the August 11th murder of five Young Afro-Colombian men in the Llano Verde neighborhood of Cali.

According to the Ideas for Peace Foundation (Indepaz), 287 murders of rights defenders have taken place this year as of December 7th. Indepaz reports that 688 such murders have taken place during the current administration of President Ivan Duque and a total of 1,086 have occurred since the signing of the Peace Accords. Colombian civil society continues to call for an urgent response on the part of the State, but President Duque’s government persists in prioritizing its own policy of “Peace with Legality” above the implementation of the Accords. This policy neglects vital elements of building sustainable peace, particularly women’s rights and the rights of ethnic minorities, which had been enshrined in the Accords’ groundbreaking “Ethnic Chapter.”

Repression of civil society

In Cuba, repression of activists, journalists, artists, and human rights defenders has increased as the government uses the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext for restricting the activities of independent civil society. Short-term detentions, raids and searches, confiscations of property, summary trials, and arbitrary criminal charges such as “contempt” or “public disorder” are all wielded against civil society leaders.

In Nicaragua, where the human rights crisis of April 2018 has not yet abated, authorities continue to persecute those who dissent from the current government. In the context of a public health and economic crisis sparked by COVID-19, this repression severely harms Nicaraguans’ fundamental rights. Currently, 109 people remain behind bars as political prisoners stemming from protests. Two recent laws (the Law on Foreign Agents and the Special La won Cybercrime) and the recent effort to punish “hate crimes” with life imprisonment pose acute threats to the freedoms of association, assembly, and expression.

Nicaraguan authorities continue to wield repression against those who demand accountability and respect for human rights. Along with their families, these rights defenders are threatened, monitored, and at times prevented from moving freely by the police. Meanwhile, an average of 40 violations of freedom of the press, including both physical attacks and persecution in the courts, are recorded each month.

On International Human Rights Day, Race and Equality reaffirms our commitment to building the capacities of in-country organizations to document human rights violations, defend their rights before the Inter-American and United Nations human rights systems, and advocate for reforms that will lead to the full enjoyment of human rights for all, without discrimination. We call upon all States to comply with their obligations to protect and promote human rights, obligations that are more pressing during the COVID-19 pandemic than ever.

We commit to continue our work advancing human rights for all people in the countries where we work, regardless of their race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or political beliefs. We salute the efforts of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN treaty bodies, and the special procedures of the UN human rights system, and express our hope that they will remain steadfast in their work.

 

[1] Pico y género, which was also implemented in other parts of the region, called for women and men to leave the house on alternating days

World AIDS Day: Race and Equality calls for Brazil and Colombia to guarantee equality in HIV treatment

This December 1, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) honors and stands in solidarity with all people living with HIV on World AIDS Day. Established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in October 1987, with support from the United Nations (UN), the date aims to raise awareness and promote dialogue on sexual rights in an inclusive and responsive way for HIV prevention. In addition, this date aims to break stigmas about the reality of people living with the virus, being a day of visibility and solidarity.

Brazil: Structural racism and LGBTIphobia as barriers in the treatment of AIDS

In Brazil, throughout the month of December, the “Red December” awareness campaign is celebrated, symbolized by a red ribbon that, globally, represents solidarity and commitment in the fight against AIDS. However, the country, that was once a world reference for the treatment of AIDS, currently faces a dismantling of the Unified Health System (SUS) accompanied by setbacks in public policies such as governmental decrees that have demoted departments dealing with the monitoring and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, under which HIV is considered.

In its chapter on the right to health, the report “What is the color of the Invisible? The human rights situation of the Afro-LGBTI population in Brazil”, published by Race and Equality, provides data that explains the worrisome advancement of HIV / AIDS in the country [1]. As the document points out, structural racism and LGBTIphobia combined with the advancement of religious conservatism, constitute obstacles to the equal treatment of HIV for the entire population. The State’s lack of responsibility in the face of a moralistic discourse, incites society to prejudiced and LGBTIphobic practices when facing the fallacy that HIV is a virus that only infects homosexual people. As a result, any discussion on sex education was eliminated from schools.

According to the report, between 2007 and 2017, there was a 700% increase in HIV infection rates among people ages 15 to 24. This data is from the previous government, but it is known that due to the advancement of religious conservatism, currently, there are explosions of HIV cases among young people and adolescents who have not had access to the necessary public health information. Additionally, the report shows the impact of racism on healthcare and treatment, evidenced by the large discrepancy in relation to race and sex in the increase in cases of HIV infection and the development of AIDS, between 2008 and 2018.

Epidemiological data, explained by the report, shows that for both men and women, while the number of deaths from AIDS has decreased among white people, it has increased considerably among Black people. In 2018, there were 2,885 (40.3%) deaths of white men and 4,219 (59%) deaths of Black men. For women, the same differences occur. In 2008, there were 1,804 (47.4%) deaths of white women and 1,981 (52.1%) deaths of Black women. In 2018, there were 1,309 (37.7%) deaths of white women and 2,136 (61.5%) deaths of Black women.

The document criticizes the invisibility of lesbian women, transgender women, travestis and trans men in the data provided in the epidemiological bulletin. Placed within patterns of universal cis-heteronormativity, consequently, these groups no longer have public health policies that understand their real needs and, once again, are erased from the discussion and left more vulnerable.

The report reveals that, “A meta-analysis carried out based on data from 15 countries [2], estimated that 33.1% of trans women in Brazil lived with HIV, only behind Argentina (33.5%) and India (43.7% ), according to the data recorded up until 2011. That same survey pointed to the alarming estimate that trans women were 49 times more likely to contract HIV than other people.”

In this sense, the report brings to light the impact caused by structural racism and LGBTIphobia, condemning a large part of the Brazilian population to situations of extreme vulnerability in care and treatment for a dignified health condition. With this, the advancement of HIV / AIDS in Brazil again puts the country at risk of a pandemic, seeing as the dismantling of social programs essential for the maintenance of the population’s health serve as grounds for the proliferation not only of diseases, but also inequality and intolerance.

HIV/AIDS in Colombia: a success story without victories

 The annual global report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV / AIDS (UNAIDS), published in 2020 [3], reveals that Colombia is one of the few countries in Latin America where the rate of HIV infections has decreased in the last decade. Despite this, the general figures hide the lack of progress in serving the most vulnerable groups, seeing as high mortality rates still persist. However, there are other structural barriers that prevent these populations from accessing programs already proposed by the Government under this global strategy.

First, there is an important gap in access to health services due to the high rates of informal work and unemployment in the country which limit the possibilities of accessing services for the diagnosis of the disease, specifically for early diagnosis allowing for timely action and treatment. Today, the epidemic is concentrated in specific groups, two of which belong to the LGBTI population: “men who have sex with men”, MSM (this category includes bisexual men and men who do not declare themselves “gay”), and “trans women ”, MT (trans people who are born men and are now women). Within these groups, seropositivity levels are found to be highly elevated.

In Bogotá, the contagion rates in 2018 were around 17% (MSM) and 20% (MT). In contrast, the prevalence for the rest of the population in Bogotá is 0.5%, for those between the ages of 15 and 49 [4]. According to the Ministry of Health, at the national level, men who have sex with people of the same sex have a prevalence of HIV infection of 20.4% and transsexual women of 23.4% [5]. Despite these figures, there are no specific programs that allow these groups to access rapid tests or relevant information on them.

The second major barrier is the discrimination and prejudice that still exists around the subject. The stigma represented by HIV involves disrespectful and unnecessary inquiries about people’s sexual identity, their performance as a sex worker or about drug use. This is especially shocking if we take into account that in the main cities of Colombia, cases of contagion increased in trans women by more than 15% in 2019, among whom sex work continued to be one of the most common sources of income [6 ]. There is a negative burden associated with the disease that sends a message of death and / or undesirability to society about people living with HIV.

Just last year, the Colombian Constitutional Court eliminated the section of the penal code that criminalizes HIV transmission, noting that the law violated principles of equality and non-discrimination, considering that it discriminated against people living with the virus, stigmatizing it and limiting their rights [7]. As long as there are little to no specific programs for these populations on how to access healthcare and that work toward eliminating prejudices about the disease in general, it is clear that the fear of undergoing medical treatment and of society’s response will prevail over the search for a diagnosis.

Finally, returning to the idea that the Colombian government needs to strengthen its preventive response, it is important to understand that the phenomenon of HIV / AIDS presents itself as a serious global public health issue, in which we must not only discuss the natural context of the disease, but also a process that involves several dimensions, such as the social, economic and cultural ones.

The context of the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these difficulties. Although UNAIDS recommended that all countries distribute antiretrovirals to patients for periods of three months rather than monthly, in order to prevent them from excess exposure to COVID-19 from frequent outings, Colombia did not accept this provision [8]. This decision, in addition to the difficult socioeconomic conditions that already affect the LGBTI population, currently limits the access to health services by LGBTI persons [9].

On this day, Race and Equality calls upon States throughout Latin America to guarantee racial and sexual equality in the treatment of HIV, in addition to reinforcing the urgent need for sex education campaigns, whether in school environments or in public spaces. It is necessary to break stigmas and strengthen HIV prevention so that the world is not hit by another pandemic that, as is known, can be controlled. With this, we urge States to adopt the following recommendations:

1- Carry out the recommendations of the IACHR contained in its report on Violence against LGBTI people (2015) and adopt comprehensive measures that effectively combat discrimination and violence faced by LGBTI people living in poverty and extreme poverty; [10]

2- That guidelines be developed so that medical and nursing schools address – in their curricula, research, extension groups and in their academic events – topics such as sexual orientation and gender identity, so that, from their education, health professionals better understand the specific needs of LGBTI people, in particular transgender people.

3- That measures of awareness and training of professionals working in the health area be adopted, ensuring equal treatment for LGBTI people.

 

 

[1] Report available at: http://oldrace.wp/es/es_publicaciones/

[2] Argentina, Australia, Brazil, El Salvador, Spain, United States, Netherlands, India, Indonesia, Italy, Peru, Pakistan, Thailand, Uruguay and Vietnam.

[3] Available at: https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/ 2020_global-aids-report_en.pdf

[4] Available at: https://www.revistaarcadia.com/periodismo-cultural—revista-arcadia/articulo/ lgbt-political-and-the-challenge-confront-hivsida-in-colombia / 68263 /

[5] Available at: https://www.radionacional.co/noticias/comunidad-lgbti-coronavirus

[6] Available at: http://unradio.unal.edu.co/nc/detalle/cat/un-analisis/article/vih-en-america- latina.html

[7] Available at: https://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2019/C-248-19.htm

[8] Available at: https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/country/documents/COL_2020_countryreport.pdf

[9] Available at: https://www.radionacional.co/noticias/comunidad-lgbti-coronavirus

[10] IACHR. Violence against LGBTI Persons. 2015, p. 227, par. 382. Available at: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/ViolenceLGBTIPersons.pdf

The launch of the report “What is the color of the Invisible?” calls on the Brazilian State to produce data and recognize the racial agenda of the LGBTI population

“Race and Equality wants to give a space to voices that denounce the human rights violations of the Black LGBTI population to the Brazilian State.” With these words, Carlos Quesada, Executive Director of the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), began the event to launch the report What is the color of the Invisible? The human rights situation of the Afro-LGBTI population in Brazil.  The event allowed Race and Equality to reaffirm its commitment to the Afro-LGBTI population in Brazil. Written by Isaac Porto, LGBTI Program Officer in Brazil for Race and Equality, and coordinated by Zuleika Rivera, LGBTI Program Officer at Race and Equality in Washington D.C., the report calls on the Brazilian State to provide public data on the situation of this specific community in Brazil and to recognize the racial agenda from an intersectional perspective.

 Panel 1: Violence and Access to Justice for the Afro-LGBTI Population

Recalling the importance of Black Awareness Month in Brazil, Carlos Quesada moderated the debate by highlighting the report’s role in making the Afro-LGBTI experience visible, which is often absent from the State’s political agenda. Opening the panel, the author Isaac Porto, shared how the report’s writing trajectory connected with his life story and, like his, many other stories that have also been marked by racism and LGBTIphobia, forms of oppression that simultaneously make these experiences invisible.

Porto indicated that the objective of the report is “to encourage the racialization of discussions about LGBTI lives in the country and, thus, to verify the specific impacts of racism on the lives of this group of people.”

“It should be mentioned that, as of now, the report is not a finalized document because there is no pretense to present arguments and conclusions that form some sort of verdict that declares what the human rights situation experienced by this population is and end any discussions that identify alternative paths to follow. On the contrary: we do not believe that, in the fight for human rights, it is possible to reach a final conclusion. To fight for rights is to always be at a starting point. It is to never to stop moving forward.”

Bruna Benevides, Secretary of Political Articulation of the National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals (ANTRA), emphasized that the merit of the document is that confronts the LGBTI movement and brings to it an intersectional discussion around race and LGBTI people. “That is why the dossier is symbolic and representative, because it demonstrates the importance and urgency of organizing ourselves collectively,” she said, highlighting the importance of building a collective political agenda.

Trans activist Gilmara Cunha denounced the invisibility of this population, especially when it comes to the Afro-LGBTI population living in Brazilian slums. “The report gives visibility to what is invisible in our country and to our leaders, in addition to denying our existence at the national level, it is also denied at a territorial level. We are pleading for existence that is denied to us all the time,” she explains. Washington Dias, Coordinator of the Afro-LGBT Network, states that the violence to which the Black Brazilian LGBTI population is subjected to is linked to historical characteristics of structural racism, and the absence of data is a result of this racism.

Livia Casseres, Coordinator of Racial Equity for Rio de Janeiro’s Public Defender’s Office, stressed the large gap in data production within the country and acknowledged the delay in the normative plan that accounts for the absence of rights that modulate racism. “The report shows how we are advancing in ways of producing citizenship in Brazil alongside LGBTI organizations, which is a form of confronting the coloniality of the legal system,” she claimed, celebrating the launch of the dossier.

Closing the first panel, artist and poet MC Carol Dall Farra presented an artistic intervention, bringing light and visibility to the multiple experiences of Blackness in Brazil.

Panel 2: Social Rights of the Black Population

Zuleika Rivera, the panel’s moderator, highlighted the importance of discussing the discrimination that Afro-LGBTI people face in access to health, education and work, specifically mentioning the difficulties of transgender people. As an example, she cited the Escola Sem Partido [1] project, which proposes to prevent discussions on racism, misogyny and LGBTIphobia in the field of education, advancing a conservative government agenda. Therefore, in her opinion, the report is an important milestone in the fight for LGBTI rights.

Presenting the second part of the document, Isaac Porto draws attention to the myth of racial democracy in Brazil, which has been denounced by the Afro-Brazilian movement for decades. The myth of racial democracy has marked the ideology of whitening, according to which white values ​​are unique and universal, forging the construction of society as a whole. With this, Porto reiterated the urgency to racialize reflections on the human rights of the LGBTI population, emphasizing that the differences between Black and white LGBTI experiences become more astonishing when comparing those of cis and trans people.

“It is clear that Black LGBTI people are the most affected in terms of murders in Brazil, and are the preferred targets of police violence, also facing more difficulties in access to justice, healthcare, education and work. Thus, it is essential to strengthen Brazilian organizations and activists work so that they have the necessary conditions to make the human rights situation of the LGBTI population in Brazil more visible, as well as the ways in which they have resisted the most diverse and perverse violations,” he commented.

Leonardo Peçanha, a Black trans man and activist at the Brazilian Institute of Transmasculinities (Ibrat) and the National Forum of Black Travestis and Transsexuals (FONATRANS), emphasized the issues in access to healthcare for Afro-LGBTI people. He stressed that there are many trans men who are getting pregnant and face gynecological treatments that are reinforced by misogynistic beliefs. Among these beliefs affecting Black trans men, is the myth that Black people have a higher pain tolerance, which is only one of the many consequences of racism.

Janaína Oliveira, Administrative Coordinator of the Afro-LGBT Network, believes that being Black in Brazil means that even the death of the Black population needs to be debated constantly because in Brazil Black people first have to fight for their lives, and then fight for their rights. “Launching this report is not only creating international visibility, but also making the Brazilian population aware of our invisibility. It is a document that brings our lack of access and treatment by the State to our bodies. The report allows us to think about public policies that generate equal conditions of access for the Black Brazilian LGBTI population” she commented.

Alessandra Ramos, President of Instituto Transformar Shelida Ayana, denounced that access to healthcare is not guaranteed on an equal basis to trans people, who are often received with laughter and presented with more barriers when searching for healthcare options. These situations prove that it is necessary to recognize the specific rights of the trans population. “It is important that to know that trans people are the most affected when we talk about the intersectionality of gender and race. These people do not have full enjoyment of their rights, and because of this, the report is a milestone,” she explained.

Concluding the discussion, the UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (IE SOGI), Victor Madrigal-Borloz, celebrated the completion of the report and its role in strengthening the construction of public policies on access to healthcare, work and justice. Madrigal-Borloz believes that “the report presents the different identities within the LGBTI movement and the need to recognize these agendas is through the racialization of discussion. The report connects social identities and the importance of occupying political spaces.” With this, the IE SOGI affirmed his mandate’s commitment to continuing its work from a racial perspective.

In light of the research and debate generated between several LGBTI civil society organizations that participated in the construction of the report, Race and Equality concludes the document presenting recommendations to the Brazilian State, international human rights organizations, civil society and other government agencies, of which we highlight:

1 – The ratification of the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance, as well as the Inter-American Convention Against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance.

2 – The establishment of a plan to combat LGBTIphobic violence in Brazil, through intersectoral action that establishes unified guidelines to combat LGBTIphobia and racism.

3 – That the Public Ministry of Labor carry out specific campaigns against discrimination against the Afro-LGBTI population in order to guarantee fair criteria for selection, promotion, wages and working conditions.

4 – That the necessary support be given to civil society organizations that are engaged in the production of data concerning the murder of LGBTI people, with the guarantee that they will not find unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles for their proper functioning, and that their work will be respected by government officials.

Download the report in English: https://bit.ly/3cil69J 

Download the report in Portuguese and Spanish: http://bit.ly/3evTMnm

Did you miss our launch? Watch: http://bit.ly/350lGF5

 

[1] The Movement Escola Sem Partido was created in 2004 by lawyer Miguel Nagib. Generally speaking, the movement demands a supposed “neutrality” for teachers, limiting them from giving their opinions in the classroom and restricting encouragement of political participation.  In May of 2014, Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of Jair Bolsonaro, then a state representative for Rio de Janeiro, asked Nagib to write a bill entitled Escola Sem Partido. Right after that, his brother Carlos Bolsonaro, a councilman for the city of Rio de Janeiro, presented a bill of the same type in the state capital. From there, these bills spread across the country. From 2014 to August of 2019, 121 bills of this type had already been presented in state and municipal legislative chambers in Brazil.  Source: O Globo. Anúncio de suspensão garantiu patrocinador secreto ao movimento Escola Sem Partido. November 8, 2019. Available at: https://oglobo.globo.com/sociedade/educacao/anuncio-de-suspensao-garantiu-patrocinador-secreto-ao-movimento-escola-sem-partido-24068869

UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention requests immediate release of Nicaraguan student Kevin Solis

Washington D.C. – October 20th, 2020. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) released an opinion this month regarding the arrest of university student and activist Kevin Solís on February 6, 2020, days after he and dozens of other young people participated in a protest at the Universidad Centroamericana (Central American University; UCA). The opinion concludes that Solís’ detention was arbitrary and calls upon the Government of Nicaragua to take urgent measures to remedy his situation, beginning with granting him freedom immediately.

The opinion was requested by the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), the Legal Defense Unit (UDJ), and the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality). Although the WGAD requested that the Government of Nicaragua respond to the  organizations’ complaint by providing information on the case, the Government did not respond to the request.

Solís is currently being held in the Jorge Navarro Correctional Center, serving a 4 and a half-year sentence for supposed theft.

The WGAD noted that this is not the first case reported to them alleging arbitrary detention against an opponent of the Nicaraguan Government and that since 2018, the WGAD has received increasing numbers of complaints about the arrests of protesters.

Arbitrary detention

According to the WGAD, Solís’ detention fell into categories I, II and III of the Group’s definition of arbitrary detention. Firstly, Solís was not caught in flagrante delicto, but the arrest was carried out by individuals in civilian clothes who did not show an arrest warrant issued by a competent authority. From 11:00am until 6:00pm on the day of his arrest, Solís suffered forced disappearance, during which his right to personal safety was flagrantly violated. Secondly, Solís’ detention came as a consequence of his exercising his freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and freedom to participate in public affairs. Finally, the guarantees of a fair trial were violated throughout Solís’ judicial process.

The Working Group’s requests

The WGAD judged that, in the context of the pandemic of COVID-19, the Government of Nicaragua should “take urgent measures to guarantee (Solís) immediate freedom” and grant him the right to reparations. Additionally, the Group recommended that the proper authorities examine whether Law 952, which establishes that all cases of aggravated robbery must be processed in preventive detention, is compatible with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which holds that pre-trial detention should be an exceptional measure rather than the norm.

Finally, the WGAD let it be known that Solís’ case has been referred to the Special Rapporteur on Torture to take further steps and requested that both the petitioners and the Government offer follow-up information on the case within 6 months.

UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders calls on all governments to fulfill their obligation to protect rights defenders

Washington D.C., October 22.- In an event held on Tuesday, October 20th, Ms. Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, called on governments worldwide to fulfill their obligation to protect human rights defenders from harm. During the event, activists Erlendy Cuero Bravo from Colombia and Alma Sinumlag from the Philippines shared their experiences as victims of threats and attacks due to their work defending their communities’ rights.

The event, titled “Final Warnings: Death threats against human rights defenders,” was held with the support of the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality). Iain Levine, human rights advisor at Facebook, also served as a panelist. Otto Saki, a program officer on Civic Engagement and Governance at the Ford Foundation, served as moderator and began the event with a moment of silence in memory of assassinated human rights defenders and the victims of COVID-19.

Mandate priorities

Ms. Lawlor stated that during her term as Special Rapporteur, she will prioritize the reality of killings of human rights defenders. Given that these killings are often preceded by a series of threats both on- and off-line, these threats are also a priority for her office.

“We know that on every continent, women and men are killed for being human rights defenders, and we know that these killings are not random violence-they are premeditated and targeted … We also know that many of these killings are preceded by death threats,” she stated.

The day before the event, October 19, Ms. Lawlor presented her first report as Special Rapporteur to the UN General Assembly. She is currently at work on her second report, focused on the killings of rights defenders.

Erlendy Cuero Bravo

Erlendy Cuero Bravo, Afro-Colombian leader and vice president of the National Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES) was invited by the Special Rapporteur to describe her experiences over more than 20 years of activism with Afro-Colombian conflict victims. During this time, she has suffered threats and attacks targeting her, her family, and fellow AFRODES members.

“Let me emphasize that the situation that I am facing is also the situation of hundreds of other Afro-Colombian and indigenous community leaders in my country,” said Ms. Cuero Bravo, who reminded the audience that Colombia’s armed conflict remains active in much of the country despite the signing of the 2016 Peace Accords, with Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities being the hardest-hit. “At least 2 million of Colombia’s displaced population are Afro-Colombian,” she emphasized.

In describing the threats that she has received, Ms. Cuero Bravo explained that “the majority of threats come through pamphlets that are sent through WhatsApp, email, and Facebook, but these pamphlets also arrive physically at my home and the organization’s offices. Most of these pamphlets are created by paramilitary groups, but there have also been threats from guerrilla groups and drug trafficking organizations.”

Ms. Cuero Bravo explained that these threats usually demand that she cease her activism and leave the area, promising to kill her and her family if she does not. The threats from paramilitary groups claim that she collaborates with guerrilla groups and accuse her of undermining the current government’s agenda. She stated that her situation is aggravated by the indifference of the current government, and that although she currently enjoys official protection including bodyguards and an armored vehicle, these measures were only granted by order of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

Directing her comments to Ms. Lawlor, Ms. Cuero requested that “in completion of your mandate, you call upon the Colombian government to adopt measures such as reforming its risk evaluation protocols to ensure that defenders at risk of attacks are approved for protective measures and implementing collective protection measures for communities and organizations that remain at risk.”

Alma Sinumlag

Alma Sinumlag, a defender of the human rights of indigenous peoples in the Cordillera region of the Philippines, explained that she receives threats mostly via social media, especially Facebook, where users post her full name and photographs where she and other activists are labeled as criminals or terrorists. She reported that activists have been able to link most of these accounts to the government, police, and armed forces.

Ms. Lawlor described dialogue with internet and technology firms as a key element of her work, and invited Iain Levine, human rights adviser at Facebook, to describe Facebook’s response to such abuses. Mr. Levine explained that protecting human rights defenders is both a priority and a challenge for social networks.

“We want Facebook to be a useful platform for human rights defenders where they can promote human rights, organize, build community, and be activists,” he said. He went on to say that reporting threats via Facebook’s established channels is a crucial step to generating a response but recognized that threats are much more difficult to pursue when sent via private channels such as WhatsApp.

A call to governments

Mr. Mark Reichwein from the Mission of the Netherlands to the UN, spoke during the Q&A session to reaffirm his country’s commitment to protecting rights defenders from harm.

Ms. Lawlor advised rights defenders to draw up security plans for themselves and their loved ones, including identifying means of leaving their local area in extreme cases. She also advised defenders and diplomats to open and maintain communication between the defenders’ communities and embassies.

Ms. Lawlor closed by reminding all present that it is national governments who must implement laws and policies to protect human rights defenders, stating, “to begin with, they must publicly recognize the value of human rights defense work … in keeping with their obligation under the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and with the guarantees of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

Race and Equality Launches Manual on Report-Writing for Human Rights Advocacy

Washington D.C., September 21, 2020.– The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) is pleased to announce the publication of our manual for civil society organizations interested in writing human rights reports. The goal of this manual is to strengthen organizations’ ability to engage in advocacy at the national, regional, and international levels by preparing them to produce their own human rights documentation and analysis.

The manual is available in the Publications section of Race and Equality’s website. The manual is available in two verions: one that is primarly text-based and one with illustrations to accompany the text. The illustrated version is intended to assist civil society organizations in sharing the manual’s content with human rights defenders.

Through the manual, Race and Equality hopes organizations interested in producing human rights reports will also learn the necessary concepts for using these reports as part of over-arching advocacy strategies to influence international human rights bodies.

“Our experience shows us that human rights reports prepared by victims of rights violations and in-country organizations themselves are essential in pushing governments to respond,” said Pedro León Cortés from Race and Equality.

Content

The manual consists of two parts. The first communicates essential basic knowledge about human rights instruments, the role of civil society in protecting and promoting human rights, and the purpose of human rights documentation. The second includes a step-by-step guide for producing human rights reports, from recording incidents of rights violations all the way through drafting and publishing the report. It also compiles resources for organizations seeking to develop their human rights documentation capacities.

The manual was prepared in order to compile and systematize Race and Equality’s years of experience offering technical assistance and accompaniment to Afro-descendent, LGBTI, and Afro-LGBTI organizations across Latin America as they defend and promote their rights. Race and Equality’s capacity-building approach aims to prepare these organizations to develop their own advocacy strategies and materials.

Race and Equality invites civil society organizations and human rights activists to consult, download, and share the manual so that it can contribute to their efforts for the structural changes that will truly fulfill human rights.

Access the manual (In Spanish only):

Illustrated version – http://oldrace.wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Manual-IDH_-web_ilustrado.pdf

Text-only version – http://oldrace.wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Manual-IDH_-web_texto.pdf

High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet urges the Government of Nicaragua to release 94 political prisoners

Geneva, September 16, 2020. In her oral update on the situation in Nicaragua before the United Nations Human Rights Council last Monday, High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet urged the Government of Nicaragua to release “all those arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in the context of protests or for expressing opinions critical of the Government.” She argued that freeing these political prisoners “would be a significant step towards restoring rights and reducing existing polarization.”

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Nicaraguan civil society organizations report that 90 men and 4 women who are perceived as opponents of the Government have been arbitrarily deprived of their liberty and accused of common crimes as pretexts for their detention.

This was the second oral update to be delivered pursuant to the mandate of the resolution “Promotion and protection of human rights in Nicaragua (A/HRC/43/L.35).” This resolution also directs the OHCHR to deliver a written report on the Nicaraguan situation during the 46th session of the Human Rights Council in February 2021.

The High Commissioner added that since her last oral update on Nicaragua in July of this year, “there has been no progress in the human rights situation and no sign that the Government is constructively addressing the tensions and structural problems that triggered the socio-political crisis in April 2018.” The State has also failed to implement any of the recommendations made by the OHCHR.

Since July, the OHCHR has registered 30 cases of threats and intimidation against human rights defenders, journalists, students, peasant leaders, members of the Catholic clergy, and others.

Nicaraguan Attorney General Wendy Carolina Morales rejected Bachelet’s update. Although the update reflects reports from many Nicaraguan sources pointing to a deepening of the socio-political crisis, Morales claimed that it was “biased and unilateral.” According to Morales, the update “did not take into account the reports that our country has shared in good faith and in a timely manner with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights” and was based on reports from non-governmental organizations and media outlets that she labeled as “opponents” of the Government. This statement ignores the longstanding and vital practice by international human rights bodies and mechanisms of consulting with a wide range of in-country sources.

Morales stated that the Nicaraguan Government has guaranteed the right to health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, has respected the territorial rights of indigenous peoples and Afro-descendant communities in the Caribbean region, and has granted extraordinary measures to more than 8,000 people in prison during this year.

COVID-19

Bachelet highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the full range of human rights, including economic, social, and cultural rights. In Nicaragua, the state response to the pandemic has led to violations of freedom of expression and to the arbitrary dismissals of medical personnel.

Bachelet added, “Official data are reported only once a week and lack detailed epidemiological information. In this regard, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned that it has been necessary to resort to data produced by non-official sources to analyze the situation in the country. Of particular concern is the lack of disaggregated information on the impacts of the pandemic on indigenous peoples and people of African descent, as well as on any specific measures” taken to address these populations’ particular needs.

Other matters of concern

In her speech, Bachelet highlighted the precarious conditions faced by thousands of Nicaraguan migrants seeking to return to their country in recent months, including hundreds stranded at the southern border crossing known as Peñas Blancas.

She also expressed concern about the discrepancies between the data on femicide between February 1st and August 7th provided by women’s organizations (who reported 50 murders) and those reported by the authorities (who reported only 11). This discrepancy shows “a possible under-recording, which would make it difficult to take effective measures to counter these crimes.”

Likewise, she denounced recent attacks on journalists, including legal proceedings for slander and defamation, acts of intimidation, and police harassment against leaders and staff of Radio La Costeñísima and Radio Darío. She also highlighted the imposition of tax proceedings on three media outlets.

Finally, the High Commissioner urged the State of Nicaragua to implement the recommendations made by her Office, particularly in light of the elections scheduled for November 2021, and to resume effective cooperation with the OHCHR, including “authorizing a mission to the country” in preparation for her written report in February.

International support

The European Union urged Nicaragua to adopt electoral and institutional reforms and to ensure free and fair elections in 2021, while a group of countries (Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Paraguay) lamented the lack of progress on human rights in Nicaragua and denounced the authorities for their lack of cooperation.

“We are concerned about the lack of real electoral reforms to allow Nicaraguans to freely and transparently carry out their political participation with a view to the next presidential elections. Our countries make a firm call to the authorities of the Government of Nicaragua to implement the recommendations issued by the High Commissioner. We reiterate the need to establish genuine cooperation and access for the Office of the High Commissioner in the country and to give real evidence of a dialogue and of a concrete will to improve the socio-political and human rights situation in Nicaragua, for the benefit of all its citizens”, said Julio Peralta, representative of Ecuador, on behalf of the group of Latin American countries.

The Ukrainian and Austrian delegations also expressed concern about the situation in Nicaragua, particularly in relation to political prisoners, human rights defenders, journalists, and other Government opponents who have been attacked, including by armed pro-Government groups.

Only the Government of Venezuela supported the Nicaraguan Government, urging the OHCHR to adhere to “non-interference.”

Nicaraguan voices

A week before High Commissioner Bachelet’s update, Race and Equality invited human rights defenders, journalists, and relatives of political prisoners in Nicaragua to share their own perspectives on how the human rights crisis has deepened, highlighting the importance of continued international monitoring of the situation.

In this series of videos, activists share their experiences and express their support for the OHCHR updates:

Social leaders, government representatives, and regional institutions make proposals for justice and violence prevention after the Llano Verde killings

Bogota, September 4, 2020.- The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) held a virtual roundtable discussion with social leaders, government representatives, and Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IACHR) member Margarette May Macaulay, who is the IACHR’s Rapporteur on the Rights of Afro-descendants and Against Racial Discrimination. The discussion was convened in order to discuss proposals for truth, justice, and non-repetition following the killing of five young Afro-Colombians in the Llano Verde neighborhood of Cali on August 11.

The webinar, titled Llano Verde Killings: Analysis and Proposals for Truth, Justice, Reparations, and Non-Repetition, was co-organized with the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). The panelists discussed the particular experiences of Afro-Colombians in Colombia’s armed conflict and the post-conflict context, in which many Afro-Colombians have been forced to leave their ancestral territories and now reside in urban areas where they face discrimination and structural racism.

The discussion generated the following proposals to ensure that the Llano Verde massacre does not fall into impunity and that the Afro-Colombian population does not remain vulnerable to such violations in the future.

The IACHR should pressure the Colombian government to give answers

Erlendy Cuero Bravo, coordinator of the Cali chapter of the Nacional Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES), asked Commissioner Macaulay to make an official visit to Llano Verde, an area that the Commissioner visited once before in October 2018 along with Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño. Such a visit would allow the Commissioner to make recommendations to the Colombian State regarding truth, reparations, and reforms to guarantee non-repetition in her official capacity. “Peace cannot be built starting at the national level – it has to be built from within Afro-Colombian territories to be in line with the communities’ needs,” said Erlendy.

Listening to Afro-Colombian youth and ensuring their right to education

Yeison Tobar, coordinator of AFRODES’ youth initiative Semillero (Seedbed), discussed the need for both the Colombian government and civil society organizations to strengthen ties with young Afro-Colombians, listen to their concerns, and involve them meaningfully in development projects. “Many times, the response is ‘young people don’t want to do anything,’ but there’s not enough effort to look into the lives of young people or their beliefs and emotions,” said Yeison.

Yeison also said that young people in Colombia need greater access to education, including higher education and technical education, along with assistance to finish their studies. According to Yeison, “the best bet for young people is education.”

Improve living conditions and ratify the Convention Against Racial Discrimination

Commissioner Macaulay expressed her willingness to accompany an official truth and justice process for the Llano Verde killings, emphasizing the need for “comprehensive reparations,” that go beyond monetary compensation and address the living conditions of Afro-Colombian communities, including schools, universities, health centers and hospitals, and public transportation.

The Commissioner also called on the government to examine all acts of violence against Afro-Colombians thoroughly and bring those responsible to justice. She reminded the government that the Colombian State is obligated to guarantee the rights of Afro-descendants and indigenous people, which includes the duty to combat discrimination against these groups. She also reminded the audience that Colombia is one of the countries which has not yet ratified the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance.

Economic opportunity and institutional presence

Cali city councilmember Fernando Tamayo stated that the Llano Verde massacre should not be viewed as an isolated incident, highlighting that community members had reported the presence of criminal groups and insecurity before the crime. For Tamayo, increased economic opportunity is a key step towards preventing such crimes. He highlighted two projects in the city’s development plan: a supply center in the eastern portion of the city and the proposed building of the District University of Cali. He also called for increased investment in institutions so that they are present and accessible throughout the city.

Respect for the Peace Accords

Luz Marina Becerra, secretary general of AFRODES, agreed with the previous speakers about the lack of educational and job opportunities that makes young Afro-Colombians “easy prey” for criminal groups, especially drug-dealing networks, and fosters violence. Luz Marina called for the Colombian Peace Accords to be fully implemented, including through improved living conditions for Afro-Colombians to reduce their vulnerability to crime. She also spoke about the importance of peace-building efforts led by Afro-Colombian women and efforts to apply traditional Afro-Colombian knowledge to healthcare and family well-being. She offered AFRODES’ Mujeres que Sanamos Mujeres project (Women Making Women Healthy) as an example.

Implementation of Law 70 and the Anti-Discrimination Law in urban areas

Alí Bantú Ashanti, an Afro-Colombian lawyer and member of the Racial Justice Collective, insisted on the need to develop specific implementation plans for Law 70 (which governs Afro-Colombians’ and indigenous people’s collectively held land) in urban areas, given that it was formulated with rural land in mind. Likewise, he argued that Law 1482, known as the Law Against Discrimination, has not had the expected impact, in part because it is not integrated with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

Rejecting the efforts of some Colombian media outlets to downplay the Llano Verde killings by linking the five victims to criminal activities, Alí spoke of the role of structural racism in de-valuing Black lives: “The capitalist system has positioned Black people as subjects who can be killed, as lives that don’t matter, as mere criminals.”

International Accompaniment

Colombian Senator Alexander López closed the webinar by stating that international accompaniment is necessary for truth, justice, and non-repetition processes, including in Llano Verde. He affirmed that Law 70, the “Ethnic Chapter” that addressed Afro-Colombians’ rights in the Peace Accords, and all other legal instruments must be respected and fully implemented in the fight against structural racism and discrimination.

Senator López mentioned the fact that 9 million conflict victims are listed in the official registry, of which 14% are Afro-Colombian. He also alluded to the controversy about the 2018 Colombian census, which counted nearly 1.4 million fewer Afro-Colombians than the 2005 census due to failures in the National Statistics Office (DANE). “This has important implications, because the more that the Afro-Colombian population is reduced in official counts, the fewer public policies and resources will be devoted to them,” he reminded the audience.

To see a full recording of the webinar, click here.

Join Our Efforts

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

Donate Contact Us