With the bidding process expected to begin soon, the Sport & Rights Alliance asks FIFA to ensure that the bid evaluation process reflects the results of an opinion poll commissioned by Amnesty International and conducted in 15 countries, which showed that a majority of the public, 53%, believe human rights should be a critical consideration in deciding who hosts major international sporting events.

Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s head of economic and social justice, said: “It is clear that the public wants human rights to be a high priority so that the World Cup is a celebration of the game they love and never provides a platform for exploitation, repression or discrimination.

It is clear that the public wants human rights to be a high priority so that the World Cup is a celebration of the game they love and never provides a platform for exploitation, repression or discrimination.

Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s head of economic and social justice

“FIFA must rigorously apply the highest human rights standards in evaluating all bids to host its flagship tournament, demand clear human rights action plans, and reject any bid that fails to credibly show how serious human rights risks would be prevented, independently monitored, and remedied if abuses occur.”

FIFA introduced human rights criteria for the first time in the bidding for the 2026 World Cup, following controversies around the process to award the 2018 and 2022 tournaments to Russia and Qatar respectively. It is expected such criteria will be included again, but there are concerns that they may be sidelined or ignored in FIFA’s choice of the 2030 hosts.

Despite the introduction of its human rights policy and bidding criteria in 2017, FIFA has since failed to perform appropriate human rights risk assessments when awarding other tournaments. For example, since 2017, the Club World Cup has been granted to China, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Saudi Arabia without any transparent process or consultation with civil society. There were also widespread violations of human rights in relation to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, despite FIFA having developed a “sustainability strategy”, which included human rights commitments, in 2020. Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers remain without compensation for abuses they suffered in preparing and delivering the tournament.

The call comes as Amnesty International published the results of an opinion poll conducted by YouGov, showing that a majority of people (53%) in 15 countries believe that human rights, including workers’ rights, press freedom and non-discrimination, should be a key consideration when selecting the host of a major sporting event.

Joint bids to host the 2030 men’s World Cup are expected, including one from Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Ukraine, and another from Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Saudi Arabia is reportedly preparing a joint bid either for 2030 or 2034, with Greece, and Egypt has been raised a possible partner.

The poll showed that, after safety and security (57%), human rights was the most commonly chosen consideration for determining tournament hosts (53%). This was the top consideration in seven of the countries surveyed, and highest in Switzerland (68%), where FIFA is based. More than four times as many people, or 53%, chose human rights as a key factor that should determine the hosts, versus 13% who selected ‘commercial revenues for sports bodies’ as a priority.

The results of the poll clearly show the importance fans place on human rights in determining the hosts of major sports events – far more than politics or profit.

Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe

Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, said: “The results of the poll clearly show the importance fans place on human rights in determining the hosts of major sports events – far more than politics or profit. We, football supporters, want binding guarantees not only that their own rights will be respected, but also that workers will be assured of decent conditions, journalists will be able to report freely, and human rights activists can speak out without fear.” 

Andrea Florence, director of the Sport & Rights Alliance, said: “Since 2017, FIFA has made important progress in recognizing its human rights responsibilities. But human rights assessments and considerations have not been applied systematically when awarding FIFA tournaments. To demonstrate they are serious about their own policies and statutes, it is critical that FIFA puts human rights front and centre when choosing the host for the 2030 men’s World Cup.”

To demonstrate they are serious about their own policies and statutes, it is critical that FIFA puts human rights front and centre when choosing the host for the 2030 men’s World Cup.

Andrea Florence, director of the Sport & Rights Alliance

Background and Polling

The poll involved almost 17,500 adults in 15 countries. They were asked by YouGov last year to select from a list of ten factors they believed should be ‘key considerations’ when selecting the host of an international sporting event, such as the FIFA men’s World Cup or the Olympic Games. Those polled could select multiple options. The survey was carried out in Argentina, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, UK and USA.

The results in order were: Safety and security of fans, athletes and volunteers (57%), Human rights including workers’ rights, press freedom and non-discrimination (53%), Quality of infrastructure such as stadiums, transport, and hotels (48%), Transparency and measures to tackle corruption (43%), Environmental sustainability and climate change (37%), Cultural and tourism opportunities for visiting fans (28%), The potential economic benefits for the host country (28%), Experience of successfully hosting major sporting events (25%), Sporting legacy for the host country such as the development of domestic sport (24%), Potential commercial revenue for the sports body such as FIFA or the International Olympic Committee (13%), Don’t know (12%), and None of these (4%).

FIFA’s Statutes (article 3) and Human Rights Policy (article 7 and 10) require the global football governing body to “respect” and “strive to promote” human rights, identify and address any adverse human rights impacts of its operations, and to constructively engage with relevant authorities and other stakeholders in its efforts to uphold these responsibilities.

In its Human Rights Policy, FIFA also commits to respecting human rights in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. According to the UN Guiding Principles, all companies should conduct human rights due diligence in relation to all aspects of its operations. If serious human rights risks cannot or will not be prevented, the company should take the necessary steps to cease or prevent its impact. 

The final choice of host for the 2030 men’s World Cup is expected to be decided by a vote of all football associations at the annual FIFA Congress in 2024. In 2018, FIFA selected Canada, Mexico and the United States to jointly host the 2026 men’s World Cup.

Members of the Sport & Rights Alliance include Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalists, Football Supporters Europe, Human Rights Watch, International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA World), International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), The Army of Survivors, Transparency International and World Players Association.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 17,477 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 16 August – 6 September 2022. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all surveyed countries’ adults (aged 18+). 

The post Global: Human rights should be essential to FIFA’s choice of World Cup 2030 host, poll shows appeared first on Amnesty International.

“Racist migration and asylum policies only exacerbate the harm already inflicted on people forced to endure and flee the humanitarian and human rights crises in Haiti. States across the Americas must fulfill their international human rights obligations without discrimination, assess the protection needs of Haitians seeking refuge in fair and effective asylum procedures and refrain from returning them to Haiti,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

“Instead of further endangering them, states must protect and uphold the dignity and rights of Haitian migrants and asylum seekers. Regional solidarity and the reformation of migration policies with an anti-racist perspective are essential to addressing the grave dangers and injustices they face.”

The Americas region is experiencing one of the world’s most severe crises of people in need of international protection. According to the UNHCR’s recent report, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2022, six  of the top ten source countries of asylum applications globally in 2022 were in Latin America and the Caribbean. Asylum seekers from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia, Honduras, and Haiti have substantially increased from 2021. This transnational crisis is the result of multiple human rights and humanitarian crises across the region. In Haiti, the deteriorating human rights situation has forced thousands of people to flee to save their lives and those of their loved ones. Yet instead of receiving solidarity from other countries in the Americas, Haitians have suffered acts of racism, xenophobia, and systematic violence in their search for protection.

Racist migration and asylum policies only exacerbate the harm already inflicted on people forced to endure and flee the humanitarian and human rights crises in Haiti.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Amnesty International has documented and received information on cases of assaults, arbitrary detentions, torture and other ill-treatment, mass deportations, and discriminatory practices that undermine Haitian asylum seekers’ human rights and their access to international protection in Peru, Chile, the Dominican Republic, the United States, Mexico, and other countries in the Caribbean and Central and South America.

Haitians transiting through the Americas have also suffered a constant lack of access to basic services and legal protection. These precarious conditions have been exacerbated by the systemic racism and negative stereotypes they face, hindering their integration and perpetuating their marginalization. Haitian women, girls and LGBTI people face even greater levels of discrimination, because in addition to all the dangers and ill-treatment they suffer as Black migrants and asylum-seekers, they are also exposed to the threat of gender-based violence.

Amnesty International has documented the many human rights concerns inherent in the US government’s recent decision to make the use of the mobile application mandatory in order to request asylum at the nation’s southern border. This requirement places Haitian individuals at a greater disadvantage, as they may face a higher risk of experiencing racial discrimination and violence in northern Mexico, where they are systematically excluded from shelters, forcing them to live in camps with cruel conditions and exposing them to greater danger. They have also experienced difficulties using the CBP One app’s facial recognition technology that struggles with recognizing Black faces and raises serious privacy, discrimination, and surveillance concerns.

Amnesty International has also condemned the US and Canadian governments’ agreement to expand, rather than rescind, the Safe Third Country Agreement in response to border crossings at Roxham Road. The organization is disappointed that Canada’s Supreme Court has failed to decisively rule that the agreement violates refugees’ rights, exposing refugees – including those from Haiti – to further harm while awaiting a further legal challenge against the agreement.

Governments in the region must end mass expulsions and deportations as well as other racially discriminatory practices against people in need of international protection, including Haitians. Instead, they must provide them with access to protection without discrimination, including fair and individualized assessments for refugee status, and other pathways to regularize their status, in accordance with both the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and the Cartagena Declaration.

The post Americas: States must end racist treatment of Haitian asylum seekers appeared first on Amnesty International.

“The region cannot continue down the path of repressing protests, militarizing borders and public security, environmental destruction and failing to protect historically marginalized communities, such as Indigenous peoples and human rights defenders,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International. “The heads of state in the Americas must change course and seek solutions to create a freer and safer continent, with full respect for the human rights of all.”

Amnesty International’s concerns include the excessive use of force to suppress social protests, seen in several countries in the region and most recently in Peru. States in the Americas must ensure that individuals can exercise their right to peaceful protest and that any use of force by the security forces when policing demonstrations is necessary, legitimate and strictly proportionate. The organization also calls on states to end arbitrary detentions, unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment, which are frequently committed in much of the region.

Another issue that must be urgently addressed by states in the region is that of human mobility and the need for international protection, specifically in the case of people fleeing human rights crises in countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. It is alarming how restrictive and even inhumane migration policies, such as those of the USA, Mexico, Peru and Chile, have endangered people in need of international protection, rather than seeking cooperation to address the humanitarian crisis at various borders across the continent.

The region cannot continue down the path of repressing protests, militarizing borders and public security, environmental destruction and failing to protect historically marginalized communities, such as Indigenous peoples and human rights defenders 

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Amnesty International also believes that states must find alternatives to address public security crises other than militarization, which has become the norm in several countries in the region. The use of the armed forces for public security tasks has been intensified in countries such as Mexico and Ecuador, which has created contexts that facilitate grave human rights violations without addressing the root causes of criminal violence.

States must take urgent action to protect human rights defenders; the Americas remains the most dangerous region for human rights defenders. According to Front Line Defenders, Colombia was the world’s deadliest country for defenders in 2022, with at least 186 killings, followed by Mexico (45), Brazil (26) and Honduras (17).

The climate crisis is another danger that threatens the region. Although the impacts of climate change on rural and historically marginalized communities are becoming increasingly clear, states’ efforts have been insufficient and have failed to address dependence on fossil fuels, the main factor behind the crisis.

Similarly, states have not done enough to guarantee the rights of Indigenous peoples in the Americas. Over the past year, Amnesty International has documented cases of killings of Indigenous leaders in countries including Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico in the context of land-related conflicts. Meanwhile, several states have proceeded with or granted concessions to national and multinational companies to implement extractive, agricultural and infrastructure projects without the free, prior and informed consent of the affected Indigenous peoples.

Violence and discrimination against women, girls and LGBTI people is another historical problem that urgently needs a concerted response. States in the region continue to fail to adequately address the very high levels of gender-based violence, including feminicides, and several states have taken measures that endanger people’s sexual and reproductive rights.

Finally, the General Assembly is due to elect four people to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Faced with the withdrawal of nominations from four countries, Amnesty International urges states in the Americas to elect people with the highest credentials, in line with the principles of suitability, impartiality, independence and recognized competence in the field of human rights, and to ensure that nominations and the withdrawal of nominations is firmly based on the inter-American legal framework.

The post Americas: OAS states must address the closure of civic space in the region appeared first on Amnesty International.

“By militarizing their borders and closing the door to thousands of people fleeing massive human rights violations in their home countries, including children, the Boric and Boluarte administrations are needlessly exacerbating the situation and creating a humanitarian crisis with increased risk to the lives and safety of these people,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

Since the start of February 2023, the Chilean government has deployed troops along its borders with Bolivia and Peru in order to prevent the arrival of undocumented people, mostly Venezuelans, into the country. The closure of the border has led to high tensions in recent weeks. On Wednesday 26 April, the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency in seven border departments and ordered the deployment of its armed forces. These measures have been adopted against a backdrop of increasing stigmatization and xenophobia, and legislative debates that seek to criminalize irregular migration.

It is estimated that at least 300 people, including families with children and teenagers, pregnant women and the chronically sick, are stranded on the border between Peru and Chile in a critical humanitarian situation without food, water, shelter or health care in a desert known for its extreme conditions. Most of these people are from Venezuela but the presence of Haitians and other nationalities has also been reported.

When states resort to unilateral measures contrary to international human rights law, they set off a domino effect.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director, Amnesty International

Amnesty International is deeply concerned at the absolute uncertainty in which these people find themselves as a result of cruel and dehumanizing policies implemented in violation of international standards and laws in Peru and Chile for the protection of people in need of international protection.

The organization recalls that Venezuelans are leaving their country as a result of massive human rights violations, repeatedly documented by international mechanisms, and that the governments of Chile and Peru are therefore obliged to provide protection and guarantee the right to seek asylum, in accordance with international treaties ratified by both countries and transposed into their legislation.

Amnesty International has furthermore indicated that Haitians cannot be returned to their country because of the severe humanitarian and human rights crisis ongoing there, which includes widespread violence, political instability, food insecurity and a health system on the verge of collapse. International law prohibits a country from denying entry to persons in need of international protection or forcibly returning them to their country of origin.

“When states resort to unilateral measures contrary to international human rights law, they set off a domino effect. Instead of applying measures that punish those seeking international protection and better living conditions, Chile and Peru should be cooperating to provide a humanitarian and rights-based response to those who are arriving and the communities that are receiving them. Militarizing the borders endangers not only refugees and migrants, but also the people living in those areas,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

To address the crisis, it is essential that the Chilean and Peruvian authorities immediately revive and adapt their systems for processing asylum applications. According to information received, no applications have been processed in Peru since 2020. Amnesty International recently documented the fact that the Chilean authorities were implementing practices and policies that are preventing people in need of international protection from accessing refuge in Chile, in violation of their human rights.

According to the R4V platform, more than 7.23 million Venezuelans have had to leave their country in recent years, fleeing crimes against humanity, massive human rights violations and a complex humanitarian crisis. Approximately 1.5 million of them are in Peru, and 444,000 in Chile.

The post Peru/Chile: Authorities must end militarization of borders in response to arrival of people in need of protection appeared first on Amnesty International.

“Progress in strengthening the police and crime prevention in the country is necessary, but such a complex problem needs to be addressed seriously, responsibly and based on international human rights standards. The fast tracking of the so-called ‘Nain Retamal Bill’, far from addressing the structural problems that afflict the Carabineros and that surfaced dramatically in the 2019 crisis, is an opportunist response which would signal a huge setback in terms of human rights,” said Rodrigo Bustos, executive director of Amnesty International Chile.

Amnesty International believes it is essential that the Senate rectify this error and that the government fulfil its commitments and introduce the necessary amendments to correct the flaws in the bill in the upper chamber. Establishing a kind of legal presumption in favour of the police, including when human rights violations may have been committed, is really dangerous.

In its current form, the Nain Retamal Bill authorizes the disproportionate use of force, breaching the principles of necessity and proportionality and international jurisprudence on the issue of both United Nations treaty bodies and the Inter-American Human Rights system. In addition, the new grounds for legitimate defence may limit the exercise of judicial guarantees for victims of human rights violations, since the wording of the bill is very ambiguous and favours the subjective interpretation of the official involved in the incident when establishing whether or not self-defence is legitimate.

“The Chilean authorities have forgotten that an effective way to protect both citizens and police officers is to implement a comprehensive reform of the Carabineros. Ignoring the real need for transformation of the institution means missing a historic opportunity that was forged through the suffering of thousands of victims during the social upheaval,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

The extreme speed that has characterized the legislative process regarding this bill followed the killing of two police officers, serious crimes that Amnesty International condemns and that must be duly investigated and punished. However, no attempt to make progress on public security should violate human rights; and both perspectives should be included in the debate.

The Chilean authorities have forgotten that an effective way to protect both citizens and police officers is to implement a comprehensive reform of the Carabineros.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Seeking to justify the approval of this bill by stating that it will increase security is not only wrong but will, on the contrary, increase the risk of police abuses and human rights violations and of impunity for such abuses and violations. While there is a need to ensure protection mechanisms for law enforcement officials, these must be based on the protection of human rights, setting clear limits and equipping staff with the appropriate tools to carry out their work.

Following the serious and widespread human rights violations committed in the context of the social upheaval by the Carabineros, a consensus was reached on the urgency of comprehensive reform of the police, with which the government had said it agreed. However, more than three years after the mass protests, there has been minimal progress on the issue. Police reform must include, among other aspects, adequate training, resources and tools to use force, when necessary, in a proportionate and progressive manner and accepting command responsibility for the consequences of interventions. It must also ensure greater civilian oversight and updated protocols that have respect for human rights as their central focus.

“Under the impending Nain Retamal Law, violations of human rights and crimes under international law, as appalling as those committed during the social upheaval, could occur again more frequently and with less possibility of being adequately punished, since the ‘privileged’ grounds also reverse the burden of proof by requiring the victim to prove that this exemption does not apply. We urge the authorities to reconsider this and to direct their efforts toward ensuring that the Nain Retamal Law is not a source of impunity and abuse and to commit themselves to comprehensive reform of the Carabineros institution, as the Executive promised in its programme of government,” added Rodrigo Bustos.

The post Chile: Bill on privileged legitimate defence could increase police abuses and impunity for these crimes appeared first on Amnesty International.

“It’s unfortunate that the main countries hosting Venezuelan refugees in the world are failing in their obligation to guarantee protection to those who flee Venezuela. We had already documented the enormous challenges in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador; and now we have shown that the Chilean government, far from breaking this trend and granting them international protection or migratory regularization, has for years been establishing an insurmountable obstacle course to prevent them settling in the country,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

According to official figures, Chile is home to some 444,400 Venezuelans — a conservative figure as it dates from December 2021. This places it behind Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, which host some 2,500,000, 1,500,000 and 502,000 Venezuelan people respectively. Together, these four Latin American countries are home to almost 70% of the 7.17 million people who have fled Venezuela due to the complex humanitarian emergency, the human rights crisis, and the possible commission of crimes against humanity. Global figures are continuously increasing, as are the countries of destination. For instance, the United States now ranks as the country hosting the third most Venezuelans globally (545,000 people, according to official figures for 2021). As Venezuelans are forced to flee to countries at greater distances and in more precarious conditions, such as the United States or Mexico, Amnesty International has condemned that these states fail to comply with their obligations to guarantee access to asylum and the non-refoulement of Venezuelans to places or situations of risk. 

The testimonies of Venezuelan women living in Chile illustrate the barriers that, for years, people who have managed to enter Chilean territory and seek to obtain international protection or regularize their migratory status must overcome. These obstacles include the imposition of entry visas with impossible requirements, denial of entry at the border, lack of information about the right to request international protection, as well as the implementation of illegal practices that require those who request refugee status to report themselves to the authorities for irregular entry into the country. These measures violate their right to request international protection. They also put people at risk of expulsion, a risk that is aggravated by the impossibility of regularizing their situation in the country, and by the legislative framework that allows and facilitates immediate returns and expulsions, in violation of due process.

The Chilean state forces the majority of Venezuelans to enter through insecure and unauthorized border crossings, but at the same time it penalizes them for entering irregularly and makes it difficult for them to request asylum.

Sofía Lanyon, President, Amnesty International Chile

For Amnesty International, the requirement to self-report irregular entry is extremely alarming. This measure is not only an obstacle to international protection, but also, in practice, penalizes and discriminates against refugees because of the way they enter the country and violates the Convention on the Status of Refugees and its Protocol, of which Chile is a signatory. In addition, it puts them at risk of expulsion to places where their lives and rights are in danger, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement.

“The Chilean state forces the majority of Venezuelans to enter through insecure and unauthorized border crossings, but at the same time it penalizes them for entering irregularly and makes it difficult for them to request asylum. Without options to access regularization channels or to be able to exercise their rights, the authorities condemn Venezuelans to a situation of absolute vulnerability. Proposals for reforms to the normative framework for immigration must be aimed at protecting the rights of people in situations of extreme vulnerability, including women, girls and boys, instead of seeking to facilitate their expulsion and exacerbate the stigmatization they suffer”, said Sofía Lanyon, president of Amnesty International Chile.

On the eve of 8 March, she added: “As we approach the commemoration of International Women’s Day, this is an ideal moment to publicize the injustices that Venezuelan women face in Chile and, at the same time, an opportunity to call on the government  to respond to the human rights violations that are being committed in our country, including by guaranteeing urgent access to international protection.”

In this context, and in line with previous Amnesty International investigations on the matter, the situation of Venezuelan women survivors of gender-based violence who do not have regular immigration status is particularly worrying. Amnesty International fears that, in Chile, the serious obstacles to accessing international protection or other forms of migratory regularization exposed by its research could have a negative impact on the rights of these women, leaving them in a situation of greater vulnerability to gender-based violence.

The organization urgently calls on the Chilean government to guarantee effective and non-discriminatory access for all persons in need of protection to the procedure for the recognition of refugee status; to respect the principle of non-refoulement, including the prohibition of denying entry at the border; and to eliminate the self-reporting requirement so as to comply with international standards for the non-criminalization of irregular entry.

Additional information:

Amnesty International’s research was carried out between November 2022 and January 2023 and included fieldwork in the cities of Arica, Iquique and Santiago. In addition to the testimonies of the 12 Venezuelan women, Amnesty International interviewed 23 representatives of civil society organizations, four international organizations, and nine government entities, and made three freedom of information requests. Amnesty International also used its investigations in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to verify the conditions of departure and transit of Venezuelan refugees in the region.

As in previous investigations, Amnesty International refers to Venezuelan refugees in a context in which the Chilean state has signed the instruments of international law that establish the obligations of states with respect to refugees, specifically the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees and the Cartagena Declaration of 1984, incorporated into Chilean legislation through Law No. 20,430 on the protection of refugees. These regulations require the Chilean state to protect Venezuelans who have fled their country.

The post Chile: Venezuelan women describe the critical lack of protection they face in the country appeared first on Amnesty International.

“The development of autonomy in weapons is accelerating, and the growing application of new Artificial Intelligence and machine learning technologies is a deeply worrying development. These machines risk automating killing, treating it as a technical undertaking which raises human rights risks as well as humanitarian, legal and ethical concerns. Autonomous machines will make life and death decisions without empathy or compassion.

The development of autonomy in weapons is accelerating, and the growing application of new Artificial Intelligence and machine learning technologies is a deeply worrying development.

Agnès Callamard, Secretary General, Amnesty International

“Autonomous weapon systems lack the ability to analyse the intentions behind people’s actions. They cannot make complex decisions about distinction and proportionality, determine the necessity of an attack, refuse an illegal order, or potentially recognize an attempt to surrender, which are vital for compliance with international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

“These new weapons technologies are at risk of further endangering civilians and civilian infrastructure in conflict. Amnesty International remains concerned about the potential human rights risks that increasing autonomy in policing and security equipment poses too, such as systems which use data and algorithms to predict crime.

“It has never been more urgent to draw legal red lines around the production and use of autonomous weapons systems to ensure we maintain meaningful human control over the use of force.

“Amnesty International supports the call made by governments from Latin American and Caribbean countries today for binding international legal controls on these weapons and welcomes the decision to work in alternative forums, beyond the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) where talks have stalled, to advance this new law.”

Background

The Regional Conference on the Social and Humanitarian Impact of Autonomous Weapons in San José, Costa Rica is the first of its kind and involved regional and observer governments, representatives of the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and civil society. Amnesty International is a founding member of Stop Killer Robots, a global coalition of more than 160 organizations working to address autonomy in weapons systems.

The post More than 30 countries call for international legal controls on killer robots appeared first on Amnesty International.

The inquiries are based on three charges: one for crimes against humanity and two others for generalized torture (unlawful coercion) against protesters during the period of social unrest. These investigations are in line with the findings of Amnesty International’s report Eyes on Chile: Police violence and command responsibility during the period of social unrest. At the time, Chile made world news for holding, in record time, the grim title of country with the highest number of people with eye injuries caused by police officers.

What started as isolated protests in Santiago very quickly turned into mass demonstrations throughout the whole country demanding quality education and public health, social security, and decent work. Social unrest that had been building up for decades exploded in an unexpected way. However, the actions of the police were even more unexpected.

What started as isolated protests in Santiago very quickly turned into mass demonstrations throughout the whole country demanding quality education and public health, social security, and decent work

Carabineros and the government of then President Sebastián Piñera made every effort to portray the demonstrations as acts of vandalism that warranted the use of force due to “serious breach of the peace” and “attacks on public and private property”. The use of Molotov cocktails or stones against the police, despite the fact that these were isolated incidents, was the straw that the authorities grasped at in order to justify their repression. Social media was flooded with images of police violence that was clearly excessive.

Between 18 October and 30 November alone, at least three people were killed by state agents and the number of people treated in emergency departments reached 12,500, according to the Ministry of Health.

The Carabineros and the government decided to ignore the fact that international human rights law and Chilean national law prioritize the protection of people over the protection of material objects for one simple reason: the value of life is greater than the value of objects, which, unlike life, can be restored.

Disregarding that premise led to disaster, and the Attorney General’s Office and the Judicial Branch may now consider this criminal conduct on the part of National Police commanders who allowed it to happen.

Among the most serious conduct attributed to the Chilean police, the use of shotguns loaded with highly injurious ammunition and concealed by the official narrative as ‘rubber bullets’ stood out. These were cartridges containing 12 pellets consisting of a rubber and metal alloy that penetrates the skin, which are impossible to aim and which the Carabineros fired indiscriminately. Rubber bullets, the use of which should be exceptional, must always be directed at a single person and only if that person puts the life or safety of another person at risk.

Despite the evidence and the number of injuries increasing day by day, the authorities, including Carabinero commanders, wasted their breath insisting that the bullets they used were made of rubber, because that is how they appeared in the purchase orders. This is akin to claiming that a tiger is a cat simply because the person selling it says that it is.

One of the greatest tragedies was the number of people who suffered eye injuries, mostly due to this ammunition fired from Hatsan Escort shotguns. In a month and a half, almost 350 people, most of them young people, unjustifiably acquired a lifelong disability.

One of the greatest tragedies was the number of people who suffered eye injuries

In a continent that has seen numerous outbursts of public unrest over the last five years as a result of disillusionment with leaders and their policies due to impunity, corruption, and lack of opportunity in the face of the wealth of the few, Chile could be the example that the Americas needs, proving that demanding rights is worth the effort and worthy of respect.

No society can move in the right direction without justice. To do so at the expense of the suffering of the victims would be to build change on shaky foundations. This is why, as part of this change, it is essential to make progress in the investigations and subsequent criminal proceedings against all those who may be responsible for the injuries, aftereffects, and the pain of so many others who fought to make Chile a better country.

In the report Eyes on Chile, Amnesty International called for the investigation of Carabinero strategic commanders, at least the then General Director, Deputy General Director and Director of Order and Security. The time has come for the Attorney General’s Office to decide whether to apply, with sufficient and admissible evidence to do so, for indictment, and for justice to move forward.

The post A change based on justice appeared first on Amnesty International.

The result of the vote means that the Constitution originally enacted under the government of Augusto Pinochet, which for decades has worked to the benefit of some and not others, exacerbating inequalities and precariousness, will continue to remain in place in the country. Although the public did not approve the proposal drafted by the Constitutional Convention, it has been proved on countless occasions that the Constitution hinders the changes necessary to achieve a more just Chile and it is therefore essential to continue the efforts to change it.

“We regret that the result of the referendum resulted in the rejection of a new Constitution, which had the opportunity to improve the living conditions of all people in Chile and move towards greater levels of justice. However, we celebrate the efforts that have been made to build a more just and free country, and we trust that this process will continue until Chile has a constitutional framework that meets the needs of all people in the country. We will never stop fighting until this dream becomes a reality,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

From today we must focus special attention on the future of the country and continue pushing for new spaces that will allow us to move forward and build a state capable of embracing and protecting all its people.

Rodrigo Bustos, executive director of Amnesty International Chile

“Social movements and citizens have raised their voices to demand better living conditions, but it is difficult to see how the root causes of this situation can be addressed while an inherently unjust Constitution that originated in a painful period in Chile’s history remains in place. This is why almost 80% of the population voted in favour of having a new Constitution in 2020,” said Rodrigo Bustos, executive director of Amnesty International Chile.

Keeping the 1980 Constitution means that addressing the abuses and situations of vulnerability experienced by a large part of Chilean society, which would have found effective answers in the new Constitution and the regulations flowing from it, is no longer a possibility in the short to medium term.

“From today we must focus special attention on the future of the country and continue pushing for new spaces that will allow us to move forward and build a state capable of embracing and protecting all its people. That is why we will continue working to make progress in changing the text of the Chilean Constitution, and we call on all those who promoted the choice to reject to continue to commit to the constitutional process, to live up to this commitment and ensure that the new text maintains all the advances in human rights that the rejected Constitution contained,” said Rodrigo Bustos.

The post Chile: Rejection of new Constitution is just one step of a constitutional process that must continue appeared first on Amnesty International.

“In September we will have two options before us that will determine the future of current and future generations. On the one hand, citizens will be able to approve and open the way for a Constitution that supports equal rights, or reject it and keep the current text, which has shown that it works to the benefit of some and not others. Amnesty International has decided to position itself on the path of justice and dignity, which is why it is supporting approval,” said Rodrigo Bustos, executive director of Amnesty International Chile.

Amnesty International has decided to position itself on the path of justice and dignity, which is why it is supporting approval

Rodrigo Bustos, executive director of Amnesty International Chile

“The eyes of the world are on Chile. The population has a historic opportunity to correct many decades of inequalities and injustices and to enshrine human rights in a new representative and inclusive Constitution, as a first step towards building a country that is fairer and free for all,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

Amnesty International believes that the text of the new Constitution will enshrine more robustly fundamental rights, especially economic, social, cultural and environmental rights related to adequate access to health, pensions, housing, education, social security, decent work and water, among others. It will, therefore, have a direct impact on people’s daily lives, opening the way to greater equality and justice.

This is in clear contrast with what is happening today under the current Constitution, which does not include certain crucial rights, such as the right to housing, to water, to food – or mentions them, but very inadequately, as is the case with the right to health and social security. The current Constitution frequently assigns a rather passive role to the state, instead of setting out its obligation to ensure these rights. This helps explain the inequality and the situation of vulnerability in which the vast majority of the population in Chile lives and which sparked the mass protests of October 2019.

The eyes of the world are on Chile. The population has a historic opportunity to correct many decades of inequalities and injustices and to enshrine human rights

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

In addition, the text of the proposed new Constitution safeguards the rights of groups of people with special protection needs because of the discrimination they have traditionally experienced, such as people with disabilities, children and adolescents, and Indigenous peoples. In no way does it establish privileges, but it will make it possible to even up a situation that has thus far given rise to injustices.

Amnesty International acknowledges that the Constitution alone will not ensure immediate and comprehensive protection of the rights of all people, but it is an essential first step in that direction.

“The new Constitution is not the end point, but a starting point for constructing that path to greater equality. Approving is human and opens the way to a society of greater fairness and solidarity,” said Rodrigo Bustos.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Amnesty International press office (Amnesty International Americas): press@amnesty.org

Ilsen Jara (Amnesty International Chile): ilsen.jara@amnistia.cl

The post Chile: Amnesty International launches ‘Aprobar es Humano’ (Approving is Human) campaign, says new Constitution enables progress towards better quality of life appeared first on Amnesty International.

• The region has accounted for 28% of all COVID-19 deaths in the world, despite having only 8.4% of the global population.
• Since the start of the pandemic, the number of people living in poverty remains 14 million higher compared to 2019.
• Since the start of the pandemic, the number of people living in extreme poverty in LAC has risen by 16 million.
• LAC was the region that experienced the most drastic drop in employment in 2020. Women, young people and people working in the informal sector have been the most impacted.
• Almost 60% of the children who missed an entire school year in the world were in LAC.
• 44 million people became food insecure, of which 21 million became severely food insecure.

COVID-19 Exacerbated by Inequality

• LAC continues to be the world’s most unequal region. In 2019, the richest 20% of the population held almost half of total income, while the poorest 20% held less than 5% of total income.
• The richest 1% in the region holds almost one quarter of total income.
• There is a link between higher levels of income inequality and the impact of the pandemic in terms of lives lost. The most unequal countries in the region (such as Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Paraguay) had very high numbers of COVID-19 deaths per million people.
• In 2019, 30% of homes in the region were considered overcrowded. 50% of homes of people living in poverty were overcrowded.
• Less than a third of vulnerable households have access to a computer at home.

Social Protection Responses and Health during COVID-19

• In 2019, only 47.2% of employed persons were affiliated or contributed to pension systems. One in four people aged 65 or over did not receive a pension.
• In most LAC countries, emergency social protection measures adopted covered less than two thirds of the population.
• A total of 64 cash transfer programs were implemented in 24 of 33 countries. However, more than half of the interventions directly benefited less than 10% of the population, and consisted of additional amounts of less than a minimum monthly wage.
• In LAC, 30% of people do not have access to free public health care, due to the lack of health insurance coverage.
• Not one country in the LAC region expanded health insurance or enabled emergency insurance during the pandemic.
• Except from Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay, no other country in the region spends 6% of their GDP in public health, the minimum amount to secure universal healthcare established by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
• Due to the lack of effective access to free and public health, millions of families cover their health expenditures from their savings. Out-of-pocket expenses represent 28% of the total health spending in the region

Taxation and Inequality in LAC

• LAC countries collect less taxes as a percentage of GDP compared to countries with a similar level of development. On average, the region only collects 22% of GDP in taxes, compared to 33% for OECD countries
• In LAC, collection depends heavily on indirect taxes, such as consumption taxes, which disproportionately affect women and other groups who are overrepresented among the poor.
• In 2019, countries in the region collected, on average, 46% of their total tax revenues from indirect taxes, compared to only one third from direct taxes.
• Tax evasion in LAC has led to hundreds of billions of dollars of lost public revenue each year. In 2018, LAC lost approximately US$350 billion, 6.1% of GDP the region’s GDP. This amount would be sufficient to cover the minimum resources to secure universal health in the region.
• LAC countries are estimated to lose annually US$40.1 billion to corporate tax abuse. It is estimated that with the income that has been lost over the last 10 years, the region could have guaranteed access to drinking water to 492,632 people or have prevented the death of 42,281 children.

The post Unequal and Lethal: Facts and Figures appeared first on Amnesty International.

Governments across Latin America and the Caribbean must urgently ramp up spending on the right to social protection and health in order to tackle the region’s obscene socio-economic inequality that has proven fatal during the Covid pandemic, said Amnesty International and the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) in a new joint report released today.

Unequal and Lethal: Five key actions to recover from the human rights crisis unleashed by the pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean explains the factors behind the region’s disproportionate death toll from Covid compared to other parts of the world. With only 8.4% of the world’s population, the region has endured 28% of total global deaths due to COVID-19. The report finds that those countries with the highest inequality and lowest public spending on health and social protection suffered most during the pandemic, with the most devasting impacts on historically marginalized groups.

A human rights-based rethink of economic policies is key to avoiding future calamities in what is, by many measures, the world’s most unequal region. Despite the staggering inequality and poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean, over the last decades governments have failed to collect sufficient tax revenues and to do so in a way that combats inequality, even during times of economic boom. This has inevitably resulted in meagre spending on healthcare services and social protection – including unemployment, pensions and childcare support – which are vital for a life of dignity and to truly uphold human rights for all.  

“Governments have the obligation to proactively mobilize the resources needed to protect their populations from the worst impacts of discrimination, disease and economic disaster. If Latin American countries had done this in the decades before the pandemic, the region could have avoided so much pain and loss of life,” said Kate Donald, Acting Executive Director of CESR. “Now is their chance to prevent the next inequality-induced disaster and make the shift towards a rights-based economy.”

Countries such as Mexico, Brazil and Peru, where the richest 1% of the population hoards over 30% of national wealth, have recorded the highest numbers of Covid deaths in the region proportional to their populations. Chile, where the richest 20% of the population takes home 10 times more income than the poorest 20%, also has one of the region’s highest death rates per capita.

Governments have the obligation to proactively mobilize the resources needed to protect their populations from the worst impacts of discrimination, disease and economic disaster

Kate Donald, Acting Executive Director of CESR

While many Latin American countries provided cash transfers during the pandemic, none of them expanded health insurance nor took sufficient action to implement universal social security mechanisms and expand coverage to ensure the most disadvantaged people were covered.

The impact of these shortcomings across the region fell most severely on women, who lost jobs at a higher rate than men and whose disproportionate role in caring for children and family continues to affect their unequal enjoyment of rights – even more so if they are Indigenous or of African descent.

“Being born with a certain skin colour or growing up in a certain postcode should not determine your chances of dying of infectious diseases like Covid. Two years into the pandemic, governments in Latin America have still not caught on to the urgency of implementing a human rights-based approach to recovering from the pandemic and tackling inequality,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

“Promoting equality does not mean treating everyone in the same way. Latin America’s present situation is the result of hundreds of years of colonial injustices that mean certain groups have been historically and systematically denied their rights. As countries recover from the pandemic governments need to address this head on by adopting a substantive equality approach and affirmative action measures.”

Although the Pan American Health Organization calls for a minimum of 6% of GDP to be spent on health in order to ensure universal coverage, nearly all the countries in the region spend far less on public health services, which means that they do not have enough hospital beds, doctors or nurses to effectively deal with Covid-19 or other health crises. In Peru, for example, in the decade prior to the pandemic, authorities failed to increase public spending on health despite years of sustained economic growth, only investing 3.3% of its GDP. Meanwhile in Mexico, over 15 million people lost access to health coverage in the two years before the pandemic, due to bureaucratic inefficiencies in government health policies.

In Chile, taxes and social security contributions only account for half of spending on healthcare, with the other half coming from patients through mandatory prepayment fees and voluntary and out-of-pocket expenses. Chile’s per capita public spending on health represents just a third of the OECD average, and it has half as many hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants as the OECD average.

“Being born with a certain skin colour or growing up in a certain postcode should not determine your chances of dying of infectious diseases like Covid

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Even when they have adequate policies in theory, governments stumble on implementation, with a key barrier often being the failure to generate sufficient fiscal resources to make them effective. Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean generally collect less revenue from taxes than others with similar levels of development in different parts of the world. In 2019, the region only collected on average 22% of its GDP in taxes, compared to 33% for OECD countries.

Moreover, many have regressive taxation systems with taxes that do not ask enough from those most able to pay, thus undermining their resources to overcome inequality and redistribute wealth. For example, Latin American countries depend heavily on indirect taxes – which are more regressive as they represent a larger burden for poorer sections of the population – and collect very little from wealth taxes which target economic elites.

“Without boldly facing the need to tax more and tax better – as is their human rights obligation – countries in Latin America will continue to be dragged down by a malaise of socio-economic inequality, favouring a rich elite while harming society as a whole,” said Kate Donald.

The post Americas: Disproportionate deaths from Covid are the result of pre-existing inequalities appeared first on Amnesty International.