“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.

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Amnesty International Report 2021/22: The State of the World’s Human Rights details how, two years into the pandemic, the Americas is still the region with the most deaths from Covid-19, largely due to limited and unequal access to healthcare, poorly funded public health systems, and inadequate social protection policies and measures for marginalized communities. Impunity for grave human rights violations and crimes under international law remains a serious concern in more than half the countries in the region, while attacks on judicial independence have also increased.

“It’s shameful and unconscionable that instead of addressing the injustices and deep-seated inequalities that have plagued the Americas for generations and exacerbated the impact of the pandemic, many governments have instead sought to silence and repress those who protest peacefully and speak out in demand of a safer, fairer and more compassionate world,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

The Americas has achieved the world’s second-highest vaccination rates per capita, with Cuba and Chile leading the way in vaccinating over 90 percent of their populations, but unequal regional access has undermined protection in countries like Haiti, where less than two percent of the population had been vaccinated as of 10 March 2022. Meanwhile, wealthy nations such as the USA and Canada stockpiled more doses than needed and turned a blind eye as Big Pharma put profits ahead of people, refusing to share their technology to enable wider distribution of vaccines.

“Many states in the Americas have made encouraging progress in vaccinating their populations, but they must do much more to ensure equal and universal access to vaccines in every country and address the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic, which has disproportionately affected those who already face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and marginalization, such as women and Indigenous and Afro-descendent people,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

Even before the pandemic, the Americas had the world’s highest rates of income inequality. The continent’s uneven economic recovery last year made little impact on the consequences of decades of structural inequality and proved insufficient to reverse the 2020 economic downturn, which brought record unemployment, falling incomes and increases in poverty. This has worsened preexisting humanitarian emergencies in countries like Haiti and Venezuela, where millions of people continue to lack access to sufficient food and health care.

It’s shameful and unconscionable that instead of addressing the injustices and deep-seated inequalities that have plagued the Americas for generations and exacerbated the impact of the pandemic, many governments have instead sought to silence and repress those who protest peacefully and speak out in demand of a safer, fairer and more compassionate world

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Meanwhile, efforts to stifle independent and critical voices gathered steam in 2021 as states deployed a widening gamut of tools and tactics, including threats, harassment, politically motivated arbitrary arrests, unfounded prosecutions, unlawful surveillance, excessive use of force, enforced disappearance and unlawful killings, to crack down on the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.

At least 36 states in the USA introduced more than 80 pieces of draft legislation limiting the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, while in Colombia authorities brutally repressed protesters during last year’s National Strike, resulting in 46 deaths, 3,275 arbitrary detentions, over 100 ocular injuries, and 49 reports of sexual violence.

Cuban authorities also arbitrarily detained hundreds of people during historic protests last July and banned another march to call for their release in October, as well as resorting to internet shutdowns to prevent people from sharing information about repression and organizing in response. Surreptitious digital technologies were further weaponized in El Salvador, where NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware was deployed against journalists and activists on a massive scale.

Dozens of journalists and media workers were threatened, censored, attacked and detained across the region, with Mexico remaining the world’s most lethal country for journalists after recording nine killings in 2021 and at least eight more in early 2022.

Excessive and unnecessary use of force in law enforcement operations also proved deadly in many countries, including Brazil, where the deadliest ever operation by police in Rio de Janeiro left 27 residents of the Jacarezinho favela dead last May. In the USA, police shot dead at least 888 people in 2021, with Black people disproportionately impacted.

Racism and discrimination remained prevalent across the Americas, with inadequate access to water, sanitation, health services and social benefits exacerbating the impact of the pandemic on Indigenous peoples in particular. Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela all continued to allow major extractive, agricultural and infrastructure projects to proceed without obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of affected Indigenous peoples, and sometimes despite judicial orders to suspend operations.

Despite some progress, action on climate change remained limited. The Escazú Agreement, a regional treaty for environmental justice and the protection of environmental defenders in Latin America and the Caribbean, finally came into force last April, although Cuba, Honduras and Venezuela have yet to sign it and 12 other countries have still not ratified it. The USA rejoined the Paris Agreement under President Biden and sought to reverse hundreds of laws and policies that the Trump administration passed to deregulate the environmental and energy sectors, but it continued to approve oil drilling projects on federal land.

Brazil’s President Bolsonaro continued to encourage deforestation and extraction of natural resources in the Amazon, exacerbating the impact of the climate crisis on Indigenous peoples’ lands and territories, and drawing accusations of genocide and ecocide before the International Criminal Court. Elsewhere, Canada continued to subsidize the fossil fuel industry, Bolivia passed regulations that incentivized logging and the burning of forests, and Mexico, the world’s 11^th largest greenhouse gas emitter, failed to present new emission reduction targets at COP26.

Tens of thousands of people – mostly from Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras and Venezuela – fled human rights violations related to violence, poverty, inequality and climate change throughout the year. Yet the governments of Canada, Chile, Curaçao, Mexico, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and the USA continued to prohibit the entry of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, and violated international law by deporting, without proper consideration of their claims, those who did make it across borders.

Tens of thousands of Haitian refugees sought international protection, but governments across the region failed to shield them from detention and unlawful pushbacks, extortion, racial discrimination and gender-based violence. US border control officials pushed back over a million refugees and migrants at the US-Mexico border, including tens of thousands of unaccompanied children, using Covid-19 public health provisions as a pretext.

Gender-based violence remains a major concern across the region, with measures to protect women and girls inadequate throughout the region, and investigations into domestic violence, rape and femicide often flawed. Mexico recorded 3,716 killings of women in 2021, of which 969 were investigated as femicides, while Mexican security forces used excessive force, arbitrary detentions and sexual violence against women protesters. Both Paraguay and Puerto Rico declared states of emergency because of increased violence against women and there were also significant increases in violence against women in Peru and Uruguay.

The Americas saw some limited progress in the recognition of the rights of LGBTI people last year with Argentina introducing identity cards recognizing people who identify as non-binary and passing a law to promote the employment of trans people. President Biden’s government took steps to repeal the previous administration’s discriminatory policies toward LGBTI people in the USA, but hundreds of state-level bills were also introduced that would curtail their rights.

From Argentina to Colombia, the green tide has built up unstoppable momentum and shown that change is possible even in seemingly hopeless situations. The feminist activists of the Americas are an inspiration for all the world to never stop standing up for human rights 

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Legislation that would better protect the rights of LGBTI people was blocked in many parts of the region, while individuals in several countries continued to be the targets of discrimination and violence because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. The Americas accounted for 316 of 375 trans and gender-diverse people reported murdered worldwide from October 2020 to September 2021, with Brazil recording 125 killings – more than any other country on earth.

Many governments did not do enough to prioritize sexual and reproductive health in 2021. Essential services were lacking, and safe abortion services remained criminalized in most countries, with the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica and Nicaragua maintaining total bans on abortion. State governments in the USA introduced more abortion restrictions than in any other year, with Texas enacting a near-total ban that criminalizes abortion just six weeks into pregnancy.

Undeterred, Latin America’s vibrant feminist movement has continued to gain momentum since Argentina legalized abortion in late 2020, with Mexico’s Supreme Court declaring the criminalization of abortion unconstitutional in September 2021 and in Colombia’s Constituional Court decriminalizing abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy in February 2022.

“From Argentina to Colombia, the green tide has built up unstoppable momentum and shown that change is possible even in seemingly hopeless situations. The feminist activists of the Americas are an inspiration for all the world to never stop standing up for human rights,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas. 

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Amnesty International press office: press@amnesty.org

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In the Americas, Amnesty International Report 2020/21: The State of the World’s Human Rights documents how women, refugees, migrants, under-protected health workers, Indigenous Peoples, Black people and other groups historically forgotten by governments have borne the brunt of the pandemic, while some leaders have exploited the crisis to ramp up their assault on human rights.

“Over the last year we’ve witnessed certain leaders in the Americas respond to the pandemic with a mixture of denial, opportunism and contempt for human rights. We cannot continue down the road to ruin, repeating the mistakes that left the region ravaged by inequality, discrimination and destruction, even before COVID-19 struck,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

The governments of the Americas must rebuild the region into one grounded in fairness, compassion and humanity

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

The Americas has been the region worst hit by COVID-19, with over 54 million cases and 1.3 million deaths. The USA, Brazil and Mexico have the world’s highest absolute death tolls, after their governments, along with those of Nicaragua and Venezuela, issued confused health messages, failed to implement policies to protect those most at risk, or failed to ensure full transparency.

“The governments of the Americas must rebuild the region into one grounded in fairness, compassion and humanity. The first step towards this is to prioritize the needs of those left behind by decades of abandonment and divisive policies and guarantee their access to COVID-19 vaccines. They must also take bold and comprehensive measures to address the disproportionate social and economic effects of the pandemic on people who have been historically discriminated against, to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to live in safety and enjoy their human rights,”  said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

The Americas began 2020 as the world’s most unequal region and this only worsened under the pandemic, with an additional 22 million people falling into poverty, while the number living in extreme poverty grew by 8 million. COVID-19 hit the region’s vast informal economy hard, while government measures frequently undermined the social, economic and cultural rights of those in the most precarious situations.

At least 10,558 health workers across the Americas had died from COVID-19 as of 5 March 2021, with health professionals in almost every country complaining about their governments’ failure to provide safe working conditions and sufficient personal protective equipment. Those who spoke out sometimes faced sanctions, as in Nicaragua, where at at least 31 health workers were dismissed after expressing their concerns.

Arbitrary arrests were common and often linked to the enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions, with some countries forcibly quarantining people in state-run centers that failed to meet sanitary and physical distancing standards. As people continued to flee violence, poverty and the effects of the climate crisis, several governments detained refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants in conditions that left them at high risk of contracting COVID-19, while others forcibly returned people without proper consideration of their asylum claims.

Under the pretext of public health measures, US authorities summarily detained and deported almost all asylum-seekers on the US-Mexico border, expelling over half a million migrants and asylum-seekers from March 2020 through February 2021, including over 13,000 unaccompanied children as of November 2020.

Poor sanitary conditions and overcrowding were features of many of the region’s prisons, with inadequate state measures denying inmates their right to health and exposing them to COVID-19. There were at least 90 prison riots across the region protesting precarious conditions as concern about the pandemic grew between March and May.

COVID-19 restrictions also impacted freedom of expression, which remained under threat in Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Uruguay, Venezuela and Mexico, which was the world’s deadliest country for journalists in 2020. Rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly were also denied or unduly restricted by the police or military, with unlawful use of force recorded in more than a dozen countries.

Racial injustice and discrimination persisted, with the killing of George Floyd leading millions of people in the USA to join the Black Lives Matter protests. US police violently repressed those protests and failed to protect peaceful demonstrators from violent counter-protesters. Elsewhere, police violence in Brazil escalated during the pandemic, with at least 3,181 people – 79% of them Black – killed by police between January and June. Impunity and a lack of access to justice remained a serious concern in much of the region.

The pandemic intensified the crisis of violence against women and girls across the Americas, with lockdown measures leading to a marked increase in domestic violence, rape and femicide. Measures to protect women and girls were inadequate throughout the region and investigations into cases of gender-based violence were often inadequate and insufficient. 

Many governments have not done enough to prioritize sexual and reproductive health as essential services during the pandemic. Abortion remained criminalized in most countries, posing a serious obstacle to the right to health. The Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica and Nicaragua still have total bans on abortion, while 18 women remained in jail on charges related to obstetric emergencies in El Salvador.

LGBTI people were the targets of violence and killings in countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, Paraguay, Puerto Rico and the USA. At least 287 trans and gender-diverse people were killed in the continent last year.

Indigenous Peoples were heavily affected by COVID-19 because of inadequate access to clean water, sanitation, health services, social benefits, and a lack of culturally appropriate mechanisms to protect their rights to health and livelihoods. Moreover, several countries declared mining an essential sector during the pandemic, exposing Indigenous Peoples to contagion. Indigenous Peoples’ rights remained under threat, with many governments failing to ensure their free, prior and informed consent before greenlighting major extractive, agricultural and infrastructure projects that affect them.

We draw strength from the passion and resilience that we have witnessed from activists across the region, especially from women, young people and anti-racist activists. Their courage in the face of adversity shows us that we can create a more just world for everyone

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Latin America and the Caribbean continued to be the most dangerous region for human rights defenders, especially those working to defend their land, territory and the environment, and Colombia remained the world’s most lethal country for defenders. Nonetheless, 2020 also brought cause for hope, with human rights defenders achieving great victories and refusing to be silenced.

Argentina made history in December by becoming the largest nation in Latin America to legalize abortion, thanks to a sustained campaign by a vibrant feminist movement. In November, Mexico became the 11^th country in Latin America and the Caribbean to ratify the Escazú Agreement, an unprecedented regional treaty for the protection of the environment and environmental defenders, meaning it will come into effect on 22 April 2021. And although action on climate change remained limited across the continent, Chile became the first country in the region, and one of the first in the world, to submit a 2030 emission reduction target.

“While the first year of the pandemic has been particularly difficult for the Americas, we draw strength from the passion and resilience that we have witnessed from activists across the region, especially from women, young people and anti-racist activists. Their courage in the face of adversity shows us that we can create a more just world for everyone,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Amnesty International press office:  press@amnesty.org

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“The commencement of vaccination against COVID-19 has brought hope to a region that was already experiencing multiple human rights crises, many of which have since been exacerbated by the pandemic. A year on from the beginning of lockdowns in Latin America and the Caribbean, governments must use vaccination as an opportunity to bridge inequalities, not widen them,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

With several countries in the region holding presidential or midterm elections in 2021, the report warns that political pressures and corruption could impact access to vaccines and the universal right to health. It also calls on governments to consult widely when designing their vaccine plans and ensure that at-risk groups, including health workers and older people, as well as marginalized groups such as Indigenous peoples, migrants, refugees, Afro-descendant people and people deprived of their liberty, among other discriminated groups, are not left behind in receiving vaccines.

The commencement of vaccination against COVID-19 has brought hope to a region that was already experiencing multiple human rights crises, many of which have since been exacerbated by the pandemic. A year on from the beginning of lockdowns in Latin America and the Caribbean, governments must use vaccination as an opportunity to bridge inequalities, not widen them

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

“As ten countries undergo elections this year in a region where corruption in the health sector is commonplace, there is a real risk of governments using vaccination drives for political gain. Politicians must not use vaccines to reward supporters or put pressure on sectors of society that are critical of them. Health is a human right that must never be undermined by politics,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

Amnesty International is calling on states to ensure access to information and transparency, as they are essential for adequate vaccination plans. Pharmaceutical companies, while supplying life-saving vaccines, have also undermined transparency in negotiations with countries in the region, potentially affecting universal access to vaccines. As well as conducting more than two-dozen interviews, the organization submitted information requests to 17 countries asking for specific details of the negotiations and the contracts that governments signed with pharmaceutical companies. While seven governments replied to these requests, not one of them provided full responses.

“In the context of a global shortage in vaccine supplies, transparency and accountability around how vaccines are developed, produced, purchased and distributed is paramount. Pharmaceutical companies have a responsibility to respect human rights under international law which requires private actors to proactively take measures to avoid infringing on human rights, to share their knowledge and technology to maximize the number of doses of vaccines available, and work together to ensure that those most at-risk of COVID-19 in all countries can access life-saving vaccines immediately. They need to be part of a human-rights based solution,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

At the time of writing, 13 countries in the region had made public their national vaccination plans. Very few of those had consulted with experts, communities, or civil society during their design phase, with some of them overlooking at-risk populations. While all 13 countries’ plans prioritize frontline health workers for vaccination, Amnesty International has received reports from Mexico, Peru and Brazil that administrative or directive staff of hospitals could be receiving vaccines ahead of those on the frontlines treating COVID-19 patients. Only six countries had reasonably updated registers, disaggregated by gender, profession, location, and other data, on the number of health workers affected by COVID-19 during the pandemic. Several countries have severe shortages in terms of healthcare personnel, with numbers of doctors and nurses per capita far below the threshold that the WHO considers necessary for delivering basic health services in the world’s poorest countries.

“The shocking gaps in the staffing, registry and protection of the healthcare sector in Latin America goes to show once again how economic growth in many countries has not translated into stronger social rights nor more robust healthcare systems. A strong vaccination effort cannot exist without well protected health workers and health systems,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

While several countries have included Indigenous peoples as priority groups during vaccine rollout, Chile, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico have made no mention of protocols for Indigenous peoples in their plans. Indigenous peoples, who comprise a high proportion of the population in several of those countries, have been systematically marginalized and excluded from public policies for centuries.

Furthermore, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica have either placed significant barriers for migrants and refugees to access vaccines, or overtly blocked their access, despite the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees having affirmed that including these groups in vaccine rollout is key to ending the pandemic.  

As ten countries undergo elections this year in a region where corruption in the health sector is commonplace, there is a real risk of governments using vaccination drives for political gain. Politicians must not use vaccines to reward supporters or put pressure on sectors of society that are critical of them. Health is a human right that must never be undermined by politics

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

While many governments have publicly promised that COVID-19 vaccines will be free for all, only nine of the 17 countries in the report have officially confirmed this in their official plans or passed regulation to this effect. Meanwhile, members of the private sector in several countries have made attempts to buy up vaccines directly from developers, possibly creating parallel vaccine rollout processes that could undermine fairness for all.

“States must live up to their obligations to ensure that vaccines remain free at the point of care.  Governments should prohibit direct private purchases by law and consider sanctioning individuals or private organizations that circumvent the national vaccination plan or otherwise unduly impede the state’s measures to ensure fair access to the vaccines. The vaccine is needed first by those populations who are most at-risk,” concluded Erika Guevara-Rosas.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Amnesty International press office:  press@amnesty.org

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“Unfortunately, the arrests of Jeanine Áñez and other former officials of the interim government, together with Supreme Decree 4461 which grants pardons or amnesties to Movement for Socialism (MAS) supporters, seem a continuation of the pattern of bias in the system of justice that helps perpetuate impunity for human rights violations. Amnesty International has for decades been reporting on this crisis of impunity in Bolivia, which can only be reversed by genuinely independent and impartial justice,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

The order issued on 14 March for the preventive detention of Jeanine Añez and several former officials of her government, occurred within the framework of the case called “Coup d’état”, initiated for their alleged criminal responsibility for the offences of sedition, conspiracy and terrorism, not for their responsibility for the human rights violations that occurred while they were in government and that must be investigated independently, impartially and with respect for due process guarantees.

Amnesty International has for decades been reporting on this crisis of impunity in Bolivia, which can only be reversed by genuinely independent and impartial justice

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Amnesty International has repeatedly highlighted the human rights violations that occurred after the elections of 20 October 2019 in Bolivia, including the repression of demonstrations, with the use of excessive and unnecessary force, by the National Police and the Armed Forces. According to information gathered by Amnesty International, at least 35 people died and 833 were injured in the context of the protests that began in October 2019 and many others were detained in breach of the rules of due process. These human rights violations have not been adequately investigated, prosecuted or punished, allowing impunity for them to persist.

Of special concern is the impunity and lack of clarification regarding the events that occurred during the protests in Sacaba and Senkata in which at least 18 people died and many others were injured. Such is the level of distrust among victims’ relatives in Bolivian justice, that they have asked that an Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) be the body that investigates these events.

With the support of the international community, and under the auspices of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the GIEI began its investigations in Bolivia at the end of November 2020, rekindling the hope of justice, truth and reparation for the victims of human rights violations.

The 2019 post-election crisis was also characterized by harassment and threats targeting political opponents, and people perceived as such, by the then interim government of Jeanine Añez, as well as public threats against political leaders accused of disseminating “misinformation” and journalists accused of “sedition”, with people being accused of participating in “movements of destabilization and disinformation” and of waging a “virtual war” against the government.

While this harassment is a breach of human rights, there have also been credible reports of possible crimes and use of force by supporters of the MAS political party during the protests; these must be impartially, promptly and independently investigated.

Contrary to its commitment to guarantee justice, the government of President Luis Alberto Arce has tried to justify the alleged crimes committed by MAS supporters during the political crisis at the end of 2019, stating that, although “formally they can be interpreted as crimes set out in the Criminal Code… they do not suggest an intention to commit an offence”. The government therefore proposes to leave such criminal actions unpunished solely on the grounds that they were committed by its supporters.

President Luis Alberto Arce’s message must be robust and unequivocal: if his government is going to commit itself to truth and justice for human rights violations in Bolivia, it must be unwavering in its commitment to due process and the independence and impartiality of the justice system

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

It was in this context that, on 18 February, Supreme Decree 4461 was approved granting an amnesty or pardon to supporters of the government of President Luis Alberto Arce who were detained for alleged crimes committed during the political crisis that started in October 2019.

“Supreme Decree 4461 is a flagrant and multiple violation of the state’s international human rights obligations because of its clear ideological bias, granting an amnesty that benefits only people who support the government,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

Amnesty International calls on the Bolivian authorities to respect due process, including ensuring the access of detained former officials to an adequate defence and – if applicable – to a fair, independent and impartial trial that does not involve ambiguous criminal offences. Moreover, Amnesty International calls for the immediate repeal of Supreme Decree 4461, so as to guarantee that those responsible for crimes in the context of the 2019 crisis, whether or not they are MAS supporters, face justice and ensure that the victims of arbitrary detention and other human rights violations can access justice, fully guaranteeing their civil and political rights.

“President Luis Alberto Arce’s message must be robust and unequivocal: if his government is going to commit itself to truth and justice for human rights violations in Bolivia, it must be unwavering in its commitment to due process and the independence and impartiality of the justice system,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Amnesty International press office: press@amnesty.org

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Now we face a new global threat: a pandemic that does not respect borders, gender or social class and that disproportionately affects vulnerable groups. Governments can of course take exceptional measures to combat the biggest public health crisis of our time, but they must respect, guarantee and recognise the indivisibility of human rights. Moreover, in its resolution “The OAS Response to the COVID19 Pandemic”, the organization instructed member states to ensure full respect for human rights as they respond to the crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic brings us face to face with our region’s longstanding problems. Most of our public health systems are underfunded. Weak labour protections, a high percentage of people working in the informal sector and poverty combine to intensify inequality and discrimination across the Americas. And as if this were not enough, governments have used the need to combat the pandemic as a pretext for introducing repressive measures.

In El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, for example, the authorities have detained thousands of people as a first rather than a last resort when enforcing lockdowns. In the Caribbean country, the authorities have detained approximately 85,000 people, many of whom presumably left their homes to buy food or items they need for everyday life. Similarly, Amnesty International has verified that many of the thousands of people kept in “containment centres” in El Salvador were detained only because they left their homes to buy food or medicine.

The COVID-19 pandemic brings us face to face with our region’s longstanding problems. Most of our public health systems are underfunded. Weak labour protections, a high percentage of people working in the informal sector and poverty combine to intensify inequality and discrimination across the Americas

Certain aspects of government quarantine measures are deeply concerning. In El Salvador,Venezuela and Paraguay, people have been deprived of their freedom for long periods of time in centres that are unsuited for social distancing or do not have adequate provisions for shelter, water and sanitation. In some cases, detainees do not have rapid access to COVID-19 testing and run a high risk of contracting the virus while being deprived of their freedom.

The lack of safeguards for migrants returning to their countries is especially worrying. Amnesty International has verified that migrants returning to El Salvador were confined in an enclosure exposed to the weather while a storm battered the country. Although Paraguay and El Salvador have seen a significant reduction in the numbers being held in government quarantine centres, the authorities in Venezuela continue to detain thousands of refugees and migrants whose only option has been to return from countries like Peru and Colombia.

Ill-treatment is also among measures used under the pretext of combating COVID-19. We have verified videos in which the police in Venezuela, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic subjected people who broke lockdown to humiliating and degrading punishments.

We have also witnessed the illegitimate use of force. Venezuelan authorities have used excessive and unnecessary force to repress demonstrations calling for access to basic services and food. In El Salvador, the National Civil Police are reported to have beaten and shot at people who left their homes to buy food and workers responsible for maintaining essential services and who therefore had the right to free transit.

All these repressive responses to the pandemic have one thing in common: silence from the highest multilateral regional authority. Amnesty International is very concerned about the inaction of the OAS. In the past, we have witnessed robust discussions in this forum about grave human rights violations in Venezuela and Nicaragua, while also noting a dismal silence in the human rights violation of Bolivia, Chile, Haiti and Honduras, last year.

All these repressive responses to the pandemic have one thing in common: silence from the highest multilateral regional authority

The OAS must serve everyone who lives on this continent without discrimination. As COVID-19 spreads throughout this hemisphere, the OAS has no option but to play a leading role and activate its mechanisms to avoid a repeat of these repressive measures. Its Permanent Council can call a meeting to take action if requested by any of its Member States or its Secretary General. Standing up for human rights is a simple task.

All those working in the field of human rights hope these issues are not on the agenda at OAS’s fiftieth General Assembly in October. We hope that by then the OAS will have made a timely and emphatic response to these repressive measures so that they are no longer used in our continent.

Belissa Guerrero Rivas is Americas Advocacy Coordinator at Amnesty International

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At least 35 people have died and 833 have been injured in the context of protests since the elections of 20 October 2019, according to information contained in the report Healing the pandemic of impunity: 20 human rights recommendations for candidates in the 2020 presidential elections in Bolivia.

“Bolivia faces a grave socio-political crisis, which puts the country at a crossroads. The nation’s only viable means of emerging from this crisis is to put the human rights of all its people at the centre of its response. Otherwise, the population, especially historically marginalized groups, are condemned to spiralling violence and continuing violations of their rights,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

As Bolivia prepares for the next presidential elections, announced for 18 October following two postponements, the country is going through a serious social, political and human rights crisis that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of August 13, Bolivian Ministry of Health figures indicate that more than 3,800 have died and 96,000 people have tested positive in the context of the health emergency.

The COVID-19 pandemic is not the only serious crisis facing Bolivia. The presidential candidates must also commit to take urgent measures to heal the historical pandemic of impunity that is afflicting the country

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Demonstrations, including roadblocks, protesting against the postponement of the elections have intensified in recent days, amid complaints that the blockades are preventing key supplies for dealing with COVID-19 from reaching various communities that need them. There have also been reports of violence by some protesters and between groups of protesters, with interventions by the security forces.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is not the only serious crisis facing Bolivia. The presidential candidates must also commit to take urgent measures to heal the historical pandemic of impunity that is afflicting the country,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

“Without truth and justice, there are no guarantees of non-repetition of the human rights violations that we have documented. In this context of polarization and mistrust, the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) represents a real opportunity to guarantee justice, which is why it is important that Bolivia makes a commitment to guarantee that it can work in the country.”

Amnesty International’s recommendations to the presidential candidates focus on ensuring that human rights violations committed during the post-election crisis that began in October 2019 are investigated, guaranteeing the rights of victims and preventing further human rights violations.

Photo by AIZAR RALDES/AFP via Getty Images

For this report, Amnesty International interviewed more than 60 people, including relatives of the victims of human rights violations committed in the context of the protests in Sacaba and the blockade of the state-owned petrol company YPFB in Senkata; people who witnessed the events, most of whom asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals; and journalists and human rights defenders.

The events that occurred in November 2019 in Sacaba and Senkata, in which at least 18 people died from firearm injuries, are emblematic of the crisis. The statements and evidence collected strongly indicate that the National Police and the Armed Forces used disproportionate and unnecessary force, but the competent authorities have not clarified what happened. Amnesty International urges presidential candidates to adopt measures to ensure independent, impartial and urgent investigations to prevent continuing impunity for these events.

The report also documents threats and harassment against human rights defenders, for example the case of Waldo Albarracín, who was physically attacked and whose house was set on fire by a mob the day former president Evo Morales resigned. Criminal investigations into these events remain stalled and the state has not provided adequate protection to ensure human rights defenders can carry out their legitimate work. 

Amnesty International is also concerned about the rhetoric used about human rights in Bolivia. On several occasions during the post-election crisis, senior members of the previous government issued statements calling for violence and threatening to blockade cities if the strikes continued. For its part, the interim government has harassed and threatened political opponents and those perceived as such, as well as making public threats against political leaders accused of spreading “misinformation” and against journalists accused of “sedition”. The government has also accused people of participating in “destabilization and disinformation movements” and of conducting a “virtual war” against it.

The Bolivian authorities, at all levels, must fulfil their duty to guarantee the right to health and take measures that also guarantee the right to peaceful protest

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Such harassment unduly limits freedom of expression in the country by giving rise to censorship of political leaders, journalists and human rights defenders, including health workers. This may also be perceived by other powerful actors as sending a dangerous message of tolerance for acts that threaten or censor contrary opinions, and as carte blanche for impunity.

The report recommends that the presidential candidates make a commitment to guarantee that the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI Bolivia) is promptly installed, under the auspices of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The agreement to establish the GIEI is a commitment that interim President Jeanine Añez has undertaken, but it has yet to be implemented. The independence of GIEI Bolivia is essential in order to determine and clarify the acts of violence and human rights violations committed in the country between 1 September and 31 December 2019.

Amnesty International also calls on the Bolivian authorities to take urgent measures to address the emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which in recent weeks has reached very worrying dimensions in the country, disproportionately affecting those in vulnerable situations, especially Indigenous Peoples.

“COVID-19 is claiming the health and lives of thousands of people in Bolivia. The blockade on supplies is unacceptable, because it is a grave violation of the human rights of those most at risk from the pandemic. The Bolivian authorities, at all levels, must fulfil their duty to guarantee the right to health and take measures that also guarantee the right to peaceful protest,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please call: Amnesty International press office: press@amnesty.org

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For over 500 years we have faced invasions, the loss of our ancestral lands, ethnic and socioeconomic discrimination that has led to displacement, illnesses, death, and the constant threat of cultural and physical extermination.

For decades, large companies and governments have offered us what they call “economic development” in exchange for the extraction of irreplaceable natural resources. In reality, those uncontrolled practices have enslaved us and contaminated our lands, in a habitat that is of vital importance not only for the Peoples who live together there but for the whole planet.

Our home, the Amazon, not only contributes significantly to the gross domestic product of many countries in the region but also contributes the largest quantity of oxygen to the world. However, the Peoples who protect it are deprived of fundamental rights such as basic services, education, and health.

One of the most recent examples of these abuses took place on 7 April. While the world was trying to understand how the novel coronavirus pandemic was changing life in cities, many Indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon were left without water following the collapse of the bases and pipelines of the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System and Crude Oil Pipeline.

For decades, large companies and governments have offered us what they call “economic development” in exchange for the extraction of irreplaceable natural resources

The massive oil spill in the waters of the Coca river, located on the border between the Amazonian provinces of Napo and Sucumbíos, has clearly endangered the communities that live there and depend on it.

Without rivers to fish in, they have been left without their main source of food. Without water, surviving has become a daily battle.

The oil companies responsible for the spill have sent some food rations and bottled water, but neither they nor the government have agreed on long-term actions to guarantee the life and health of those who live in the area.

While the World Health Organization advises hand washing as the main prevention method in the face of the pandemic, the affected communities barely have a small amount of water to drink.

Ecuador’s experience is not unique.

The COVID-19 pandemic has now been added to the list of threats that the uncontrolled extractive activities of hydroelectric, oil, mining and timber companies represent.

In response to this new danger, governments in Latin America have replicated the same historic patterns when facing the problems of Indigenous Peoples: indifference, inaction, and imposition. In some cases where action has been taken, health policies that do not respect cultural diversity are developed and implemented, and specific budgets for care for Indigenous Peoples are not assigned.

But the Indigenous communities and organizations in the Amazon basin have not continued waiting for help that we know will never arrive.

In the first instance, we have called on governments and international organizations to take action and enter into dialogue through letters, declarations and data surveys to warn of the serious situation that the Indigenous Peoples are experiencing in the face of the alarming rise in contagion and deaths in the Amazon. 

Communication channels with different national and local authorities have been developed in order to agree on joint management methods to guarantee that those who need it can access the care they need in a timely manner. However, our demands have not been listened to so far. For this reason and in accordance with our principles as Indigenous Peoples, we have developed our own care protocols, emergency and action plans taking into account the needs of each community.

In some cases, for example, we have organized among ourselves to limit and control entry to and exit from the communities, we have increased and expanded the use of ancestral medicine, created our own information and care campaigns, and we have put together specific help groups that coordinate the distribution of medicine and food to the most affected areas. 

The Indigenous communities and organizations in the Amazon basin have not continued waiting for help that we know will never arrive

Faced with the lack of action by governments to address our needs, the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) launched a campaign to raise emergency funds. The fund has the aim of collecting and channelling 100% of the resources to the Indigenous communities of the nine countries of the Amazon basin facing the COVID-19 emergency.

Decisions on grants and governance of the fund are carried out under the strict coordination and communication of a governing board that includes Indigenous leaders of COICA and its member organizations and, to a lesser extent, representatives of participating, donor and advising social organizations. All the money raised is completely and exclusively sent to the communities that need it most, by providing kits with food, medical supplies, and protection.

This fund will be a lifeline for many Indigenous communities, but it is not enough.

In the context of a pandemic that will probably last for some time, we need dialogue and action in order to develop and implement culturally appropriate health policies, with plans and budgets specifically aimed at care for Indigenous Peoples. If governments really want to take care of the guardians of the earth, this is the only possible way. It is no longer an option not to take action. If we do not act now, we will be witnesses to ethnocide.

While the Amazon is alive, humanity is safe.

This article was originally published by El País

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The shadowy and poorly regulated global trade of tear gas is fuelling police human rights violations against peaceful protesters on a global scale, Amnesty International said today as it launched a new resource analyzing the misuse of the riot control agent around the world.
Tear Gas: An investigation is the organization’s interactive, multimedia site looking into what tear gas is, how it is used and documenting scores of cases of its misuse by security forces worldwide, often resulting in severe injuries or death.

The site is especially relevant today. It comes on the anniversary of the Hong Kong Police Force beginning its months-long barrage of tear gas against peaceful demonstrations – which has recently been renewed – and as police forces in dozens of cities around the USA have been bombarding protesters with tear gas.

“Security forces often lead us to believe tear gas is a ‘safe’ way to disperse violent crowds, avoiding having to resort to more harmful weaponry. But our analysis proves that police forces are misusing it on a massive scale,” said Sam Dubberley, Head of the Evidence Lab on Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Programme. 

We documented police forces using tear gas in ways that it was never intended to be used, often in large quantities against largely peaceful protesters or by firing projectiles directly at people, causing injuries and deaths.

Sam Dubberley, Head of the Evidence Lab on Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Programme

“We documented police forces using tear gas in ways that it was never intended to be used, often in large quantities against largely peaceful protesters or by firing projectiles directly at people, causing injuries and deaths.”

Open source investigation 

Over the past year, Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab has been researching tear gas misuse around the world, primarily through videos posted to social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
Using open source investigation methods, the organization verified close to 500 videos and highlighted almost 80 events in 22 countries and territories where tear gas has been misused, confirming the location, date, and validity. The analysis was carried out by Amnesty International’s Digital Verification Corps – a network of students at six universities on four continents trained in sourcing and verifying content from social media.

© Amnesty International

Alongside interviews with protesters themselves, this analysis exposes a disturbing global trend of widespread, unlawful use of tear gas. 

The site includes a video done in collaboration with SITU Research, which analyzes the performance characteristics of tear gas, explains the inner workings of the munitions and shows how their misuse can maim and kill.

Types of misuse

Tear gas has been fired through the windshield of a passenger car, inside a school bus, at a funeral procession, inside hospitals, residential buildings, metros, shopping malls, and – strangely – in virtually empty streets. 

Security forces have also fired canisters directly at individuals, leading to fatalities; and from trucks, jeeps and drones whizzing by at high speeds. Those on the receiving end have included climate protesters, high school students, medical staff, journalists, migrants and human rights defenders, such as members of the Bring Back Our Girls movement in Nigeria.

One video clip shows how police in the US city of Philadelphia on 1 June 2020 fired repeated volleys of tear gas at dozens of protesters trapped on a steep highway embankment with no safe escape route.

Doctors in Omdurman, outside Sudan’s capital Khartoum, told Amnesty International that security forces and troops raided a hospital emergency room last year, filling it with noxious gas, further injuring 10 patients. One doctor said: “The soldiers fired tear gas and live ammunition inside the hospital, then some came to the emergency room and fired four tear gas canisters; thank God only one exploded.” A tear gas canister was thrown under the bed of a 70-year-old man who was a cardiac arrest patient. He died 10 minutes later.

A video from Venezuela shows a tear gas canister punching a hole in a makeshift wooden shield a protester used to defend himself from police use of the weapon in Caracas. A close miss: just a few centimetres off and it could have caused a life-threatening injury.

Amnesty International documented police abusing tear gas in multiple ways:

• Firing into confined spaces;
• Firing directly at individuals;
• Using excessive quantities;
• Firing at peaceful protests; and
• Firing against groups who may be less able to flee or more susceptible to its effects, such as children, older people and people with disabilities.

© Amnesty International

The site includes video interviews with a range of external analysts – from an emergency physician to experts in policing, and business and human rights – about why tear gas is so harmful when used incorrectly.
Amnesty International joins the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture in equating the use of tear gas in certain situations as amounting to torture or other ill-treatment.

Poorly regulated trade

Despite its widespread misuse, there are no agreed international regulations on the trade in tear gas and other riot control agents. Few states provide public information on the quantity and destination of tear gas exports, hampering independent oversight.
Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation have campaigned for over two decades for greater controls on the production, use and trade in tear gas and other less lethal weapons. As a result, the UN and regional bodies such as the EU and the Council of Europe have recognized the need to regulate the export of less lethal weapons.

Following high level diplomatic advocacy by the 60 plus states of the Alliance for Torture-Free Trade, supported by Amnesty International and Omega, the UN is now  exploring potential development of international trade controls on less lethal weapons and other goods to prevent their use in torture, other ill-treatment and the death penalty. Amnesty International and Omega are now pressing for such measures to include tear gas and other riot control agents.

Part of the problem with tear gas is simply that some police forces misunderstand how and when it can be used lawfully, while others choose to ignore such guidance and some have weaponized it. But part of the solution also needs to be greater scrutiny of the poorly regulated global trade in tear gas and other riot control agents. Tear gas should be covered by the international controls on less lethal weapons and restraints, currently being discussed at the UN.

Patrick Wilcken, Researcher, Arms Control, Security & Human Rights

“Part of the problem with tear gas is simply that some police forces misunderstand how and when it can be used lawfully, while others choose to ignore such guidance and some have weaponized it,” said Patrick Wilcken, Researcher, Arms Control, Security & Human Rights.

“But part of the solution also needs to be greater scrutiny of the poorly regulated global trade in tear gas and other riot control agents. Tear gas should be covered by the international controls on less lethal weapons and restraints, currently being discussed at the UN.”

Countries and territories covered:

Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, DRC, Ecuador, France, Guinea, Hong Kong, Honduras, Haiti, India (Indian-administered Kashmir), Iraq, Iran, Kenya, Lebanon, Nigeria, Israel-OPT, Sudan, Turkey, USA including US/Mexican border, Venezuela, Zimbabwe

Manufacturers of tear gas and related launchers covered:

Cavim; Condor Non-Lethal Technologies; DJI*; Falken; PepperBall; The Safariland Group; and Tippmann Sports LLC. Amnesty International approached all seven companies for comment and only two responded.

 *produces commercial drones which have been used to launch tear gas in Gaza.

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The cost of curing: Health workers’ rights in the Americas during COVID-19 and beyond documents how those on the frontlines of the pandemic are often working in unsafe conditions with insufficient protective equipment and risk reprisals from authorities or employers if they speak out, while some have even suffered death threats and physical attacks. The report also calls on governments to ensure safe working conditions for cleaners and other support staff who are at risk due to their work in healthcare facilities and nursing homes.

“In these difficult times we owe a great debt of gratitude to the hospital and nursing home cleaners, doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, hospital janitors and epidemiologists for their tireless work to keep us safe. But saying thank you is not enough. Governments must take action to ensure their basic rights and safety are never put at such horrendous risk again,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

“The Americas is home to about half the people in the world who have tested positive for COVID-19, with more than 2 million confirmed cases. As Latin America suffers its deadliest weeks yet, it is vital that all countries come together to ensure health financing is not undermined at this crucial time. This pandemic has no borders and the United States must support a global solution by joining other countries in funding the World Health Organization to ensure its technical and expert capacity is deployed where most needed.”

Out of 21 in-depth interviews conducted by Amnesty International with health workers in United States, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Colombia and Paraguay, only two told Amnesty International that they felt they had adequate or almost adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The rest raised concerns about the lack of adequate PPE. They also raised concerns regarding sick leave, rest breaks and inadequate mental health support at work.

In these difficult times we owe a great debt of gratitude to the hospital and nursing home cleaners, doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, hospital janitors and epidemiologists for their tireless work to keep us safe

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

WHO guidelines on rationing PPE outline that cleaners and housekeepers should have more PPE than many other hospital staff members, including doctors and nurses who may not have direct contact with COVID-19 patients. Yet Amnesty International found that cleaners were often poorly paid with precarious social security benefits and some worked for companies who did not ensure they have adequate PPE. One doctor from Honduras told Amnesty International he saw cleaners in his hospital using their bare hands to clean areas that had been exposed to patients with COVID-19.  

A 70-year-old cleaner who earned just over $5USD a day working for a private company at a state hospital in Mexico City told Amnesty International that, when he asked if he could stop cleaning areas that house dozens of COVID-19 patients, since he did not have any PPE and was at particular risk because of his age, his employer agreed but docked his pay by 16%.

Multiple health workers expressed their fear of reprisals for denouncing unsafe working conditions, and some of those that Amnesty International spoke with had been fired from their jobs for speaking up as whistle blowers or had faced disciplinary proceedings at work. Tainika Somerville, a certified nursing assistant at a nursing home owned by a private company in Chicago, was fired after she filmed a Facebook live stream denouncing lack of PPE at her workplace. Workers at nursing homes are at particular risk, with media in the United States and Canada reporting that they are epicentres of COVID-19-related deaths.

Workers in Nicaragua are at particular risk because the government has repeatedly understated the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The Civilian Observatory on COVID-19 in Nicaragua  told Amnesty International that health workers have not only been fired for using PPE at work, but at times have had their protection equipment violently stripped from them. Although Nicaragua’s vice president announced on 28 April that PPE could be used and social distancing would begin, the government of Daniel Ortega continues to downplay the pandemic, despite an increase in cases. The Pan American Health Organization has warned of inadequate health measures in Nicaragua, while the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has raised concerns regarding unfair dismissals of health workers who have spoken out in the country.   

The Americas is home to about half the people in the world who have tested positive for COVID-19, with more than 2 million confirmed cases. As Latin America suffers its deadliest weeks yet, it is vital that all countries come together to ensure health financing is not undermined at this crucial time

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Restrictions of freedom of expression have also impacted the right to health and people’s access to health-related information. In Venezuela, where authorities have jailed journalists for publishing information about the pandemic, official data at the time of writing reports only 455 people infected with COVID-19 and only 10 deaths, which seems to have been under reported.

“It’s impossible to protect the health of over one billion people living in the Americas if governments insist on silencing the whistle-blowers, journalists and health workers who courageously raise their voices to denounce unsafe working conditions and rightly demand an adequate and accountable response to the pandemic,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

Health workers have also suffered stigmatization, physical attacks, death threats and denial of use of public transport in countries such as Colombia and Mexico, and even public stoning in Bolivia. While some governments have responded to such attacks with prompt statements and awareness-raising actions to publicly support the role of health workers, other leaders have taken actions to undermine them.

In mid-April, El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, vetoed two decrees that would have strengthened the safety of health workers at work, just days after he accused human rights organizations of working “to make sure more people die.” The president’s statement disregarded the fact that the WHO specifically indicates that “violations or lack of attention to human rights can have serious health consequences.”

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Amnesty International press office: press@amnesty.org

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In a letter sent to the authorities of the member states, Amnesty International acknowledges the multilateral organisation’s efforts to finance its Inter-American human rights protection system, but also expresses its concern over the positions of some member states who seem unaware of the independence and autonomy of the organisations that make up this system, the grave human rights situation prevailing in many countries in the region, and the silence of the OAS General Secretariat in response to both these issues.

The OAS General Secretariat has a fundamental role to play in the promotion of human rights of all people on our continent through the protection of its own Inter-American system

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

“Following a thorough analysis of the OAS General Secretariat’s official positions on human rights issues in its public press releases, Amnesty International regrets its silence in the face of reports of grave human rights violations in recent protests in Bolivia, Chile, Haiti and Honduras. We urge member states to prioritise a human rights agenda in the upcoming election,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International. 

“The OAS General Secretariat has a fundamental role to play in the promotion of human rights of all people on our continent through the protection of its own Inter-American system.”

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Amnesty International press office: press@amnesty.org

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BOLIVIAAfter Evo Morales’ resignation amidst a social-political crisis in November, interim president Jeanine Áñez issued a decree granting impunity to Armed Forces, under which security forces repressed protests, causing deaths, dozens of injuries and allegations of excessive use of force. At least 35 people died violently in the context of the protests. 

BRAZILPresident Bolsonaro’s government put his openly anti-human rights rhetoric into practice through administrative and legislative measures. The year also saw an increase in the number of killings by police on active duty; severe environmental crises in the Amazon disproportionately affecting Indigenous peoples, Quilombolas and other local traditional communities; attempts to curtail the activities of civil society organizations; and threats against and killings of human rights defenders.  

CHILEChile ended 2019 with the worst human rights crisis since the regime of General Augusto Pinochet, with mass demonstrations against high levels of inequality. At least 31 people died violently in the context of the protests, which were met with strong repression by state forces. 

COLOMBIAViolence from the ongoing internal armed conflict and disputes over territorial control following the signing of the 2016 Peace Agreement raged on. The main victims continued to be Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant and campesino (peasant farmer) communities. Colombia was the world’s most lethal country for human rights defenders, with 106 killings.  

CUBAA year after President Díaz-Canel took office, the Cuban authorities continued to arbitrarily detain and imprison independent artists and journalists, and members of the political opposition. Amnesty International named six people prisoners of conscience, representing only a fraction of those likely to be detained solely because of the peaceful expression of their opinions or beliefs. The island remained mostly closed to independent human rights monitors. 

DOMINICAN REPUBLICThe police routinely raped, beat and humiliated women engaged in sex work in acts that may amount to gender-based torture or other ill-treatment. Abortion remained criminalized in all circumstances.  

ECUADOR 
Authorities failed to protect human rights defenders in situations of risk, especially those who defend the environment, as well as making xenophobic statements and hardening entry requirements for Venezuelan asylum-seekers. Security forces used excessive force to repress protestsover austerity measures that may affect people’s rights. Eight people died in the context of the protests in October and hundreds were injured and detained.  

EL SALVADORHigh levels of violence continued to provoke internal displacement and forced migration. Local organizations reported concerns over the new government’s plan against organized crime, such as the lack of transparency, the use of the military in public security operations, and the plan’s impact on prison conditions. A draconian total ban on abortion continued in place. 

GUATEMALAThe government shut down the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, and Congress discussed regressive bills promoting impunity and restrictions to the work of human rights defenders. Attacks against human rights defenders persisted, including smear campaigns, criminalization and killings. Under a new “Safe Third Country” agreement, US authorities sent Honduran and Salvadoran asylum seekers to pursue their asylum claims in Guatemala instead of in the United States. 

HAITIAt least 83 people were killed and over 100 injured in the context of protests during in February and September-October. Security forces were responsible for an estimated 19 of those deaths. Amnesty International verified instances in which police armed with semi-automatic rifles fired live ammunition during protests, in violation of international policing and human rights standards. A number of journalists were injured and killed. 

HONDURASSix people died in the context of protests that were brutally repressed by security forces between April and June. Human rights defenders continued to be subjected to attacks, including killings and the misuse of criminal proceedings against them. Despite thousands of people fleeing the country seeking refuge in the United States and Mexico due to violence, impunity and poverty, the governments of Honduras and the United States signed a “Safe Third Country” agreement. 

MEXICOThe first year under a new administration brought concerning decisions around security, including the creation of a civil National Guard formed mostly by military elements. The number of reported disappearances increased to over 61,637. Violence against women persisted, with 1,006 investigations opened into femicides. Harassment and killings of human rights defenders and journalists continued. Mexico adopted a security-based approach to migration issues, using the National Guard to apprehend migrants. 

NICARAGUAThe crisis in Nicaragua continued, with arbitrary detentions, targeted killings, limits to freedom of expression and demonstrations and attacks against NGOs, journalists and human rights defenders. Thousands were forced to flee the country and the authorities blocked the entrance of international bodies. 

PERUAuthorities made xenophobic statements and imposed stricter entry requirements on Venezuelan asylum-seekers. The government also failed to address the exposure of Indigenous communities to toxic metals and the lack of effective regulations affected Indigenous Peoples’ rights. 

PUERTO RICORicardo Rosselló resigned as governor in July, following two weeks of protests in which 20 people were injured and 17 arrested. Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced declared a State of National Alert due to high levels of gender-based violence. Two years after hurricane Maria, tens of thousands of people continued to live under blue tarpaulin sheets. 

USAUS authorities detained, ill-treated and turned away tens of thousands of asylum-seekers at the US-Mexico border, in violation of national and international laws. As a result, unaccompanied children, families, LGBTI people and others faced abuses once stranded in northern Mexico, as well as in US immigration detention centers. The Trump administration increasingly misused the criminal justice system to threaten and harass human rights defenders. 

VENEZUELA The Maduro government continued its use of extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, excessive use of force and torture as part of a policy of repression to silence dissent. At least 47 people were killed in the context of protests, including 21 who died in January at the hands of security forces and armed civilians acting with their acquiescence, in what may constitute crimes against humanity. Lack of food, medical care, and basic services have forced more than 4.8 million people to flee the country. 

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