Explore Freedom House's Latin America and the Caribbean Programs here. Section V focuses on emerging issues and lessons in the protection of HRDs and challenges for the future. In addition, the assessment incorporated findings from two case studies, produced by local consultants in Colombia and Costa Rica. We support grassroots activists, coalitions, and movements who believe change is possible. Share this via Email ICORN member cities offer long term, but temporary, shelter to those at risk as a direct consequence of their creative activities. The World Bank estimates that in 2020, 53 million Latin Americans saw their income fall below the region's poverty line of $5.50 per day, pushing up the percentage of those living in poverty to an estimated 37.7 percenta level not seen since 2006. However, these nascent efforts to design more comprehensive approaches to HRD protection have only begun to fill gaps and leverage opportunities available to protect and defend HRDs more effectively. ICORN is an independent organization of cities and regions offering shelter to writers and artists at risk, advancing freedom of expression, defending democratic values and promoting international solidarity. The HRD can apply for the emergency funds directly. Nonetheless, this assessment has revealed some initial factors that affected the adequacy and impact of assistance for HRDs in Latin America: Once an HRD is living in exile, whether temporarily or permanently, their ability to continue working in human rights generally wanes due to multiple factors, such as personal stress, lack of resources, and legalization or regularization obstacles. Latin America is experiencing such an alarming reversal of basic freedoms that we now have to defend democratic spaces that we once took for granted, said Tamara Taraciuk Broner, Americas acting director at Human Rights Watch. In lieu of offering direct support to beneficiaries, some exiled HRDs have deployed technology and social media to continue their work from abroad. It remains a challenge to provide monitoring and follow up of cases to HRDs family members or keep pro bono attorneys or legal services organizations informed in the host country. Makela needed an ally. In May, Ugandan President Yoweri Musveni spoke publicly about the increase in domestic violence. Across the country, police and other operatives are accused of targeting civilians with overt violence. The Fund is proud to have supported Patrick and ALECMA since 2014 with the flexible funding and strategic support they need to protect and promote the human rights of migrants in Morocco. About 80 percent ofthe victimswere Black. This includes participation in the entire process of protection and security, including identifying and assessing the risk as well participating in the decision- making regarding how to avert the risk. The region is home to 20 percent of the 82.4 million people forcibly displaced globally, including the second-largest external displacement crisis in the world after the Syrian crisis 5.6 million Venezuelan migrants fleeing economic crisis and repression. For months, shes been part of a team fighting to end abuses perpetrated by these same state agents during the countrys COVID-19 crisis. At the same time, the focus on these two cases from the perspective of the HRDs will highlight their needs related to health, livelihoods, psychological, education, security, family links, and advocacy opportunities. The most traditional definition of security, physical, remains dominant, although HRDs are beginning to learn other aspects and dimensions. HRDs in Latin America are not receiving the necessary protection from the State entities authorized to provide the requisite protection and, in some instances, State officials have been involved in the threats and attacks against HRDs. Despite the growing attention towards HRDs in Latin America and globally, the concept of an HRD remains elusive. Human Rights in Latin America: The Organization of American States Abstract The international community focused its attention on protecting human rights in response to horrendous human rights abuses during World War II. The democratic outlook for some countries in the region is discouraging. In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro, an apologist for his countrys military dictatorship (1964-1985), tried to intimidate the Supreme Court with insults and threats and made baseless claims of electoral fraud. Mxima Emiliana Garca Valey Mxima Emiliana [] To this end, they are connecting with other groups serving Indigenous communities to help maximize complementary grassroots COVID-19 responses and speaking out via the media about the need for greater transparency in how aid and emergency resources are distributed throughout Honduras. HRDs overwhelmingly hope that relocation abroad will be temporary and aspire to return to their home countries when possible. Each case study was the product of a literature review and a consultative process consisting of interviews with key informants, including HRDs, a specific survey applied to Venezuelan and Nicaraguan HRDs exiled in Colombia and Costa Rica, and focus groups of Nicaraguan HRDs in Costa Rica.12. Brazils Supreme Court has blocked some of President Bolsonaros most damaging policies and upheld human rights. As the elected leader of OFRANEH and a leading Indigenous rights activist, Miriam has witnessed the staggering effects of food insecurity firsthand. According to Freedom House, since 2006 Venezuela and Nicaragua have both shown the greatest declines in freedoms in the Western Hemisphere, - 40 and -33 respectively.10 Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe. The assessment developed by Freedom House, with funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), wascarried out in four phases. In 2017, Mexico City took over operations of the Casa Refugio (Mexico City was always the house owner) and converted the house for Mexican cultural activities. According to practitioners, researchers and academics interviewed and engaged for the assessment, the United Nations definition offers a solid foundation for defining who can be considered an HRD.2 Originally from Cameroon, Patrick migrated to Morocco in 2011. Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) promoting fundamental freedoms, rights and democracy continue to face enormous challenges across Latin America today. Ineffective justice systems fly in the face of formal protection mechanisms offered by the State. Nevertheless, internal relocation of an HRD still requires accompaniment from a CSO or other protection body, significant resources, and a thorough assessment of each HRDs particular context and the conditions elsewhere in the country. As part of the support provided to human rights organizations, ProtectDefenders.eu also coordinates the European Commissions European Union Temporary Relocation Platform (EUTRP), a network of entities working in the protection of HRDs. Nicaraguans also continue to flee their country for Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama, as the government cracks down on opposition groups in anticipation of the presidential elections in November 2021. In recent years, HRDs and challenges they face in Latin America and globally have garnered increasing attention. Growing migrant and refugee populations in Latin America have been especially vulnerable in the context of COVID-19, as border closures and lockdowns made living conditions even more precarious and curtailed mobility and access to information and services. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely aggravated food insecurity in Honduras. Case Study: Exiled Venezuelan Human Rights Defenders in Colombia, Case Study: Exiled Nicaraguan Human Rights Defenders in Costa Rica. HRDs sometimes lack knowledge about integrated security strategies and tools. These two cases help to understand the role of key actors and how they interact with each other to support and protect HRDs in exile. New Freedom House Report Reveals Dire Conditions for Human Rights For example, if an HRD seeks to return to a specific area, not all organizations or institutions have processes that would offer the HRD temporary shelter elsewhere, while conditions in the place of return are assessed or processes to accompany or follow up on that HRDs safe return. HRDs interviewed for the assessment mentioned that they often learn about relocation services and support through their own research or network contacts, rather than through international organizations. An error occurred while subscribing your email address. In the most general sense human rights are universal entitlements that apply equally to all human beings. Thanks to HRDs increasing involvement in protection strategies, temporary relocation providers, national protection organizations, HRDs are more frequently raising the notion of holistic protection or integral security, which go beyond physical or traditional security to include initiatives such as medical, psychosocial, and psycho-emotional support. Meanwhile, field research highlighted a set of additional common characteristics often considered when thinking about human rights defenders and their work. Protect Defenders.eu: Protect Defenders.eu is a consortium of 12 organizations that protect HRDs around the world, and is based in Brussels, Belgium. Humanitarian aid to Karen camps has been declining for years, limiting access to basic services. National protection organizations and CSOs are also increasing their advocacy efforts to call on State protection mechanisms to incorporate holistic approaches. In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele and his allies in the legislature summarily replaced Supreme Court justices they disagreed with and passed laws to dismiss hundreds of lower-level judges and prosecutors. Moreover, external relocation demands more extensive capacity and resources, which are often unavailable or time-consuming to come by in urgent situations. [KWO] really saved our lives.. Beyond ensuring everyone in their communities has food on the table, OFRANEH has also coordinated a public health response. The Fund stood with us at this difficult time and checked in with us to know how we were doing. The Secretariat provides temporary relocation grants, which provides emergency funds for HRDs to relocate. Share this via Twitter Ugandas tough approach to COVID-19 has successfully slowed its spread, but the deleterious effects of strict lockdowns are likely to linger. Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) promoting fundamental freedoms, rights, and democracy continue to face enormous challenges across Latin America today. Large-scale industrial and tourism-related development projects threaten Garifuna lands where Indigenous communities have fished and farmed for generations. Within the broader Latin America HRD landscape, a new dynamic is emerging at border locations, as HRDs and CSOs have been forced to flee their home countries. 2021 Adalberto Roque/AFP via Getty Images, They, the Policemen, Killed My Brother: Reconstruction of a Deadly Day of Protests in Juliaca, Peru, US Supreme Court Erodes Anti-Discrimination Laws, Olympics: Act on Sexual Abuse Complaints by Indian Athletes, Ukraine Promises Inquiry into Banned Landmine Use, conventional wisdom that autocracy is ascendent. . ALECMA will continue to fight for the defense, protection, and promotion of human rights, he says. Along with UNAIDS, several UN agencies, funds, and programmes, like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), have joined forces to support Lambda in different fronts hosting, sheltering and supporting LGBTIQ+ migrants and those in transit or The efficacy of any State mechanism of protection is fully undermined in authoritarian and closed environments, where access to justice in nonexistent, crimes are not investigated, identification and arrest of perpetrators are delayed, and those convicted escape. The emphasis, where possible, should be on prevention strategies, including mitigating measures, rather than on protection. Haiti has continuously struggled to meet peoples basic needs. In some cases, the support includes the HRDs dependents. Receive regular updates from us and the grassroots activists we support. Even democratically elected leaders attacked independent civil society, the free press, and judicial independence. But with the governments capacity stretched thin and international aid falling short, local leaders like Miriam have stepped up to feed hungry families. Additionally, more than 100 people perceived as critics remain arbitrarily imprisoned in the context of the human rights crisis that began in 2018. Amnesty International. In other cases, HRDs focus on a key activity such as follow-up and monitor the human rights cases he or she handled in their home country while in exile. We work with courageous Salvadoran activists to push for reproductive rights, promote womens equality, and resist oppressive patriarchal systems. Rather, it describes (based on secondary information available in compliance with the Statement of Work and time constraints) gaps in support and protection for vulnerable activists and HRDs in Latin America and highlights major areas that merit regional and national attention. After hearing her story, Tina helped Makela bring her case to the Nakifuma Magistrate court, which granted her a protection order that prevented her sons, her estranged husband, and his relatives from stepping foot on her property. By the end of June, the Action Group Legal Helplines project had intervened in more than 100 cases involving unlawful arrests like Glorys, physical assaults, domestic violence, and even murder. Section II provides an overview of HRDs in Latin America, including the working definition of an HRD, as well as dynamics of security and protection. And after a devastating drought during rice growing season, the crops that many Karen families rely on wont last long. Building on a long-standing tradition of communal eating borne of economic hardship and scarcity, the community pots are a collective solution to a common problem. Worsening human rights conditions have also spurred unprecedented levels of migration and displacementincluding of HRDsacross the region, according to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Human rights organizations in Latin America have had much to celebrate in recent decades. With the Funds support, Tina and CEDOVIP have been able to help at least 300 survivors like Makela access the emergency services they need, including medical care and legal support. Facts and figures: Human rights in the Americas in 2020-21 However, what little we have, we share.. The actors are: 1) National and local government institutions in the host countries (Costa Rica and Colombia); 2) Venezuelan and Nicaraguan HRD communities in the host countries; 3) the Colombian and Costa Rican HRDs and CSOs in host countries; and 4) the international governmental and non-governmental organizations in the host country. Through interviews with international and local organizations, as well as HRDs, this assessment found that internal relocation, when feasible, should be the preferred method to assist HRDs at risk for several reasons. A UN Fact-Finding Mission found that judicial authorities had been complicit in egregious abuses. In 2017, 65% of the total funding for human rights work in Latin America ($220 million) was granted to organizations based in Latin America [2]. While some key HRD services can also be provided through NGOs, the tradeoff for many HRDs and CSOs interviewed for the assessment is that the States obligations and responsibilities under the law are lifted and substituted. Shelter City, Costa Rica: Fundacin Acceso coordinates the Shelter City Initiative in Costa Rica. While it is difficult to generalize, several findings from the assessment point to some emerging and evolving parameters to help further understand who is considered an HRD in Latin America. In spite of these emerging opportunities, evidence collected for the assessment suggests that HRDs in Latin America do not receive key HRD support services such as, emergency funds, physical security support, psychosocial and psycho-emotional support, medical assistance, digital security installation, support and training, legal advice and assistance for criminalization, from the State. Millions of people were forced to leave their homes and countries, and the economic and social impact of the pandemic has been devastating.. In addition, internal relocation is consistent with the notion of collective protection, highlighted by HRDs as a key component of effective protection strategies. In other cases, national and local organizations are fully engaged with other pressing commitments or lack sufficient funding to assist with relocation or to ensure the HRDs internal safety. For at least two years, individuals received an apartment, a monthly stipend, health insurance and language classes. The basis of ALECMAs work is hope.. The mapping, while non-exhaustive, helped the team to ensure geographical and thematic representation, as well as to capture a diversity of services and programs. All of the interviews were conducted virtually with encrypted videoconferencing technology. Perhaps most importantly for HRDs, internal relocation makes it more feasible for HRDs to continue their human rights work. The majority of HRDs that Shelter City supports and accompanies come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Just Scraping By: Underfunded Human Rights Organizations Struggle to In 2018, only 60% of the Latin American total ($214.5 million) went to those organizations; Project-specific support predominates. Myanmars central government has largely excluded ethnic minorities from their pandemic response, failing to even translate important health information into many indigenous languages. This was true feminist sisterhood that kept us motivated.. After years of abuse, Makelas husband had abandoned her. Internal relocation allows HRDs to remain in their environment, connected to their work and their communities. Worsening human rights conditions have also spurred unprecedented levels of migration and displacementincluding of HRDsacross the region, according to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). And the loss of livelihoods has been compounded by barriers to accessing health services and overcrowded living conditions. The Team thanks the key informants for their time and for sharing valuable insights. The Covid-19 pandemic has been used as an excuse by governments to violate rights. In Part A, the Freedom House assessment team proposes a set of Non-Project Activities at the regional level, or sub-regional level, that would help to further progress in raising awareness about HRDs, their needs, challenges, and approaches to support them, and their work. The increased need to support and strengthen national measures, including expanding shelters for HRDs to seek a safe haven once an immediate risk occurs. See section IV (B) information related to Nicaraguans in Costa Rica being supported by Shelter City. Without that critical piece of paper, her child would be unable to access services like health care and education in Morocco. Casa Refugio also generated its own revenue through projects like a restaurant and a bookstore, which allow Casa Refugio to pay staff salaries. According to observers, the main aim of the Wagner Group here is to secure Russian access to . Protecting and defending HRDs in Latin America is a new enterprise for all actors and stakeholders involved. As COVID-19 surged, governments around the world responded with curfews and stay-at-home measures intended to limit community spread. With 252 killings, Latin America and the Caribbean was the world's deadliest region for human rights defenders last year and accounted for 68% of the global total of 358 killings. Based on a current literature review and interviews with key informants and stakeholders, the analysis of two case studies, and Freedom Houses experience over the past two decades, the assessment provides recommendations for an effective, realistic and comprehensive regional approachto defend human rights and democracy activists in Latin America. The government also proposed a foreign agents bill that, if approved, would severely restrict the work of independent journalists and civil society organizations. as a form of protection. Thanks to HRDs increasinginvolvement in protection strategies, temporary relocation providers, national protection organizations, and HRDs are more frequently raising the notion of holistic protection or integral security, which go beyond physical or traditional security to include initiatives such as medical, psychosocial and psycho-emotional support. Argentina recognized non-binary gender identities in official identity documents, the first country in Latin America to do so. HRDs often find themselves isolated and bored during this period, which can lead to depression when coupled with the stress of having had to flee. Other ways to share Human rights are meant to represent and preserve the minimal requirements for human dignity. In addition, according to the UNHCR, human rights violations have forced over 100,000 Nicaraguans to flee their homeland.7 Indeed, civil society in general, and HRDs specifically, faced extraordinary challenges to mobilize during the pandemic and to transition their work under lockdown, facing both physical and virtual security hurdles.4 In some cases, CSOs have noted that HRDs have protection schemes provided by the international community and where the State in no way participated or had knowledge of the risks that the HRD had been facing. We promote policies that protect human dignity and justice. More than 6 million Venezuelans have fled their country; many face difficulty obtaining legal status in their host countries, as well as arbitrary deportations, xenophobia, and abuses by migration agents. As the Moroccan authorities issued preventative measures to stem the spread of COVID-19, ALECMA worked with other organizations to ensure that information was translated into multiple languages and readily available for migrant communities. National protection organizations and CSOs are also increasing their advocacy efforts to call on State protection mechanisms to incorporate holistic approaches. The pandemic and associated economic crisis, the assassination of President Jovenel Mose, and a 7.2 magnitude earthquake exacerbated Haitis existing political instability and violence by gangs often tied to state actors. In 2020, restrictions on free speech, and arbitrary or violent enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions by police and non-State actors were common throughout the region.3 Depending on where the HRD is relocated, those salaries are often inadequate to new costs of living and other additional expenses exile can entail. Quarantine measures increased face-to-face exposure of victims to perpetrators, says Tina. In Brazil, President Bolsonaro disregarded scientific recommendations, spread false information, and promoted unproven drugs against the virus.
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