News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *
News Service: 102/99
AI INDEX: AMR 34/20/99
June 4 1999
Amnesty International urges the governments of the Americas to take
concrete steps to protect those seeking to bring about the freedom and
justice so often promised by officials
In a new report the organization describes the harassment faced by human
rights defenders in Latin America despite government rhetoric about
democracy and human rights
Guatemala City -- Being a human rights defender in Latin America can be a
dangerous undertaking and even end in death, says an Amnesty
International report published in Guatemala on the occasion of the
General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS).
"The governments of the Americas keep on promising freedom and justice
but at the same time in many countries those working to improve the
human rights of their fellow citizens are facing constant harassment ,"
Amnesty International reported.
The report, entitled "More Protection, Less Persecution", examines the
methods used by governments and agents of the State to silence defenders
and
conceal the truth about violations of human rights. It goes on to describe
cases of defenders who, between 1996 and 1999, suffered killings, torture,
threats, unfair trials, false charges and
restrictions on their activities or on their access to information.
In its report, Amnesty International makes eleven specific
recommendations to the OAS and the governments of the Americas about how
they can better protect and support the work of those who are trying to
bridge the gap between government rhetoric about human rights and the
day-to-day reality. The recommendations call for:
-public and unequivocal recognition of the legitimacy of the work of
defenders;
-the establishment of a system whereby non-governmental organizations
can have consultative status at the OAS;
-support for the establishment of the post of Special Rapporteur on
Human Rights Defenders at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights;
-the implementation of effective measures to protect human rights
defenders.
The Amnesty International report highlights the situation in Colombia,
where over twenty defenders lost their lives between 1997 and 1998,
mainly at the hands of the security forces and their paramilitary allies
but
also at the hands of armed opposition groups. Killings of defenders also
took place in Brazil and two well-known defenders were killed in Honduras
and Guatemala. So far the very impunity against which those who were
murdered were fighting has prevailed in the investigations into their
deaths. A large number of defenders have had to flee their homes, and in
some cases have had to leave their countries, in order to save their lives.
This has happened particularly in Brazil and Colombia, as well as in
Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico and Peru.
Amnesty International points out that in some cases the harassment they
have
suffered has been carried out by legal means, through bringing
politically-motivated or false criminal charges against them and subjecting
them to unfair trials. In several countries of the region, deliberate
campaigns have been conducted against them in an attempt to tarnish their
reputation and undermine the credibility of their work for human rights.
Amnesty International also points to the lack of political will on the
part of the authorities to investigate reports of threats made to
defenders and cites several cases in which killings could have been
prevented if action had been taken.
More serious still, the report shows that in some cases the deaths of
human rights defenders could have been avoided if the authorities had
investigated incidents of harassment which occurred before they were
killed. For example, despite international appeals on their behalf, the
Colombian authorities did nothing to protect Dr Josué Giraldo Cardona
before
he was murdered in October 1996 or Dr Eduardo Umaña Mendoza, who was
murdered in April 1998. The same thing happened in the case of the
well-known Brazilian ecologist Francisco "Chico" Mendes.
Amnesty International believes that it is absolutely essential for all
governments to make it a priority to grant protection and legitimacy to
human rights organizations and other organizations of a social nature. In
its report, it describes the types of restrictions and obstacles that
sometimes impede the activities of NGOs and international human rights
>observers, as in the cases of Mexico and Cuba.
"Sadly, those who are trying to combat impunity in Latin America
themselves often end up becoming its victims", said Amnesty
International.
"If human rights organizations working at a national or international
level face serious obstacles in carrying out their work, then it is more
than likely that locally-based groups will face even greater
difficulties", the organization pointed out.
The difficulties they encounter in doing their work are compounded by
the difficulties they face in trying to get justice done. In many
countries, procedures established under domestic law for investigating
human rights violations are still weak and suffer from structural
deficiencies. Violations are not investigated by an independent body and
often the results of investigations are not made public. In countries such
as Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, for example, abuses committed by members of
the armed forces still fall under the jurisdiction of special military
courts.
"The passing of a strong resolution on defenders by the OAS General
Assembly would be a very positive step, although how committed to
protecting defenders governments really are will only be revealed when
they translate the contents of the resolution into concrete measures."
ENDS.../
Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street,
WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom
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