Indigenous peoples in Colombia exist in a precarious situation: assassinations, kidnappings, forced disappearances, threats and forced displacement continue to plague indigenous communities in Colombia.
According to the National Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Colombia, more than 1,400 indigenous persons were killed as a result of the armed conflict between 2002 and 2009.
On August 27, in an event in Mexico City, the Cerezo Committee Mexico celebrated its ninth annivesary as an organisation in defence of human rights, and also presented its new report Prison: a form of criminalisation of social protest in Mexico (2002-2008). Emilio Álvarez Icaza, human rights specialist, has described the report as “basic material for any political debate about justice”.
Juan Manuel Santos has made a refreshing start as Colombia’s president by departing from the policies of his predecessor, Álvaro Uribe. But to map a new political direction he will need support from uncertain allies, says Adam Isacson.
As the price of raw materials rises, Latin-American governments are selling off their raw resources. Colombia wants the big companies to come and mine
by Laurence Mazure
Mexico City, August 2010
While visiting Mexico from 4 to 7 August 2010, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kyng-wha Kang, met with representatives of civil society organizations who submited to her consideration a brief report on some of the most pressing issues related to Human Rights in Mexico.
Guatemala's Indigenous Women in Resistance: On the frontline of the communities struggle to defend mother earth and her natural resources. This report attempts to follow up on another one published by PBI in 2006 on the impacts of mining operations in Guatemala, providing a broader perspective that includes other business activities to exploit natural resources in Latin American countries such as Guatemala, and specifically addresses the reality of Guatemalan indigenous women in this regard.
Due to serious, repeated attacks against him, PBI has received and accepted a request for accompaniment for the Catholic priest Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, director of the Hermanos en el Camino Migrant Shelter. The request was submitted by the Dimensión Pastoral de la Movilidad Humana, a Mexican Catholic Church body which deals with migration.
Read the <media 6686>full announcement</media>
The scale of U.S. training and equipping of other nations’ militaries has grown exponentially since 2001, but there are major concerns about the extent to which the U.S. government is implementing the laws and monitoring the impact its military aid is having on human rights. This report by the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) and U.S. Office on Colombia examines these issues through a detailed case study of U.S. military aid, human rights abuses, and implementation of human rights law in Colombia.
