CIDH: 2022 año violento para la defensa de los derechos humanos en las Américas [2022 Was a Violent Year for the Defense of Human Rights in the Americas, IACHR Says]

 

 

The protection of human rights defenders remains a critical issue in the construction of fair and effective structures for the protection of human and environmental rights in the context of economic activity. The challenges are especially critical in Latin America. In that region, a cocktail of state failure to protect human rights, corporate responsibility to respect human rights may have contributed to a situation where there is greater impunity in harming human rights defender.

The state of threat was recently condemned by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which urged states to better meet their responsibility, nit just to the protection of human rights defenders, but to respect their won legal and constitutional structures.   Its Press Release follows below in the original Spanish and in an English translation.  

The Press Release suggests a state of failure on the part of political collectives to effectively manage and enforce its own laws in its own territories. That is a great pity. The consequences have been felt in  several places.  State incapacity sometimes creates incentives to shift responsibility for enforcing law to others--upwards to international and regional organizations, and downward to enterprises (whether o not resident in the host state in which the failures occur). Yet both tendencies might give states pause. Beyond the issue of ceding sovereignty (a stream that has been crossed log ago, and willingly to some extent, notwithstanding the revival of discursive tropes to the contrary when necessary of manage mass opinion), states of incapacity threaten  the stability of the political order. That goes without saying--in the form of corruption and the breakdown of order, these can be very much in evidence.  That breakdown then can seep ito the economic and social orders. That is not to say that states of incapacity ought to be on their own.  It is also well known that such incapacity can be structural (built into the unevenness of the distribution of value added along production chains in which such states occupy the lower rungs). But it also results in what might best be understood as greed and miserliness with effects that tend to spill over into states that at first blush appear to profit from uneven distribution: issues of economic migration, transnational criminality, and political subversion all serve as a sort of pay back to states that think themselves insulated from the consequences of their choices. 

The issue, then, touches on the constitution of value (and values) maximization within a production chain rather than on the state of (in)capacity of political collectives, or the motives or dereliction of economic collectives.  It also suggests, perhaps, that rethinking of the character and role of human rights defenders. In some important respects they embody political expression, the protection of which may be central to the protection of civil and political rights within home and host state constitutional orders. Yet the trajectories of international norms, and the emerging practices of the operation of global production, also suggests an increasingly important (quasi) administrative role fro human rights defenders (e.g., From Guiding Principles to Interpretive Organizations: Developing a Framework for Applying the UNGPs to Disputes that Institutionalizes the Advocacy Role of Civil Society, in Business and Human Rights: Beyond the End of the Beginning 97-110 (César Rodríguez Garavito, ed., Cambridge University Press, 2017)). As (outside) political actors, and as (privatized) administrative stakeholders, the roles, rights, expectations, and structures of accountability of human rights defenders might also require substantially deeper thought. 

 

CIDH: 2022 año violento para la defensa de los derechos humanos en las Américas

21 de febrero de 2023

Washington, D.C. - La Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH) condena el asesinato de 126 personas defensoras en el 2022, resultado de la violencia contra ellas; y reitera su llamado a los Estados a adoptar medidas urgentes para garantizar la protección de quienes defienden derechos humanos.

El último cuatrimestre del año registró 42 asesinatos de personas defensoras que son de conocimiento de la Comisión Interamericana, mientras que de enero a agosto fueron 84. Un gran número de estos asesinatos se cometieron en contra de personas defensoras indígenas, afrodescendientes, del medio ambiente y territorios.

En Brasil, durante los últimos cuatro meses del 2022 se registraron al menos 8 asesinatos de personas defensoras, según información de la Oficina del Alto Comisionado para los Derechos Humanos (OACNUDH). En diciembre fue asesinado Raimundo Nonato Silva de Oliveira integrante del Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra (MST) en Araguatins, Tocantins. En noviembre, Cleijomar Rodrigues Vasques, defensor indígena Guarani Kaiowá LGBTI en Amambai, Mato Grosso do Sul y Nhandesy Estela Verá defensora indígena Guaraní en Japorã, Mato Grosso do Sul. Entre septiembre y octubre fueron víctimas de asesinato, el líder indígena Yanomani Cleomar Xirixana en Napolepi, Alto Alegre; el defensor indígena Pataxó Gustavo Conceição en Comexatibá, Patax; el defensor indígena integrante de la Guardiões da Floresta, Janildo Oliveira Guajajara en Amarante do Maranhão, Maranhão; Jael Carlos Miranda Guajajara defensor indígena Guajajara en Arame, Maranhão; y Vitorino Sanches, líder indígena Guarani Kaiowá en Amabai, Mato Grosso do Sul y quien había sobrevivido a un intento de asesinato en su contra el 2 de agosto.

Colombia es el país que más asesinatos registra en el periodo mencionado, OACNDUH verificó 26 casos, y 20 que se encontrarían en proceso de confirmación. Entre noviembre y diciembre, fueron asesinados el líder social Filadelfo Anzola Padilla en el municipio de San Pablo, sur de Bolívar; la lideresa indígena Yermi Chocué Camayo, en Morales, Cauca; el líder comunal Edgar Omar Ayala Pinto en Cúcuta, Norte de Santander; el líder indígena Juvencio Cerquera en Sotará, Cauca; los líderes indígenas Francisco Sarco Pipicay y Carlitos Urágama Cano en Quibdó, Chocó; y el líder social Carlos Andrés Posada en el municipio de Ituango, Antioquia.

También en Colombia, entre septiembre y octubre fueron asesinados el líder social Natanael Díaz en Magangué, Bolivar; el líder social afrodescendiente Edinson Murillo Ararat en Santander Quilichao, Cauca; el líder social Rigo Alape en Puerto Leguízamo, Putumayo; el líder social Ferney Morales en Puerto Leguízamo, en el departamento del Putumayo; el líder social afrodescendiente Fredy Mena Oregón en Lloró, Chocó; el líder comunal afrodescendiente Silvio Landazury Castillo en Mocoa, Putumayo; el líder comunal Rafael Emiro Moreno Garavito en Montelíbano en Córdoba; el líder social Gildardo Alonso Ríos en Fortul, Arauca; el líder social Sócrates Sevillano y su esposa en Orito, Putumayo; y el líder social afrodescendiente Adelmo Balanta en Buenos Aires, Cauca; el líder social William Pedraza en Leticia, Amazonas; la lideresa Luz Angelina Quijano Poveda en Bucaramanga, Santander; la lideresa Sandra Patricia Montenegro el en Palmira Valle del Cauca; el líder sindical Sibares Lamprea Vargas en Barrancabermeja Santander, el líder social Luis Antonio Charry en El Paujil, Caquetá; el líder social Frai Torres Marroquín en el corregimiento de Ciénaga, Magdalena; el líder indígena Diocelino García Bisbicus en Tumaco, Nariño; el líder social Dinael González Criado en Tibú, Norte de Santander; y la lideresa indígena Clemencia Arteaga lideresa en Villagarzón, Putumayo. Por su parte, el Defensor del Pueblo, registró un total de 215 asesinatos de personas defensoras durante el 2022, siendo el año con el mayor número de casos desde el 2016.

El Estado de Colombia informó a la Comisión estar investigando los casos mencionados. Indicó que, desde el 2016, la Fiscalía General de la Nación cuenta con una estrategia específica para la investigación y judicialización de los delitos cometidos contra personas defensoras de derechos humanos en el país, bajo el estándar internacional de la debida diligencia. Indicó que, actualmente la Unidad Nacional de Protección (UNP) protege a 3,067 líderes sociales. Asimismo, destacó una serie de medidas que se estarían implementando a fin de rescatar el enfoque de seguridad humana para la defensa de líderes sociales y personas defensoras de derechos humanos, desde un enfoque diferencial individual y colectivo. Colombia señaló que uno de sus principales objetivos es el cese de los asesinatos y agresiones contra personas defensoras y liderazgos sociales.

En Guatemala, de acuerdo con información pública, fue asesinado Tereso Cárcamo Flores integrante de Comité de Desarrollo Campesino (CODECA) en Aldea de La Paz en el sector Jiménez, Jalapa, en diciembre. El Estado guatemalteco informó a la Comisión que se encuentra realizando la investigación penal correspondiente, conduciendo las respectivas diligencias a fin de contribuir al esclarecimiento de los hechos e individualización de las personas responsables.

En Honduras, OACNUDH registró el asesinato de al menos dos personas defensoras en los últimos cuatro meses del 2022. En diciembre, fue asesinado Mauricio Esquivel, defensor de derechos humanos de la tierra y el medio ambiente, Tocoa, departamento de Colón. En octubre, fue asesinada Melisa Núñez, defensora en Morocelí, departamento de El Paraíso.

En México, cifras de OACNUDH indican que al menos 4 personas defensoras fueron asesinadas. En noviembre, fue asesinada María del Carmen Vázquez, madre buscadora, en Abasolo, Guanajuato. En octubre fueron asesinados el defensor ambiental Jesús Manuel García en Santo Domingo Tehuantepec, Oaxaca; el defensor ambiental Filogonio Martínez Merino, en Santiago Jamiltepec, Oaxaca; y Esmeralda Gallardo, madre buscadora, en Puebla, Puebla.

En Perú, OACNUDH registró el asesinato de Vilca Ampichi López, defensor ambiental indígena y jefe de la comunidad nativa de San Juan de Pachitea ocurrido en diciembre en Puerto Inca, Huánuco.

Adicionalmente, entre septiembre y diciembre de 2022, la Comisión recibió información sobre discursos estigmatizantes que buscan desacreditar la labor de defensa de derechos humanos. Estos discursos provienen incluso de las más altas autoridades del Estado como en El Salvador, México y Venezuela. El Estado de El Salvador, destacó el pleno reconocimiento y respeto hacia la labor de defensa de derechos humanos, garantizado su protección a través de una sólida institucionalidad.

Respecto a los discursos estigmatizantes, la Comisión recuerda que, la descalificación de las labores realizadas por personas defensoras de derechos humanos a través de pronunciamientos públicos por parte personas funcionarias del Estado, genera una estigmatización, y a la vez, puede generar un clima de hostilidad e intolerancia por parte de distintos sectores de la población que dificulte el ejercicio legítimo de su libertad de asociación.

Es urgente que los Estados investiguen de forma exhaustiva, seria e imparcial, y tomen como primera hipótesis la posible vinculación de estos actos de violencia con la labor de defensa. De igual forma, los Estados deben buscar la incorporación de un enfoque diferenciado de género y étnico-racial en la investigación, juzgamiento, sanción de estos crímenes, y en la implementación de medidas de reparación a las y los familiares de todas las víctimas, y dar garantías de no repetición.

La Comisión reitera la importancia proteger la vida e integridad y así como del rol que desempeñan las personas defensoras en el fortalecimiento y la consolidación de las democracias, tal y como lo ha señalado la CIDH en sus informes de 2006, 2011, 2017 y 2019. A su vez, la labor realizada por quienes defienden el medio ambiente es esencial para garantizar el equilibrio entre la protección ambiental y el desarrollo sostenible de los países de la región.

La CIDH es un órgano principal y autónomo de la Organización de los Estados Americanos (OEA), cuyo mandato surge de la Carta de la OEA y de la Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos. La Comisión Interamericana tiene el mandato de promover la observancia y la defensa de los derechos humanos en la región y actúa como órgano consultivo de la OEA en la materia. La CIDH está integrada por siete miembros independientes que son elegidos por la Asamblea General de la OEA a título personal, y no representan sus países de origen o residencia.

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2022 Was a Violent Year for the Defense of Human Rights in the Americas, IACHR Says

February 21, 2023

 

Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the murders of 126 rights defenders in 2022, in a generally violent context against them. The Commission stresses its call on States to take urgent measures to protect rights defenders.

The Inter-American Commission has been informed of 42 murders of defenders during the last four months of the year, while 84 had been murdered over the period January–August 2022. Many of the defenders who were killed were indigenous or Afro-descendant persons or were active in the defense of territorial or environmental rights.

At least eight rights defenders were killed in Brazil during the last four months of 2022, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). In December, Raimundo Nonato Silva de Oliveira, a member of the Landless Workers Movement (MST, by its Portuguese acronym) was murdered in Araguatins, in the state of Tocantins. In November, Cleijomar Rodrigues Vasques, an LGBTI rights defender who belonged to the Guarani Kaiowá indigenous people, was murdered in Amambai, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, while indigenous Guaraní rights defender Nhandesy Estela Verá was killed in Japorã, also in Mato Grosso do Sul. In September–October, the following defenders were murdered in Brazil: Yanomami indigenous leader Cleomar Xirixana in Napolepi, Alto Alegre; Pataxó indigenous activist Gustavo Conceição in Comexatibá, Patax; indigenous defender Janildo Oliveira Guajajara, a member of the group Guardiões da Floresta, in Amarante do Maranhão, Maranhão; Guajajara indigenous defender Jael Carlos Miranda Guajajara in Arame, Maranhão; and Guarani Kaiowá indigenous leader Vitorino Sanches (who had already survived a murder attempt on August 2) in Amabai, Mato Grosso do Sul.

Colombia is the country with the highest number of defender murders in the last four months of 2022. The OHCHR confirmed 26 cases, while a further 20 were still being verified. In November–December, the following defenders were murdered in Colombia: social leader Filadelfo Anzola Padilla in the municipality of San Pablo, in the south of the Bolívar department; indigenous leader Yermi Chocué Camayo in Morales, Cauca; community leader Edgar Omar Ayala Pinto in Cúcuta, Norte de Santander; indigenous leader Juvencio Cerquera in Sotará, Cauca; indigenous leaders Francisco Sarco Pipicay and Carlitos Urágama Cano in Quibdó, Chocó; and social leader Carlos Andrés Posada in the municipality of Ituango, Antioquia.

In Colombia, the following defenders were murdered in September–October: social leader Natanael Díaz in Magangué, Bolivar; Afro-descendant social leader Edinson Murillo Ararat in Santander Quilichao, Cauca; social leader Rigo Alape in Puerto Leguízamo, Putumayo; social leader Ferney Morales in Puerto Leguízamo, Putumayo; Afro-descendant social leader Fredy Mena Oregón in Lloró, Chocó; Afro-descendant community leader Silvio Landazury Castillo in Mocoa, Putumayo; community leader Rafael Emiro Moreno Garavito in Montelíbano, Córdoba; social leader Gildardo Alonso Ríos in Fortul, Arauca; social leader Sócrates Sevillano and his wife in Orito, Putumayo; Afro-descendant social leader Adelmo Balanta in Buenos Aires, Cauca; social leader William Pedraza in Leticia, Amazonas; social leader Luz Angelina Quijano Poveda in Bucaramanga, Santander; social leader Sandra Patricia Montenegro in Palmira, Valle del Cauca; trade-union leader Sibares Lamprea Vargas in Barrancabermeja, Santander; social leader Luis Antonio Charry in El Paujil, Caquetá; social leader Frai Torres Marroquín in the village of Ciénaga, Magdalena; indigenous leader Diocelino García Bisbicus in Tumaco, Nariño; social leader Dinael González Criado in Tibú, Norte de Santander; and indigenous leader Clemencia Arteaga in Villagarzón, Putumayo. The Colombian Ombudsperson's Office reported a total of 215 murders of defenders during 2022, the highest figure for a single year since 2016.

The State of Colombia told the Commission that all these cases were being investigated. The State noted that, since 2016, the Colombian Public Prosecutor's Office has a specific strategy in place to investigate crimes committed against human rights defenders in the country and to prosecute their perpetrators and masterminds, in compliance with international due diligence standards. The State further said that the National Protection Unit (UNP) is currently providing protection to 3,067 social leaders. The State also stressed a series of measures that are currently being implemented to reinforce the safety of social leaders and human rights defenders, with differentiated individual and collective approaches. Colombia stressed that ending murders and other forms of violence against rights defenders and social leaders is one of its main goals.

In Guatemala, according to public reports, Tereso Cárcamo Flores, a member of the Peasant Development Committee (CODECA, by its Spanish acronym), was murdered in December in Aldea de La Paz, in the Jiménez area of Jalapa. The State of Guatemala informed the Commission that it was conducting the relevant criminal investigation to solve this case, establish what happened, and identify the perpetrators and masterminds of any wrongdoing.

In Honduras, the OHCHR recorded the murders of at least two defenders over the last four months of 2022. In December, Mauricio Esquivel, a human rights defender who was particularly active in defense of land rights and environmental rights, was murdered in Tocoa, in the department of Colón. In October, rights defender Melisa Núñez was murdered in Morocelí, in the department of El Paraíso.

In Mexico, the OHCHR reports that at least four defenders were murdered over the last four months of 2022. In November, María del Carmen Vázquez, a woman who had been searching for her missing son, was murdered in Abasolo, Guanajuato. In October, the following defenders were murdered: environmental defender Jesús Manuel García in Santo Domingo Tehuantepec, Oaxaca; environmental defender Filogonio Martínez Merino in Santiago Jamiltepec, Oaxaca; and Esmeralda Gallardo, a woman who had been searching for her missing daughter, in Puebla, Puebla.

In Peru, the OHCHR confirmed the murder of indigenous environmental defender Vilca Ampichi López, who was the leader of the native community in San Juan de Pachitea and was killed in December in Puerto Inca, Huánuco.

Further, between September and December 2022, the Commission was informed of several instances of stigmatizing comments aimed at discrediting efforts in defense of human rights. These comments were sometimes even made by high authorities of the State, as was the case in El Salvador, Mexico, and Venezuela. The State of El Salvador noted that it fully recognizes and respects the defense of human rights and guarantees protection for defenders, through solid institutions.

Concerning stigmatizing discourse, the Commission stresses that demeaning the work of human rights defenders through public comments made by State officials causes stigmatization and may also create a hostile, intolerant environment for defenders in certain social contexts, which may in turn undermine defenders' legitimate exercise of their right to freedom of association.

States must urgently conduct comprehensive, serious, and impartial investigations that start off with the hypothesis that the violence may have been linked to victims' efforts in defense of human rights. Similarly, States must seek to adopt differentiated gender and ethnic–racial approaches when investigating, trying, and punishing these crimes and when providing reparations for the families of all victims, as well as providing guarantees of non-recurrence.

The Commission stresses how important it is to protect the lives and integrity of human rights defenders and also the role defenders play to strengthen and consolidate democracy, as the IACHR already noted in various reports published in 2006, 2011, 2017, and 2019. The work of environmental defenders is also essential to ensure a balance between environmental protection and the sustainable development of countries in the Americas.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

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