Honduras and its relationship to human rights is a product of the rest of the world’s progress. This country in Latin America has never held a space of predominant attention due to the western world’s domination of the international spheres. However, Honduras has never allowed itself to fade completely into obscurity, because it has accepted the terms and signed all the treaties necessary to ensure its position in the western world’s good graces. Honduras has been the host of innumerable foreign investments, but its modest societal advances have hindered their own political and economic progress. Since the early twentieth century, Honduras has struggled with human rights violations ranging from governmental terrorism and political violence. These two categories allow an entirely new subset of problems to form, which include human trafficking, gender inequality, and restrictions of personal freedoms. All of these problems contain their infinite complexities and differences, but they can all be tied under the umbrella term “human right violations”.

This dossier is a case study of Honduran human rights violations, but it will predominantly focus on three specific turning points in its history that created an incredible amount of repercussions. These historic dividers in Honduran human rights will begin with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights’ first formal complaint of human rights violations. This section will compose of early incidents in the 1980’s and will culminate with an introduction to the Honduran coup in 2009. The second section of the dossier will serve as critical point, because the transition of power was the first of its kind in modern history: a Democratically elected president was deposed in favor of a militaristic leader. This transition brought an insurmountable series of consequences that will create a clean cut to the final section of this case study, which focuses on the present-day human rights violations it suffers.

In essence, this dossier will revolve around the 2009 Honduran Coup, because our research has led us to the conclusion that this was the highest point of Honduran human rights violations. It brings to light the question that if a democracy can collapse and be supported in the international scene, what crime won’t be condoned? Honduras has not been the same since 2009. One human rights violation after the other has created a snowball effect of repercussions that has left Honduran citizens at the mercy of a militarized government. This new government liberally uses governmental terrorism to silence any possible moves of justice, but the rest of the world’s attitude of apathy only exacerbates this.

Innumerable atrocities and violent acts have always dictated humanity’s history. In 1945, World War II was the most recent calamity humanity had faced. The millions of lives lost and the memories of those who lived enlightened the minds of survivors with the knowledge and ambition to prevent anything like it from happening again. However, these individuals knew that their attempt at prevention could not be hindered by the limitations and constraints of national alliances, ethnicity, or religion. World War II had involved people from all backgrounds, and consequently, they sought protection for everyone. These events were what led to the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

All of this is worth mentioning because it shows that even less than a century has passed and the world still suffers human rights violations. A little more than half a century ago, the world was united in its understanding that people are people regardless of societal categorization. However that united front has crumbled and only the most successful countries exhibit some respect towards people’s human rights. How can the world still allow this? How can the international sphere still allow cases like Honduras to exist? These questions cannot be ignored or mitigated, because they are real issues. It should be a source of international shame, but instead Honduras is put on the back burner while trivial topics are given more importance.

In the end, what this dossier hopes to do is to bring attention to a situation that needs to improve. Since 2009, the Honduran government has distorted the image of democracy, created the facade of peace, and desensitized its citizens to situations where others would be horrified. Honduras is embroiled in human rights violations, and it is about time that the rest of the world understands that something must be done. The world must unite like it did at the culmination of the Second World War and put aside its differences for the sake of a better tomorrow.

To read the complete dossier CLICK HERE!

This video is relevant to our dossier because it is a brief introduction to how the collapse of the democracy has led to human rights violations since 2009.

By Carla Apodaca, Kenia Munguia and Vahe Sargsyan

Megan Cliff

Kimberly Guzman

Erin Waugh

Executive Summary

As is any other industry, human trafficking is essentially based off of supply and demand.  In particular, however, the industry feeds off of the vulnerability of others.  Human trafficking is fueled by a number of factors — two of which are the lack of availability of jobs and resources within local communities and the consumption of the products of human trafficking.  These elements tend to place people further into vulnerable positions, leaving them with less civil liberties and personal, economic, familial, or any other choices.  The victims of human trafficking are, by our definition, those forced under the hands of others or into situations in which they have little control.  Therefore, their sense of citizenship is diminished as, if they are trafficked without consideration of their belonging to a state or between borders, there is little means with which a state is able to protect their rights.

A full model of human trafficking must consider all known factors within the cycle – socioeconomic, political, etc.  Given the variety of communities at hand, however, this will not be our approach.  Rather, we will divide Latin America into three areas of study: the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.  This will condense a report on these countries’ immediate struggles with human trafficking given the nature of their individual economies and histories, although we recognize that this could not fully encompass the complexities of the matters with which they are dealing.  From there, we will discuss countries within which we believe lie some of the key modes of human trafficking within the individual regions.  These countries are Haiti, Costa Rica, and Brazil.

To choose which countries to focus on, we consulted the U.S. Department of State’s Tier Placement System, created to monitor and combat the trafficking of persons. A description of each tier is as follows:

“Tier 1

Countries whose governments fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards.

Tier 2

Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.

Tier 2 Watch List

Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards AND:

a   The absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly increasing;

b   There is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year; or

c   The determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year.

Tier 3

Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.”

Countries of Focus:

Haiti

Six-year-old Charles Kerby hold his 11-month-old sister Mikerlina Dragon inside the Ste Therese camp, set up for people displaced by the 2010 earthquake, in Petion-Ville, Haiti, in June 2012. Kerby had to drop out of school after the 2010 earthquake to help his working mother care for his two brothers and sisters. (Dieu Nalio Chery/AP)
<http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2013/01/10/haiti-earthquake-book&gt;

Our dossier’s first country of focus is Haiti, which has been on the Tier 2 Watch List for the last three consecutive years. Haiti is described as “a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.” This project’s research shows that the most common forms of human trafficking within this region are child trafficking as well as sex trafficking. This region’s susceptibility to human trafficking is largely due to both the devastating 2010 earthquake, which created greater economic disparities and a plethora of stateless individuals within unsafe displaced persons camps; as well as Haiti’s violent history with colonialism and military regimes, producing a culture of impunity that ultimately does not do enough to help trafficked persons. While it seems that legal means have yet to make an impact within Haiti to liberate trafficked individuals, this report will briefly discuss two specific organizations that provide humanitarian aid to those vulnerable to trafficking, especially along the Haiti-Dominican Republic border—UNICEF and Heartland Alliance International.

Brazil

Brazilian Salvation Army volunteers campaigning against human trafficking, within the context of the FIFA World Cup. Portuguese text reads: ‘What is the value of your silence?’ (Credit: Photo courtesy of IHQ Flickr).
<http://my.salvos.org.au/news/2014/06/12/salvation-army-teams-are-on-the-ball-in-brazil-ahead-of-2014-fifa-world-cup/&gt;

This image was taken from the “Biopiracy and the Global Quest for Human Organs” article and it illustrates a mothers pain after her son was killed by Death Squads in Rio de Janeiro. I choose this picture because it highlights how women in Brazil fear the risk of organ theft in public hospitals and mortuaries.

Costa Rica 

Here, the police have arrested a doctor they suspect is involved in one of Costa Rica’s prominent organ trafficking rings. Following the testimonies of a couple in 2008, officials have been able to round up doctors who they believe were responsible for selling the body parts of Costa Ricans to an Israeli company.
“Dismantling Costa Rica’s Organ Trafficking Ring.” Costa Rican Times, March 19, 2014, Uncategorized sec.
<http://www.costaricantimes.com/dismantling-costa-ricas-organ-trafficking-ring/26164&gt;

Our third country of focus will be Costa Rica, whose new regulations are not only causing internal changes, but have allowed it to move upward in its tier placement.  This gives us another angle with which to analyze a portion of the human trafficking occurring in Latin America.  In the case of Costa Rica, it appears that regulations have somewhat successfully influenced the most traditional cases of human trafficking towards national individuals specifically within the nation’s capital.  Nonetheless, it remains a prominent destination or point of transit for trafficked individuals of other nations. On this subject, some international work has occurred between Costa Rica and Nicaragua in the case of child sex trafficking. Given that trafficking generally involves the involuntary transport of individuals, especially throughout areas outside of the capital, some development is still necessary for more effective regulation.  A flourishing tourism industry has lead to greater opportunities for the sex tourism industry.  The legalization of prostitution has made it more difficult for law enforcers to discern which individuals being marketed by this industry are trafficked individuals and which are legal prostitutes. Furthemore, individual victims have been trafficked as far as Japan, which would make the rescue of such victims more difficult for the local government.

To gain access to the full dossier, click here:
A Multi­country Analysis of Human Trafficking in Latin America

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – JUNE 02: People march during the anual gay pride parade on June 02, 2013 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo by David Gasser/LatinContent/Getty Images)

Samantha Aguilar, Cassandra Ginnis, Lukas Mcgregor

In an effort to take the temperature of LGBTI rights in Latin America, we have undertaken a sociopolitical analysis of those areas in the region, which have been late in arriving to questions of equity for sexual minorities.  While countries such as Argentina and Brazil have been leaders in this respect, others, such as Puerto Rico, Chile, and Nicaragua have been notable for their resistance.  The reasons seem to lie at the intersections of commerce and democratization, Catholicism, and entrenched gender roles.

In the early 1970s, gay rights movements were prevalent throughout the Americas – both in the U.S. and in Latin America – but were faced with setbacks, including military dictatorships with strong ties to the Catholic Church in places such as Argentina, Guatemala and Chile. While in many instances these governments – owing to the demands of cold-war alliances – were open to neo-liberal economic practices, their strong central governments were sufficiently repressive to limit the liberal social gains we have seen more recently since the widespread democratization of the region.  Since the uptick in democratic governance that began in the 1990s, the demands of the tourist trade, most notably in Chile and Argentina, have begun to ensure the safety and profitability of businesses that serve the LGBTI community.

The democratic era has also seen the rise of NGOs that are specifically focused on the rights of sexual minorities, whose visibility and dedication in the past two decades have helped to yield tremendous gains in the courts.  Activist Rolando Jimenez of the Homosexual Movement for Integration and Liberation (MOVILH) was able to mobilize public support for anti-discrimination laws in the wake of a brutal murder and a tragic fire; Cesar Cigliutti of Comunidad Homosexual Argentina (CHA) has been at the forefront of the battle for marriage equality in Latin America, and in the case of Tania Luna, a transsexual, was instrumental in obtaining her right to assert her name and gender legally without an accompanying gender reassignment surgery.  A free democratic society has no doubt been essential in allowing advocacy of this magnitude to take place.

The machismo/marianisma gender paradigm has also had its role to play not only in gender inequality in Latin America, but also in national attitudes toward sexual minorities.   A binary gender concept, which elevates ostensibly masculine characteristics – the capacity for casual brutality, say, or an appetitive and dominant sexual disposition – to a position of natural and unquestioned authority over its feminine opposite, is by its definition unable to accommodate the subtle varieties of sexual orientation and gender identity which comprise the LGBTI community.  It is perhaps fitting that this monolithic notion of masculinity, so embodied by the military dictators of Latin America’s recent past, is being gradually eroded in their absence.

As central authority has been weakened through democratization, and NGOs and rights groups have found the room to operate on behalf of sexual and other minority groups, the power of the Catholic Church has become more diffuse.  This has occurred along different timelines for different nations, with both Guatemala and Brazil legally separating Church from state before the turn of the 20th century, and Nicaragua and Chile doing the same thirty to forty years later.  Despite official separation in Argentina, the Catholic Church was what Patricia Marchak, in her book “God’s Assassins”, termed a “state church” during the military regimes, essentially supporting whomever happened to be in power.  While all of these counties are still nominally catholic, issues of complicity within the church have weakened its institutional as well as its moral authority.

As with human rights progress throughout the world, the process is fought both through legislation and through norm shifting.  Catholicism has been entrenched in Latin American culture since the arrival of the Spanish in the early 1500s, and much of the gender narrative and sexual intolerance can be laid at the feet of the church, as correlations have been shown between the rate of religious belief and intolerance toward sexual minorities.  Because of the long history of Catholic primacy in the region, there is quite a distance to cover normatively, with only 5% of Chileans, for instance – according to  a 2010 report in the Journal of Homosexuality – holding “favorable attitudes toward homosexuals.”  As it stands now, in addition to the work of NGOs and advocacy groups, there is something of a “top down” process at work, with gains made in the U.S. and in Europe, both at the state level and in the Human Rights courts, having an impact on Latin American Judiciaries and the Inter American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), and ultimately on policies affecting the LGBTI community in places like Chile, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico.

To continue reading the full length Dossier»

Dana Park, Meseret Ghirmai, Austin Wells

Guatemalans protest Canadian mining company GoldCorp, urging their withdrawal because of the human rights violations it brought about,
hence the slogan “terrorism.”

Guatemala is a Central American country that has a population of 10 million people, with Mayans making up 6 million of the population. It’s a country run by wealthy landowners and big businesses are interested in mining their natural resources for investment purposes. Mining in Guatemala predates to colonial days because metals were used as raw resources for making tools and weaponry. Mineral mining was done for economic gain, and became a part of the international market during the 20th century. The mid-20th century was when Canadian International Corporations proposed to the Guatemalan government to create mining laws to pursue their natural resources, in hopes for cheaper production.

Peace Brigades International examined the mining issue in Guatemala more closely when it became a concern at the national level at the end of 2003. In 2003, the mining issue became a concern because the Guatemalan government gave a mining permit to Glamis Gold, an American company. Glamis Gold and the indigenous people came into conflict when Glamis Gold reopened the EXMIBAL nickel mine to exploit its natural resources.

Mining in Guatemala has been controversial because it puts indigenous people who live around the mining operations at health and environmental risks, but it also has potential to be very profitable for the corporations in charge of these very mining operations. The Marlin Mine is an example of one of the most profitable for Glamis Gold because it has a yield of about 2.3 million ounces of gold and 36 million ounces of silver. By extracting 217,000 ounces of gold and 3.5 million ounces of silver a year, the predicted amount of sales would be $893 million. Thus, a mining permit was granted in November 2003 and the World Bank funded $45 million for Glamis Gold’s project due to the expected high profitability.

The Guatemalan government and the Canadian mining companies believed that these operations would create help develop rural areas, in terms of creating jobs. The members of these communities are claiming that these companies aren’t taking into consideration the negative environmental impacts of the mining operations. The Madre Tierra organization reported an increase in residents that live near the mine with skin, eye, neurological, and respiratory diseases. Apparently, they came in contact with contaminated water, which was then tested positive for poor water quality by non-governmental organizations like Caritas. The poor water quality also affected their agriculture, so the residents had to buy fruits and vegetables; something they could’ve easily grown.

“No to mining, yes to life!!!”

In 2004, the Ministry of Energy and Mines campaigned to lessen the amount of issues with residents. However, the residents continued to protest mining operations. The residents of San Marcos demanded that the mining permits be revoked. An indigenous leader argued, “the state is responsible for ensuring the health and survival of the people.” When the people of Solola heard about the the mining company Exploradora de Guatemala coming to their area, the residents protested and complained about not being consulted first. The residents tried to block the passage of the cylinder used for mining operations, but more national guards controlled the crowd. Despite negotiations, a confrontation in Los Encuentros between the people of Solola and security forces broke out because. This confrontation led to one dead resident and 16 injured officers and the cylinder arrived at the Marlin plant the following day.

This image shows the many indigenous women getting together to protest against the mining operations, in order to protect their land, culture, and community residents.

There are several articles in the Guatemalan Constitution that defend the government’s actions regarding mining permits. Article 125 states, “The technical and rational exploitation of minerals is to be useful and a public necessity.” Article 97 states, “The state, municipalities, and the Guatemalan people have to carry out development in harmony with the environment and establish a regulatory framework so that the use of natural resources is rational and avoids ecological damage.” These two articles indicate how although the land is to be accessible for the public, there should be regulations. On the other hand, the International Labor Organization on Indigenous Peoples published articles that defended the concerns of the residents. Article 6 emphasizes that the government should consult with the residents, allowing them to participate in decision-making to some extent. Article 7 states that the people should have the right to decide their own priorities of the process in development. These two articles signify the Mayans right to consultation and participate in decisions regarding their property.

In 2005, the indigenous people created a Western Front against the mining operations. There were indigenous representatives that organized meetings and conferences to spread awareness and try to form a democracy. One of the largest events organized was the First Regional Conference of Indigenous Authorities of the Western Highlands and the Regional Mayan Legislative Meeting, at which indigenous people demanded respect and land rights. There have been reports of the companies finding loopholes in policies that are already intact. For example, Montana Exploradora bought the lands of certain peasants without informing them of the value their land held. The Mayans see the mining methods as a way of “destroying mother earth” and they believe that anything that harms nature shouldn’t be pursued.

Some observers believe that the World Bank’s loan to Glamis Gold was the reason for the Guatemalan government’s involvement in the mining operations. The World Bank and Guatemalan government are just using the Mayans and their land for economic purposes. The Mayans believed that the wealth coming from the success of these mines will be used for these corporations, investors, and governments’ personal use, instead of their promise to develop the communities in Guatemala.

This isn’t just an environmental issue, but also a human rights issue due to the attacks on innocent residents. Many reporters have received death threats, were injured, or killed for simply publicizing these conflicts about the mining situation in Guatemala. This is an indication of the corrupt government, and that mining law and regulation isn’t completely honest or beneficial for all involved – these reporters were being attacked for a reason – to be kept quiet. One Guatemalan woman testified to her husband being burned alive because of his affiliation with the protests, but there was denial on the corporation and government’s part. One of the main anti-mining leaders, Yolanda Oqueli, stated, “It’s not easy to bear being spat at in the face, being pushed and shoved, the tear gas, the tussles with the police, and we women having to throw ourselves on the ground.” All the Mayans ask for is to be consulted and addressed in an appropriate manner before these mining operations take place, and legally the corporations are supposed to be doing that anyway, so the government is essentially breaking the law by surpassing citizens when issuing out mining permits.

Currently, more and more indigenous people are banning together in solidarity and organizing protests and conferences and seeking foreign aid in hopes to gain international attention to investigate this issue further. So far, more than three dozen people, including the president of Guatemala’s central bank, heads of National Tax Office, and high-profile lawyers have been arrested for multi-million dollar defrauding of the state in customs revenue. Most importantly, several mining licenses such as the Minera San Rafael (a supplement of the mining company Tahoe Resources) license was suspended by the Center for Legal, Environmental and Social Action. Despite these advances, further legal reforms concerning the welfare of the population and their property need to be instigated to remedy current human rights violations and prevent future violations from happening.

For full dossier, click FinalDossier

Sources: DossierBibliography

A communist state does not allow for any political or social movements inside the country. This was the case in the Soviet Union, Communist China and to today Cuba. Starting with Fidel Castro, those who opposed the regime and asked for change were faced with retaliation backed by the full power of the Cuban state. Until today, Cubans who ask for political and social reform face imprisonment. Basic rights such as freedom of speech and peaceful assembly are violated every day. While the stepping down of the Fidel Castro gave many hope that change was forthcoming, his brothers policies towards threats to the communist regime have not changed. As the United States begins to reassess its attitude towards Cuba and reestablish diplomatic relations, it is important to not forget the plight of Cubans who have been repressed for decades. However, one must understand the situation in its entirety, including the viewpoint of the Cuban government. In order to analyze the situation of Cuba empirically, this paper will examine known instances of human rights violations and discuss the actors present, both domestic and international; as well as examine the historical context under which this situation has developed.

Since the takeover of the Cuban state by Fidel Castro the “Pearl of Antilles” has become awash with violence. Especially in the last decade, with international attention shifting to the middle-east the Cuban government has been able to escalate its atrocities. “The Castro dictatorship indeed has moved with sickening speed to arrest, try, convict and sentence to draconian jail terms approximately 80 of Cuba’s bravest and brightest”[1]. With the world occupied by terrorist organizations who seem determined on attacking the main lands of western countries and taking over middle-eastern ones, the Cuban regime contained in the boundaries of its shores has been pushed to the sidelines.

The problems that continue to arise in Cuba effect individuals and families that are considered critics opposed to the government. Cubans live in fear of their government because of the consistent oppressive acts in which they take to limit the rights of its citizens. The conflicts in Cuba according to Worlds Report 2014 states, “the Cuban government continues to repress individuals and groups who criticize the government or call for basic human rights. Officials employ a range of tactics to punish dissent and install fear in the public, including beatings, public acts of shamintermination of employment, and threads of long term imprisonment”. [2]

Especially the freedoms of expression, association and assembly are the ones that have suffered substantially[3]. Whenever people have gathered to demonstrate peacefully, the government has responded with force to break up such protests and often arrested several people. Even recently, after the announcement of the U.S. and Cuba relationship normalizations the Cuban government has continued on this path breaking up peaceful gatherings, resorting to beatings and imprisonments[4]. Furthermore, political competition has been largely absent in Cuba. The elections were often fixed and allowed no one other than the government to view the total number of ballots. Once Fidel Castro was elected he would no longer hold free elections because he claimed that the people of Cuba already voted and wanted Fidel.

While a sovereign nation is ultimately free to do as it pleases, the actions of a state are influenced by the international community; whether domestic or international. The case of Cuba has not been different either. As has been discussed before, when the USSR was still in existence it gave much support to Cuba[5]. Nonetheless, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union others have stepped up to ally with the small nation and provide support in the midst of American led opposition. As the legatee of the USSR the Russian Federation has continued to support Cuba and the Castro regime. In 2014 president Vladimir Putin met with Raul Castro and signed a deal which forgave the debts owned by Cuba to Russia, as well as signing security cooperation agreements[6]. Of course the power of the Russian state is not the same as that of the Soviet Union, but they remain a great power nevertheless. Having such an ally allows the Cuban government to not worry about complete isolation from the international community. On the other hand America has led a political and economic embargo. So while the U.S. and its allies have criticized the human rights record of Cuba, their criticism has meant little. For the past twenty three years the United Nations have called for the end of the U.S. embargo[7]. And while those that oppose the embargo site over a trillion dollars lost[8], the fact of the matter is that Cuba has survived with the embargo in place. So while it would unmistakably be good for Cuban economy to have the embargo lifted, the years of living with the embargo have made U.S. economic leverage less effective. Recently the Obama administration announced that the United States and Cuba will be resuming diplomatic ties[9]. The years of trade and political embargo have not brought about the goals they were meant to achieve and it would seem that the U.S. has decided to take a different approach. Even back in 2003 when the House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform was holding a hearing most of those that spoke did so in favor of a more constructive approach to U.S.-Cuban relations[10]. Even back in the U.S. there seems to be an understanding that the old methods have failed, and there is a need to try something new. There is a need to move past the history that has clouded the relations of Cuba and the U.S. and find ways to work with one another

Full text available Repression of Human Rights in the Cuban State

[1] United States. Committee on International Relations House of Representatives. Castro's Brutal Crackdown on     Dissidents. 2.

[2] “World Report 2014: Cuba.” Human Rights Watch

[3] Cuba: Silencing the Voices of Dissent, New York: Amnesty International. 3.

[4] Martin, Sabrina. "Another Sunday, Another 89 Political Arrests in Cuba." PanAm Post. N.p., 04 May 2015. Web. 27     May 2015.

[5] Rabkin, Rhoda Pearl. Cuban Politics: The Revolutionary Experiment. New York: Praeger, 1991. Print. 153

[6] Vulf Simona [Симона Вульф], Кого выберет Куба: США или Россия? [Who will Cuba choose: USA or Russia?].

[7] "General Assembly Demands End to Cuba Blockade for Twenty-Second Year as Speakers Voice Concern over       Impact on Third Countries | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases."

[8] "General Assembly Demands End to Cuba Blockade for Twenty-Second Year as Speakers Voice Concern over       Impact on Third Countries | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases."

[9] Whitefield, Mimi, and Jim Wyss. "Cuba and U.S. Close to Restoring Diplomatic Ties after 'highly Productive'          Meeting."

[10] United States. Committee on Government Reform House of Representatives. Castro’s Cuba: What is the      Proper U.S. Response to Ongoing Human Rights Violations in Our Hemisphere?

1

Introduction

In the wake of the Caracazo 2014 violent protests in Venezuela, which occurred from February through March, over 3,000 people were arrested and another 43 died.[1] With this tragedy, the international community began to recognize the dire political situation in Venezuela and started to take action.[2] Although it was not conclusive at first what led to the protests, it is apparent that those involved in the protests (mainly students, middle class people, and some rural poor) were being repressed by the state for trying to raise awareness of social, political, economic inequality occurring in Venezuela. Along with facing physical abuse during the protests, the Venezuelan protesters were also the victims of arbitrary arrests, police brutality, and practices of torture while in detention. In order to get an overview of this human rights issue, it is important to understand the key actors involved, the international system’s response, and the distinct perspectives between the interpretation of these protests from the international community and from the viewpoint of President Maduro

Key Actors

The key actors within Venezuela can be divided into two distinct factions: the government, armed forces, and pro-government parties, and the opposition, consisting of all those that are protesting the regime.  First off, the government and pro-government parties are comprised of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, which follow the ideology of former President Hugo Chavez referred as “chavismo”.[3] The opposition mainly consists of students, professional and the middle class population that are in parties such as the Table of Democratic Union (MUD)[4]. The leader of the opposition, and also the party coordinator of the center-left political party known as Voluntad popular, is Leopoldo Lopez.  The issues that the opposition is protesting mainly involve the high crime rates, high inflation rates, and severe shortages in basic necessities.  Along with advocating for better living conditions and economic reform, protestors are also calling for increased security for the public and the release of those detained in previous protests.[5]

2 3

International Response

Through the help of social media and news outlets, the international community began to get involved in this issue since it was apparent that human rights were being violated within the country. Human rights organizations such as the Inter-American Council on human rights have pressured Venezuela to ensure they comply with human rights policies by publishing a report to highlight the violations. Also, the US began to play a role in trying to deter the escalating violence and passed Public Law 113-128, which imposed sanctions on the Venezuela government and also states that the US will monitor Venezuela and support anti-government groups in their pursuit of democracy and human rights.[6]  Overall, the international community has tried to introduce policies into Venezuela to curb the violence and human rights violations, but could not achieve significant success due to the resistance of the government, particularly that of Maduro.

Conflict between the Maduro Regime and International Agencies

Despite the international community’s support for the protesters, it is important to note Maduro’s perspective regarding protesters to see how it conflicts with that of the international community’s perspective. For example, many international media outlets portray the protestors as victims of an authoritarian regime; however, Maduro emphasized during several of his speeches that he views the protestors as violent terrorists who seek to overthrow a Democratically elected government. In addition, in his speeches Maduro also has denounced and criticized all international actors that have scrutinized his adherence to human rights. One of his accusations includes that the US and other international human right organizations have been unlawfully meddling with Venezuela’s sovereignty by supporting rebel groups such as the 2002 coup d’état of ex-President Hugo Chavez. According to the article “US Human Rights Abusers Not Welcome in Venezuela,” Maduro claims that the U.S. unrightfully views itself as the “police of the world”.[7] In response to this criticism, Venezuela has imposed stricter policies on US citizens travelling to Venezuela, claiming that the US does not deserve visas to Venezuela for the fact that the US is responsible for committing its own human rights violations that it needs to address and also claiming that US citizens may serve as spies within the country.[8]

Conclusion

Overall, the brutal treatment of protesters during this period has highlighted the instability within the government and also highlighted Maduro’s inability to adhere to his human rights commitments. It is apparent excess force, police brutality, arbitrary arrests, intimidation, censorship, ect. were being utilized by Maduro’s regime in order to repress those advocating for human rights within Venezuela. In response, the international community became involved and publically scrutinized Maduro’s role in this repression, which caused Maduro to retaliate by denouncing all those who criticized him.

Our case study focuses on the key Presidencies of Romulo Betancourt, Andres Perez, and Hugo Chavez which have been essential in shaping the despotic relationship between the Venezuelan government and its citizens. Understanding Venezuela’s history helps clarify the reasons for inflation, shortages, violent crime, violation of free speech, and manipulation of elections. This analyses is important to comprehend the emergence of these human rights violations.

4  5

[1] What lies behind the protests in Venezuela? – BBC News. (2014, March 27). Retrieved May 31, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26335287

[3] Scharf, R. (n.d.). Giving Context to the Anti-Government Protests in Venezuela. Retrieved May 31, 2015, from http://www.robinscharf.me/giving-context-to-the-anti-government-protests-in-venezuela/

[4]  Ibid

[5] Venezuelan protesters abused, says HRW report – BBC News. (2014, May 5). Retrieved May 31, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27289120

[6] Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 (2014 – S. 2142). (n.d.). Retrieved June 1, 2015, from https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s2142

[7] Boothroyd, R. (n.d.). Maduro: “US Human Rights Abusers Not Welcome in Venezuela” Retrieved May 31, 2015, from http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/11245

[8]  Boothroyd, R. (n.d.). Maduro: “US Human Rights Abusers Not Welcome in Venezuela” Retrieved May 31, 2015, from http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/11245

Pictures

1.In this image, protestors in Venezuela are gathered around a line of police with crowd control gear.  These protestors are advocating for economic reform and an end to government corruption, but the police form a solid line to prevent the protestors from moving further into the streets.

http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2015/02/12/marchas-oficialistas-y-de-la-oposicion-al-cumplirse-un-ano-de-las-protestas-en-venezuela/

2. This is a picture of a sign used during a protest.  It translates to read “Why do Venezuelans protest? Insecurity, injustice, shortages, censorship, violence, corruption. Protesting is not a crime; it’s a right.”

3. This is a picture of people in Venezuela who are protesting the arrests of fellow protestors and the opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2014_Venezuelan_protests

4. This picture is an image of the February to March 1989 Caracazo protest in Caracas, Venezuela. In this image the violence of the protest is depicted through the presence of a tank. 

http://www.telesurtv.net/news/El-Caracazo-presente-en-la-memoria-del-venezolano-25-anos-despues-20140227-0052.html

5. This image is parallel to image number 4. The name of the protest in this image is the same as the protest of 1989. Both of these protests are called Caracazo. The Caracazo protest of 2014 occurred during the same time as the 1989 protest. The similarities of these two protests demonstrate the continuation of violence in Venezuela despite of the time difference. Furthermore, these two protests are in response to the same problems of inflation, food shortages, and violence. 

http://www.ticotimes.net/2014/03/05/venezuela-breaks-relations-with-panama-over-protest-talks

For our complete report please refer to: Dossier Final

Workers rally

Since the enactment of free trade agreements such as NAFTA and CAFTA-DR, there have been numerous accounts of labor violations in addition to a heavy presence of child labor in the member states of Central and Latin America. The U.S State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices between 2002 and 2006 stated that workforce oppression was the third most frequently occurring violation in Latin America, occurring roughly fifty-two percent of the time in examined cases. Although these accounts have been prevalent in most if not all of the member states of CAFTA, this analysis will also discuss violations occurring in Ecuador, Mexico, and Brazil due to similar violations. This research will focus on the most frequently occurring violations in the above mentioned countries, which have been divided into the following sections: lack of enforcement of labor policies, labor unions and collective bargaining, foreign corporations and domestic labor laws, health and safety hazards, women in the workforce, and child and slave labor.

Lack of Enforcement of Labor Policies

Joshua M. Kagan in his Workers’ Rights in the Mexican Maquiladora Sector argues that the problem regarding labor and human rights in Mexico and other countries is not with the law itself, but with its enforcement. No one in the member states of CAFTA-DR or NAFTA is holding governments responsible for labor policy violations, or for focusing solely on creating employment and foreign investment at the expense of human rights. Governments in these Central and Latin American countries are not willing to increase their labor standards, for fear of driving the headquarters of multinational corporations elsewhere. Many governments justify their neglection of human rights by claiming that the only way to deal with the poverty and unemployment in their countries is through focusing on permanent employment rather than dealing with regulations that make sure violations do not occur.

Labor Unions and Collective Bargaining 

There has been a lack of workers receiving individual representation in Central and Latin America because of the anti-union measures taken by employers, leading to various restrictions placed on unions. The inability for workers to collectively bargain within member states of these trade agreements is often believed to be an effect of competitive manufacturing export industries. Collective bargaining would allow for workers to combine and increase their bargaining powers to influence both employers and legislation in their countries, something that has been missing. Many unions are also afraid to take action regarding the protection of their workers due to the threat of businesses leaving their countries for other developing countries. Finally, because unemployment is very high in these member states, workers who do end up coming together to strike for better conditions in their work environment are easily replaceable by others who are frantically searching for work to make ends meet.

Foreign Corporations and Domestic Labor Laws

The increased presence of multinational corporations in the early 1900s has lead to ongoing violations of human rights and labor rights of workers in factories, assembly lines, and plantations such as those in Ecuadorian banana plantations and the Mexican maquiladoras. Corporations like the Dole Food Company and Chiquita Brand enjoy privileges and immunity in Central and Latin American countries that they do not enjoy in their own home countries. Establishing headquarters in these developing countries allows these foreign companies to operate under lower standards, which unfortunately results in disregard of domestic labor laws and thus the mistreatment of workers. In addition, foreign corporations in Central and Latin American countries do not enforce the rights of workers granted by signed international laws and treaties such as the American Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Often times, these companies do not know the established domestic laws of the countries they are operating in. In addition, there is a lack of enforcement of international human rights laws because of the unwillingness of countries to give up their national sovereignty, making them less likely to enforce these international human rights laws in their countries. Many human rights activists are pushing for key players such as the United States to be responsible for holding these multinational corporations responsible for abiding by international and domestic law to protect the workers, and to provide unions and non-government agencies with tools to improve the social and economic standards of living for workers through better wages.  Many Central and Latin American countries depend on these corporations for foreign investment, which comes at the expense of human rights. As argued by Pedro Cisneros in Free Trade’s Effect on Mexican and Brazilian Labor Law, countries should strive for labor policies that value workers’ rights while simultaneously promoting a competitive and flexible market.

Health and Safety Hazards

Workers in plantations and assembly lines such as Mexico’s maquiladoras face several health and safety hazards due to the lower standards foreign competitions are allowed to operate under. These workers are exposed daily to dust-born chemicals and gas or vapor exposure, which have resulted in many cases of birth defects in children born to past or present workers. Many times workers have reported not being trained on safety regulations of the machinery used in the factories and assembly lines, nor are they provided with proper updated safety equipment in the case of an emergency; many argue this is done by employers in an effort to improve the efficiency and speed of factory procedures. These workers have a right to favorable conditions under the UDHR, but are often neglected by employers and governments who fail to follow established labor policies.  In addition, many workers in foreign companies have working hours that exceed what is legally mandated for a workweek, exceeding more than forty-five hours per week. Excess work and the threat of losing jobs if efficient productivity is not kept creates a stressful environment for workers working in these substandard conditions, which make a negative impact on their health.

Women in the Workforce

Many female workers in factories, plantations and assembly lines in Central and Latin America face numerous cases of discrimination, especially when they are in the majority. Many female workers such as in the maquiladoras of Mexico reported being subject to frequent pregnancy tests where failure to comply could potentially cost their jobs. Those who are found pregnant while applying are prevented from receiving jobs, while those who become pregnant as workers are released without pay. Many female workers have also claimed that birth-control pills were distributed while on the job.  This is an attempt by these employers to avoid policies in Mexcio that entitle female workers to six weeks paid maternity leave before and after their delivery dates as well as job security after in the form of their previous positions.

Child and Slave Labor

There have been numerous reports on child labor in the member states of the CAFTA-DR as well as NAFTA, where children as young as eight are exploited in the workforce. Time spent in these brutal work environments prevents these children from receiving a proper education, to which they are entitled to under the Declaration of Human Rights. According to ILO Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention No. 182, there are still 5.7 million children under minimum wage who are engaged in work in Latin America and the Caribbean. While most tend to work in agricultural sectors, others work in more risky environments where they are exposed to dangerous equipment and hazardous chemicals

For our full dossier project,  click here: 18Dossier_Final. And for a more interactive experience visit: group18dossier.wordpress.com 

Blog Post Assignment Due on Monday 6/29: Warm up for Dossier

Elizabeth Mahony and Rachel Nolan, “The Roots of La Sentencia,” Jacobin Magazine online (June 20, 2015)

Click here to see full interview

[Text of annotation goes here]

[This is the image that originally accompanied the article on Jacobinmag.com]

People of Haitian descent born in the Dominican Republic stand in line to apply for a birth certificate listing them as foreigners. Ezequiel Abiu Lopez / AP

Prompt: The blog post assignment is a sample of what one dossier case file will look like. It’s a chance to practice writing an annotation and to learn how to use Word Press.

1. Identify a contemporary issue in Latin America related to human rights & locate one relevant source about this issue. Newspapers (national and international), periodicals, blogs, activist/NGO reports, and government documents are all acceptable. Be creative.

2. Create a WordPress blog post on www.derechoslatinamerica.com

3. Provide a full citation for your source

4. Write a 200 to 300-word summary, accompanied by an image & the link to the original article.

Write a concise annotation (200-300 words) that summarizes, evaluates and reflects. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the source cited.

• The first paragraph should provide brief summary of the article, covering the main points and arguments made.
• The second paragraph points out the article’s strengths and evaluates its methods and presentation. Here you might comment on the authority or background of the author as well as the intended audience.
• The third paragraph reflects on the source’s potential importance or usefulness for your own research project.

5. Locate an image to accompany your entry. For articles, locate a photograph that is related to the article’s content. Write 2-3 sentences, identifying where you found the photograph, and justify why it is appropriate to accompany your entry.

6. Insert the link to the original story (if you found it online)

7. Add tags that highlight key subject headings or topics for your article.

8. Put your post in the correct category “Human Rights in the News”.

9. Select a featured image — you can use the same one from the body of your post

10. Publish your post on http://www.derechoslatinamerica.com

Government Program to Protect Human Rights Defenders and Journalists Faces Serious Challenges. Washington Office on Latin America Organization Online ( May 14, 2015).

Mexico has become one of the most dangerous countries in the world to practice journalism with over 326 attacks targeted journalists in Mexico in 2014 according to the Washington Office on Latin America Organization. This past May, the body of Armando Saldana Morales, a journalist who worked for the radio station “La Ke Buena100.9 FM” was found shot. The perpetrators were not identified and the case was investigated. Morales is just a case of hundreds of cases of journalists who faced torture and killing with no justice. Indeed, it is a positive step that the government has created the Mechanism to Protect Human Rights and Journalists. However, this Mechanism faced issues that include insufficient funding and lack of cooperation between the state and local governments. Furthermore, the government has done little to investigate crimes against journalists. Yet, the U.S Agency for International Development will designate more than US $35 million in funding for human rights programs in Mexico.

Clay Boggs and Maureen Meyer, the authors, both work for the Washington Office on Latin America Organization. Washington Office on Latin America Organization is a non- profit that promotes human rights, social justice, and democracy in Latin American Countries based in Washington DC. This source is useful to research more cases related to this issue in Latin America. Boggs is a program officer for and Meyer is the director of WOLA’s Mexico program. Their area of expertise is Human Rights violation in Mexico. The article is very informative on violations against journalists in Mexico. In addition, it illustrated the Mexican government attempts to protect the journalists even though those attempts only represent a temporarily solution to the problem, especially when the attacks are never investigated. However, it would have been more meaningful to hear from the Mexican authorities and their reaction to the recent death of Morales.

demonstrations against the killing of journalists in Mexico.

http://www.wola.org/commentary/recent_killing_of_journalist_in_mexico_underscores_need_to_strengthen_protections

“World Report 2014: Cuba” Human Rights Watch online (June 25th, 2015)

Click here to see full text

Recently, America has been in talks to remove or at least lessen the embargoes on its Cuban neighbors that it has maintained since 1961, and one of the few remaining remnants of the iron curtain are finally being lifted. With these new discussions, many topics regarding Human Rights will come into play, namely the treatment of Cuban dissidents by the Cuban government, the treatment of Cuba by the American government, and the treatment of prisoners in the American held prison in Guantanamo Bay.

Human Right Watch is an international watchdog for human rights, and it tries to produce an unbiased congregate of knowledge regarding the state of human rights. Given that it intends to lead to a progression of human rights, it will tend to be critical of any nations where it can see potential for improvement (which encompasses virtually every nation to some degree). Human rights will be given the highest priority by the watchdog organization, and it can be argued that this prioritization develops neglect for other important matters such as national security.

This article is helpful because it is a document that comes directly from an active human rights activist group. It’s criticism of the United States regarding the human rights violations it has helped enable in Cuba is a bold declaration that many U.S. based journalists would tend to avoid

Cuban human rights activism has been shrouded in mystery for half a century to the American public due to economic embargoes placed during the Cold War. Due to the one party system in place in Cuba, there is little opportunity for political dissidence. (photo: PA)

Donna Bowater and Priscilla Moraes, “Brazil Passes Femicide Law to Curb Domestic Violence,” Aljazeera America (May 10, 2015). Link to Original Article

In March, 2015, a femicide law was passed in order to define and set tougher punishments for gender-based killing. Domestic abuse and violence is rampant in Brazil; every two hours, a woman is killed. In 2006 the Maria da Penha law was passed with the goal of reducing domestic violence, yet 700,000 women still live with aggression and assaults. The penalty for domestic abuse ranges from 12-30 years in prison, and this new femicide law can increase the sentence by up to one-third “if the victim is pregnant, is under 14, is older than 60 or has a disability or if the crime happens in front of the woman’s parents or children.” This law has been well-received, as it reinforces that domestic violence against women is a crime and that it will not be tolerated; however, the fact that Brazil had to pass another law criminalizing domestic violence brings into question if the government can be effective in dealing with these problems. After passing the Maria de Penha law, Projeto Violeta was started in downtown Rio De Janeiro. Projeto Violeta is partnership between the courts, public prosecutors and civil police in order to expedite cases of domestic abuse and speed up access to court orders. Under the Maria de Penha law, the police have 48 hours (four days) to act when a women reports an instance of domestic abuse. Many are concerned that 48 hours is too much time, leaving these women susceptible to more attacks from the abusers. Those involved with Projeto Violeta are trying to reduce the police’s reaction time to four hours. Eleonora Menicucci, the minister of policies for women, admits that fixing these problems is complicated: “We live in a patriarchal and chauvinistic culture, a culture that assumes women are the property of men.” Many feel that a law alone is not sufficient- education and awareness are necessary to bring change.

The authors of this article, Donna Bowater and Priscilla Moraes, report solely on current events in Brazil. Donna Bowater works as a journalist for several news outlets, reporting from Rio. Priscilla Moraes is a Ph.D candidate at the University of Delaware who has co-written several articles with Bowater for Aljazeera. This article is a good starting point for my dossier, informing the reader of the current situation and giving some history of the legal struggle against domestic abuse. The article includes testimonies of various women who have been saved by Projeto Violeta, and testimonies of the families of women who were killed as a result of the government and police’s inaction. The article gives reason to be optimistic about what this law means for a slow shift in public attitude concerning domestic violence, yet it acknowledges that there is still much work to be done to protect these women. To find more about this topic, one can search for the history and more details of the Maria de Penha law, Projeto Violeta, and other fights against chauvinism.

“On March 8 I will not shut up in the face of male chauvinism.” / “On March 8 I will not shut up in the face of violence against women.” On March 8th, International Women’s Day, Brazilian demonstrators call attention to the widespread violence against women and prevalence of macho attitudes throughout the country. Image found here.

Human Rights Watch, “Colombia: Top Brass Linked to Extrajudicial Executions,” Human Rights Watch (June 24, 2015). Link to the original article

The article is based off of a Human Rights Watch report recently released that claims to contain newly found evidence that implicates several Colonels and Generals within the ranks of the Colombian military in a series of extrajudicial killings of civilians from 2002 to 2008. Prosecutors are investigating over 3,000 of these cases in which Colombian Army soldiers killed civilians in order to boost body counts during a war against armed guerrillas. The report finds that the Colonels and Generals at this time, who either knew about the killings or should have known, were not only spared from justice, but were in several cases promoted to higher ranking positions in the military. The article also finds that several witnesses were either intimidated or killed and that there is convincing evidence to show that these were done by members of the military looking to silence these witnesses. The article suggests that the Prosecutor of the ICC monitor the legal proceedings in Colombia and if necessary, step in to investigate these cases.

The Human Rights Watch is a New York based, non-profit NGO that conducts research on issues regarding human rights around the world. Their mission is to be a voice for human rights around the world. In this report on Colombia they introduce testimonies from several witnesses which implicate Generals and Colonels in the extrajudicial killings. The article also takes care to illustrate the legal actions taking place within Colombia’s legal system to investigate these cases and dole out justice to those who are responsible. The article also illustrates that the legal system in Colombia is currently failing to hold the higher members of the military accountable for their actions with respect to these cases. The article is specifically looking for the attention of the Prosecutor’s Office of the ICC as well as the United States Government who provides military aid to Colombia.

This article is a good starting point for my research dossier in case I choose to look further into the conflict between the Colombian military and the Guerrillas and the civilians caught in between the two sides.

Photocopy of a photograph of soldiers standing behind the bodies of two alleged victims from 2004. The photograph came from the Attorney General’s office and has markings drawn by one of the witnesses.

Click here to see full article

The observation of human rights in Latin America still raises some questions. This is following the recent mass killing of civilians by the state security personnel yet the same go unpunished. The efforts put by the government are shoddy, irrelevant and incompetence is prevalent in dealing with cases regarding the human rights saga. The recent killing of more than 42 civilians, according to the official statement, in the Michoacán state of Mexico prove that the government is doing very little to rectify the matters.

The three-hour confrontation between the police and the civilians left a whopping 42 civilians dead while the police had a single causality. The shooting is said to have been prompted by the shooting heard in the civilians. The human right activists are raising a question as to the necessity of the use of that magnitude of the force. The human right watch has demanded a thorough and conclusive investigation into the matter to come up with a solution into the matter.

Similar cases involving extra-judicial killings and violation of human rights have been experienced in other countries including Brazil and Colombia. In Brazil, indigenous have been violated through discrimination in initiating development projects. In Colombia, extra-judicial killing is prevalent while the people behind it are protected by the state authorities. Witnesses are mistreated, threatened and in some extreme cases eliminated. The cases provided an incite into the region violation of human rights is prevalent.

The government official has been reportedly denied the claims that the police officer committed extra-judicial killings. The officers include Rubida Alejandro, the national security commissioner, and Galindo, the general police commissioner. The national human right commission, the office of the attorney general of the state of Michoacán and the federal attorney general office are investigating to unfold the happenings as they were. Witnesses into the matter suggest that most of the injuries sustained were related to head and in the faces. That is a prove that the officers intentions were to kill. Family members of those who died are also said to have reported similar claims, and the human rights group suspect more due to the systematic infliction of injuries to the civilians (Hrw.org, 2015).

The continued denial of human rights in the Latin America is raising an eye of international human right and activists toward the region.  Tlatlaya case investigation scandal is not expected to be repeated in the Michoacán state killings. In that case, police were involved in extra-judicial killing by opening fire towards civilians in a warehouse resulting into killing of 22 civilians. To make the matter worse, the police beat, and tortured the remaining witnesses. This was to make them collaborate with their statement. Sexual harassment and comments were made toward them to make them recant statements in favor of the security officers. They were to make statements to the effect that the military was not involved in the actions.

The state prosecutors, who in their capacity are expected to help threatened the witnesses, threatened the witness in their hand and forced them to put a sign in documents whose content was never disclosed to them. The Michoacán state witnesses also are facing a similar fate and are not expecting the situation to change. The human right activists are demanding an independent forensic audit of the evidence to help in increasing credibility of the investigations (Human Rights in Latin America, 2015).

Jillian Steinhauer, “Brazil Evicts Indigenous People in Violent Clash Over Sports Stadium” Hyperallergic (April 1, 2013).Link to Article

Even before the high profile arrests of many FIFA officials this past month, there were many concerns as to the selection of host states for the World Cup. After its selection for both the World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, Brazil began several sweeping expansions of existing facilities and began to build new facilities to accommodate the requirements of the two events. Part of this preparation was reclaiming unused stadiums within several cities such as Rio de Janeiro. Many of these buildings have sat used since their use in the 1950 World Cup. However, several indigenous people have moved into these derelicts as they have increasingly been pushed out of their homes.

Many of these native peoples have very little say in their government as many are not official registered citizens. This undocumented status have made them the target of several injustices such as the purchase of the land they inhabit without their knowledge or consent, due to the government claiming ownership. As the forests that they call home are destroyed, they are displaced into the sprawling cities of Brazil and are given very little legal recourse against these right violations. Due to this, it became a common practice for entire tribes to move into the abandoned stadiums and take up residence. In the city of Maracanã, an official museum was set up in one of these stadiums celebrating the insidious people of the forests of Brazil.

However, in its bid for the World Cup and Summer Olympics, Brazil promised several new sites, and indeed, it is one of the requirements of FIFA of a state bidding for the opportunity. Maracanã was selected as such a new site.The old facility was to be torn down and a new one erected in its place. Police and armed troops were sent into these makeshift cities to remove people by force, if necessary. Homeless again, the natives were forced onto the streets.

This article highlights the voicelessness of these undocumented citizens and how there is no where for these victims to turn. It is a perfect stepping stone for my research into the government’s treatment of the native people of Brazil because it shows the violence that has already happened.

Cameron Sutherland

“Brazil World Cup: FIfa and business miss an open goal for human rights” – Phil Bloomer and Julia Mello Nieva. 13 June 2014    Click here for original text

“FIFA is recognized as one of the world’s wealthiest sporting associations.” In 2014, its games which occur every four years, were hosted in Brazil. While many hoped that the games would create great revenue for Brazil, it seems that it added to the poverty issue that the country faces. Many residents have taken to the streets in order to protest and voice their concerns against the World Cup being hosted in Brazil. Survey’s show that a majority of the Brazilian population opposes the World Cup in Brazil stating that the money used to fund the games takes away from public services such as in health and education. It seems that only businesses and politicians stand to benefit, leaving many to wonder if this is a violation of human rights. In addition, many contracting companies leave little to be desired. Many workers have lost their lives while building stadiums. “Furthermore, some companies force their workers to live in “slave-like” conditions”. Not to mention,many have been evicted and forced out of their homes in order make room for new stadiums being build. This has resulted in increased poverty and homelessness, as many are not fairly compensated. Other human rights issues that have raised concerned are livelihood of street vendors, protection of protesters, and prevention of childhood prostitution. With hundreds of thousands of tourist predicted to arrive in Brazil for the games, they can become a threat to the life of the Brazilian population.

The authors of this article do a good job of organizing and categorizing how the World Cup is affecting the life of thousands of Brazilians. By doing so they facilitate the understanding of  different issues stemming from the World Cup. In addition, they provide helpful links to resources and studies used to write this article.

A graffiti painted by Brazilian street artist Paulo Ito on the entrance of a public schoolhouse in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 23, 2014. A picture of the graffiti depicting a starving child with nothing to eat but a football has been shared more than 50,000 times on Facebook. AFP PHOTO / Nelson ALMEIDA

The image above is one of many street art, reminiscent of how many feel about the World Cup in Brazil. The depiction shows a starving child, crying because all he as to eat is a football. This shows how many are suffering and being further impoverished by FIFA, its government and their support of the World Cup.

April 17, 2008. An unexploded ordinance is blown up during “cleanup” at the former Vieques Naval Training Range, on Vieques island, Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)

During President Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008, he wrote a letter to the then-Governor of Puerto Rico Anibal Acevedo Vilá, promising to use his resources to clean up the environment of Vieques and to monitor the health of Viequenses affected by the military’s activities on the island (Colón-Ramos: 2015). After approximately 60 years of target practice, live-fire training, and weapons testing, the United States Navy stopped bombing Vieques on May 1, 2003. Vieques suffers from extensive ecological damage and health problems as a result of weapons testing, and the Navy is taking minimal responsibility. The cleanup process is moving slowly while the health of Viequenses continues to deteriorate. Since taking office, the Obama administration has not addressed a single issue concerning the island and its residents.

In September 2013, the National Lawyers Guild filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights accusing the United States Government of human rights violations of the island of Vieques. Ten Viequenses who have been diagnosed or have relatives who have been diagnosed with cancer filed the petition against the Navy and the Defense Department. Their demands are for the U.S. Government to address existing ecological damages and to improve health care facilities and transportation on the island (Kim: 2013). Currently, there are no chemotherapy facilities on the island, forcing cancer patients to take ferries and planes to treatment centers on mainland Puerto Rico or in the United States (Aljazeera 2013).

July, 2000. Rally in Hartford, CT, to end the Navy’s bombing of Vieques.

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has recognized certain diseases to be associated with exposure to Agent Orange and other defoliants –chemicals that were introduced to Vieques over decades of weapons testing. Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange have developed respiratory cancers, prostate cancer, Parkinson’s disease, type II diabetes, heart disease, chronic b-cell leukemia, chloracne, lymphoma, and more (U.S. Dept. of Veteran Affairs: 2015). Some of these illnesses have presented themselves in the bodies of Vieques residents who have been exposed to various chemicals from the Navy’s activities. Island residents report increased rates of cancers, asthma, diabetes, heart abnormalities, hypertension, skin conditions, and birth defects (Baver: 2006). The risk of cancer in Vieques is 27% higher than on mainland Puerto Rico, and studies have shown high levels of metals in flora, fauna, and humans on the island: 34% of Vieques residents have toxic levels of mercury, 55% are contaminated with lead, and 65% are contaminated with arsenic (Gonzalez: 2013).

The National Lawyers Guild has accused the United States of violating at least several articles of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man including: Article I, the right to life, liberty, and personal security; Article VIII, the right to residence and movement; Article IX, the right to inviolability of the home; and Article XI, the right to the preservation of health and to well-being. The actions of the United States government have endangered and stolen the lives, security, homes, health, and well-being of Viequenses.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), an agency under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, has repeatedly concluded that they could not find “credible scientific evidence” that the Navy is responsible for any environmental or health damages on Vieques (Colón-Ramos: 2015). In 2005, the ATSDR and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) investigated the health of land crabs on Vieques: an extremely important part of the Viequenses’ diet. This report revealed concentrations of PCB, organochloride pesticides, DDT, and chlordane in the soft tissue of land crabs (NOAA: 2006). The ATSDR concluded that the concentrations of these chemicals were not at high enough concentrations to cause negative health effects. However, this report reveals the disconcerting reality that these chemicals have entered the food web of Vieques.

In 2004, Vieques was deemed a Superfund site –also known as a hazardous waste site. From the 1950’s through 2001, the western area of the island was used as munitions storage and the east was used for weapons testing (Rangel: 2007). In a 2007 report from the United States Government Accountability Office, it was determined that the eastern area of the island requires 20 cleanup sites and the Western area requires 17 cleanup sites. The tedious, bureaucratic cleanup process is estimated to exceed $235,296,000 (Rangel: 2007) and is projected to end in the year 2029, making it the most expensive and longest cleanup in military history (Stanchich: 2013).

Destroyed military hardware at the former naval training range on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, 2008.

This past April, Dr. Daniel Colón-Ramos wrote an open letter to President Obama, requesting that the President uphold his promise that was made during his presidential campaign in 2008. Colón-Ramos criticizes the surveying techniques of the ATSDR: lacking “credible scientific evidence” to support the hypothesis that there is no link between the Navy’s activities and the toxic environment of Vieques and the health of its citizens is comparable to going to Connecticut in the middle of the summer, not finding snow, and concluding that it never snows in Connecticut. ATSDR studies are believed by the scientific community to be “inconclusive by design” (Colón-Ramos: 2015). He calls on President Obama to reflect upon the findings of ATSDR and act on his promise. Until action is taken, the people of Vieques will continue to suffer the consequences of the United States’ human rights violations.

Beginning in 1941, the U.S. government undermined Viequenses’ right to life, liberty, and personal security; their right to residence; their right to inviolability of the home; and their right to the preservation of health and to well-being. The consequences of these human rights violations are experienced in the ecology, health, and economy of Vieques. Viequenses lack the necessary political representation and economic ability to improve their situation on their own. Improvements depend on the United States’ actions and the outcome of the pending NLG lawsuit –until then, la lucha sigue (Gold: 2014).

Click here to download the full dossier.

May 4, 2013, Carlos Pérez films a “cleanup site” in a prohibited area of the US Navy bomb testing site in Vieques.

Ismael Guadalupe Ortiz’s Testimony on Vieques, Puerto Rico, read by Mario Murillo on March 10, 2007. Ismael Guadalupe Ortiz was a Viequense public high school teacher who also fought against the U.S. military presence and bombing of Vieques.

Combinado del Este is one of the largest prisons in Cuba and a primary location of alleged prisoner abuse.

The Cuban government is one of the last four remaining socialist nations of the Cold War, and it is peculiarly stable despite rampant support for reform within the country and dissatisfaction with the majority Communist party that supports Raúl Castro. The Cuban government maintains nationwide authority by controlling the national media coverage, by banning all forms of public dissidence, and (should all else fail) via aggressive imprisonment strategies to eliminate all persons who represent a threat to the communist state.
Cuba has utilized a systematic program of arbitrary detention and indefinite trials to maintain the second largest prison program in the modern world. The prisons are overcrowded and not meant to support the number of prisoners that they contain. Many of these prisons do not contain the amenities needed for basic human living, and these conditions are used as a form of punishment on the prisoners. Prisoners report being beaten by prison guards, deprived of light and heat, and starved during their prison sentence. Many of these prisoners are being held without a definite release date, and some prisoners do not have a set trial date to receive a proper sentencing.
Human Rights Watch has an extensive record of human rights violations committed by the Cuban prison system, namely violations of articles 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19, 20, and 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights set forth in 1948 by the United Nations. The prison system is a stabilizing force in Cuba that mitigates any insurrection within the communist state, and remedy of the human rights violations involved necessitate reform of the prison system and judicial system of Cuba. The Cuban government tends to deny the severity of these accusations, and in the past, it has opened the prisons to foreign journalists with mixed results. At times, the prisons seemed adequate enough to house prisoners on a long term basis, and on other occasions, the prisons appeared to be grossly inadequate or hiding behind a staged facade of adequacy.

Alan Gross before and during detainment in Villa Marista prison. He had lost 110 pounds when this was taken. (AP photo)

Former and current prisoners of Cuba such as the Americans, Douglas Moore and Alan Gross, and Cuban citizens, Armando Valladares and Yamil Domínguez, provide evidence that corroborates the claims made by HWR against the Cuban government. Videos have emerged from within Cuba’s prisons that document the conditions that the prisoners are living in and also corroborate these accusations of human rights violations.

Presiden Obama sits with President Raúl Castro of Cuba. This is the first direct contact between the two nations’ presidents in half a century. (AP photo)

President Barack Obama and president Raúl Castro have welcomed the first political discussion between their respective countries of the century. Known as the “Cuban Thaw,” this series of diplomatic negotiations has already introduced the reopening of political embassies between the two nations and the release of political prisoners on both nations’ soil. As the modern first world continues its diplomatic negotiations with Cuba, it will gain insight into what had been previously cut off to parties outside the nation’s borders; the Cuban Thaw has the potential to substantially validate the claims made against the Cuban government. As the home of the central headquarters of the United Nations and as a claimed proponent of human rights, the United States will be expected to address the alleged rights violations that Cuba has committed.

Click here for full dossier.

If you’ve heard about Brazil in the news over the last decade, you’ve probably heard some mention of its growing economy and entrance onto the world stage as a global economic power. Acronyms like BRIC, with B representing the up and coming Brazil! With the world fixating on Brazil’s economic achievements, a long tradition of turning a blind eye to the costs of achieving “economic success” is perpetuated for this nation. Much of the “development” and “growth” in Brazil’s economy has come at devastating costs to Brazil’s longest standing inhabitants and the environments which have sustained them for thousands of years; these inhabitants are the indigenous people of Brazil. The 2010 Census by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, has recorded 305 different indigenous peoples totaling 896,917 persons, with the largest population of indigenous being the Yanomami of the states of Amazonas and Roraima consisting of 25,700 individuals. The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs 2015 Yearbook Report, Brazil, dictates that Dilma Rousseff’s second term in office as President has indigenous rights at its lowest since Brazil’s return to democracy, after the military dictatorship of 1964-1985. Rousseff’s lack of respect for indigenous rights is attributed to her “developmentalist” outlook, her support of agribusiness, and large scale development projects such as hydroelectric dams and power plants being built to fuel “the growing economy”.

The main governmental organization in Brazil for indigenous rights, The National Foundation for the Indigenous (FUNAI), has the primary function of demarcating lands for indigenous peoples. Yet with a constitutional amendment “PEC-215” being supported by the newly appointed Minister of Agriculture, Kátia Abreu, this main function of FUNAI is under threat; if it passes, it will be obstruct the process of requests to demarcate land and the actual reinforcement of those demarcations. With FUNAI being “the only body with direct responsibility for promoting the rights of indigenous peoples” in the Brazilian government, it becomes clear that Brazil’s current government is diminishing an already fragile enforcement of indigenous rights in Brazil. As megadam projects like the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant in the Amazon are already underway, other indigenous lands are becoming the targets for such projects such as the Tapajos river region inhabited by the Munduruku people.

In both the cases of the Xingú peoples threat by the Belo Monte Dam construction and the Munduruku peoples threat by the Tapajó River Dam project, indigenous people are being met with state repression of their voices. For “Operation Tapajós” federal police and security forces are sent in to protect the government agents researching the Munduruku peoples Tapajós river region for construction of the dam, while the Xingú Vivo Movement leaders actions of protest against the Belo Monte Dam are deemed to be criminal offenses. Critically, there has been no consultation or democratic inclusion of the indigenous people inhabiting the areas affected by these projects (these dams will submerge thousands of acres of indigenous land once completed), and these projects are in “flagrant violation of national legislation and international agreements on human rights and environmental protection.” With the current Brazilian State’s brazen disregard for the indigenous peoples’ rights to their land and security of person, there is significant evidence that resistance by indigenous people is being met with repressive military and police violence. The Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI) released a report in July of 2014 detailing violence against indigenous peoples, citing a recent increase of 237% in physical and sexual assaults, injuries to persons, murders, attempted murders, and death threats; with police and military presences increasing in indigenous lands, it is hard to ignore the connection.

A 2007 Brazilian Human Rights report, published in Portuguese, by the Relatório da Rede Social de Justiça e direitos Humanos (Social Justice Network and Human Rights Report), gives a shocking account of the violence against the Guarani-Kaiowá people in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, describing it as a “Holocausto” (Holocaust) of indigenous people. The report states that assassinations, rape, physical violence, and attacks occur in the light of day with impunity, often against women, children, and the elderly, often at the hands of hired gunmen of the fazendeiros (large landholders). This report includes statistical data on other facets of daily life in which the Guarani-Kaiowá people experience the struggle for human dignity; it mentions high rates of suicides, depression, infant mortality, lack of adequate or basic medical care, and malnutrition as critical issues facing many of this indigenous population. Not only do they incur blatant violations against the security of person, but the Guarani and other indigenous people across the nation suffer a regular struggle to meet basic needs under the threat of loss (of land or life, or both simultaneously), racism, and cultural persecutions. Much of it suffered in silence, as they fight to gain recognition of their plight.

Yet the Amazon as an entire region in South America still remains one of the most vulnerable areas for human rights as a rural region. In the eyes of the state (and international corporations and interests), it is an area extremely rich with natural resources, and with few and unimportant inhabitants easily moved, repressed, or silenced. The land of the Amazon is fodder for the beast that is a neoliberal growth economy, hungry for its Amazonian bounty. Neoliberal policies are not only enacted by the Brazilian government for economic gains in the Amazon; the Peruvian Amazon faces many of the same challenges as the Brazilian Amazon as its government violates indigenous rights for its own neoliberal agenda. Stefano Varese argues that the violence against the indigenous people of Peru is a natural consequence of neoliberal ideology, which requires an accumulation of capital, promoting the “pillaging”, “plunder”, dispossession, and ethnogenocide of the indigenous as cheap “internal colonies” to subjugate and exterminate for resource accumulation. Varese also refers to the long history of violence against the indigenous people of South America as a “holocaust of the original peoples of the Americas”, reflecting similar discourse to that of Brazil’s view on its colonial history of violence against its “original” people.

Jamie Way’s 2009 Upside Down World article on Neoliberalism in Peru focuses on the Peruvian Amazon as a battleground between indigenous populations and the ideological forces of neoliberalism. Contrasting to the Brazilian Amazon, Peru’s Amazon is being sought for its oil, and as oil exploration and extraction threaten the indigenous inhabitants’ rights to their land, they find themselves up against the large and extremely powerful “big business” that is the transnational oil industry. For Peru, a lack of legal recognition means that they have little recourse or voice against the Peruvian governments neoliberal agenda to sell indigenous lands to petrochemical corporations for oil exploration. The strength in which governments are supported ideologically for their neoliberal agendas adds a layer of difficulty for the indigenous to gain recognition of their needs and fight for their lands. With nation-states forging ahead in their nationalistic endeavors, ideological justifications often lead to justifications for a repressive state apparatus to support “national interests”, and in the case of Peru and Brazil, the main targets of that repression are the indigenous people.
To read the full Dosser Click Here —> Dossier

In the early days of September, 1999 the President of Bolivia Hugo Banzer signed a contract with the Bechtel Corporation. This contract privatized the water supply of the Bolivian city of Cochabamba under the ownership of Aguas del Tunari, a subsidiary of the Bechtel Corporation. President Banzer and Bechtel representative Geoffrey Thorpe were at a party celebrating the signing of the contract when protesters from Cochabamba arrived outside and began chanting in protest to the agreement. Upon hearing the protests, President Banzer said to Geoffrey “I’m used to that background music.” In the early 1950’s, the workers, miners, and farm laborers of Bolivia united under the National Revolutionary Movement Party (MNR). In 1951 they ran Victor Paz Estenssoro as their candidate and won a decisive victory. The military at this point stepped in and placed General Hugo Ballivian as Dictator of Bolivia. In April of the next year, the MNR had armed themselves and in a three day struggle, took control of the government and put Estenssoro in power as he should have been based off of the vote. The workers of Bolivia called for the nationalization of the mines, universal suffrage that included the indigenous population, and agrarian reform as well. This movement to push Estenssoro to implement these reforms was put forward by a grassroots campaign in Bolivia that involved large-scale mobilizations of the masses. In 1952 the MNR sought to put the wealth of Bolivia into the hands of the masses. This did not happen. President Estenssoro, on May 14, 1953 began to implement policies pushed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). At this point large-scale privatizations were not included but they would later be introduced. These reforms led to a dramatic increase in inflation which tripled the cost of living in Bolivia. Throughout the decades that followed, International economic institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank pushed neoliberal economic policies onto the Bolivian Government which included the privatization of state-owned industries such as the mines, the gas industry, and, as we will see in Cochabamba, the Nation’s water supply. The privatization of Cochabamba’s water supply was a substantial violation of the right of the Bolivian people to have access to clean drinking water which, after all, is more valuable than any oil well or goldmine.

This video shows Maude Barlow speaking about the Water War in Cochabamba at the International Forum on Globalization. The video also includes graphic footage of the violent clashes between the protesters and the riot police during which multiple people were arrested and wounded and one seventeen year old boy was killed.

Protesters hold up a signing demanding that the Bechtel subsidiary, Aguas del Tunari, cease its operations in Cochabamba.

In November of 1999, what became known as the Water War began as protesters in Cochabamba clashed with government riot police and soldiers. This clash involved policemen in riot gear firing tear gas at protesters who retaliated with rocks and in some cases Molotov cocktails. This conflict started in 1996 when the World Bank strong-armed the Bolivian government into signing an agreement with the Bechtel Corporation by threatening to withhold $600 million of debt relief funds. This deal was finalized in 1999 and gave ownership of Cochabamba’s water supply for forty years and provided guarantees that they would make a sixteen percent profit annually. Aguas del Tunari gained control of the irrigation systems and community wells in the rural areas. This was despite the fact that most of these systems and wells had been designed, built, and financed by the locals that lived there. Aguas would even bill people for collecting rainwater or drinking from their own wells. Shortly after the deal was finalized, Aguas raised the rates that people had to pay for their water services. Sometimes this raise was as much as 200% in some areas. Water costs in Cochabamba ended up being around $15-$20 per month. Considering that the minimum wage in Cochabamba was $60 per month, this left the city’s poor paying 25%-33% of their income just on water alone. All of this was done by the Bechtel Corporation with specific objective being to maximize their profit while the well-being of the people was relegated to the back seat. The Bolivian people responded with a grassroots campaign to push the Bechtel Corporation out of their water supply and their right to clean water at an affordable cost.

For my full dossier you can click here: Water Rights in Bolivia