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This Tuesday May 31! Webinar on arms exports and militarization of territory

By
Brent Patterson
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We hope you can join us on Tuesday May 31 at 2:30 pm ET for a webinar (with simultaneous English-Spanish translation) on arms exports and militarization.

More than 115 people have already signed up for this webinar.

To register, click here.

The city of Cali was a focal point of police violence during the national strike in Colombia. PBI-Colombia accompanied Nomadesc president Berenice Celeita will discuss the human rights implications of militarized responses to social protest.

The residents of Quechultenango, Guerrero told the army earlier this year: “We do not want the area to be militarized!” PBI-Mexico accompanied Tlachinollan human rights centre lawyer Quetzalli Villanueva Vergara will talk about the human rights implications for Indigenous peoples of the militarization of territory in Guerrero.

Canada’s new F-35 warplanes will be stationed in newly built multi-million-dollar hangars on Denesuline territory in northern Alberta. Land defender Tunkwa Dene Uldai will talk about this militarization of territory.

Last November, World Beyond War organizer Rachel Small went to Wet’suwet’en territory in response to the call for supporters to come to the yintah. Next month, she will be in Ottawa to protest the CANSEC arms show. She will help connect CANSEC with militarization of territory, colonial state violence and threats to Indigenous rights.

And PBI-Canada Board member Seb Bonet was recently a legal observer on Wet’suwet’en territory. He will be the moderator of this webinar.

To register now, please click here.

If you are in the Ottawa area, please also note the protest that is being organized by World Beyond War and other groups on June 1 at the CANSEC arms show. More about that here.

PBI-Guatemala accompanies human rights lawyers at hearing of Toribio Acevedo Ramírez accused in the Military Diary case

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo by Famdegua of hearing on May 20.

On May 19, PBI-Guatemala posted: “PBI accompanies the Human Rights Law Firm (BDH) at the hearing of the first statement of Toribio Acevedo Ramírez in the #MilitaryDiaryCase.”

On May 20, PBI-Guatemala accompanied the continuation of the Hearing of the First Statement of Toribio Acevedo Ramírez.

On May 23, La Hora reported: “After 3 days of hearing the first statement, the High Risk Judge B, Miguel Ángel Gálvez, decided to link Toribio Acevedo Ramírez to criminal proceedings for crimes against humanity for the Military Diary case.”

Prensa Libre also reported: “The [Public Ministry] said that the crimes for which he was linked are against the duties of humanity, forced disappearance, murder and attempted murder. The Prosecutor’s Office added that Acevedo Ramírez was sent to preventive detention.”

That article adds: “The events, according to the investigations, were recorded during the de facto regime presided over by General Óscar Humberto Mejía Víctores between 1982 and 1986. Acevedo Ramírez … served as a member of the Presidential General Staff.”

And Prensa Comunitaria noted: “Judge Gálvez set the start of the intermediate stage for Monday, September 5, at 9 in the morning. He also gave a period of three months for the Public Ministry to carry out the corresponding investigation.”

PBI accompaniment of the Military Diary case

The “Military Diary” was prepared by military intelligence, describes the cases of at least 183 people who were considered “enemies of the state” and who were disappeared or murdered in the 1980s. Earlier this month, a high-risk court sent nine other former police and ex-military officers to trial for their connection to the case.

PBI-Guatemala also accompanied the Human Rights Law Firm (BDH) and Édgar Pérez Archila at an earlier stage of these proceedings last year.

PBI-Guatemala accompanied eight days of hearings that concluded on June 10, 2021, as well as the four days of hearings that resulted in the indictment of former Defense Minister Marco Antonio González Taracena on June 25, 2021.

PBI-Guatemala began to accompany BDH lawyer Édgar Pérez Archila in August 2010 due to several security incidents he had faced in relation to the high-profile judicial processes he was working on. At the end of 2013, PBI-Guatemala extended the accompaniment to the other lawyers of the BDH who work in high-profile trials to fight against impunity and in defending criminalized human rights defenders.

Parliamentarians from around the world sign letter about the threat of assassination ahead of the May 29 vote in Colombia

By
Brent Patterson
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Video still of Francia Márquez speaking in Bogota, May 21.

Parliamentarians from Canada, Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, the United Kingdom and other countries have expressed in this open letter their “grave concern for the growing threat of violence, assassination, and intervention in Colombia’s presidential elections on 29 May.”

The letter has been reported on in El Pais, The Independent and The Intercept.

Among those who signed the letter, Niki Ashton, a Member of Parliament in Canada.

The letter states:

“Both Gustavo Petro and his running mate Francia Márquez Mina have survived assassination attempts in the past — Petro as a presidential candidate in 2018 and Francia Márquez as an activist in 2019. Now, death threats regularly circulate on social media platforms, threatening their lives and their right to political expression just days before the first round vote.

Political violence is not contained to the candidates. As of writing, more than 50 social leaders — including trade unionists, Indigenous and Afro-Colombian representatives, peasant movement organizers, and environmentalists — have been murdered this year in an attempt to intimidate and eliminate Colombia’s popular movements.

Together, these threats call for greater vigilance, scrutiny, and transparency in Colombia’s presidential elections. For decades, the people of Colombia have demanded peace and dignity. We write now in solidarity with their struggle for a free and peaceful democratic process.”

The full letter can be read here.

A delegation from Canada/Quebec, organized by Common Frontiers, the Colombian Working Group and the Canada-Colombia Solidarity Committee, is currently accompanying the presidential election in Colombia.

Toronto-based Common Frontiers coordinator Raul Burbano recently reported that US activist Terri Mattson, the Latin America Coordinator for CODEPINK, a women-led grassroots organization working to end U.S. wars and militarism, was detained on May 22 and deported after attempting to enter the country as an election monitor.

Global Affairs Canada does not appear to have commented on the risks faced by candidates and the democratic process apart from posting this travel advisory.

We continue to follow the situation.

The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has accompanied threatened human rights defenders in Colombia since 1994.

PBI-Colombia accompanies Credhos at meeting with human rights committee in San Pablo, South Bolivar

By
Brent Patterson
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On May 23, PBI-Colombia tweeted:

“We accompanied @Credhos_Paz in San Pablo, South Bolívar in a meeting activity with the Human Rights Committee of Credhos in the area. For more on the Magdalena Medio, see our last article on the protection of the swamps here.”

That article notes:

“The marshes are bodies of water that are essential to the ecosystem, bodies of water which give life to extraordinary flora and fauna.

These natural phenomena also attract economic interests that threaten to damage them, even to make them disappear, as is the case with the rivers and marshes of Magdalena Medio.

In this region, full of water and environmental defenders, extractive activities, agribusiness and extensive cattle ranching are advancing, devastating in their path territories inhabited by ancestral communities, in the case of Sur de Bolívar especially Afro-Colombian peoples, peasants and artisanal fishermen.

The Pajaral swamp, located in the municipality of Cantagallo, in the department of Sur de Bolívar, is a paradigmatic example of the environmental damage being suffered by the water basins of Magdalena Medio.

This marsh, whose water body has decreased drastically since 2017, is not only fundamental for the ecological balance but also for the more than 300 families who live there and subsist thanks to it.

Since 2018, the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (Credhos), an organisation accompanied by PBI since 1995, together with the grassroots organisation Afro-Colombian Federation of Artisanal Fishermen of the Municipality of Cantagallo (Fapamucan), began to fight for the defence, protection and recovery of this marsh.”

For the full article/interview with CREDHOS environmental engineer Juan Camilo Delgado Gaona and CREDHOS lawyer Manuel Camilo Ayala Sandoval, click here.

Photo: Juan Camilo Delgado Gaona and Manuel Camilo Ayala Sandoval on a Zoom call with Global Affairs Canada, May 2021.

PBI-Colombia accompanies Nomadesc at ceremony in memory of Michael Joan Vargas López killed during the national strike

By
Brent Patterson
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On May 23, PBI-Colombia tweeted:

“We accompany @Nomadesc in #Yumbo at the catholic and ancestral ceremonies in memory of Michael Joan Vargas López, having passed on May 17, one year since the murder of the young man in the framework of the national strike.”

Las2Orillas has reported:

“Michael Joan Vargas López, 23 years old, died in Yumbo, on 5/17. He also participated in the demonstration in the La Estancia neighborhood. A bullet hit him in the head. According to judicial authorities, preliminary evidence points to the police.”

Last year, El Tiempo also reported:

“From April 28 to May 24, the Attorney General’s Office has received a report of 43 people who died during these days, and of those, it has already been determined that at least 17 deaths have a direct link with the national strike.”

Earlier this month, on May 16, PBI-Colombia also accompanied Nomadesc at a meeting with Canadian Ambassador Marianick Tremblay in the city of Cali at which Nomadesc requested actions to avoid impunity and guarantees of non-financing to the Public Force (the national police and military).

Canada has exported Toronto, Ontario-manufactured INKAS armoured vehicles and Mirabel, Quebec-made Bell Textron 407 helicopters to the Colombian police, both of which were used during the national strike.

NOMADESC president Berenice Celeita, who met with Canadian Ambassador Tremblay, will be participating in an upcoming PBI-Canada webinar on Canadian arms exports and the human rights implications of militarization of territory in Colombia, Mexico and Denesuline territories in northern Alberta, Canada.

To participate in that webinar on May 31, register here now.

Action Community Service for Peace questions increased military spending in Germany

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo by Bundeswehr (armed forces).

Peace Brigades International-Germany is a member of the Action Community Service for Peace (Aktionsgemeinschaft Dienst für den Frieden/AGDF).

The PBI-Germany website has posted the AGDF media release: Billions for defence are “highly questionable in terms of content and democracy”

In February, Deutsche Welle reported: “German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a plan to beef up the German military on Sunday, pledging €100 billion ($112.7 billion) of the 2022 budget for the armed forces and repeating his promise to reach the 2% of gross domestic product spending on defense in line with NATO demands.”

That article adds: “Germany reported a record high in NATO defense spending for 2021, submitting a budget of €53 billion for the current year. That figure marks a 3.2% increase over the year before. In 2020, spending was capped at an estimated €51.4 billion.”

Jan Gildemeister, the Managing Director of the AGDF, says the billions would partly be invested in “highly problematic new armament projects” such as armament-capable drones or the largest European armaments project “Future Combat Air System” (FCAS).

The trinational Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program — intended to provide a swath of new military capabilities to France, Germany, and Spain by 2040. The program is separated into seven pillars each of which is led by a company, including Dassault (a new fighter jet), Airbus (a remote-carrier drone) and Indra (sensor systems).

Gildemeister adds: “And not only that: Germany’s participation in nuclear weapons will continue without discussion, the modernization of which will be supported by the purchase of expensive F18 fighter jets. As can be seen on the stock exchanges, there is already a profiteer, namely the arms industry.”

He also says for peace: “It would be urgently necessary that priorities be set here towards more social justice, less destruction of nature, climate neutrality, diplomacy, strengthening international institutions and the expansion of the Civil Peace Service. Instead, however, military investments are currently being talked about only largely uncritically.”

Germany and Canada

German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht, Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year.

Similar to the concerns being expressed in Germany, we note that the Canadian government recently increased the military’s budget by $8 billion (on top of the half-trillion dollars already allocated for the next twenty years), has considered increasing spending to 2 per cent of GDP, has entered final negotiations with Lockheed Martin to spend $19 billion on F-35 warplanes, and plans to spend $5 billion on armed drones.

The Peace Brigades International statement on the war in Ukraine notes: “The dominant security discourse associated with the militarization of societies is a setback. Billions more spent on weapons will not make the world safer.” 

The Ottawa Citizen recently reported that the war in Ukraine is seen as a “win-win” situation for the US military and arms dealers. As weapons are shipped to Ukraine, the US military replaces that with new weapons for themselves, a transaction that profits arms dealers. The news article adds that the long-term goal of the US government is to arm Ukraine with NATO standard equipment, which would mean more sales for arms dealers.

On May 31, the day before the CANSEC arms show begins in Ottawa, PBI-Canada will be hosting this webinar on Canadian weapons exports and militarization of territory in Colombia, Mexico and on Denesuline lands in northern Alberta, Canada.

The following day, World Beyond War and other groups will hold a protest at the CANSEC arms show prior to Anand’s keynote speech to arms dealers. More on that here.

PBI-Kenya visits Kiambiu and Ruaraka in Nairobi for discussions on defending human rights

By
Brent Patterson
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On May 19, PBI-Kenya tweeted: “We visited @KiambiuJustice [Kiambiu Justice & Information Network – KIJIN] to know their offices and discussed their vision, structure, and #humanrights issues in Kiambiu. Congratulations on the work with the #youth and thank you for sharing your experiences as an #HRD.”

Kiambiu is an informal settlement, situated about 4 kilometres east of the centre of Nairobi. It has a population of about 50,000 people.

It’s also located near the Moi Air Base, used by the Kenya Air Force.

In June 2020, The Star reported on a survey conducted by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Social Justice Centres Working Group that found police violence against civilians, brutality, harassment and arbitrary arrest remained pervasive.

The article notes: “Beatings, use of live ammunition, teargas, sexual violence and damage to property attributable to the law enforcement bodies were rampant. In Nairobi, slums such as Kiambiu, Kiamaiko, Mukuru and Dandora were the most affected. Police action in these places has resulted in deaths and injury of innocent people.”

Ruaraka

On May 18, PBI-Kenya also posted:

“Visit to Ruaraka Social Justice Center to discuss the important work of the #HRDs in defending the rights of their community. We talked about the election context, planned activities and more ways to work together. Thank you for having us!”

International Cities has noted:

“Ruaraka is home over 192 620 inhabitants with two major informal settlements, Mathare and Korogocho which has the largest population. Here an average person survives on less than a dollar a day. Ruaraka is the second largest industrial zone in the country. Yet, it is one of the conflict-ridden regions during electioneering period. It is marked as one of the hot spots by Independent and Boundaries Commission IEBC.”

Following the 2017 election, Human Rights Watch stated: “The elections were marred by serious human rights violations by Kenyan security forces, who used excessive force to break up protests and carry out house-to-house operations particularly in opposition strongholds in Nairobi and western Kenya.”

The general election in Kenya will be held on August 9.

To follow PBI-Kenya, go to their pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PBI-Colombia accompanies CAHUCOPANA on advocacy visit to Brussels, Berlin and Oslo

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo of Francesca Nugnes (PBI-Colombia) and to her right Cristy Lozano (CAHUCOPANA) from Mónica Silvana González, MEP.

On May 17, PBI-Colombia tweeted:

“Thank you @MonicaSilvanaG [Member of the European Parliament, Spain] for your attention to the situation of human rights in Colombia and the demand for a Global Humanitarian Accord shared by human rights defender Cristy Lozano from @CAHUCOPANA [during a visit to Brussels, Belgium], accompanied by PBI.”

Lozano also met with Miguel Urbán Crespo (MEP, Spain) Soraya Rodríguez (MEP, Spain), André Flahaut (a Member of the House of Representatives in Belgium), Marie Nagy (a Member of the Brussels Parliament), and the Permanent Representation of Spain to the European Union in Brussels.

Cristy Lozano, CAHUCOPANA at the European Parliament in Brussels.

The day before, PBI-Germany tweeted: “Together with Gloria Orcué and Carlos Morales we spoke with representatives of @AuswaertigesAmt [Federal Foreign Office] and @unidasporlapaz [civil society collective for peacekeeping and peace building] today about the elections in Colombia, the situation of human rights defenders & the need for differentiated protective measures in Colombia.”

And on May 19, the Oslo-based Norwegian Human Rights Fund (NHRF) tweeted: “The NHRF today met representatives from Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz and Cahucopana from Colombia in Oslo. Thank you to Carlos Morales and Gloria Orcué for updating us about your crucial work for human rights and peace in #Colombia!”

The Norwegian newspaper Utrop also reported on the visit of the two PBI-Colombia accompanied human rights defenders to Norway.

The article notes: “Carlos Morales is a peasant leader and has been a human rights activist in the organization Cahucopana for more than 16 years, of which he is now also a leader. Gloria Orcué represents one of the oldest human rights organizations in the country, the Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz (Justicia y Paz).”

It adds: “The human rights defenders are in Oslo as one of several stops during the journey in Europe. The program includes meetings with several civil society organizations and Norwegian authorities, as well as an open meeting at SoCentral [a collaborative space] organized by Peace Brigades International Norway.”

Morales says: “For me, the visit is about being able to show how the situation is for people who are fighting for civil rights in Colombia, about the threats and violence we are exposed to, but not least also to show the results we have achieved so far in the five years of peace process . The country continues to try to strengthen ties with the international community.”

And Orcué notes: “A large part of the Colombians do not have access to land, means of production or participation in the major political processes. No social, economic, political or environmental rights are guaranteed in the legislation. If the peace process is to succeed, fundamental structural challenges must be solved.”

She adds: “Basic human rights are still being violated, and a minority of the country’s population is exercising economic and political hegemony.”

Photo of Carlos Morales and Gloria Orcué by Claudio Castello.

PBI-Honduras accompanies the Central American Forum on Human Rights, Sexual and Gender Diversity

By
Brent Patterson
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On May 20, PBI-Honduras tweeted:

“PBI accompanies the Central American Forum on Human Rights, Sexual and Gender Diversity. We highlight the importance of respecting the human rights of the LGBT+ community, as well as their participation in decision-making. @arcoirisghn @somoscdc_hn”

On Facebook, PBI-Honduras also noted:

“At the forum, different topics are discussed, among which they are:

-Analysis of the Human Rights Situation of LGBT+ Persons

-Political Participation of LGBT+ People

-Initiatives of laws and public policies to guarantee the human rights of LGBT+ persons

We remember the importance of implementing public policies that guarantee respect for the human rights of the community as well as their active participation in decision-making.”

PBI-Honduras has accompanied Somos-CDC (the Centre for LGTBI Development and Cooperation) since January 2022 and Arcoiris (LGTB Association of Honduras) since July 2015.

Arcoiris tweet: “Central American Forum on Human Rights, Sexual Diversity and Gender. Panel 1: Analysis of the situation of the Human Rights of LGBT+ People Panel 2: Political Participation of LGTB+ people to promote LGT+ agendas in Central America.”

PBI-Mexico accompanies the 1st National Meeting of Displaced Persons in Chilpancingo, Guerrero

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo by @Amapola.

On May 18, PBI-Mexico posted:

“PBI accompanies the First National Meeting of Victims of Forced Displacement in Guerrero on May 14 and 15.

Groups from Chihuahua, Chiapas, Guerrero, Michoacán, Quintana Roo and the organizations Center for the Defense of Human Rights “Jose Maria Morelos y Pavón”, Serapaz Mexico, Aluna Psychosocial Accompaniment, Contec – Community Technical Consulting AC, participated in the meeting. Women’s Human Rights Center.

The groups expressed their common goals of “creating new ties of friendship and brotherhood” and “overcoming the culture of silence, the main ally of all injustice.””

S!Paz further reports:

“On May 14 and 15, the first national meeting of displaced persons was held in Chilpancingo, Guerrero, where victims of forced displacement from Chiapas, Guerrero, Chihuahua, Michoacán, Quintana Roo and Mexico City participated. With their testimonies, the people evidenced the suffering they have experienced and assured that neither the previous federal governments nor the current one “have resolved our situation and we continue to live the same, far from our towns because if we return they kill us,” said one of the displaced people from Chihuahua.

This meeting was an opportunity for the different groups to reach several agreements, including the one to unite their demands so that the Mexican State guarantees material and psychological stability for women and children victims of forced displacement. They also mentioned the importance of addressing the deeper causes of forced displacement and drawing a work route for this year that integrates several lines of strengthening and visibility.

During the event, they called on human rights organizations and collectives to stay united and bring together others who want to join the movement, with the intention of giving greater visibility to the problem of internal forced displacement and achieving a higher level of incidence in the authorities. These agreements were established in a press release from the Morelos Center, host of the event in the capital of Guerrero.

Teodomira Rosales Sierra, general director of the José María Morelos y Pavón Human Rights Center (Morelos Center) explained that “the law that we are promoting and that is stuck in the Senate contemplates everything, social and legal justice for the victims of forced displacement that are often ignored by the authorities.” They denounced that despite the fact that Guerrero has a law on forced displacement, “families (…) they are not taken care of and the security conditions have not been created for them to return to their places of origin.””

Our recent webinar with CONTEC, where the issue of internal forced displacement was discussed, can be seen here.

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