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PBI-Colombia participates in civil society virtual meeting with Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)

By
Brent Patterson
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Twitter photo by Asociacion Minga.

On May 26, PBI-Colombia took part in a civil society virtual meeting with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). 

That Commission had asked to visit Colombia, but on on May 24, Colombian vice-president Marta Lucia Ramirez deferred their request and stated: “At this time we believe that the supervisory bodies themselves must be expected to finish their work.”

On May 25, the IACHR issued this statement that highlights: “[We urge the State] to allow the IACHR to make an observation visit to the country, honoring its tradition with international human rights commitments.”

That statement adds: “The Commission stresses that at least 1,038 demonstrations have resulted in deaths, disappearances, injured persons and sexual assaults as a result of the disproportionate and illegitimate use of force.”

“According to the report of the Attorney General’s Office, since the beginning of the protests 43 people have lost their lives, of which 17 would have direct connection to demonstrations. For their part, civil society organizations have recorded 51 deaths in the context of the protests.”

“In addition, the Inter-American Commission finds the complaints of 132 persons who remain missing extremely serious and for whom the Attorney General’s Office keeps the urgent search mechanism active.”

“In turn, the IACHR expresses alarm and denounces at least 87 acts of sexual violence allegedly committed by law ensuing agents against female protesters, such as the case of the teenager who reported being sexually assaulted by several law authority agents in the city of Popayán and who subsequently committed suicide on 12 May.”

The full statement from the IACHR can be read here.

The IACHR is a body of the Organization of the American States (OAS). The IACHR is composed of seven independent members who are elected by the OAS General Assembly.

Canada is one of the 35 members of the OAS.

There is no reference on the Canadian Embassy in Colombia’s Twitter feed about the request of the IACHR to make an observation visit to Colombia, so it’s not clear at this time if Canada has taken a position on this matter.

To learn more about what’s happening in Colombia, we invite you to join our bilingual (English/Spanish) webinar by registering here.

PBI-Mexico laments the murder of forest and water defender Marco Antonio Arcos who opposed illegal logging in Guerrero

By
Brent Patterson
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Marco Antonio Arcos Fuentes (second from right to left), during an informative assembly on February 21, with the residents who denounced the immoderate logging by organized crime groups. Photo by La Jornada.

On May 24, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project posted: “PBI regrets the murder of Marco Antonio Arcos, Guerrero’s environmental defender. We demand security guarantees for those who defend human and environmental rights.”

La Jornada reports: “The forest defender and curator of Jaleaca de Catalán, municipality of Chilpancingo, Marco Antonio Arcos Fuentes, was killed by an armed group when he was in a food business in the capital, on Friday [May 21] afternoon.”

Forest and water defender Marco Antonio Arcos Fuentes

La Izquierda Diario reports: “His murder follows that in February this year the community began organizing to demand the departure of clandestine groups of loggers in the forests of the area. [Arcos Fuentes] denounced the felling of trees in the village of Chicahuales, as it is creating serious environmental problems, ‘it is leaving us without water’, he said.”

“During a demonstration last February, in the municipality of Chilpancingo, Arcos Fuentes denounced the collusion of authorities with these illegal logging groups, as they allegedly granted permits in a corrupt and immoderate manner.”

That article adds: “At the same time he warned that immoderate logging could cause the Papagayo River to dry out, watering communities in the municipalities of Acapulco and Chilpancingo, among others.”

Animal Politico also notes: “[At that protest in February, Arcos Fuentes] asked the government to declare a ban and financially compensate the ejidatarios [farmers of communal land] of the Chicahuales community – who carry out the felling of pine – because they know that they are people in poverty situation.”

Environmental defenders at risk in Guerrero and Mexico

La Jornada further notes: “Jaleaca villagers held accountable all three levels of government for the killing, ‘because they do not address the allegation that criminal groups steal the timber and the authorities do nothing’.”

Animal Politico adds: “The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) condemned the homicide and demanded that the law enforcement authorities investigate the events with special attention to their possible relationship with Arcos Fuentes’ human rights defense activity.”

“For this reason, the organization expressed its concern ‘for the absence of coordinated actions and strategies of the instances of the three levels of government, aimed at guaranteeing the life, security and personal integrity of human rights defenders, since said attacks constitute an obstacle and inhibit the full exercise of the defense of rights’.”

That article also notes: “According to the National Human Rights Commission, with this homicide there are 66 defenders killed since 2006 in Mexico. The Network All Rights for Everyone has documented the murder of 45 rights defenders in the first two years of the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.”

And Proceso reports: “Raymundo Díaz Taboada, state representative of the Collective Against Torture and Impunity (CCTI) … insisted that violence against human rights defenders in Guerrero and the territory has increased, especially ‘in the areas of dispute of common goods, water, forests, minerals, which have always been in dispute in the state, but before only affected some families and now the assailants leave against indigenous and peasant communities of the entire mountain range.”

PBI-Canada extends our condolences to the family and friends of Marco.

PBI-Mexico demands repressive actions stop after 95 students arrested at protest over lack of access to the Internet for school

By
Brent Patterson
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Stop the repression of students. Photo by Pablo Ramos.

On May 24, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project posted this article by the Tlachinollan Mountain Human Rights Centre.

The Tlachinollan article notes: “On [Tuesday] May 18, more than 300 students from the rural normal of Mactumactzá, Chiapas, were violently evicted by the state police when they were protesting in the collection booth ‘Chiapa de Corzo’ to demand the publication of the call and examination of new entry in its face-to-face mode as most applicants are indigenous without access to virtual technology platforms.”

IM-Defensoras further explains the protest was to require that Normal Schools take place in person with the appropriate bio-sanitary measures “since most students come from indigenous and rural communities without internet access, so the digital divide implies for all these people a condition of exclusion and structural discrimination.”

El Pais provides the additional context: “Rural Normal Schools are the place where the majority of teachers who work in the most disadvantaged schools in the country are trained and the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to light, even more, the digital divide that Mexico is experiencing, reaching teachers and students equally.”

Repression of the protest

The Spanish news agency EFE  reports: “Students and other organizations have reported that Tuesday’s protest was suppressed with excessive use of force by agents, who used tear gas to defuse the demonstration. In addition, they reported sexual harassment against women in detention.”

Tlachinollan highlights that 95 students were arrested, 74 of them women. Most are Indigenous Tsotsil, Tseltal and Chol peoples.

Protests for their release

On Friday May 21 there was a protest to demand the release of the students. EFE reported that there were protests in the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico City, and the city of Cintalapa where the students are being held in a jail.

EFE also notes: “In Cintalapa, some 500 teachers of the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE), parents and members of organizations demonstrated in demand for the freedom of the now imprisoned.”

And La Jornada reports that a protest was held in various parts of the capital of Chiapas (Tuxtla Gutiérrez) including blocking the San Cristobal-Ocosingo-Palenque road to demand the release of the students and two others who were arrested.

Ongoing judicialization

IM-Defensoras notes that by Sunday May 23 a judge ordered the release of 74 of the students but 19 remain in custody with a hearing to be held on Tuesday May 25.

PBI-Mexico states: “PBI demands that repressive actions by the government be stopped and recalls that today begins the international week of the missing person, a subject that remains very present in Mexico.”

The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project has accompanied the Tlachinollan Mountain Human Rights Centre since late 2003.

Colombia webinar, June 3

By
Brent Patterson
-

As you’ve likely seen in the news, Colombia is experiencing a profound political moment.

The national strike that began on April 28 is entering its 27th day and this week there will be two coordinated days of strike action.

We wanted to explore this with you: What are the reasons for the social protests? Where is this heading? What is the experience of human rights defenders? How is state violence being challenged? What role is Canada playing in this?

Join us on Thursday June 3 at 3:30 pm EDT for a webinar with simultaneous translation in English and Spanish that will discuss these questions and more.

We will have speakers from the Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP) and the Association for Research and Social Action (Nomadesc). We also hope to have a speaker confirmed from the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace.

Our colleagues at PBI-Colombia have been accompanying these organizations on the front lines of social protests in Bogota and Cali.

To register for the webinar, click here.

To help us pay for the platform and the translation, click here.

We’ll have more details soon!

Brent

Justice and Peace Commission documents police harassment of defenders in the Portal Americas humanitarian space

By
Brent Patterson
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PBI-Colombia accompanies Justice and Peace at Portal Americas, May 20.

On May 23, the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace tweeted: “#Bogotá #PortalResistencia ‘they are seeking to be killed’, the threat in the second police harassment of defenders from @FlazosDignidad, @DefenderLiberta, @Justiciaypazcol a few hours ago in the rounds it was verified.”

#PortalResistencia refers to the Portal of Resistance, the name given to the Portal de las Americas, a key site of resistance in Bogota.

The Justice and Peace tweet follows this video of a person with “derechos humanos” on their jacket with the text: “The ESMAD [riot police] in #PortalResistencia Americas portal, attacks human rights defenders from the humanitarian space. There are no guarantees.”

On May 18, Justice and Peace also documented the events of that day:

“At 09:00 am, during the humanitarian support work, two defenders of our Justice and Peace Commission, Verónica Moreno and Jonathan Melo, were harassed by members of ESMAD, who recorded and wrote down their names and identifications without following the legal protocols designed for said procedure.”

That post concluded:

“The intervention tonight by the public forces has been one of the most violent that has occurred since the beginning of the National Strike, the indiscriminate use of conventional and unconventional weapons, has been a constant pattern in the actions of the Police.”

PBI-Colombia has accompanied Justice and Peace on May 6, 11, 12, 13, 20 at the Portal Americas in the context of the national strike.

PBI-Colombia has also noted: “On November 21 [2020], the day of the nationwide National Strike, [the Justice and Peace Commission] denounced that during morning hours a drone of the National Police harassed the headquarters of the Commission in Bogotá, despite the fact that the government did not authorize the use of drones in the sector.”

To hear Danilo Rueda from Justice and Peace talk about the ongoing day national strike, register for the webinar below by clicking here.

PBI-Guatemala accompanies the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya as court ruling gives mining company access to the site

By
Brent Patterson
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On May 21, PBI-Guatemala posted: “PBI accompanies the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya in the symbolic act of handing over machinery to the mining company caused by a judicial decision. However, the license continues to be suspended.”

Brief timeline and context

In March 2012 residents from San José del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc – an area known as La Puya, just north of Guatemala City – set up a 24-hour a day blockade at the entrance of the Vancouver-based Radius Gold Inc. El Tambor mine.

By August 2012, the Canadian company sold El Tambor to US-based Kappes, Cassiday & Associates, but retained an economic interest in the mine (including quarterly royalty payments on the gold production from the mine).

On May 23, 2014, after two years of peaceful struggle, the communities in resistance to the mine were violently evicted by the police. 

By February 2016, the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya won a Guatemalan Supreme Court ruling that provisionally suspended the mining licence because there had not been prior consultation with affected communities, as is required under Guatemalan and international law, in particular the International Labour Organization’s Convention 169.

Even after the eviction in 2014 and the court ruling in 2016, members of La Puya continued a 24-hour presence in opposition to the mine.

What has just happened?

Prensa Comunitaria explains: “[On May 21] the immobilization, which had been legally imposed  [by the Supreme Court] in 2016, [was] officially lifted. Although, this does not mean that the miner can restart operating activities.”

It also notes: “At a hearing on March 25, 2021, in the 4th Court, the judge resolved an incident raised by the mining company, on the lifting of the immobilization of the Progreso VII Derivada [El Tambor] project.”

What happens now?

Prensa Libre explains (in an article about the start of a preparatory process for a consultation with the community on the El Escobal mine): “Regarding the Progreso VII Derivada [El Tambor] mine, they have not yet received the execution, so the preparatory process cannot begin. This ruling is not yet final because the Constitutional Court must resolve extensions that the parties presented, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) added.”

Prensa Comunitaria notes: “[The Peaceful Resistance] reaffirms its commitment to peaceful struggle for the defense of life and natural goods and territory.”

“Faced with this situation, they call on the population, to be vigilant in the face of any action by the mining company, which may give evidence of continued exploitation, since the operating licence remains suspended.”

The full statement by the Peaceful Resistance has been translated into English by the Guatemala Solidarity Network and can be read here.

The Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project has accompanied the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya since November 2012.

Photos: January 2019 and yesterday. Prensa Comunitaria reports: “The Peaceful Resistance of La Puya rejects the use of the National Civil Police (PNC) to protect the economic interests of foreign extractive companies and denounces that police elements were present from 07:00 this Friday [May 21] at the site.”

Is there a substantial risk Canadian vehicles sold to the Colombian police are involved in human rights violations?

By
Brent Patterson
-

Are there reasonable grounds of a substantial risk that Canadian-manufactured vehicles sold to the Colombian national police could be used to commit serious violations of human rights during the current national strike?

Is there a direct, present and foreseeable risk of misuse?

What do we know?

1– United Nations and Organization of American States human rights experts have stated: “We are deeply distressed by the excessive and unlawful use of force by police and members of the ESMAD (Mobile Anti-Riot Squad) against peaceful demonstrators, human rights defenders and journalists across Colombia.”

2– Temblores has documented 2,387 cases of police brutality and 472 violent interventions by the public force in Colombia between April 28 and May 18.

3– In May 2014, Toronto-based INKAS reported it would supply 4 Huron tactical attack and defense vehicles to the National Police of Colombia. In April 2015, INKAS reportedly had a tendered order 26 Huron vehicles for the Colombian police.

4– The Canadian manufacturing magazine PLANT reported: “The Huron … will be outfitted with a cannon to wrangle unruly rioters with foam, tear gas, dyes and water.”

5– There are numerous videos – including from the Washington Post, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch – that raise a context of concern given how similar armoured vehicles are being used by the police during the national strike.

Videos

Twitter video (May 22)

Washington Post video (May 20)

Twitter video (May 20)

Twitter video (May 19)

Twitter video (May 14)

Colombia Informa video (May 14)

El Parche Critico video (May 13)

Colombia Informa video (May 10)

Periferia Prensa video (May 6) Human Rights Watch says: “With eyewitnesses and digital video verification we have corroborated the use of tanks with multiple projectile launchers aimed at protesters. It is a dangerous and indiscriminate weapon.”

Colombia Informa video (May 1)

Amnesty International video (May 1) “Armoured vehicle driving through the city firing bullets”

Amnesty International video (April 30)

Twitter video (April 30)

There is also this Noticias Uno Colombia news report on May 16: Young man is hit by a projectile fired from a police tank in Popayán. And there is this Washington Post visual forensics feature article: Killed by police in Colombia.

PBI-Colombia accompanies the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó as they carry out their work in the fields

By
Brent Patterson
-

On May 21, PBI-Colombia posted on Instagram: “This week PBI is accompanying members of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó on their land in the village of La Esperanza in the department of Urabá.”

They add: “We accompany the members of the Peace Community so that they can carry out their work in the fields in the villages where they are heavily threatened.”

Constitutional Court ruling

PBI-Colombia also notes: “While the international community denounce the serious police repression against mobilizations within the framework of the national strike, the Peace Community received the news that the Constitutional Court upheld the ruling of the tutelage brought against it by the 17th Brigade of the National Army.”

They have explained: “In 2018, the 17th Brigade of the Colombian army, which has jurisdiction in the area, brought the Peace Community to court for denouncing the alleged collusion between this brigade and the neo-paramilitary groups.”

In November 2020, the Constitutional Court of Colombia ruled in favour of the 17th Brigade.

Earlier this month, Las 2 Orillas reported: “On May 13, Colombia’s Constitutional Court will discuss the nullity of judgment T-342-20, which protects the right to a good name claimed by the commander of 17th Brigade against the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó. …This judgment, if not annulled, opens a very negative precedent for all victims or persons who suffer human rights violations by members of the Colombian Army.”

Unfortunately, as noted above, the court upheld the ruling in favour of the 17th Brigade.

Getting to the Peace Community

PBI-Colombia adds: “Reaching the community can take up to 6-8 hours of walking by trail climbing the mountains of this part of the Serranía de Abibe. …We officially introduce the new PBI mule, named ‘Choco’ for its chocolate color [who helped us get there]. Choco replaced our beloved mule Tostao who died last year from a snake bite.”

PBI-Colombia has accompanied the Peace Community since 1999.

Canada’s NDP condemns the “ongoing extreme use of force by Colombian police and military to suppress peaceful protests”

By
Brent Patterson
-

NDP Member of Parliament Jack Harris.

On May 20, Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP) issued this statement on the police and military violence against peaceful protests in Colombia.

Their statement says: “NDP MPs responded to the ongoing extreme use of force by Colombian police and military to suppress peaceful protests in the country.”

“Already, more than 40 people have died, hundreds have been injured, and there are reports of sexual violence and forced disappearances at the hands of the police. Among those targeted are community leaders, including union organizers, Indigenous community leaders, and Afro-Colombian activists.”

It then highlights: “Canada needs to condemn these actions in the strongest terms, but also needs to be vigilant regarding arms sales to Colombia. In the past, Canadian Light Armoured Vehicles were sold to Colombia, which have potential risks for use against citizens. The ongoing violence Colombian protestors are facing is a clear example of why New Democrats want to ensure that we are scrupulous to avoid contributing to human rights violations.”

NDP foreign affairs critic Jack Harris says: “The Liberal government needs to do a lot more to show that they are applying the arms export risk assessment criteria rigorously, to ensure that Canadian arms are not being sold to countries where there are concerns about human rights violations. Canadians expect their government to be an active participant in building peace and not permitting companies to profit from human rights abuses in other countries.”

The full statement from the NDP can be read here.

Others have also expressed concern about Canadian military exports to Colombia and their potential role in the repression against the national strike.

In an Americas Policy Group op-ed recently published in The Hill Times, the Americas Policy Group notes: “In 2014, Canadian-made light-armoured vehicles (LAVs) were sold by INKAS Armoured Vehicles Manufacturing to the Colombian government. Could these same vehicles be the ones now being used to attack peaceful protests?”

And the United Church of Canada in their letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau commented: “Canada´s sale of the Light Armoured Vehicles and Armoured Personnel Vehicles to Colombia regardless of their intended use is deeply concerning.”

We continue to follow this situation closely.

For a photo-journal of accompaniments by the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project during the national strike, click here.

Members of the European Parliament call for the EU-Colombia free trade agreement to be suspended

By
Brent Patterson
-

On May 19, the Left in the European Parliament tweeted this photo that includes an MEP holding a sign that says: “Suspend the EU-Colombia FTA now!”.

Miguel Urbán Crespo, a Podemos Member of the European Parliament, has called for the EU-Colombia free trade agreement to be suspended.

On May 10, Urbán tweeted: “We ask [High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy] @JosepBorrellF for the suspension of the FTA.”

Urbán asks: “Does the EU intend to activate the democratic clause of the FTA in the face of this continuing violation of human rights?”

Canada-Colombia FTA

The Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement will soon be marking its 10th anniversary given it came into force on August 15, 2011.

When Yessika Hoyos Morales of the PBI-Colombia accompanied José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CCAJAR) visited Parliament Hill in Ottawa in May 2009 to speak against the agreement, she stated: “If Canada ratifies the free trade agreement it will give a message to Colombians and to the whole international community that Canada supports a government that violates human rights.”

Section 15.1 of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Implementation Act stipulates that the Minister “shall cause to be laid before each House of Parliament by May 15 of each year” an Annual report on human rights and free trade between Canada and Colombia.

As of May 21, that document has not yet been posted here.

It would cover the period January to December 2020 that would include the massive national strike mobilization in October 2020 that protested the killing of human rights defenders, police violence, and gender-based violence.

The current national strike that began on April 28 will mark its fourth week of ongoing daily mobilizations next week.

Link to tweet below:

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