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PBI-Mexico expresses support for Indigenous Totonac communities opposed to Puebla 1 dam on the Ajajalpan River

By
Brent Patterson
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On October 15, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project posted, “PBI expresses its support for the Totonac communities that defend the Ajajalpan River.”

PBI-Mexico adds, “We recognize its legitimate work in defense of the territory against the construction of the hydroelectric project for the Walmart Mexico company.”

On October 10, Judge Miguel Arrollo Herrera of the First District Court on Civil, Administrative, Labor and Federal Judgments of the State of Puebla refused the amparo request by three indigenous communities opposed to the dam.

E-consulta.com reports, “The A.C. Analysis and Research Center Fundar and the Tiyat Tlali Council in Defense of the Territory that accompany the 96 people who seek protection said that the resolution had irregularities and that they can still resort to the revision.”

“They indicated that Arroyo Herrera considered sufficient a consultation that the government made about the project in 2015, when the projects to consolidate the project began to be delivered since 2009.”

“They also criticized that the resolution would have left out warnings of affectations such as the one recognized by an Official Expertise on Biology and Environmental Impact of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).”

That article concludes, “The statement of the opponents shows that they recognize that they still have the option of review, it could be presented within 10 days after notifying them of the resolution and the notification must have been made within a maximum period of three days after the resolution.”

For more on this, please see these two recent articles: PBI-Mexico expresses support for Totonac communities defending the Ajajalpan River and PBI-Mexico film ‘Children of the Water’ screened in Puebla prior to court ruling on dam.

PBI-Mexico accompanies Consorcio Oaxaca and CODIGO DH at launch of ‘The Time Is Now’ report

By
Brent Patterson
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On October 15, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project posted, “Today, we accompanied Consorcio Oaxaca and CODIGO DH in the presentation of the report ‘The Time Is Now, Effective public policies for the right to defend human rights’, prepared by the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL ) and Protection International (PI).”

Consortium Oaxaca promotes a state-level legislative framework that supports women’s rights and focuses on on gender-based violence and women’s rights. CODIGO DH attends to and supports the victims of serious human rights violations.

The PBI-Mexico Facebook post adds, “The report highlights that the human rights defenders and journalists are under systematic attack because of their work, having to face harassment and intimidation, physical aggressions, arbitrary detentions, criminalization, displacement and even murder.”

Consorcio Oaxaca has tweeted:

– “The premise of the Report is that there has been progress but not enough. ‘It’s time now’ to integrate effective policies because they continue to criminalize, persecute and kill DH defenders.” – Guillermo Rodríguez

-“The participation of human rights defenders, especially, and other actors, is a fundamental requirement to design a policy that responds to the need to guarantee the right to defend human rights.” – Yesica Sánchez Maya

-“Existing mechanisms address the problem through a narrow focus on security and risk, leaving aside key aspects such as structural violence and the figure of the perpetrator of the aggressions.” – Enrique Eguren”

-“In Oaxaca, laws regarding the protection of journalists are being promoted but they do not respond to the context of the state, especially when the authorities are the same perpetrators.” – Antonio Mundaca”

– “Currently in Oaxaca there are no protection measures for defenders, being necessary to move to the generation of differentiated policies, which allow to counteract the limitations and aggressions they suffer day by day.” – Sara Mendez”

The 2018 edition of the report can be read in English here.

PBI-Honduras observes court hearing related to the murder of COPINH leader Berta Cáceres

By
Brent Patterson
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On October 14, the Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project posted on its Facebook page, “Last week we went to observe the hearing against David Castillo for the murder of the indigenous leader Berta Cáceres.”

PBI-Honduras further explains, “The preliminary hearing was suspended after Castillo’s defense filed an appeal.”

That hearing was to take place on Thursday October 10.

CNN Español reports, “The preliminary hearing against Roberto David Castillo, the ninth defendant in the case of the murder of environmentalist Berta Cáceres … was postponed on Thursday at the request of the defense, which considers that there were vices in the expertise presented by the Public Prosecutor’s Office as an accusatory entity, according to the media spokeswoman Bárbara Castillo.”

On October 10, COPINH posted this short video on Twitter with the caption, “The lawyer Rodil Vasquez, a member of the COPINH legal team gives statements on procrastination of David Castillo, one of the intellectual authors of the murder of Berta Cáceres.”

In terms of background, The Guardian has reported, “In November 2018, seven men were convicted of carrying out the murder, which the court in Tegucigalpa ruled was ordered by executives of the Agua Zarca dam company Desa because of delays and financial losses linked to protests led by Cáceres.”

“One of the executives identified in court was David Roberto Castillo Mejía, the CEO of Desa. In March 2018 Castillo was indicted as an ‘intellectual author’, who is alleged to have coordinated with, and provided funds to, the killers. He vehemently denies any involvement.”

That article adds, “On [August 30], a dossier that implicates Castillo in a pattern of violence, human rights violations, and corruption to benefit companies with which he was associated was published by a coalition of US rights groups including the Due Process of Law Foundation, International Platform against Impunity and Robert F Kennedy Human Rights.”

Concerns have also been expressed that the seven men convicted in November 2018 murder of Caceres have yet to be sentenced.

Caceres was killed in March 2016. PBI-Honduras began accompanying COPINH in May 2016.

An April 2015 video of a speech (with English subtitles) given by Caceres when she received the Goldman Prize can be seen here.

For more, please see PBI-Honduras attends presentation of report on murder of Berta Cáceres (September 7) and PBI-Honduras visits COPINH community after their collective crops damaged (July 19).

PBI-Guatemala accompanies CCDA Verapaz leaders Marcelino Xol and Jorge Coc at hearing

By
Brent Patterson
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On October 11, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted on Facebook, “Today we accompanied the leaders Marcelino Xol Cucul and Jorge Coc Coc of CCDA Verapaz at the hearing with the final conclusions by the MP [Public Ministry], complainants and the defense of Jorge Coc Coc.”

PBI-Guatemala adds, “The conclusion continues on October 22.”

And UDEFEGUA (Protection Unit for Human Rights Defenders – Guatemala) tweeted, “Today concludes the debate of defenders Marcelino Xol and Jorge Coc of CCDA, who have remained in prison for more than a year after being criminalized by the Chilté cooperative in Choctún Basilá, Alta Verapaz.”

UDEFEGUA adds, “We demand your freedom! Enough of criminalization of human rights.”

PBI-Guatemala has explained, “The criminalization of Jorge Coc and Marcelino Xol Cucul, indigenous authorities from the community of Choctun Basilá (municipality of Cobán), is based on the accusation of homicide and attempted homicide.”

“[On July 13, 2017] one person was killed and others were injured, all of them were members of the Chilté cooperative located in the municipality of San Pedro Carchá.”

“Jorge has declared that on the day of the events he was at his home in Las Pacayas taking care of his sick father. Marcelino says that on July 13, 2017 he was teaching in a community in Chisec, several hours from the scene of the crime.”

“Despite their testimonies of innocence, the inconsistencies in the testimonies from the witnesses to the crime and the failure of the accusers to individualize the crimes both men were formally charged and imprisoned.”

“According to CCDA’s assessment of the situation, this criminalization has its origins in an inter-community dispute between Choctun Basilá and the Chilté cooperative. It is a conflict that has been ongoing for more than 10 years and it originated with the annexing of land to the Choctun Basilá community.”

“Over the course of the last 10 years, the community of Choctun Basilá, has denounced aggression they have suffered from members of the Chilté cooperative on more than 90 occasions.”

“The PDH [the Office of the Human Rights Prosecutor/Ombudsperson, a state entity] and OHCHR [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights] reports mention this as one of the cases where an entire community has been criminalized and where there is no differentiation of the accusations brought against the accused.”

PBI-Guatemala began accompanying the Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA), a campesino organization that accompanies and advises mostly Indigenous communities on land rights issues, in July 2018.

Making the links between climate breakdown, arms sales and the need to make space for peace

By
Brent Patterson
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The environmental direct-action group Extinction Rebellion (XR) has an Extinction Rebellion Peace component.

As noted at the top of their Twitter social media feed, “XR Peace is a coalition of peace & justice groups, part of Extinction Rebellion making explicit the links between militarism & the climate emergency.”

In a series of tweets, an XR spokesperson says:

“The fossil fuel and arms industries feed off each other creating massive wealth for a very small number at the cost of millions of lives and urban and ecological destruction…”

“The existing geopolitical tensions – that climate breakdown will only increase – are lucrative opportunities for the arms trade, ones that it seeks to capitalise on…”

“The arms lobby is a serious & powerful entity & it will use this power to influence political circles to see its interests met. Not just an active participant in climate change through its massive carbon footprint but a direct barrier towards a transition to a fairer world.”

“The bombs fall elsewhere but they are built here and so, too, must be our resistance.”

The XR Peace website further quotes Jane Tallents who says, “Climate change causes war and war causes climate change.”

She highlights, “About 6% of global carbon emissions are from military activity.”

And Tallents notes, “As the climate crisis gains pace there will be increasing tension. If countries continue to resort to war as a means of attempting to solve conflict, we will not be able to avert catastrophic climate breakdown. Instead we must find new ways of thinking and work together to save our shared home.”

Referencing climate change, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet told the UN Human Rights Council in September, “The world has never seen a threat to human rights of this scope.”

This past June, UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Philip Alston cautioned, “Human rights might not survive the coming upheaval.”

And John Knox, the former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, stated last year, “If we can’t protect [environmental defenders], then how can we protect the environment we all depend on?”

For those of us concerned about defending human rights, the interrelationship of climate breakdown, militarism and arms sales is a critical consideration.

Call for PBI-Colombia volunteers extended to October 21!

By
Brent Patterson
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New volunteers are currently being sought by the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project whose placement would begin in July/August 2020.

The deadline to apply is now October 21.

Earlier this year, Javier Ignacio Hoyos from Canada joined the PBI-Colombia team.

Javier says, “I sincerely believe that by accompanying these people and communities in their day to day work and protecting their spaces for action, I will in a small way be part of the collective construction of a more peaceful, fair and inclusive society.”

All of the information on how to apply can be found here.

For more, please also see Frequently asked questions about being a PBI brigadista!

PBI-Switzerland attends ‘Women, Peace & Security’ conference

By
Brent Patterson
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On October 16, Peace Brigades International-Switzerland posted, “At the ‘Women, Peace & Security: Reclaim Prevention!’ conference in mid-September, various civil society organizations and experts for women, peace and security gathered in Bern. PBI was there.”

PBI-Switzerland further notes, “At various workshops and panels, the dialogue between civil society [including feminist networks and peace organizations] and state actors was promoted and possible challenges were discussed.”

PBI-Switzerland has now linked to its website the 51-page report titled Women, Peace and Security and the Prevention of Violence: Reflections from Civil Society in the Context of the Fourth Swiss National Action Plan 1325.

That report notes (on page 22), “Security measures employed in the ‘global war on terror’ threaten human rights and contribute to the rise of violence worldwide. While the P/CVE [Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism] agenda theoretically signals a shift away from the hard security tactics of CT [counterterrorism], in practice such hard security tactics are not only not abating, they are increasing.”

Among the notable policy recommendations (found on pages 38-40):

1- “Switzerland should address the issues of shrinking civil society space and human rights violations caused by CT and P/CVE legislation and practice by funding and supporting civil society organizations advocating for human rights and working on violence prevention that reflects the needs of communities and that is grounded in the principles of peacebuilding and human rights.”

2- “Switzerland should acknowledge and address the negative connotations of the P/CVE agenda and be mindful of the risks that civil society organizations might face when associating with the P/CVE agenda.”

3- “Switzerland should acknowledge that the P/CVE agenda risks contributing to the growth of the security industry, including the small arms and light weapons industry, which produces greater instability and violent conflict.”

4- “Switzerland should not engage in the sale of any weapons which are used, at any point after the purchase, to perpetrate human rights violations or contribute to the insecurity of communities.”

5- “Switzerland should fund research on the impact of Swiss small arms and lights weapons, and the sale of parts used in the manufacturing of weapons, on women.”

PBI-Switzerland notes, “By January 2019, 79 UN Member States had already adopted a National Action Plan to implement UNSCR 1325.”

Canada is one of those 79 countries. The Government of Canada launched its first action plan in 2010 and its second action plan in 2017.

A forum in Canada similar to the one that took place in Switzerland on their fourth action plan could also produce a series of interesting policy recommendations.

Colombian energy minister says Canadian company interested in fracking

By
Brent Patterson
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On September 17, the Magistrates from the Council of State, Colombia’s top administrative court, clarified that a moratorium on fracking that it upheld earlier in the month “does not impede the development of comprehensive investigative pilot projects.”

Following that announcement, the CEO of Colombia’s state-run oil company Ecopetrol said it would be ready to start fracking pilot projects in the second half of 2020.

Environmentalists have called for a global ban on fracking given it “torpedoes our global efforts to tackle climate change and violates basic human rights.” Moreover, a researcher with the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment has highlighted concerns that fracking could endanger the fragile peace process in Colombia.

This makes for a pivotal time in Colombia with immense implications for human rights.

Hindering a fuller understanding of the situation, there has not been a clear public statement about where the wells for those pilot projects will be drilled, which communities it will affect, or even which companies will be involved.

At this point, one can only glean information from media reports.

Earlier this year, Reuters reported, “At least five companies are interested in six fracking blocs in Colombia, and use of the technique could nearly triple the country’s reserves of crude and gas, the energy minister said.”

In that article, Colombian Mines and Energy Minister Maria Fernanda Suarez named Parex as one of the companies interested in the fracking blocs.

Parex Resources Inc. is a Calgary-based company.

In July 2017, Oscar Sampayo from the Environmental and Extractive Studies Group in Magdalena Medio noted in this interview, “What worries us is that in 2014 Parex directly entered Magdalena Medio in block VMM9. This block is located in the municipality of Simitarra in Santander. That block is destined for the development of a nonconventional deposit using fracking.”

Simitarra is located about 115 kilometres south-west of Barrancabermeja and about 200 kilometres south-west of Bucaramanga, both cities are situated in Santander Department in north-central Colombia.

Speaking tour in Canada

Julia Figueroa and Andrea Nocove from the Luis Carlos Perez Lawyers’ Collective (CCALCP) in Bucaramanga and Ivan Madero from the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS) in Barrancabermeja will be visiting Canada this November to help shed more light on this situation.

They will highlight their concerns about fracking and extractivism, as well as the need to protect the climate and water, and respect Indigenous rights.

Their public forums include:

OTTAWA – Monday November 4, 6:30 pm, Amnesty International building, 312 Laurier Avenue East

VANCOUVER – Wednesday November 6, 7 pm, SFU Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 580 West Hastings Street

NANAIMO – Friday November 8, 2 pm, Vancouver Island University, 900 Fifth Street

Along with these three public forums, Julia, Andrea and Ivan will be meeting with civil society allies in Toronto, government officials in Ottawa, as well as students, lawyers and activists at information/strategy meetings across the country.

For more information, please contact us at info@pbicanada.org

PBI-Mexico expresses support for the work of Tlachinollan lawyer Vidulfo Rosales Sierra

By
Brent Patterson
-

On October 15, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project posted, “We support the legitimate work of Vidulfo Rosales, lawyer and defender of the ‘Tlachinollan’ Human Rights Centre. We have been with the organization since 2003 due to the level of risk it faces due to the work of defending the rights of the indigenous peoples of Guerrero.”

This follows the post from Tlachinollan that says, “We demand the cessation of attacks and defamation against the lawyer Vidulfo Rosales Sierra, representative of the families of the 43 missing students of Ayotzinapa.”

That links to this open letter signed by many organizations that demands “the termination of aggressions and defamations against the ‘Tlachinollan’ Human Rights Centre and its lawyer Vidulfo Rosales Sierra.”

That letter says, “The signatory organizations express our deep concern over the recent statements of the former head of the Attorney General of the State of Guerrero, Iñaki Blanco Cabrera, against the lawyer of the Mountain Human Rights Center ‘Tlachinollan’, Vidulfo Sierra Rosales, whom he accuses of hampering the investigations and profiting from the defense of the families of the 43 disappeared students on September 26 and 27, 2014, even pointing out that they should be investigated by the Attorney General’s Office.”

“We believe that these declarations constitute a direct attack and that they seek to delegitimize the work of the human rights defender…”

“It should be remembered that Iñaki Blanco Cabrera is one of the main actors who could be involved in the forced disappearance of the 43 students, for serving as prosecutor at the time of the events and for having incurred omissions and protecting several officials under their charge who had responsibilities in student aggression.”

That letter can be read in full in Spanish here.

For updates, you can follow Tlachinollan CDHM on Twitter here.

PBI-Germany hosts seminar in Hamburg on Zapatista and CRIC struggles for rights

By
Brent Patterson
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Peace Brigades International-Germany will be holding a seminar on October 26-27 in Hamburg titled: Indigenous movements in Chiapas (Mexico) and Cauca (Colombia) and their impulses for the concept of Buen Vivir.

The seminar will focus on the Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico, and the Regional Indian Council of Cauca (CRIC) in Colombia.

Additionally, The Guardian has explained that “buen vivir” describes a way of doing things that is community-centric, ecologically-balanced and culturally-sensitive.

PBI-Germany notes, “The two indigenous movements have been fighting for decades in various ways for their rights and their oppression and exclusion as indigenous peasants from the Global South.”

“Both movements have achieved a great deal: the recovery of land, grassroots self-government for hundreds of thousands of people, the suppression of colonial-racist oppression and economic exploitation, as well as freedom to realize their fundamental rights according to their own ideas. And last but not least, the women of the movement have broken the patriarchal structures within the movement.”

PBI-Germany adds, “At this seminar weekend we want to get to know the two movements better, learn from them and perhaps even develop options for action for our work here: What are their demands and strategies? What are their autonomous structures in administration, education, health and security? What have they achieved? What are current developments? What are differences and similarities?”

For more, please see the Facebook event page and the webpage for the event.

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