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PBI-Guatemala accompanies the Human Rights Law Firm to film screening

By
Brent Patterson
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On June 23, the PBI – Guatemala Project accompanied the Human Rights Law Firm (Bufete Jurídico de Derechos Humanos – BDH) to a screening of the film ‘Water, the blood of Mother Earth’.

The documentary tells the history of the resistance to hydroelectric dams in the defence of the Cahabón River and the Ox-eek River as well as the criminalization of Mayan Q’eqchi’ community leader Bernardo Caal Xol, an opponent of those dams.

The presentation was organized by the Mother Jungle Collective (Colectivo Madre Selva) and the Council of Ancestral Authorities of the Q’eqchi’ people of Cahabón (el Consejo de Autoridades Ancestrales del pueblo Q’eqchi’ de Cahabón).

In August 2017, Indigenous communities voted against the construction of the Oxec I and II hydroelectric dams on the Cahabón River in a community-organized consultation.

The Peaceful Resistance of Cahabón (Resistencia Pacifica de Cahabón) is demanding that the licences granted to Oxec (owned by Energy Resources Capital Corp.) be revoked by the Guatemalan government because there was no prior consultation with Indigenous peoples.

In November 2018, Caal Xol, a leading member of the Peaceful Resistance of Cahabón, was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison. He had already been imprisoned through “preventative detention” since January 2018.

Telesur explains that, “It was Caal Xol who filed three lawsuits against the Oxec construction company at different institutions, including accusations for failing to consult the local population, and illegally cutting down 15 hectares of trees.”

Another Telesur article reports, “The communities claim the Oxec and Renace hydroelectric projects are illegal because the local Indigenous Q’eqchi’ peoples were not properly consulted and informed about it, as established by Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization.”

Convention 169 is a forerunner of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which includes the right to free, prior and informed consent.

The Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project has accompanied BDH since 2013 and the Resistance since 2017.

PBI-Mexico accompanies public forum on “Violence of State and Torture”

By
Brent Patterson
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On June 26, the Peace Brigades International – Mexico Project accompanied the conversation “Violence of State and Torture” organized by the Integral Defence Committee for Human Rights “Gobixha” (Codigo DH Gobixha AC) in Oaxaca.

The forum moderated by journalist Evlin Aragón took place on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

The outreach for the conversation highlighted the three year anniversary of the events of June 19, 2016 in the state of Oaxaca.

On that day 800 state and federal officers were deployed and used live ammunition and tear gas to clear a series of roadblocks set up by striking teachers from the CNTE teachers union.

In July 2016, Telesur reported that 10 people were killed in that police action and that a report by Mexican human rights organizations – including Codigo-DH – accused the Mexican government of a series of human rights abuses including excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions and extrajudicial executions.

PBI has noted, “Codigo-DH focuses its work on the following issues: arbitrary detention, torture, gender-based violence, community processes in defence of land and territory, and freedom of expression.”

In March 2018, Codigo-DH stated, “Torture has been an issue in the state in Oaxaca especially since the conflicts between the regional government and teachers from the Section 22 Union.”

It adds, “The dispute escalated in 2006 when the police tried to violently break up large scale protests led by striking teachers. According to the Oaxaca Truth Commission (CVO), 26 people were killed and about 500 tortured over months of protests associated with the teacher led movement.”

Codigo-DH also notes, “One well-known case is Emeterio Cruz Vásquez who was tortured by different police forces in the streets of Oaxaca during the conflict mentioned above as well as later on during his arrest. He still suffers from various medical consequences as he was beaten on the heat with assault rifle and received electric shocks.”

In March 2016, the Mexico News Daily reported, “The Oaxaca Truth Commission, established in 2013 to look into the social upheaval that rocked the city of Oaxaca in 2006, has issued its final report, in which it calls for a renewed investigation of former governor Ulíses Ruiz and other officials.”

That article adds, “The commission alleges that the governor and others were responsible for human rights abuses that included crimes against humanity, extrajudicial assassinations, arbitrary arrests and torture.”

In December 2014, a report by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment stated, “Torture is generalized in Mexico.”

That report adds, “It occurs especially from the moment when a person is detained until he or she is brought before a judge, and is used as punishment and as a means of investigation.”

That United Nations report also stated, “The Special Rapporteur received many credible complaints from victims, family members and their representatives and persons deprived of their liberty and was informed of a number of already documented cases that point to the frequent use of torture and ill-treatment in various parts of the country by municipal, state and federal police, state and federal ministerial police and the armed forces.”

And it noted, “The National Human Rights Commission reported receiving 11,608 complaints of torture and ill-treatment between 2006 and April 2014.”

The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project has accompanied Codigo-DH since it was formed in 2011.

United Nations report links human rights and climate breakdown

By
Brent Patterson
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Making space for peace and human rights and averting climate breakdown are deeply interconnected issues.

Philip Alston is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights.

His report — which will be formally presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this coming Friday — concludes, “Human rights might not survive the coming upheaval.”

Alston issued a media release today that says with climate change “civil and political rights will be highly vulnerable.”

Peace Brigades International – Schweiz/Suisse has its office in Geneva and has a regular presence at UN meetings there.

Given major extractive projects including agribusiness, hydroelectric dams, mines and fossil fuel projects are all contributors to climate breakdown, the work of human rights defenders is critical to averting the deepening climate catastrophe the world is facing.

The London-based international non-governmental organization Global Witness has reported that 201 land and environmental defenders were killed in 2017.

Their efforts were helping to slow climate breakdown.

Canadian author Margaret Atwood says, “We need to salute their astounding bravery and pledge to add our voices to support their continued struggle against those who want to rip their land up for oil or gas, tear down its trees for timber, flatten it for intensive non-organic and polluting farming or poison it with industrial waste.”

Global Witness adds that the killings of environmental defenders in 2017 includes “the murder of Hernán Bedoya in Colombia, shot 14 times by a paramilitary group for protesting against palm oil and banana plantations on land stolen from his community.”

The writing on the road in the Peace Brigades International – Colombia Project photo with this post reads: “Sin olvido (we will not forget you) Hernán Bedoya”.

Related to this, the PBI – Honduras Project has accompanied the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (Copinh Intibucá) since May 2016.

Berta Cáceres, the coordinator of COPINH, was shot dead in March 2016. At the time of her assassination, she was campaigning against the proposed Agua Zarca dam on the Gualcarque River which is considered sacred by the Lenca Indigenous people.

The Guardian has reported, “Researchers have found that rotting vegetation in the water means that the dams emit about a billion tonnes of greenhouse gases every year.”

The PBI – Guatemala Project accompanies the Peaceful Resistance of La Laguna which is opposed to deforestation.

Global Forest Watch has reported, “In 2017, Guatemala lost 79.7kha (thousand hectares) of tree cover, equivalent to 6.16Mt [megatonnes or million tons] of CO₂ of emissions.”

And the Peace Brigades International – Mexico Project accompanies Educa Oaxaca which has raised concerns about the impacts of Canadian mining in the state of Oaxaca.

The industrial mining of gold, silver and other metals worsen climate breakdown because of the clearing of the land (deforestation) to set up the mine and related roadways as well as the large amount of diesel fuel used to dig and transport rock in the mining process.

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

The current UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment is David Boyd from Canada.

Boyd and UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Michel Forst recently thanked the youth involved in the “Fridays For Future” protests for the climate leadership they are offering to the world.

The international “Fridays for Future” youth movement for climate action began when climate activist Greta Thunberg held a sign that read “Skolstrejk för klimatet” (school strike for the climate) outside the Swedish Riksdag (parliament) in August 2018.

PBI-Canada Board member at information meeting on Canadian mine in Mexico

By
Brent Patterson
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The Peace Brigades International – Mexico Project accompanied the Civil Observation Mission (la Misión Civil de Observación) to an information meeting today about the Ixtaca mining project in the south-central Mexican state of Puebla.

Peace Brigades International-Canada Board member Paul Bocking travelled with PBI-Mexico for this accompaniment.

Vancouver-based Almaden Minerals Ltd. (through its Mexican subsidiary Minera Gorrion) owns the Ixtaca project.

The Mexico News Daily has reported, “The company bought the 14,000-hectare claim … in 2001, and discovered what it calls the Ixtaca gold and silver deposit in 2010.”

On June 5, 2019, the non-governmental organization PODER (the Project on Organizing, Development, Education, and Research) stated in a media release, “In April 2019, at the request of an indigenous community, a Mexican court canceled Almaden Minerals Ltd.’s mining concessions in Ixtacamaxtitlán, Puebla.”

The indigenous community refers to the Nahua or Tecoltemic in the village of Tecoltemi near the town of Ixtacamaxtitlan, which is situated about 140 kilometres east of Mexico City.

PODER adds, “Almaden has denied the indigenous presence in the area and conducted exploration without receiving free, prior, and informed consent.”

The Yucatan Times has previously reported, “A 2016 report by PODER, a local non-profit, found that exploration activity in Ixtacamaxtitlan had contaminated water sources, threatening the community’s supply.”

The Mexico News Daily adds, “According to a human rights impact assessment conducted by the NGOs, Almaden is violating the rights to health, informed consultation and access to water of the people of Ixtacamaxtitlán.”

That article also notes, “The NGOs say the firm has claimed in reports to shareholders that it has drilled to a depth of 700 meters, surpassing the permitted limit of 150 meters and reaching the underground water supply of 15 towns. They say the unauthorized drilling has left several farming properties in the Apulco River watershed without water, and caused pollution.”

#PBIAcompaña

PBI-Mexico accompanies media conference on death of mother and daughter

By
Brent Patterson
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The Peace Brigades International – Mexico Project accompanied the media conference convened yesterday by three organizations: the Centre for Women’s Human Rights (Centro de Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres), the Center for Justice and International Law-CEJIL and Mexicans in Exile (Mexicanos en el exilio).

PBI-Mexico notes, “They presented the petition filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to accept the case of Marisela Escobedo who was murdered for demanding justice for the femicide of her daughter Rubí.”

Rubi was murdered in 2008 when she was 16 years of age.

Her mother Marisela then devoted her life to discovering who had killed her daughter and determined that Rubi had been murdered by her partner who had by then feld Chihuahua.

Marisela demanded his apprehension, but she herself was then murdered in 2010 in front of the Government Palace in Chihuahua while demanding justice in this case.

PBI-Mexico comments in its Facebook post, “It is one of the most emblematic cases of Chihuahua.”

CEJIL adds, “The petition issued to the IACHR will allow the Inter-American Human Rights System to document the violations of human rights of which Rubí, Marisela and 17 members of his family have been victims.”

It explains, “Among them are the lack of protection that unleashed the sexist violence against them and the subsequent murder and disappearance of the young woman; the lack of investigation of these facts. Added to this is the lack of guarantees for Marisela Escobedo to exercise her role as a defender of human rights in a safe manner, which facilitated her murder and triggered the forced displacement of her family.”

#PBIAcompaña

PBI-Nepal supports NepalMonitor.org

By
Brent Patterson
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Peace Brigades International supports NepalMonitor.org, a Collective Campaign for Peace(COCAP) protection and conflict prevention initiative. COCAP is a Kathmandu-based national network of 43 peace and human rights non-governmental organizations.

As readers will know, Nepal is a country in South Asia bordered by China to the north and India to the south.

The Peace Brigades International – PBI 2018 Annual Review notes that, “Two international and five Nepali staff members based in Kathmandu coordinated the Nepal Monitor, an initiative established to provide protection and to prevent conflict by mapping security incidents and human rights violations in the country.”

The Nepal Monitor has just posted on its Facebook page, “Last week our Training and Outreach team led by Ambika Paudell celebrated the end of our first Peer Learning Programme for WHRDs [women human rights defenders].”

The “WHRD Peer Learning Programme Session Six: Proposal and Report Writing” took place from June 19-21 at the Hotel Pacific in Lahan.

Lahan is a municipality located about 260 kilometres south-east of the capital city of Kathmandu in the Siraha District of Province 2.

The Nepal Monitor adds, “Our graduating group; all from from either Dhanusa District Siraha District or Saptari District of Nepal Province 2 had sessions on proposal writing and report writing. We are also highly excited for the future of our WHRD Network in Province 2.”

Province No. 2, Nepal’s second most populous province, is located in the southeastern region of the country. PBI has commented that it is a region that faces significant challenges in dealing with high rates of gender-based violence and discrimination.

In June 2017, ahead of an election in Province 2, Amnesty International also noted that it is a region where it “has documented serious human rights violations, particularly at the hands of the security forces, including the unlawful use of excessive and lethal force, torture and other ill-treatment, and arbitrary detention.”

Human Rights Watch adds, “Nepal’s new constitution was adopted in September 2015, but violent protests over the lack of greater inclusion for minority communities have stalled efforts to enforce rights protections. Successive governments have made little progress on accountability for abuses during the 1996-2006 civil war, which claimed more than 13,000 lives.”

The ten-year long Nepalese Civil War, also known as the Maoist Conflict, was an armed conflict between the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and the government of Nepal. The insurgency overthrew the Nepalese monarchy and established a republic.

The current prime minister of Nepal is Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli of the Nepal Communist Party.

Peace Brigades International has previously noted, “Both the Maoist insurgents and government forces committed human rights and humanitarian law violations including extrajudicial execution, torture, displacement, arbitrary arrests and detention. None of those responsible have yet been held to account.”

PBI provided accompaniment to human rights defenders in Nepal from 2006 to 2013. During that time it developed NepalMonitor.org as a tool for the protection of human rights defenders. The website mapped human rights incidents and issued alerts.

As noted at the top of this post, the Nepal Monitor is now a COCAP initiative supported by Peace Brigades International.

PBI-Colombia accompanies CREDHOS to find grave site

By
Brent Patterson
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The Peace Brigades International – Colombia Project recently accompanied the Regional Corporation for the Defense of Human Rights (Credhos) to the dense forests of San Pablo in the San Lucas mountain area of the Sur de Bolívar region to locate the grave of a young man killed by an armed group likely 15 years ago.
 
According to the National Centre for Historical Memory, 82,998 Colombians were forcibly disappeared between 1958 and 2017 and are presumed dead. The United Victims Registry, the government body in charge of registering war victims, has registered 150,000 forced disappearances between 1986 and 2017.
 
PBI-Colombia field volunteer Yvonne Furrer notes, “More than half [of the disappearances] are attributed to paramilitary groups, followed by guerrilla groups, post-demobilization groups, state agents, and state agents in collaboration with paramilitaries.”
 
“A simple wooden cross announces that a body lies there. It is alongside a trail running between rural communities, a bit hidden, protected among the forest’s trees and undergrowth. The birds and the rushing river can be heard in the distance.”
 
“For CREDHOS, the next step is to find the family, displaced from the region years ago. Then, and only after interviewing and receiving the green-light from the family, will they contact the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) so that its specialized team of forensic anthropologists can carry out the exhumation, accompanied by CREDHOS.”
 
Peace Brigades International-Canada will be hosting a representative from CREDHOS at public forums in Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and hopefully Nanaimo this coming November.
 
More details on that coming soon.
 
To read Yvonne’s beautifully crafted reflection on the accompaniment, please go to the PBI-Colombia website at https://pbicolombia.org/2019/06/14/the-grave-without-a-name/
 
PBI has accompanied CREDHOS since 1994.

 

Global Affairs releases “Voices at Risk” guidelines for Canadian diplomats to support human rights defenders

By
Brent Patterson
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On June 17, Global Affairs Canada released the 2019 edition of Voices at Risk: Canada’s Guidelines on Supporting Human Rights Defenders.

Their media release notes, “Voices at Risk offers practical advice for Canadian diplomats working around the world, and in Canada, to support human rights defenders who seek help. …The overall goal of the guidelines is to enable the ongoing work of human rights defenders, with the support of Canadian diplomats around the world.”

Indigenous human rights defenders

The “Voices at Risk” guidelines document notes, “Thousands of Indigenous peoples are criminalized and discriminated against, and alarming numbers of them die while defending their land and rights.”

“Indigenous peoples are often targeted for opposing large projects, including with the intent to discourage their participation in consultation processes.”

“Mission support for Indigenous HRDs should be informed by the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), including equality, partnership, good faith and mutual respect.”

“When conflicts arise around the use of land and natural resources, especially when Canadian companies are involved, missions can advocate for meaningful engagement and partnership with Indigenous peoples on issues of concern.”

Land rights and environmental human rights defenders

The guidelines also note, “A land rights defender takes peaceful action to protect the land of a group of people …Land rights are often tied to the rights of Indigenous peoples, and in these contexts, individuals may face additional challenges, including marginalization.”

“Canadian companies operating abroad are expected to respect human rights and to operate lawfully and in consultation with the host government (national and municipal) and local communities.”

“All sections of Canadian missions abroad can advocate in support of human rights defenders working on land and environmental issues.”

The response from the United Nations

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, recently concluded a visit to Canada. During that visit, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland released the “Voices at Risk” report.

In response, a United Nations media release noted, “The High Commissioner stressed the importance of supporting the work of human rights defenders and journalists, and defending space for civil society participation in debate and decision-making, which she pointed out are vital to ensure more inclusive, healthier and fairer societies.”

“Bachelet welcomed Canada’s continued commitment to advancing responsible business conduct abroad and the recent appointment of an Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise. She encouraged the authorities to ensure the Ombudsperson will have sufficient powers to independently and effectively investigate allegations of human rights abuses under its mandate.”

During the visit, CBC reported, “The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is putting pressure on Canada to implement the findings of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which concluded the issue amounts to genocide.”

At a public forum, Freeland commented, “I think that it makes Canada a more credible defender of human rights around the world when we acknowledge very openly and not defensively that we still have a long way to go at home.”

The response from Canadian civil society

Several Canadian civil society groups — including Amnesty International Canada and the Nobel Women’s Initiative — have commented, “For Canada’s new guidelines to be effective in helping to protect and support human rights defenders, they will need to be accompanied by a comprehensive implementation plan and increased Canadian funding going directly to human rights defenders and the movements they represent.”

“Canada also needs to take a stronger approach to support human rights defenders advocating for corporate accountability, for instance, by enabling robust investigations when defenders face heightened risks linked to private sector investments.”

Their statement adds, “It will also be critically important that Canada create an advisory body that includes the participation of human rights defenders with experience and first-hand knowledge of the threats facing human rights defenders.”

PBI-Colombia attends meeting with Danish ambassador and Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission

By
Brent Patterson
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The Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz (Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission – CIJP) has tweeted its thanks to the Danish ambassador to Colombia Mogens Pedersen (second from the left in this photo) for his dialogue at their headquarters.

In the same tweet, the CIJP also thanks the Peace Brigades International – Colombia Project and the British group Christian Aid “for their participation in such a significant meeting for human rights and peace in the territories of Bajo Atrato.”

The CIJP works to protect rural lands, the environment and forcefully displaced afro-descendant, indigenous and mestizo communities.

It was created in 1988 by 45 Catholic congregations and is led by human rights defender and Jesuit priest Father Javier Giraldo (third from the right in this photo).

The Atrato River and its tributaries are situated in Colombia’s Chocó department on the country’s northwest coast.

The Pulitzer Center has noted, “Rich in natural resources, over three-quarters of the land in Chocó is covered with tropical forests. But the forests are under threat from mining-related deforestation. Chocó is also Colombia’s top gold-producing region.”

Mongabay environmental news has noted, “During the country’s more than half a century-long internal conflict, guerrillas long used the river to move their troops.”

With the demobilization of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) beginning in 2016-17, the left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN) and the right-wing Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces (AGC) paramilitary forces have battled for control of this territory.

Mongabay adds, “At the moment, Colombia’s notorious paramilitary groups use the Atrato to get to the riverbank communities they terrorize and displace. The Atrato and its many tributaries also grant safe passage to smugglers who transport illegally-mined gold in their motorized canoes.”

Amazon Watch has reported, “According to CIPJ, cattle ranchers and palm oil and banana growers have counted on the support of the AGC to intimidate, threaten and kill the community leaders who are defending their land from the expansion of agribusiness and commercial logging interests in the region.”

PBI-Colombia has accompanied the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission (CIPJ) since 1994.

Yesterday’s tweet by the CIPJ can be found at https://twitter.com/Justiciaypazcol/status/1142150323181674499

#MakingSpaceForPeace

PBI-Guatemala accompanies BDH at CREOMPAZ hearing

By
Brent Patterson
-

Yesterday, the PBI – Guatemala Project posted (in Spanish) on their Facebook page, “We accompanied the BDH and the surviving women and victims of sexual violence in the CREOMPAZ case (Military Zone 21 of Cobán) in the Femicide room, to deliver a memorial in which they demand that a writ of amparo be issued, given that they have been omitted the acts of sexual violence in that case.”

In terms of context to understand the background and importance of what happened yesterday:

1- BDH
BDH refers to the Human Rights Law Firm (Bufete de Derechos Humanos – BDH). PBI-Guatemala has accompanied this law firm since 2013.

2- Military Zone 21/CREOMPAZ
Military Zone 21 refers to a military base, located about 220 kilometres north-east of Guatemala City, that was the site of extreme state violence against men, women and children in the 1980s during the internal armed conflict.

The military base is now named the Regional Training Centre for Peacekeeping Operations (CREOMPAZ), a United Nations training base for peacekeepers.

In 2012, forensic anthropologists began to excavate clandestine graves at CREOMPAZ. They uncovered the remains of 558 people, 92 of whom have been identified.

3- INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT
The internal armed conflict (1960-1996) followed the US-backed coup in 1954 that toppled a democratically-elected government that had introduced a minimum wage, near-universal suffrage, and began granting property to landless peasants.

The 36-year-long ‘civil war’ resulted in 200,000 deaths and up to 50,000 people forcibly disappeared.

The Commission for Historical Clarification found that the Guatemalan government was responsible for more than 90 per cent of the deaths, disappearances and other human rights violations during the war and that 83 per cent of the victims were Indigenous Maya.

4- LEGAL PROCESS
In January 2016, the Guatemalan Public Ministry charged a number of former military officials for crimes that took place at Military Zone 21.

Later that year, Judge Claudette Domínguez ruled that eight high-ranking former military officials would go to trial but accepted only 29 of the 154 witnesses proposed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

All of the survivors of sexual violence at Military Zone 21 were excluded as witnesses.

5- FEMICIDE COURT
In December 2018, plaintiffs appealed to the Femicide Court to rule that military officials should also be tried for crimes of sexual violence.

The Criminal Court for Crimes of Femicide and Other Forms of Violence against Women was established in Guatemala in 2010.

These special courts deal with gender-based crimes and were developed after the Femicide Act was passed in 2008.

6- WRIT OF AMPARO
A writ of amparo is a legal remedy seeking a protection order. The writ of amparo, the subject of the demand made yesterday, was first requested in March 2017.

Peace Brigades International continues to monitor this situation closely.

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