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PBI-Kenya accompanied Kayole Community Justice Centre calls for ratification of International Convention on enforced disappearances

By
Brent Patterson
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In its most recent e-newsletter, PBI-Kenya notes:

“Perpetua Kariuki, human rights defender from Kayole Community Justice Centre, and Bernard Gachie of PBI Kenya embarked on an advocacy tour across Europe to highlight the state of human rights in Kenya. Their journey took them through Switzerland, The Netherlands and Germany, where they engaged in crucial discussions on enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions.

A central objective of their tour was to advocate for the ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. This treaty is crucial as it provides a framework to prevent enforced disappearances, ensure accountability for perpetrators, and provide justice and reparations for victims. Kenya signed the treaty in 2007 but has yet to ratify it.”

The full text of the Treaty can be read here.

Among the countries that have ratified the Convention are Germany and Spain (September 2009), the Netherlands (March 2011) and Switzerland (December 2016).

Canada urged to ratify the Convention

Canada has neither signed nor ratified this International Convention that came into effect almost 14 years ago on December 23, 2010.

In March of this year, the Canadian Press reported that an interim report from the International Commission on Missing Persons, based in The Hague, recommends the Canada ratify the United Nations International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED).

In March 2023, Catherine Morris and Rebekah Smith commented: “Since 2017, Canada has been urged to become a State Party to the ICPPED.”

They add: “That year, Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial ministers ‘agreed to pursue discussions on the possibility of Canada becoming a party’ to the ICPPED. In 2018, Canada reaffirmed this intention during its third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the UN Human Rights Council. So far there is no timeline for completion of necessary consultations among federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal officials.”

One of the reasons Canada has not signed the Convention could be due to the high number of forcibly disappeared Indigenous peoples in this country.

In Canada, more than 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their parents and sent to at least 139 state-funded “residential schools” operated by churches starting in 1883 as part of a genocidal campaign of forced assimilation.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are implicated in the forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families. Painting by Kent Monkman.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada documented the deaths of 3,201 children at these residential schools, but its chair Justice Murray Sinclair has stated that 6,000 children may have died in them, while Cindy Blackstock and Pam Palmater have estimated that more than 12,000 children died in them.

Morris and Smith state: “Canada’s pattern of failure to ensure effective and timely remedies for disappearances of Indigenous persons may amount to acquiescence in international crimes of enforced disappearance. Canada’s international law obligations require urgent steps to end official inaction and complicity.”

We also note that while Colombia (July 2012), Honduras (April 2008) and Mexico (March 2008) have ratified the Convention, Guatemala (February 2007) and Indonesia (September 2010) have only signed it. Nicaragua and Nepal have neither signed nor ratified the Convention.

We continue to follow this in all countries where PBI has a presence.

States not reporting on attacks against human rights defenders undermines Sustainable Development Goal 16

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: SDG Goal 16 is to be reviewed at the 2024 SDG High Level Political Forum taking place from July 8-17 at the UN in New York City.

United Nations member states adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 with the target of accomplishing them by 2030.

Sustainable Development Goal 16 promises to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”

Indicator 16.10.1 measures: “Number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture of journalists, associated media personnel, trade unionists and human rights advocates in the previous 12 months.”

The International Land Coalition says: “Countries are expected to report on the number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture of human rights defenders (HRD).”

Their statement continues: “The official SDG Indicator data base reports 2,653 killings of HRD since 2015 and another 133 enforced disappearances.”

However, they highlight, in the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) of 162 countries, only 3 countries reported that at least one HRD had been killed or attacked, 7 countries reported zero cases, and 152 countries did not report at all.

The 22-page report A Crucial Gap 2023 discusses “the limits to official data on attacks against defenders and why it’s concerning.”

That report makes seven recommendations including: 1) States must develop and sustain mechanisms that collect and report data on attacks against HRDs, using this information to inform more effective policies and protection mechanisms to reduce attacks on these defenders, and 2) Reporting agencies and bodies must make the work of particularly vulnerable groups, including land, environmental and indigenous human rights defenders, more visible, highlighting the issues and challenges involved in this work and evaluating how existing supports to these groups can be improved.

The report also recommends: “Globally, it is essential to develop a database in line with 16.10.1 that captures – in a safe, participatory and inclusive way – the verified cases of killings, threats against and attacks on HRDs, especially defenders of land, environmental and indigenous peoples’ rights, with data generated by diverse actors at many levels.”

International processes and the protection of HRDs

PBI-Canada is following several international processes in relation to their commitments to HRDs including the Binding Treaty on business and human rights negotiations (October 21-25), the COP16 biodiversity conference (October 26-November 1) and the COP29 climate conference (November 11-24).

All these processes prompt concern.

While the Binding Treaty text may be the most inclusive, it is also being opposed by states including Canada, HRDs were only briefly mentioned in the COP15 biodiversity text, and there was no mention in the COP28 climate text.

While Indicator 16.10.1 of the SDGs specifies “human rights advocates”, we see the undermining of this measure when states fail to report on this through their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs).

We continue to follow this.

Further reading: Will COP16 in Colombia strengthen Target 22 and spark text at COP30 in Brazil to protect environmental defenders? (PBI-Canada, May 22, 2024).

#HLPF2024 #SDG16

PBI-Colombia accompanies Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation on verification mission after Ecuadorian army incursion into Indigenous reserve

By
Brent Patterson
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PBI-Colombia has posted on Instagram:

“We accompanied @fundacionnydiaerikabautista [the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation] on the verification mission to the San Marcelino reserve in Putumayo following the incursion of the Ecuadorian army into the reserve in 2023. The Foundation reiterated the need to respect and safeguard the rights of indigenous peoples.

Photos: communication team of Fundación Nydia Erika Bautista.”

A year ago, on July 29, 2023, El Pais reported:

“An unusual event that has outraged the nation was known. It is the incursion of members of the Ecuadorian Army into Colombian territory. According to the information that is known, they detained the governor of the San Marcelino reservation, his spouse and four other members of the indigenous guard.

This event occurred in Putumayo around noon on Saturday, July 29. The National Protection Unit (UNP) and the “Nydia Erika Bautista” Foundation for Human Rights denounced this incursion by members of the Ecuadorian Army.

According to the UNP, the mayor of San Miguel, Putumayo, confirmed the news and requested the presence of Colombian authorities in the Yarinal de San Marcelino reservation, where the Ecuadorian military held the Colombian indigenous people.

For its part, the “Nydia Erika Bautista” Foundation for Human Rights denounced this fact. “Violent military incursion by the Ecuadorian army puts indigenous people of the San Marcelino Indigenous Reservation in La Dorada, Putumayo, at high risk. We warn about possible arbitrary detentions and violations of human rights and the rights of the Kichwa people and their authorities.”

And they added: “We ask for support from the Ombudsman’s Office and UNP under Collective Protection Measures.”“

The full article can be read in El Pais at Lo último: Ejército de Ecuador invadió territorio colombiano y retuvo al gobernador del resguardo San Marcelino (El Pais, July 29, 2023).

On July 30, 2023, the Spanish news agency EFE added: “In a statement, the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry did not confirm or deny that the incursion into Colombian territory had taken place and limited itself to pointing out that a dialogue [between the countries] is being maintained “regarding any situation that may exist regarding this operation.” …According to information from the Ecuadorian authorities cited by the Foreign Ministry, 20 kilos of cocaine hydrochloride were seized in the operation.”

That article can be read at Ecuador mantiene diálogo con Colombia tras denuncia de incursión de militares ecuatorianos (EFE, July 30, 2023).

The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has accompanied the “Nydia Erika Bautista” Foundation since 2007.

PBI-Guatemala accompanies BDH lawyer as Maya Q’eqchi’ resist appropriation of ancestral territory for tourist site

By
Brent Patterson
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PBI-Guatemala has posted:

“Today #PBI accompanies the Human Rights Law Firm (BDH) in Cobán, for a delivery of memorials to the Sixth Room of the Court of Appeals. They are presented on behalf of the seven criminalized people, for their peaceful resistance against the appropriation of their lands in Semuc Champey.

After the submission of the documents, a press conference was held to raise awareness of the case, explaining to the media that the sentence that acquitted the seven people in 2023 must be recognized.

Now the 15 day period to receive a response from the Court begins, they hope to be summoned to a public hearing in the capital.”

Factor 4 has also explained:

“Injustice and Dispossession: The Struggle of the Q’eqchi’ Communities of Semuc Champey against Criminalization and Impunity.

The criminalization of the community authorities of Semuc Champey began in 2015 and 2016, when the State of Guatemala used excessive police force against the communities of Chicanuz, Semil, Chisubin and Santa María Semuc, affecting girls and boys. These events went unpunished, with no punishment for the responsible officials. In contrast, community authorities have been punished through judicial processes for the defense of their sacred territory.

Since 2016, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office and the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP) have sought to criminalize ancestral and community authorities by accusing them of usurpation of protected areas. Despite these historical precedents, the representatives of the Q’eqchi’ communities, in an act of good faith, submitted to the constitutional and ordinary legal system, even though it was not their own.

Throughout history, a series of dispossessions have been evidenced by the imposition of a legal system alien to the peoples of Mayan origin that inhabit the Guatemalan territory. The situation of the Mayan Q’eqchi’ communities of Chicanuz, Semil, Chisubin and Santa María Semuc is a clear example of land dispossession, discrimination and criminalization. One of the many evidences of this dispossession is the promulgation of Decree 25-2005, which declared Semuc Champey a Natural Monument without prior free, informed, and culturally relevant consultation on the management dispositions and the area. This decree designated a sacred site of the Maya Q’eqchi’ people as a tourist site, affecting their way of life.”

PBI-Guatemala has accompanied the Human Rights Law Firm (BDH) since 2013.

Video: “Communities near Semuc Champey. LIVE| Attorney Fabiola Rodriguez, provides information on the situation of four communities near Semuc Champey.”

Photo by Factor 4.

PBI-Guatemala accompanies ceremony with land titles of the Maya Poqomam people of Santa Cruz Chinautla

By
Brent Patterson
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PBI-Guatemala has posted:

“On Sunday [July 7], #PBI accompanied in the act of ‘presentation of the historical titles of the communal lands of the Maya Poqomam people of Santa Cruz Chinautla’.

This research, initiated in 2018 with the expert lawyer Juan Carlos Pelaez, includes certificates of title dated in the years 1753 and 1899 that demonstrate the registration of these lands in the name of the common of Chinautla.

The ancestral authorities pointed out that the delivery of these title deeds is a historical milestone for the recognition of the Poqomam’ people and a beginning for the recovery of their lands and common goods.

The ceremony was also attended by ancestral authorities from other regions, several international and national organizations, as well as representatives of COPADEH [the Presidential Commission for Peace and Human Rights] and other government agencies.”

Factor 4 has also tweeted: “Mayan Poqomam Ancestral Authorities of Santa Cruz #Chinautla have presented historical titles of communal lands. Under the energies of 8 Ajmaq [a special day to prevent mistakes and to give thanks] and around the sacred fire, ancestral authorities of Iximulew, Poqomam villagers, representatives of social organizations, other Mayan peoples and the government handed over historical communal land titles of the Maya Poqomam people, dating back to 1773. These titles will be in the custody of the ancestral authorities in the indigenous mayor’s office and will be passed on to future generations.”

And María Guarchaj has tweeted: “Under the energies Wajxaqib’ Ajmaq ri tinamit xekikotik. In the Poqomam territory, Santa Cruz Chinautla, they carried out a historic act, handing over the titles to communal lands that had been dispossessed for many years. Through a map they show where the lands border.”

Colonization

The colonial period in Guatemalan history is customarily dated from 1524 to 1821.

The Minority Rights Group adds: “[The Spanish invasion in the 16th century resulted in] the dispossession of lands and the use of Mayans for forced labour on cocoa and indigo plantations. Mayan leaders today refer to the massacres of the 1980s [during the internal armed conflict] as the ‘third holocaust’, the other two being the Spanish conquest and its aftermath, and the land dispossession during the Liberal revolution of the nineteenth century [1871 to 1944].”

PBI-Guatemala has previously commented on Indigenous peoples in Guatemala being “subjected to continuous dispossession dating back to the Spanish conquest”, “the looting of natural wealth”, the “history of dispossession” and that the “State’s response to [Indigenous resistance] has been characterized by repression” and “genocide” and “increased criminalization”.

Peace Brigades International has also noted: “International declarations and mechanisms on indigenous rights enshrine the right to self-determination for indigenous peoples and recognise the importance of land rights for the original inhabitants of many countries now governed by the descendants of colonisers. These rights are often the focus of conflict as powerful interests wish to exploit the natural resources found within and beneath traditional territories. Defenders of land rights, culture and natural resources can find themselves facing powerful interests and brutal opposition.”

The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) notes: “Guatemala has a population of 14.9 million people, of which 6.5 million (43.75%) belong to the 22 Mayan [including Poqomam, Ch’ortí, Ixil, Q’eqchí], one Garífuna, one Xinca and one Creole or Afro-descendant peoples.”

PBI-Colombia accompanies CREDHOS in humanitarian search for missing persons in Sur de Bolivar

By
Brent Patterson
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CREDHOS has posted:

“The humanitarian search has an intrinsic value: solidarity. Many people accompany and support the search, feeling empathy for people living with uncertainty about the whereabouts of their loved one.

From there is fundamental for the community, in which the different actors in the territory contribute to the search for people reported missing.

Searching for missing persons is fundamental for PEACE.”

CREDHOS tells us:

“The search for missing persons is a challenge that requires the collaboration of all humanity. The union of family members, organizations, communities, institutions and all people is fundamental to build the path towards their location.

People searching for their missing loved ones have the right to be accompanied in this search, and the missing deserve to be found and reunited with their families.

CREDHOS is committed to continue accompanying the families in the search for the disappeared, in favor of the life and dignity of the inhabitants of the Magdalena Medio Region. We believe that this work is a fundamental principle for Peace and for this reason we will continue to cross rivers, swamps, mountains and rocky roads, searching, following the tracks, until we find them.”

The ICMP has highlighted: “According to the Search Unit for Missing Persons (UBPD), the agency established under the Havana Peace Accords to account for those who went missing between 1948 and 2016, 104,602 people had been reported missing and 89,702 were still missing as of March 2023.”

In its Final Report, published in June 2022, the Commission for Truth, Coexistence, and Non-Recurrence found that 121,768 people were victims of forced disappearances in the context of the armed conflict.

Statista has noted that 6,514 people were reported missing in 2021, up from 4,491 in 2020.

The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has accompanied the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS) since 1994.

PBI-Kenya expresses solidarity with Uyombo village brutalized by police for opposing a nuclear power plant

By
Brent Patterson
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PBI-Kenya has posted two short video clips along with this text: “We are in Kilifi County in solidarity with the residents of Uyombo village who were brutalized by @NPSOfficial_KE [National Police Service-Kenya] while fighting against the proposed building of a nuclear power plant in their village.”

On July 3, PBI-Kenya also posted: “We met survivors of police brutality from the anti-nuclear plant protest in Uyombo. They shared heartbreaking stories of how @NPSOfficial_KE metre’s violence against them as they sought to be heard. We urge the govt to heed their calls and @IPOA_KE [the Independent Policing Oversight Authority] to investigate the incident.”

And in a series of tweets posted on June 8, PBI-Kenya highlighted:

“The proposed nuclear power plant in Uyombo, Kilifi County has sparked significant concerns from many including @CJGEA [Center for Justice Governance and Environmental Action-Kenya] & @RepInitiative [Right Energy Partnership with Indigenous Peoples]. Uyombo, a small village, is seen as an ideal site due to its proximity to water and low population. But do the benefits outweigh the risks? Environmental activist and 2023 Right Livelihoods Award winner Phyllis Omido spoke to Al Jazeera. She brings up important points to consider… The proposed plant threatens the biodiversity of Uyombo, bordering the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and home to coral reefs, mangroves, and endangered species. The thermal pollution from the plant could severely disrupt these sensitive ecosystems. NuPEA [the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency] has not conducted adequate risk and health impact assessments for the proposed site. Without these assessments, the safety and well-being of the Uyombo community are at serious risk. Without a radioactive waste management policy, Kenya is unprepared to handle the long-term environmental and health risks posed by nuclear waste. This endangers not just Uyombo but the entire country. Past failures, like the Owino-Uhuru lead contamination, highlight the risks of proceeding without a clear framework to manage potential nuclear disasters. Kenya has not ratified the African Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty, increasing the risk of nuclear weaponry development. The by-products of nuclear reactors could potentially be used to create weapons, causing regional instability.”

Background

The Guardian has reported: “The proposals [for nuclear power plants in Kenya] have sparked fierce opposition in Kilifi. In a building by Mida Creek, a swampy bayou known for its birdlife and mangrove forests, more than a dozen conservation and rights groups meet regularly to discuss the proposed plant.”

The Guardian also notes: “Tensions between anti-nuclear activists and the government are growing. The UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, expressed concern [in this tweet] over police violence against people in Uyombo, a potential plant site, during a protest [on May 21]. Activists said their peaceful protest was met with excessive violence, beatings, arrests and intimidation.”

Right Livelihood further explains: “Police in Uyombo, Kenya, fired 137 live rounds and 70 tear gas canisters near a group of peaceful protestors and arrested two environmental defenders on Tuesday, May 21… Omido, who is at the forefront of efforts to stop the dangerous project and is currently abroad, fears arrest upon her return to Kenya.”

Their article adds: “Protests broke out on Tuesday after work began on the construction of the nuclear reactor. The day before, NuPEA officials installed a seismic station at a secondary school in the village without informing the community. When a woman questioned officials over the move, she was brutalised by police.”

Construction on the nuclear power plant in Uyombo is expected to start in 2027 with it due to be operational in 2034.

We continue to follow this situation.

Mexican megaproject implicated in 226 attacks against community defenders promoted in Spain, Germany, Belgium and the US

By
Brent Patterson
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Video: Margherita Forni of PBI-Mexico (in green vest) speaks (starting at 35:26) at the observation mission media conference, July 27, 2023.

On June 27, El Universal Oaxaca reported: “The Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT) project has been developed in Oaxaca through authoritarian methods that include cases of disappearance and forced displacement of indigenous communities, as well as a total of 226 attacks on community defenders including women and children, reveals the report of the Civilian International Observation Mission.”

The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project is one of the 23 organizations that took part in the Observation Mission of July 25-27, 2023.

Educa Oaxaca, that was also part of the Observation Mission, specifies: “From May 1, 2021, to May 1, 2024, a total of 72 attacks were recorded, in which at least 226 various attacks were perpetrated against defenders.”

Significantly, the Mexican State is linked to “94 occasions out of the 72 documented attacks, with a permanent and leading presence of the Army, Navy and National Guard in the indigenous territories of the Isthmus.”

Pagina 3 adds: “At a press conference [that was held on June 27, 2024], members of the Observation Mission said that 92% of the victims of human rights belong to an indigenous people. In this context, the Mixe (Ayuujk) and Zapotec (Binnizá) peoples faced a greater number of aggressions against them.”

Further reading: On May 14, 2024, a federal judge in Mexico revoked a 46+ year prison sentence against Indigenous Binnizá land defender David Hernández Salazar, an opponent of the Interoceanic Corridor.

Now, Avispa Midia reports that the Interoceanic Corridor megaproject was promoted by Mexican officials who visited Washington, DC in June 2024 and Germany, Belgium, Portugal and Spain in May 2024.

Avispa highlights: “In these places, working meetings were held with members of the European Union, the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the European Commission, as well as representatives of governments, industrial sectors and investment conglomerates.”

The article further notes: “Transnational corporations have also been targeted by the Mexican government’s actions. The Ministry of Economy reported that it initiated, since May 8, 2023, a round of actions to promote the corridor. At least 330 companies from 23 countries were hit by these actions, including Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States.”

Canadian connections to the megaproject

The Interoceanic Corridor is a megaproject that has been described by a proponent as including “two deep sea ports, railroads, highways, three airports (Minatitlán, Ixtepec and Huatulco), a gas pipeline and a fiber optic network.”

That pipeline appears to be the Jaltipan-Salina Cruz Gas Pipeline Expansion (Interoceanic Corridor Gas Pipeline). Calgary-based TC Energy is building the Puerta del Sureste/ Southeast Gateway pipeline that will connect to Jáltipan-Salina Cruz Gas Pipeline to transport gas across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to the proposed Salina Cruz LNG export terminal.

The Toronto-headquartered Royal Bank of Canada and other Canadian banks are financing the US company Sempra Energy that through its Mexican subsidiary Sempra Infraestructura -a partner of TC Energy- that will develop that LNG terminal in Salina Cruz that would export gas to Europe and Asia.

And the Calgary-based railway company CPKC (formerly the Canadian Pacific Railway) has been approached by the Mexican government to participate in the interoceanic megaproject. Mexican president Lopez Obrador met with CPKC executives on May 5, 2023, in Mexico City to incorporate the company into the Tehuantepec isthmus rail corridor between Oaxaca and Veracruz states, the Maya Train, and the Mexico City-Querétaro high-speed train.

We continue to follow the findings of the Observation Mission, the concerns about attacks against community defenders, and the role of Canada in this.

Committee for Solidarity with Political Prisoners raises concerns about UNDMO eviction in Barranquilla

By
Brent Patterson
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The Committee for Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP) has posted a series of tweets that begins with:

“ALERT #Now we denounce eviction in Altos de Pinar del Río #Barranquilla by @alcaldiabquilla [Mayor’s Office of Barranquilla] led by @SecGobiernoBaq [the District Secretariat of Government of Barranquilla] and @PoliciaBquilla [Barranquilla Metropolitan Police] (UNDMO and other law enforcement units). There are indiscriminate aggressions against elderly people and children.”

The CSPP adds:

“We met defenders from @DefenderLibertad and @comite_CSPP however we have not been able to continue to the site due to the confrontation. Gas has been thrown inside the houses and multiple gunshots have been heard.”

La Libertad reports:

“In a controversial action that has generated outrage in the community of Altos del Río, police personnel, accompanied by the Dialogue and Maintenance of Order Unit (UNDMO) and authorities of the District of Barranquilla, proceeded to evict homes using yellow machinery, without prior notice to residents.

According to testimonies of those affected, including women, children and the elderly, the eviction began without mediating with the community, causing an atmosphere of tension and fear. The community denounces that shots were fired during the operation and that several of its members, including women and men, were beaten by the uniformed officers.

“We are asking for the urgent presence of the Ombudsman’s Office to intervene and mediate in this situation,” said a resident who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. In addition, they request the intervention of delegates from the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF), due to the abuse suffered by minors and the elderly present during the eviction.

The eviction has left the community of Altos del Río in a state of vulnerability, with displaced families and uncertainty about their immediate future.

So far, local authorities have not issued an official statement about the incident or the allegations of police abuse.

It is expected that in the next few hours more details about this situation will be known and measures will be taken to protect the rights of those affected and ensure a fair and equitable resolution of the conflict.”

We will continue to follow this.

The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has accompanied the Committee for Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP) since 1998.

PBI-Honduras meets with Women’s Movement for Peace ‘Visitación Padilla’ to discuss Purple Alert Law on missing women

By
Brent Patterson
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PBI-Honduras has posted:

“We recently met with the Women’s Movement for Peace ‘Visitación Padilla’ (Las Chonas HN). They shared with us about the proposed ‘Purple Alert Law for Disappeared Women’, submitted to the National Congress for approval. This has been worked on by different feminist organizations, including Visitación Padilla, and seeks to prevent the disappearances of girls, adolescents and women in Honduras.

PBI is concerned about the levels of violence against women in the country. We highlight the efforts and commitment of feminist organizations and Honduran women in the search for a world free of violence for them.”

The organization PBI-Honduras met with is named after Visitación Padilla (1882-1960), who is described as “teacher, anti-imperialist and defender of women’s rights” who “denounced the invasion of U.S. Marines and founded the National Culture group, achieving in 1926 the establishment of Mother’s Day.”

The Spanish news agency EFE reports: “The Inter-Institutional Commission for Follow-up on Investigations of Violent Deaths of Women and Femicides in Honduras presented on Wednesday [July 3] a bill for the search for missing women, in a country where around 120 have disappeared this year.”

That article adds: “According to official figures, around 2,100 women disappeared between 2018 and 2023 in Honduras.”

It further explains: “The bill contemplates the creation of a Prosecutor’s Office for Disappeared Persons and a National System for the Search of Disappeared Women, which will be made up of authorities, community organizations, feminists and family members, she [Suyapa Martinez, director of the non-governmental Center for Women’s Studies/CDM] said.”

And Criterio.hn notes: “The Purple Alert Law provides for the creation of a National Commission for the Search for Disappeared Women, made up of women’s organizations and state institutions, as well as a Committee of Relatives of Disappeared Women.”

It adds: “Women’s and feminist organizations hope that the aforementioned law will be a crucial tool to prevent and eradicate gender violence, with special attention to femicides.”

Notably it also mentions: “[Eva Sánchez of the grassroots, feminist organization Las Hormigas], expressed her concern that the Lenca indigenous territory has been hit with the disappearance of people, mainly women and girls. She explained that, in the last two years, at least six cases have been reported, of which to date there is no information.”

We will continue to follow this.

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