Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International Director for the Americas: The region is the most violent and unequal in the world; the protection of DD. H H. should not be optional for governments

Latin America faces various crises regarding DD. HH., And with the COVID-19 pandemic, countries came to impose measures to contain contagions; many of these involved the excessive use of force, violating rights, says Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International. He mentions that, in parallel, many governments in the region have been limiting the democratic space for participation with generalized attacks against human rights organizations and defenders through laws or decrees.

What is the human rights situation in Latin America? It is known that there is a lot of risk for defenders, violence and impunity …

If we take stock of just this 2021, unfortunately we see a region that is going through various crises in terms of DD. HH., A region that has felt the onslaught of aggression, precisely at the hands of its own governments. I think it is important to contextualize that we continue to face as a region, and as a world, an unprecedented pandemic, of which our continent has been the most affected (…). The impact of the pandemic has not only been felt by the number of infections and fatalities, but has also exacerbated many challenges regarding the rights of historically marginalized groups. The region is the most violent in the world, the most unequal as well, where the concentration of wealth (…) has had a devastating impact on the fundamental exercise of rights for the great majority; inequality, exclusion continue to grow and also the inability of our own states to reverse it. We have the very serious problem of violence and the very serious problem of militarization as the response of the States to social demands and claims.

Speaking of the pandemic, citizen control measures have received criticism, from various sectors, for being considered to violate human rights. This is correct?

We have seen that, since the beginning of the pandemic, States have tried to impose measures to slow down infections; However, many of these, which in many cases meant the excessive use of force with the security forces as an instrument (…), have ended up revealing that, unfortunately, our States resort to this with great ease, with restrictions That not only had no effect, as we can see in the numbers, but also generated parallel human rights crises, people arbitrarily detained, forced quarantined, exposed to the virus, among other things.

But, in addition, many of these measures, such as the limitations of mobilization or forced confinement, exposed how political leaders seem to be ruling other countries, where they do not understand the reality by confining people where the informal economy is the basis of sustenance for millions of people and families.

Also confinement measures that have not had the differentiating effect to protect the rights of population groups that were already vulnerable, such as women and girls. The lockdowns are known to intensify gender-based violence. The same happens with migrants and refugees who have been trapped at borders, without being able to access international protection, in a region where we are facing one of the worst mobility crises, with people from Venezuela, Haiti or other countries.

What are the violations of DD. H H. common in the region?

Despite the pandemic and all the restrictions, we continue to see what in recent years has characterized our region: the large protest movements, of people taking to the streets demanding accountability from their States (… ). Unfortunately they are faced with state violence (…); We saw it this year in Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and in many countries, where people are taking to the streets as a last resort to enter into a kind of dialogue with their governments.

This use of force has become recurrent and even lethal, as in Colombia, where 43 people died at the hands of the security forces and thousands were injured. We are seeing an advance by many governments to limit the democratic space for participation with generalized attacks against DD organizations. H H. and defenders, through laws, decrees (…). We have seen it recently in El Salvador, where the government has established a confrontational attack against independent journalism and human rights organizations. H H.; We saw it in Nicaragua, in the context of the highly questioned electoral process, where not only the presidential candidates were imprisoned, but also the Government continued to deepen a policy of repression against all forms of criticism.

Is there any kind of special concern for any country or for several on the subject of DD. H H.?

Unfortunately, our region is not a region that makes headlines in the international media or the international community through different entities, including the United Nations. There are few occasions where we see global, joint pronouncements about concern for some of the countries of our continent, and this is due to the false narrative of some years ago that there was progress in the face of a huge setback that we are experiencing.

For Amnesty International, it is complex to compare, because all violations are of the same seriousness and seriousness; but there are undoubtedly some very specific alerts, especially due to the regional impact. Central America has been one of them for many years. The crisis of people who move outside their countries, seeking protection through Mexico and the United States, has been a focus of alert for years and is linked to the inability of States to provide protection.

There are other sources of very high concern linked to countries, such as Venezuela, where a few weeks ago the International Criminal Court began a formal investigation, the first in the continent, for crimes against humanity, which shows, on the one hand, the seriousness of the crime. situation that we face in the region, and on the other hand, the possibility and opportunities that we have to continue advancing in the DD agenda. H H.

We are also concerned about the violence against our indigenous peoples, the territorial dispossession in countries, such as Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia, where the peoples continue to be subjected to racist public policies that violate their human rights.

And speaking specifically of Ecuador, how is the country doing in terms of human rights?

Ecuador is one of those countries that makes little headlines. Unfortunately, in recent years there have been more eyes in Ecuador due to the repression of the protests in the government of President Lenín Moreno, with the economic structural changes that have been made and which still have not resolved the great challenges of the majorities living in a situation of poverty (…). This year we also saw with concern how protests arose in the first round of elections in the face of questioning the electoral process itself, and that is a sign of how citizens are beginning to lose trust in State institutions (…).

Another issue of great concern has been the situation of persons deprived of liberty (PPL). Ecuador is one of the countries where more PLPs have been killed in confrontations between rival gangs or with authorities, and this shows how the abandonment of prisons, overcrowding, neglect and the failure of State institutions to have a social rehabilitation approach (…), without there being alternatives to address the social problems that lead people to become involved in acts of crime.

Is it correct to say that human rights are not a priority for the governments of the region? And if this is so, from where should work be done so that the deterioration does not deepen?

If this is correct, the protection of human rights should not be optional for governments. It is the responsibility of the States to guarantee a dignified life to the people, but unfortunately we have seen that our political leaders bet on division, polarization and force to impose their political and economic power in many cases, and that DD. H H. Not only have they not become a priority, but they have become the opposite discourse to impose themselves in power (…), such as anti-rightist, xenophobic discourse against migrants, or racist against historically marginalized population groups. I believe that it is necessary to do a work of the society as a whole, not only of education, but of information about what rights mean, and a work of demand of accountability of the States themselves.

Progress in the region on some issues, such as equal marriage or the decriminalization of abortion, can they be considered as something positive in terms of rights amid the deterioration that exists?

Yes, let’s say in the adverse context. We are talking about the enormous challenges, how difficult it has been in recent years and particularly in the context of the pandemic to exercise rights, which I would dare say in all the countries of the continent. However, the strength, the resilience of millions of people who make up massive protest movements, especially young people, women, activists, show the great potential for social transformation, because much of the progress at the legislative and political level recognition of rights are thanks to these protest movements that put pressure on the streets and raise their voices so that their authorities do the right thing. (O)