indigenous groups
Wednesday 10.8.2022 Colombia - Latest Developments -
Colombia: human rights defenders and local leaders impacted by violence in rural areas
On 26th July 2022, the UN Human Rights Office published a report on the rising violence in rural areas of Colombia. According to the study, violence fell dramatically after the signing of the Peace Agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2016, but increased again as non-state armed groups and criminal organisations expanded their presence, particularly over the past two years. Read more
Monday 1.8.2022 Canada - Latest Developments -
Canada: The struggle for rights brings people to the streets
On 10th July 2022, hundreds of Sri Lankan Canadians gathered in Mississauga, Ontario to demand that the ruling Sri Lankan government step down. Protesters chanted “Gota, Go Home” in reference to Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his administration. Read more
Friday 29.7.2022 Argentina - Latest Developments -
Argentina: Journalists harassed and threatened
On 6th May 2022, three journalists working in Rosario, Santa Fe were threatened by a member of a criminal network linked to narcotrafficking. Lorena Verdún, widow of the former leader of the network Los Monos, wrote a letter accusing journalists of being responsible for deaths and corruption in the city. Read more
Thursday 21.7.2022 Paraguay - Latest Developments -
Paraguay: Violent evictions affect land rights defenders
On 15th June 2022, campesino farmers and police clashed in Edelira, Itapúa department in a violent confrontation that ended with the killing of campesino Édgar Emiliano Centurión Almirón. Read more
Friday 15.7.2022 Costa Rica - Latest Developments -
Costa Rica: armed attack on Indigenous defenders of Bajo Chirripó
A vehicle belonging to the Development Association of the Bajo Chirripó Cabécar territory was attacked with gunshots on 5th June 2022. The incident took place as Indigenous rights defenders left the Namaldi community in Matina, Limón province, after an event to celebrate World Environment Day. Read more | Read in Spanish
Thursday 14.7.2022 Guatemala - Latest Developments -
Reappointment of Attorney General signals difficult times for civil society and the press in Guatemala
On 16th May 2022, President Alejandro Giammattei announced the reappointment of Attorney General Consuelo Porras to another four years in office. Since taking office in 2018, Porras has been criticised by civil society organisations for dismantling anti-corruption efforts and abusing her powers by persecuting people who contributed to these efforts. Read more | Read in Spanish
Wednesday 13.7.2022 Brazil - Latest Developments -
Brazil: Anger at government inaction after Indigenous advocate and international correspondent are killed in the Amazon
After a ten-day search, the bodies of Indigenous advocate Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips were found in the Itaquaí river, in a remote part of the Amazon rainforest near Brazil’s border with Peru. Pereira and Phillips went missing on 5th June 2022 as they returned from a reporting trip in the region where they were documenting Indigenous rights defenders’ efforts to monitor predatory criminal activities such as illegal fishing and logging. Read more
Wednesday 29.6.2022 Ecuador - Latest Developments -
Ecuador: another crackdown on Indigenous-led protests
Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Ecuador since 13th June 2022, when the Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas de Ecuador (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador – CONAIE) and other Indigenous organisations convened a national strike against the government’s economic and social policies. Read more | Read in Spanish
Thursday 23.6.2022 Canada - Latest Developments -
Canada: use of emergency powers to disperse protests under scrutiny
In April 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that an independent public inquiry would be held into the government’s use of emergency powers in February 2022 to disperse anti-vaccine trucker protests and border blockades. Read more
Monday 20.6.2022 Peru - Latest Developments -
Peru: serious decline in freedom of expression and the press
The mayor of Chiclayo and president of the Association of Peruvian Municipalities (AMPE) used notarised letters to intimidate the newspaper Correo in Lambayeque, demanding that they rectify reports linking him to corruption and public administration irregularities. Read more
