Americas

In Colombia 30 trade unionists were assassinated in the first three months of 2006. Human rights defenders campaigning for full accountabilty for past human rights abuses continued to be harassed and receive death threats.

• Murders of human rights defenders have been recorded in Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.
• Forced Disappearances have been recorded in Colombia and Guatemala,
• Torture in Colombia and Mexico
• and attacks and death threats in Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Slavador, Haiti and Honduras .

This climate of impunity is almost totally unchallenged. Even where laws have been introduced apparently to protect human rights defenders these are often superficial in nature or are poorly implemented.

Women's rights activists campaigning for equality and a more equal share of resources are intimidated and attacked. Human rights defenders are particularly at risk in the context of Colombia's undeclared civil war Environmental activists and members of indigenous communities are often the object of violent attacks. The gap between the theory of protection for human rights defenders in law and the reality remains stark. Despite the decision by the supreme court in Argentina to recognise the association of transgender and transsexual people, throughout the region defenders acting on behalf of sexual minorities remain at risk particularly in Honduras, El Salvador and Jamaica.

Since the elections in Haiti there has been a major upsurge in killings and kidnappings. Those human rights defenders who have spoken out against this violence have themselves become targets. Two prominent human rights defenders have been killed. When the government proposed to introduce the death penalty as part of new anti kidnapping legislation those defenders who opposed it received death threats.

In Jamaica and other carribean countries gay and lesbian human rights defenders have had to go into hiding because of increased levels of attacks and intimidation.

A recent trend has been the use of the judicial sytem to harrass human rights defenders either through prosecutions based on politically motivated and false evidence or through the introduction of new laws designed to limit freedom of expression and association - most recently in Peru and Venezuela. In Brazil several human rights defenders have been prosecuted on false charges because of their campaign for an investigation into allegations of abuse of children in state care.

In Cuba the government has severely restricted the right to freedom of expression and association, some human rights defenders have been arbitrarily detained while others have have been attacked by quasi official groups working with members of the security forces.

In the last two years some human rights defenders in the United States have become increasingly vulnerable to repressive consequences as a result of their human rights work. Whilst most people working for human rights in the USA can do so freely and safely those most at risk were those working for the most vulnerable groups and those working to challenge entrenched economic and social power. Some human rights defenders have faced harassment, intimidation, spurious legal actions and loss of earnings as well as death threats, arrest and detention.

In Argentina human rights defenders who have campaigned for investigations to past disappearances and incidents of torture have received death threats. In Colombia human rights defenders are labelled by the government as being sympathetic to the “guerilla” which encourages and reflects a mindset which sees them as legitimate targets.

Since the 2006 elections in Haiti there has been a huge increase in the numbers of killings and kidnappings. Human rights defenders who speak out against this surge in criminality have themselves become targets.

One trend of particular concern in Honduras is the recent decision to allow private security agents to take part in police investigations. As many of these agents have themselves been involved in committing past human rights abuses they are particularly hostile to human rights defenders campaigning into invrestigation into those same abuses.

In Chile leaders of the Mapuche community have been specifically prevented from benefiting from amendments to the anti-terrorist legislation which would have led to their release from prison. In Mexico while the removal of Act 214 from the criminal code which allowed for prosecution on the basis of defamation is a positive step, human rights defenders have continued to receive threats and political leaders have equated working as a human rights defender with supporting the “guerrilla”.