[ad_1]
This week the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights is having its 186th Period of Sessions at UCLA. This post is made up of highlights of each of the hearings from Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
Right to information of family members of victims of forced disappearance in the region
Participants: Fundación Hasta Encontrarlos (Colombia), Asociación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos ASFADDES (Colombia), Fundación Nydia Erika Bautista (Colombia), Asociación Pro Búsqueda de niñas y niños desaparecidos (El Salvador), Asociación Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos de Guatemala (FAMDEGUA), Regional Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
By Aizzah Adil
Contributed by Aine Lawlor, Cat Washington & Samantha Navarrete
This morning, the IACHR heard the concerns of those seeking information about the forced disappearance of their loved ones. Speakers from El Salvador, Guatemala and Colombia explained that information about forced disappearances exists but is inaccessible to the public and to family members of those who disappeared. Some women and girls who disappeared also suffered from gender-based violence. Representatives addressed the fact that the lack of information from States had resulted in women searching for their loved ones and safety concerns were raised in relation to these women. The Regional Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights supported the speakers in their demand for transparency and asked that States have better mechanisms to preserve archives and provide information to those with “a legitimate interest.” The IACHR wished to assist the representatives and condemned States that did not disclose information for “security concerns.” The Court was also not persuaded by their claims that they have no records of these victims.
Human Rights of the indigenous Taino and Maroon peoples in Jamaica
Participants: Maroon Indigenous Women’s Circle, Yamaye Council of Indigenous Leaders, State of Jamaica
By Erin Rubin
During this session, Taino and Maroon representatives from Jamaica asked the IACHR to petition Jamaica to recognize them as Indigenous peoples. Representatives described themselves as the descendants of one of the oldest civilizations in the region and of the Caribbean’s first freedom fighters, after the Taino revolts in 1511 and 1520. The Ambassador at Large from the Garifuna people in Belize noted that Indigenous issues affect not only Jamaica but peoples across the Caribbean, and that therefore they stand in solidarity with the Taino and Maroon peoples in their requests. Taino and Maroon Representatives described the harms inflicted by their lack of recognition, including criminalization of their traditional practices, inability to protect their land from individual grants and mining concessions, and negative health impacts; Kasike the Taino Chief of the Humming bird people related how Taino women are sometimes forced to have C-sections and give their children formula in opposition to traditional birthing practices. (These negative impacts are common among Indigenous peoples across the globe.) The Government of Jamaica noted that their request for postponement due to a pending court case had been denied, and asked to respond in writing at a later date; the pending case did not involve any of the Indigenous people present at the forum. The Government explained that Chapter 3 of Jamaica’s Constitution protects rights such as religion, political expression, and the right to a healthy environment, but as one of the Commissioners noted, the Constitution protects individual rights; Taino, Maroon, and other Indigenous peoples seek to assert collective rights as described by the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The Indigenous representatives cited frequently to UNDRIP and their wish to invoke its rights to collective land rights, cultural practices, and free, prior, and informed consent to all policies affecting the people and their land, and noted that they wished to be recognized not as a culture, but as a people with collective political rights and protections.
Case 11.888 – Alfredo Acero Aranda and others (Red de la Armada) vs. Colombia
Participants: Corporación Colectivo de Abogados, Comisión Colombiana de Juristas, Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo (CAJAR), State of Colombia
By Braden Schumitzky
Contributed by Santiago Puente
Hearing 5 today centered on the contentious case of Alfredo Acero Aranda and others (Red de la Armada) v. Colombia. The petitioners, representing victims of human rights violations in the city of Barrancabermeja, sought not only a judgment against Colombia, but also reparations for the families of the victims. Between 1991 and 1993, the Colombian Military developed intelligence groups (“redes de inteligencia”) that hired hit-men to intimidate and assassinate leaders of civil society groups whom the military associated with insurgent movements. Petitioners have faced several roadblocks in seeking justice—the use of military tribunals, for example, has provided military personnel with impunity. Moreover, threats have been directed at witnesses and lawyers for the petitioners, and intelligence files related to the killings still remain classified.
Situation of human mobility from an ethnic-racial approach
Participants: Promise Institute for Human Rights of UCLA School of Law, RacismoMX, Center for Immigration Law and Policy of UCLA School of Law, Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), Comunidades Indígenas en Liderazgo (CIELO), Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC), Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS), National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIPNLG), Observatorio de Racismo en México y Centroamérica
By Lisa Lim
Contributed by Camila Soto, Lydia Zicker & Sidonie Gruenberg
Today, at a groundbreaking hearing advocates and allies exposed how structural racism is harming black, brown, and indigenous migrants in the Americas. Advocates and migrants shared data findings and first-hand accounts of the harmful entanglement of race and migration throughout the Americas. The first-hand accounts of black immigrants included heart-wrenching accounts of beatings, rape, torture, detention, killings, and the denial of medical care. Further accounts were used to demonstrate how the US border laws are rooted in racism. The Commission was thankful to civil society, noting they made a compelling case of anti-black sentiment in migration and how all migrants face racism in the country of destination as well as in the transitory countries, and stressed that such first-hand accounts are important for the work that the Commission does.
[ad_2]
