Schlagwort: Amnesty International

A nine-month-old baby dies at the border of Bolivia and Chile along with two adults. A child and a teenager are shot dead in Colombia. Women and children living on the streets are attacked and their belongings burned in northern Chile. They are all Venezuelan people in situations of extreme vulnerability, whom governments in the Americas have not wanted, or known how, to protect.

Newspaper headlines around the world have captured in painful detail the massive human rights violations that are taking place in Venezuela. However, the tragedies endured by those fleeing these horrors have generated less visibility and less condemnation. The most recent cases are only examples, but the challenges extend to the militarisation of borders in Peru, shipwrecks and forced returns from Trinidad and Tobago, and separation of families in Curaçao, among others. This is a trend that the region must urgently stop and reverse.

Nearly six million people have fled Venezuela since 2015, equivalent to 20% of the country’s population. In other words, one in five people have left their homes behind. It is as if the entire population of Denmark or Singapore, for example, had fled their country in search of protection. It is an extremely painful reality: millions of people who, having suffered so much in their own country, see no other way out than to leave their home, in the hope that other countries will offer them international protection.

When we talk about international protection, or refugee status, most people conjure up images of armed conflicts far from our borders. But two clarifications should be made. The first is that, in much of our region, and in particular in countries that host Venezuelans, there is a definition of a refugee that recognises as such those fleeing not only persecution and armed conflict, but also massive human rights violations. The second is that international protection implies, in its most basic essence, assistance and reception. That means protecting the human rights of those who have had no choice but to leave or cannot return home. This is without prejudice to other inescapable obligations of receiving states, such as the universal prohibition on returning a person to a territory where there is a real risk of serious human rights violations.

In Venezuela it is more than proven that massive human rights violations are committed. Therefore, Venezuelan people outside their country require international protection, no matter what. Why, then, does a nine-month-old baby die in Bolivia? Why does a group of highly vulnerable refugees watch in terror as their few precarious belongings are burned? Why are a 12-year-old boy and an 18-year-old boy shot dead?

The failure of states to protect those fleeing human rights violations in Venezuela is palpable. One telling statistic is the lack of funding to address the rights and needs of Venezuelan people. On average, Venezuelan refugees receive 265 US dollars per person in donations from the international community, while those from Syria receive 3,150 US dollars in assistance. Needless to say, no one life is worth more than another, just that states need to act accordingly.

The lack of official recognition of refugee status for Venezuelans and the lack of adequate funding to assist them are not unrelated facts. It is a multidimensional denial of the nature, scale and response to the world’s second largest human mobility crisis. If the need for international protection is not recognised, how will further abuses and tragedies like those we have seen in Chile, Colombia, Bolivia, among others, be prevented? And if these people are not recognised as refugees, how can the requirements of a response plan to such a refugee crisis be funded?

Governments in the Americas, and in other regions, cannot forsake their obligations under international human rights and refugee law. They must do the right thing: recognise Venezuelans as refugees in order to address their rights in an urgent and differentiated manner, and consequently request and receive the necessary funding to do so.

Clara del Campo is a campaigner for South America at Amnesty International

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• Women raped at gunpoint, robbed and assaulted
• Lack of medical care after TPLF fighters damaged and looted hospital
• Abuses committed as Tigray conflict has spilled over into Amhara region

Sixteen women from the town of Nifas Mewcha in Ethiopia’s Amhara region told Amnesty International they were raped by fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) during the group’s attack on the town in mid-August 2021.

Survivors described being raped at gunpoint, robbed, and subjected to physical and verbal assaults by TPLF fighters, who also destroyed and looted medical facilities in the town. Fourteen of the 16 women Amnesty International interviewed said they were gang raped.

The TPLF took control of Nifas Mewcha, in Amhara’s Gaint District, for nine days between 12 and 21 August 2021, as part of an ongoing offensive into parts of the Amhara and Afar regions. Regional government officials told Amnesty International that more than 70 women reported to authorities that they were raped in Nifas Mewcha during this period.

The testimonies we heard from survivors describe despicable acts by TPLF fighters that amount to war crimes, and potentially crimes against humanity. They defy morality or any iota of humanity.

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

“The testimonies we heard from survivors describe despicable acts by TPLF fighters that amount to war crimes, and potentially crimes against humanity. They defy morality or any iota of humanity,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“TPLF fighters must immediately stop all human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, including sexual and gender-based violence. The leadership must make clear that such abuses will not be tolerated and remove suspected perpetrators from their ranks.”

Gang rape and physical assaults

Amnesty International used secure video call applications to individually interview 16 survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Nifas Mewcha.

The organization also interviewed the head of Nifas Mewcha hospital, as well as local and regional government officials with knowledge of the assault and its aftermath.

According to a local government desk officer for Women, Children and Youth Affairs, 71 women reported that they were raped by TPLF fighters during the period in question; the Federal Ministry of Justice puts the number at 73.

Survivors told Amnesty International that the attacks began as soon as the TPLF took control of the town on 12 August 2021. The women all identified the perpetrators as TPLF fighters based on their accents and the ethnic slurs they used against victims, as well as their overt announcements that they were TPLF.

Bemnet, a 45-year-old Nifas Mewcha resident, told Amnesty International that four TPLF fighters came to her house on the evening of 14 August and demanded she make them coffee, before three of them gang raped her. She said:

“I suspected their intentions, and I sent away my daughters to stay away from the house. [The soldiers] told me to bring them home. I told them they won’t come. Then they started to insult me. They were saying ‘Amhara is donkey’, ‘Amhara is useless’. One of them told the others to stop insulting me. He said, ‘she is our mother; we don’t have to harm her’. They forced him to leave the house and three of them stayed back at my home. Then they raped me in turns.”

Gebeyanesh, a 30-year-old food seller in the town, told Amnesty International: 

“It is not easy to tell you what they did to me. They raped me. Three of them raped me while my children were crying. My elder son is 10 and the other is nine years, they were crying when [the TPLF fighters] raped me. [The fighters] did whatever they wanted and left. They also assaulted me physically and took shiro and berbere [local food items]. They slapped me [and] kicked me. They were cocking their guns as if they are going to shoot me.”

Hamelmal, 28, sells enjera in the town. She told Amnesty International that four TPLF fighters raped her during the night of 13 August at her home, while her daughter watched: 

“I have children, 10- and two-year-old girls. I was scared they might kill my daughter. I said, ‘don’t kill my children, do whatever you want to me.’ The youngest was asleep, but the older [one] was awake and saw what happened. I don’t have the strength to tell you what she saw.”

They were saying ‘Amhara is donkey’, ‘Amhara is useless’. One of them told the others to stop insulting me. He said, ‘she is our mother; we don’t have to harm her’. They forced him to leave the house and three of them stayed back at my home. Then they raped me in turns

Bemnet, a 45-year-old Nifas Mewcha resident

Dehumanizing verbal assaults

TPLF fighters also subjected the women to degrading ethnic slurs, such as ‘donkey Amhara’, and ‘greedy Amhara’. In some cases, the TPLF forces told women they were raping them in revenge for the rape of Tigrayan women by Federal government forces. Amnesty International previously documented widespread rape and sexual violence by government-allied troops and militias in Tigray

Hamelmal, who said she was raped by four TPLF fighters, told Amnesty International:

“The one who raped me first is their superior. He was saying ‘Amhara is a donkey, Amhara has massacred our people (Tigrayans), the Federal Defense forces have raped my wife, now we can rape you as we want’.”

Meskerem, age 30, who told Amnesty International that three TPLF fighters raped her and beat her with the butts of their guns, said:

“They were insulting me, calling me ‘donkey Amhara, you are strong, you can carry much more than this’. I was unconscious for more than an hour.”

Stealing from rape victims

Amnesty International heard that, after raping the women, TPLF fighters then looted their homes. Survivors, many of whom live hand-to-mouth by working in low-paid and informal jobs, running small businesses or engaging in sex work, described fighters stealing food, jewelry, cash and mobile phones.

Meskerem, who sells kollo [a local cereal-based food], told Amnesty International that: “Four of the soldiers came to my restaurant and they ate and drank whatever was in the house. Then two of them raped me. They also took my ring and necklace.” 

Frehiwot said she was gang raped several times by TPLF fighters between 12 and 20 August, and that one fighter stole her phone and cash. 

Tigist said the TPLF fighters who raped her on 12 August also destroyed her shop items and took her jewelry:

“They took my property. After they drank the beer, they broke the beer bottles in four caskets. They also broke the two caskets of soft drink and took my gold necklace. They also took my beddings. Now I am not able to [run] my business as before since I lost all I had. I am only selling coffee… I am also a sex worker. But it has become difficult for me to trust anyone after what they did to me.”

Health impact

Fifteen of the 16 rape survivors Amnesty International interviewed described suffering physical and mental health problems as a result of the attacks. They described a variety of symptoms including back pain, bloody urine, difficulty walking, anxiety and depression.

While two of the women have sought basic private medical treatment since the rape, damage and looting to the town’s hospital and health station by the TPLF attack has meant that none of the survivors interviewed has been able to access comprehensive post-rape care, including emergency contraception, post emergency prophylaxis for HIV and sexually transmitted infections, assessment and treatment of injuries, or focused therapy for mental health care. An NGO that normally provides such services told Amnesty International that it cannot access the area due to security concerns prompted by the government’s hostile public statements about international humanitarian organizations.

Bemnet, who has a pre-existing medical condition as well as back pain and other symptoms as a result of the rape, said: “I am just relying on God to save me.”

Selamawit, a 20-year-old domestic worker, told Amnesty International that three TPLF fighters raped her on 12 August. She said she is now pregnant due to the rape, but wasn’t able to access any medical services.

Many of the survivors told Amnesty International that they have developed anxiety and depression since the rape.

Amhara regional government officials told Amnesty International that Nifas Mewcha residents, including 54 rape survivors, had received livelihood support since the attack. They also said they are preparing to restock medical equipment and other supplies to looted hospitals and facilities in the region, and to provide counselling and psychosocial services for the survivors.

The Ethiopian government must speed up efforts to fully support the survivors of sexual violence and the conflict’s other victims. As an urgent first step, it must facilitate immediate and unhindered humanitarian access to all areas of northern Ethiopia impacted by the conflict.

Agnès Callamard

“The Ethiopian government must speed up efforts to fully support the survivors of sexual violence and the conflict’s other victims. As an urgent first step, it must facilitate immediate and unhindered humanitarian access to all areas of northern Ethiopia impacted by the conflict,” said Agnès Callamard.

“The government must also ensure allegations of all sexual violence are promptly, effectively, independently and impartially investigated. They must bring those suspected of criminal responsibility to justice in open, accessible civilian courts in full compliance with international standards for fair trial without recourse to the death penalty and reparations for the survivors.”

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Reacting to the news that LGBT-Network, a prominent Russian group defending the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, and five human rights lawyers from Komanda 29 have been added by the Ministry of Justice to its list of “foreign agents”, Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Moscow Office Director, said:

“Beyond shameful, the justice ministry’s decision reveals that committed, principled lawyers defending the rights of people targeted in politically motivated cases and frontline LGBTI rights defenders are unwelcome and “foreign” in Putin’s Russia.

Beyond shameful, the justice ministry’s decision reveals that committed, principled lawyers defending the rights of people targeted in politically motivated cases and frontline LGBTI rights defenders are unwelcome and “foreign” in Putin’s Russia

Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Moscow Office Director

“LGBT-Network has exposed heinous crimes against gay men in Chechnya and helped evacuate people at risk to safety where they can speak about these atrocities. Now LGBT-Network is, itself, a victim of the persecution that is being increasingly targeted at all human rights defenders – openly, viciously and cynically.

“The authorities cite the need to protect “national interests” and resist “foreign influence” in their incessant destruction of Russia’s civil society. But what’s really in the national interest is to protect, uphold and respect all human rights for everyone. These reprisals against human rights defenders and civil society organizations must stop, and the ‘foreign agents’ and ‘undesirable organizations’ laws must be repealed immediately.”

Background

Late on 8 November, the Russian Ministry of Justice included the LGBT-Network and five lawyers from the recently dissolved human rights group, Komanda 29 (Team 29), including its founder Ivan Pavlov, a prominent lawyer, on the list of “foreign agents.” Ivan Pavlov and his colleagues have courageously provided help to civil society and political activists and groups that have been targeted by the authorities, including Aleksei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation.

The Russian LGBT-Network played a crucial role in the exposure of a brutal “anti-gay” campaign in Chechnya during which dozens of men were abducted, tortured and several believed to have been killed for their real or perceived sexual orientation. The group also provided shelter for victims of homophobic attacks from Chechnya and elsewhere around the country, and helped with their relocation to safer locations within and outside Russia.

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The prospect of Daniel Ortega’s fourth presidential term in Nicaragua is a frightening one for a nation where human rights violations have become increasingly commonplace under his government, Amnesty International said today. 

“Once again, the people of Nicaragua find themselves in a situation where voicing criticism of the government puts them at grave risk. In the last few years, we’ve witnessed first-hand the plot of a horror thriller developing in the country, where deadly police repression, wrongful imprisonment, ill-treatment, harassment and criminalization of human rights defenders and journalists are common practices, all of them endorsed by a judiciary without independence and a National Assembly that exists only to rubberstamp Daniel Ortega’s repressive agenda,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International. 

Nicaragua’s Electoral Supreme Council announced the preliminary results of Sunday’s general election today, under which Ortega would be re-elected. His new term will begin in January 2022. The elections were marked by arbitrary arrests of activists and journalists, among other acts of harassment, coercion and political violence. Press freedom has also been in the government’s crosshairs, and the media have denounced restrictions and obstacles that have made it impossible for them to carry out their work.   

Several Nicaraguan civil society organizations and movements called for a citizen’s electoral strike in the country and protests in other countries. The media reported low voter turnout, and Nicaraguans mobilized in several cities around the world denouncing the serious human rights crisis and the impossibility of exercising political rights in Nicaragua. 

Once again, the people of Nicaragua find themselves in a situation where voicing criticism of the government puts them at grave risk

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Urnas Abiertas, a citizens’ electoral observatory, registered more than 200 acts of political violence and acts of electoral coercion on election day, including the presence of parapolice forces in the vicinity of the voting stations, as well as intimidation and coercion of state workers to force them to vote.  The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also reported having received information on possible human rights violations.  

“Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo’s renewed mandate as president and vice president augurs the perpetuation of the structures behind the repressive strategy against critical voices and guaranteed impunity for crimes under international law. Moreover, this new period portends the continued forced migration of those who are criminalized for speaking out,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.  

“The international community must do more than standing by as brave Nicaraguans continue to fight for their dwindling human rights. During the OAS General Assembly, which takes place this week, member states must collectively assume without delay their shared responsibility for protecting the human rights of people in Nicaragua and put pressure on the Ortega government as a first step in this post-election context. These multilateral forums must do all they can to stop the structures of repression and impunity in Nicaragua from remaining untouchable.”  

Since 2018, Amnesty International has documented human rights violations including violent and lethal repression against demonstrators and harassment and criminalization  of social activists, human rights defenders lawyers and journalists. The government-controlled National Assembly also passed several laws that severely diminished the civil space and put human rights at risk.  

Since the end of May, 39 people identified as opponents of the government, including seven presidential candidates, were unfairly arrested. Some of them were forcibly disappeared for a period of time and held in secret for months before being allowed contact with a lawyer or their relatives.  

For more information or to organize an interview, please contact Duncan Tucker: duncan.tucker@amnesty.org 

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