Schlagwort: Amnesty International

Amnesty International, Peace Brigades International and Front Line Defenders will be closely monitoring the sentencing this week of Indigenous land defenders who have been criminalized by Canada for protecting unceded Wet’suwet’en Territory against the construction of a fossil-fuel pipeline. 

A delegation of representatives from Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section, the organization’s Americas Regional Office, and the Canadian office of Peace Brigades International (PBI-Canada) will attend the hearings in Smithers, British Columbia in person. Front Line Defenders (FLD), an international human rights organization that protects human rights defenders at risk, will monitor the proceedings from abroad. 

Starting on 15 October, a British Columbia judge will preside over the three-day sentencing hearing for Sleydo’ (Molly Wickham), a Wing Chief (Cas Yikh, or Grizzly Bear House) of the Gidimt’en Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, Shaylynn Sampson, a Gitxsan with Wet’suwet’en family connections, and Corey “Jayohcee” Jocko, a Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) from Akwesasne.

The defenders were arrested in November 2021 during a heavily militarized Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) raid on Wet’suwet’en Territory. Sleydo’, Sampson and Jocko were charged with, and later convicted of, defying a controversial B.C. court order forbidding land defence actions near the construction of the Coastal GasLink (CGL) liquefied natural gas pipeline. 

Amnesty International’s research has concluded that the injunction order unduly restricts the human rights of the land defenders and the Indigenous rights of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. By extension, the arrests and prosecution of the land defenders represent a serious violation of their rights. 

“We are proud to return to Smithers – on the unceded traditional territory of the Wet’suweten Nation – to express our solidarity with Sleydo’, Shaylynn Sampson and Corey Jocko, who have been unfairly criminalized by Canada for exercising their rights,” said Erin Riley-Oettl, Manager of Human Rights Law, Campaigns and Advocacy for Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section. “Amnesty International will not hesitate to designate these courageous defenders as prisoners of conscience if they are sentenced to jail or house arrest.”

“We are deeply concerned by the criminalization of these land and environmental defenders who were upholding ‘Anuk niwh’iten (Wet’suwet’en law) and protecting unceded territory from a destructive extractivist megaproject,” said Brent Patterson, the coordinator of PBI-Canada. “The surveillance, harassment, intimidation and offensive remarks made against them by the RCMP is disturbing. This must end. Any sentencing involving either jail time or house arrest would be unjust and unwarranted.” 

“The case of the Wet’suwet’en land defenders adds to an alarming pattern of criminalisation of Indigenous defenders in the Americas and sets a dangerous precedent for land defence in Canada,” said Sandra Patargo, Protection Coordinator for North America, Central America and the Caribbean at Front Line Defenders. “Ensuring protection and justice for defenders of Wet’suwet’en land is an obligation of the Canadian government and an international responsibility in a context where Indigenous defenders are leading the global struggle for the defence of Indigenous rights and the environment. Front Line Defenders will continue to accompany Sleydo’, Shaylynn Sampson and Corey Jocko until they can continue to defend their territory in freedom.”

Compounding violations of Indigenous rights

Construction of the 670-kilometre CGL pipeline project through Wet’suwet’en territory proceeded without the free, prior and informed consent of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs, whom the Supreme Court of Canada has recognized as the ancestral authority of the Nation. (According to the Supreme Court’s Delgamuukw decision (1997), their rights and title were never extinguished.) This represents a violation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Rights (UNDRIP), which holds that major infrastructure or resource-extraction projects must not go ahead unless they have received the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous Nations whose territories are affected by the development. Canada has endorsed UNDRIP and, in 2021, adopted it into federal law.

Moreover, rights violations continue to compound as Canada, B.C. and the international business consortium behind the CGL pipeline advance Phase II of the project. Aimed at doubling the output of the LNG export facility in Kitimat, B.C., Phase II would see seven new compressor stations built along the CGL pipeline route, including two on Wet’suwet’en Territory – again without the free, prior and informed consent of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.  

“Convicting Sleydo’, Shaylynn, and Corey for upholding Wet’suwet’en law and defending our territory is outrageous,” said Chief Na’Moks, of the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s Tsayu Clan. “With Canada and B.C. attacking Indigenous people for exercising their rights, stream-rolling destructive pipeline infrastructure through our territory, destroying our homes, and threatening our traditional ways of life, why aren’t they being treated like criminals or charged with a crime?

“Time after time, Canada keeps privileging the interests of wealthy investors and giant corporations over the lives and rights of Indigenous Peoples and the natural environment that everyone – not just Indigenous Peoples – depend on. How can the Canadian state claim to champion human rights, let alone reconciliation, when it physically assaults and criminalizes Indigenous defenders speaking out for justice?” 

“The chicanery is obvious on the part of the B.C. government and industry,” said Gidemt’en Clan Chief Woos. “The Wet’suwet’en people have always maintained their sovereignty over the 22,000 square kilometres of territorial lands.”

Despite a B.C. judge’s decision to convict Sleydo’, Sampson and Jocko of contempt of court, he did acknowledge that their rights had been infringed during their arrests. In response to an abuse-of-process claim filed by the defenders’ legal team, the judge ruled in February that the conduct, including anti-Indigenous racist statements, of some RCMP members during the November 2021 raid did indeed violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The ruling validates both the experiences of these land defenders and the broader experience of colonial violence that Indigenous Peoples have faced for more than 100 years from the RCMP. However, the judge refused to stay all charges against the defenders and said he would instead consider reduced sentences.

Canada at risk of new prisoner-of-conscience declaration 

Amnesty International is prepared to declare Sleydo’, Sampson or Jocko a prisoner of conscience in the event the court sentences one or more of them to jail or house arrest. If that comes to pass, it would be only the second time that Amnesty has applied a prisoner-of-conscience declaration to a person held by Canada.

In July 2024, Chief Dsta’hyl, a Wing Chief (Likhts’amisyu Clan) of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, became the first person held by Canada to be declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. At the time, the 68-year-old land defender was serving a 60-day house arrest sentence after he was convicted of contempt of court for allegedly violating the B.C. court injunction. RCMP officers arrested Chief Dsta’hyl in October 2021 during a blockade of the Morice Forest Service Road aimed at halting the construction of the CGL pipeline through Wet’suwet’en Territory. 

On the cusp of his release from house arrest in September 2024, Chief Dsta’hyl thanked well-wishers worldwide and urged them to keep the pressure on Canada to respect the rights of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. 

“The federal government and the province have the power to issue a declaration recognizing our ownership of our 22,000 square kilometres of territory,” he said in a written statement. “Their unwillingness to do it is beyond me. They went as far as signing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and making other promises, but those are smokescreens to appease the population. They haven’t followed through on their word. This is where people can put pressure on the government and force them into finally recognizing our rights.”

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Amnesty International and 34 other organizations released a joint letter welcoming the publication of the agreement between the Brazilian government and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on hosting the COP30 climate conference in Belem, Brazil, between 10-21 November 2025.

“Civil society’s efforts to achieve transparency in host country agreements that are signed before the major UN climate conference have paid off with the publication of the COP30 agreement on the UNFCCC website.  We are pleased to see that several recommendations from civil society from previous years have been implemented, and we urge the UNFCCC to ensure that these are carried over in future host country agreements,” Amnesty International’s Climate Justice Policy Advisor, Ann Harrison, said.

“It’s commendable that the COP30 host country agreement includes a commitment to uphold the human rights of all participants and to ensure that all aspects of the meetings are planned and organized in an inclusive and non-discriminatory manner.

“However, the agreement includes no explicit guarantee by Brazil to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly outside the Blue Zone for people, whether Brazilian nationals or not, who wish to express their views, including on COP30.”  

Amnesty International is also concerned that provisions on sponsorship appear to have been weakened, potentially enabling fossil fuel and other companies whose activities undermine the goals of the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement to exert undue influence on the presidency. All sponsorships and partnerships for COP30 should be made public immediately.

The UNFCCC Secretariat must urgently put in place an accountability framework, including a conflict-of-interest policy, to be reflected in future host country agreements.

Amnesty International is also calling on authorities to address accommodation prices in Belém, which remain unaffordable for many civil society, observer organizations and Indigenous Peoples representatives, putting their participation at risk, despite the affordability clause (Article 7) in the COP30 agreement.

Civil society’s efforts to achieve transparency in host country agreements that are signed before the major UN climate conference have paid off with the publication of the COP30 agreement on the UNFCCC website.

Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s Climate Justice Policy Advisor

Background:

The COP Host Country Agreement (HCA) is a legal accord between the UNFCCC and host country authorities that sets out the terms for organizing the conference, including any immunities and privileges applicable beyond national laws. It is normally finalized months before the COP. Civil society has long demanded an opportunity to comment on the draft and that the HCA is made public immediately after its signing so it can be scrutinized to assess the extent to which civic space at COP is protected.

Previously, Amnesty International has documented the lack of transparency around HCAs and shortcomings in human rights protections. The COP29 agreement was never officially made public. The joint letter on the COP30 agreement was signed by 35 organizations and can be found here.

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By Sarah Brooks, China Director at Amnesty International

Thirty years after the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, promised to advance women’s rights and empowerment worldwide, governments are once again gathering in Beijing to mark the special anniversary. 

For China, the U.N. summit on October 13-14 is the final, triumphant act of a yearlong show of force from its diplomatic and media mouthpieces seeking to center its “historic achievements in women’s development” and position China as a global model for women’s rights protection. 

Yet as officials trumpet their “30 years of progress” to assembled dignitaries, the voices of the country’s own feminists will be conspicuously absent.

That’s because many are in prison, while others face threats and harassment intended to keep them silent – whether they still live in China, or have had to flee abroad. 

China’s self-congratulatory narrative on women’s rights has been pushed not just at home, but also abroad: from the halls of the United Nations to the pages of local embassies and media markets in, for example, South Africa, Tanzania, Liberia, Ghana and Grenada. Last month, state-run press even published two compilations of Xi Jinping’s speeches in English for the explicit purpose of “help[ing] international readers gain a deeper understanding of Xi’s views” on women’s rights and much more ahead of the U.N. meeting in Beijing. 

But far from partaking in a glorious march toward gender equality, many of the Chinese women we have spoken to see their roles in society increasingly constrained, with support for conservative “family values” rising and women’s choices sidelined in the face of a pro-economic growth, pro-natalist push.

Read the full article on The Diplomat

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Reacting to the news that Venezuelan democracy activist and opposition leader, María Corina Machado, has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International said:

“This is an important recognition to María Corina Machado, but also to the people of Venezuela who, for years, have endured repression and persecution for daring to think differently and challenging authorities over human rights violations. Even when she was first banned from participating in the elections, and then forced into hiding, she refused to be silenced and continued speaking up against the government.     

“For all the Venezuelans who have been considered opponents, dissidents, or critics because of their belief in human rights, this award should mark a turning point in history, especially for prisoners of conscience and all those currently facing the cruelty and arbitrariness from the Venezuelan authorities with despair. 

“Every year, millions of people –including children- across Venezuela are repressed by authorities and forced into exile. Thousands are victims of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and other ill-treatment, as well as countless human rights violations and crimes under international law.  

“Today’s award must be a celebration of the resistance and resilience of those fighting peacefully for justice and human rights, from communities, unions, parties, and movements in the exercise of political rights, demanding change, at great personal risk, proving that humanity has the power to win.  

“We hope that this award and its global recognition will generate renewed attention on the human rights crisis in Venezuela and will help boost the international community’s will and support needed by the international justice mechanisms, such as the International Criminal Court, to ensure justice for victims in Venezuela.” 

Today’s award must be a celebration of the resistance and resilience of those fighting peacefully for justice and human rights, from communities, unions, parties, and movements in the exercise of political rights, demanding change, at great personal risk, proving that humanity has the power to win.  

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Senior Director at Amnesty International

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Amnesty International warns that the state of exception extended by the government and reforms to the penal system have undermined the rule of law in El Salvador.

This is due to the consolidation of a repressive apparatus that, instead of impartially delivering justice, is used as a weapon to criminalize human rights defenders and to silence critical voices, exposing them to a prison regime that threatens their personal integrity and their lives.

More than three years after it began, the state of exception, which has already been extended 42 consecutive times, has established a model that gives the appearance of legality to mass detention without evidence, the suspension of judicial guarantees and the imposition of disproportionate terms of administrative detention.

At the same time, legal reforms in criminal matters and criminal procedure have introduced measures such as the concealment of judges’ identity, automatic application of pretrial detention and tougher punishments for children and adolescents. These reforms have been observed by regional and universal human rights bodies, who found that they contravene international standards.

“Instead of impartially delivering justice, the criminal justice system in El Salvador has become a weapon to punish dissent and stifle civic space. Defending human rights or protesting peacefully can cost you your freedom today”, said Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

Instead of impartially delivering justice, the criminal justice system in El Salvador has become a weapon to punish dissent and stifle civic space.  

Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

The right to defend rights under attack

Amnesty International has documented how the authorities have made use of broad and ambiguous criminal classifications such as “illegal groups” or “terrorist organizations”, to criminalize community leaders, trade unionists and defenders of the territory and the environment. For their part, local organizations have identified more than 70 cases of this type in which people have been victims of arbitrary detentions, deprived of their liberty and subjected to judicial processes without the guarantees of the rule of law.

Faced with intensifying persecution and criminalization of human rights defenders in July 2025, Amnesty International declared Ruth López, Alejandro Henríquez and José Ángel Pérez prisoners of conscience, determining that they were imprisoned exclusively for their work defending human rights and for peacefully exercising their freedom of expression.

Although neither the original decree of the state of exception nor its extensions envisage its application to people accused of common crimes, in these three cases the organization was able to verify how the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the judicial authorities applied the deadlines and suspension of procedural guarantees, despite the fact that the charges against them are not related to the actions of gangs.

Ruth, Alejandro and José Ángel were all subjected to the extension of administrative detention up to 15 days, and the imposition of pretrial detention without sufficient grounds or effective judicial review. Recently, the court hearing the case of Alejandro and José Ángel, who are being prosecuted for the crimes of resistance and public disorder, decided to extend the investigation phase for an additional three months, without there being, in principle, any new elements to be investigated. This decision violates the right to be tried within a reasonable time and supports the claim that in El Salvador pretrial detention has ceased to be an exceptional measure and become an early punishment, regardless of the crime for which the person is being prosecuted.

In Ruth’s case, arbitrary changes to the crimes being alleged was also verified, as well as the total secrecy of the process. The cases of other criminalized defenders and dissident voices documented by local organizations show similar irregularities.

Prisons as spaces for punishment and torture

The prison situation in El Salvador continues to be alarming: prolonged solitary confinement, extreme overcrowding, lack of timely medical care and the risk of torture characterize the prison system. This impacts not only the criminalized people, but also their families. The case of constitutional lawyer Enrique Anaya shows the dangers that a person faces when the system deliberately limits their right to an effective technical defense, aggravating risks even to their health{. His condition has deteriorated in detention. Fidel Zavala, spokesman for UNIDECH, faces a real risk of being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, in a prison environment characterized by opacity, impunity and the absence of external controls.

“Prolonged solitary confinement and inhumane detention conditions are part of a deliberate strategy to instill fear and break both detainees and the communities they represent. The impact is devastating: self-censorship, reduced activities and an increasingly suffocated civic space”, added Ana Piquer.

Prolonged solitary confinement and inhumane detention conditions are part of a deliberate strategy to instill fear and break both detainees and the communities they represent.  

Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

On 23 September 2025, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted precautionary measures to Ruth López and Enrique Anaya, warning that the prolonged solitary confinement and indefinite detention to which they are subjected put their lives, health and integrity at serious risk. The organization demanded that the Salvadoran State immediately cease the isolation and guarantee detention conditions in accordance with international standards.

Amnesty International calls on the Salvadoran authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all persons detained solely for peacefully exercising their human rights. It also urges the authorities to fully and immediately comply with the precautionary measures issued by the IACHR in favor of Ruth López and Enrique Anaya.

Finally, it urgently calls on the international community to intensify its scrutiny of the Salvadoran authorities, in order to curb the misuse of the justice system as a repressive tool.

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