Environmental Human Rights: News & Updates

Environmental activists Fabian Urquijo and Jhordan Peinado, who hail from Colombia’s Santander region, received an eerie warning in February. They were named in a pamphlet shared by the Gulf Clan paramilitary group, warning that they would be killed if they did not give up their activism. More than 20 other local activists were also named in the pamphlet, which was distributed throughout their neighbourhood. Many Colombian activists are increasingly worried that they could be targeted for their work, as recent data from Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) and Corporacion Compromiso, a local NGO, reveal a sharp increase in threats and violence towards environmental defenders. The stakes for activists in Santander are especially high. Over the past 18 months, the JEP recorded more than four dozen threats against activists across the region.

Social activists and former combatants in the peace process are still being widely targeted in many parts of Colombia. The first four months of 2022 saw the murders of more than 60 social activists and 18 former FARC combatants, while armed groups continued to impact heavily on communities in various parts of the country. Here is JFC’s monthly human rights update for May 2022.

Step by step, the nefarious legacy of the 12 years of the JOH regime are being dismantled in Honduras. Two key steps took place this month, the first being the extradition of JOH himself to the US. What seems unthinkable after his illegal reelection backed by the US in 2017 and still very unlikely just some months ago, has now passed in record speed. A second cornerstone of JOH’s reign were the ZEDEs, the private cities. Their legal basis were outright repealed, unanimously, by Congress this month. A huge victory for Honduras’ social movements, while still leaving many questions unresolved regarding the existing ZEDEs in Honduras. The Xiomara administration and its allies in Congress further reformulated the 2022 budget which includes more spending on education and public health, but also rose some questions. Welcome to another month in Honduras.

Colombia’s anti-fracking activists are facing increased threats and violence as two investigative pilot projects to extract oil and gas from unconventional fields move forward, five campaigners said, with some forced to flee in fear for their lives. Threats against activists are common in Colombia, which was the deadliest country for environmental and land defenders in 2019 and 2020, according to campaign group Global Witness. “Environmentalists have repeatedly reported that the authorities dismiss their complaints of threats and do not give them adequate protection,” said Juan Pappier, advocacy group Human Rights Watch’s senior investigator for the Americas.

Please see a summary of the letters we sent to heads of state and other high-level officials in Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, urging their swift action in response to human rights abuses occurring in their countries.  We join with civil society groups in Latin America to (1) protect people living under threat, (2) demand investigations into human rights crimes, and (3) bring human rights criminals to justice…..IRTF’s Rapid Response Network (RRN) volunteers write six letters in response to urgent human rights cases each month. We send copies of these letters to US ambassadors, embassy human rights officers, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, regional representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and desk officers at the US State Department. To read the letters, see https://www.irtfcleveland.org/content/rrn , or ask us to mail you hard copies.

Reporting on the human rights situation in Guatemala, the US State Department illustrated worsening conditions and highlighted the role that corruption and impunity have played in the last year. The 2021 Human Rights Report–released on April 12–summarizes and provides examples of what the State Department deems “significant human rights issues” in Guatemala, including the following: unlawful and arbitrary killings; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; restrictions on freedom of expression, including threats and violence against journalists; interference with freedom of association and organization; and significant corruption.