Latin America
Argentina Decriminalizes Abortion in Cases of Rape
In Argentina, the case of a 15-year old girl who was raped by her stepfather drew nationwide attention after she and her doctor were held criminally responsible for terminating the resulting pregnancy. The central issue in the case was the…
Pinheirinho Evictions Highlight Brazilian Poor’s Lack of Access to Adequate Housing
Six thousand people have been forcibly evicted from their homes in Pinheirinho, a community on the outskirts of Sao Jose dos Campos, in Sao Paulo State, Brazil. The Military Police Command orchestrated the eviction in the early morning of Sunday,…
Entrevista con Yesica Sanchez Maya, Directora Adjunta del Consorcio-Oaxaca
English version available here.
Yésica Sánchez Maya es la Directora Adjunta del Consorcio-Oaxaca, una organización enfocada en los derechos de la mujer en Oaxaca, México. El 28 de octubre del 2011, ella formó parte de una delegación de…
Interview with Yésica Sanchez, Deputy Director of Consorcío-Oaxaca
Traducción en español disponible aquí.
Yésica Sánchez Maya is the Deputy Director of the Consorcio-Oaxaca, a women’s rights organization in Oaxaca, Mexico. On October 28, 2011, she was part of a delegation of the Mesoamerican Initiative for Human…
Colombia Takes a Step toward Justice with its Victims Law
Colombia is continuing its work toward lasting peace by addressing the needs of the victims of the country’s decades-long armed conflict. On June 10, 2011, President Juan Manuel Santos signed the Victims and Land Restitution Law (Victims Law),…
Shutting Down Clinics that “Cure Homosexuality” in Ecuador
Lesbians in Ecuador are being tortured and sexually abused in approximately two hundred clinics that claim they can “cure” people of their homosexuality, according to reports from civil society organizations in the country. The clinics generally masquerade as drug rehabilitation…
Human Rights Vulnerability under the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
On Wednesday, October 12, 2011 the United States Congress ratified Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. While support and opposition were voiced for each of the agreements, the issue of Colombia’s human rights record took center…
Military Justice Reform in Mexico amid Increased Violence
This summer, the Mexican Supreme Court proclaimed that allegations of human rights abuses perpetrated by members of the military will now be adjudicated in the country’s civilian courts. The change was in response to a lengthy campaign for military justice…
Peru Enacts Law of Prior Consultation with Indigenous Peoples
This September, Peruvian President Ollanta Humala signed his country’s long-awaited law of free prior and informed consent (FPIC) with indigenous peoples, the Law of the Right to Prior Consultation with Indigenous or Tribal Peoples, Recognized in Convention 169…
Situation of Human Rights Defenders in South America
Participants: Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL), Corporación Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo, Centro sobre Derecho y Sociedad of Ecuador (CIDES), Fundación para el Debido Proceso Legal (DPLF), Fundación de Acompañamiento Social de la Iglesia Anglicana del Norte Argentina
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