Web pages about "South America"

Venezuela

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:58:24 +0100

Most human rights violations committed by members of the security forces remained unpunished. Human rights defenders and journalists were threatened, intimidated and attacked.

Background

Hugo Chávez was elected President in December for a third six-year term. In April Venezuela abandoned the Andean Community of Nations trading block, after Colombia and Peru signed free trade agreements with the USA, and joined the South American trade group Mercosur. The government continued to establish social programmes aimed at the most vulnerable, including programmes to improve access to education, health and housing. The independence and impartiality of the judiciary continued to be questioned. There were serious concerns that the proliferation of small arms was fuelling an increase in violence.

Impunity, intimidation and harassment

Human rights violations, including torture, extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances perpetrated by members of the security forces remained unpunished.

• In July the bodies of eight people, including two children, were found on a ranch in the villages of La Victoria and El Nula in Alto Apure region, on the border with Colombia. Their hands were tied and they had been shot and their bodies burned. Witness accounts and initial evidence obtained by the police indicated that several members of the military had been involved in the killings. Despite this, only one member of the military was charged and tried for this crime. Human rights organizations alleged that this was part of a wider pattern of human rights violations by the same military unit against rural communities in Apure state.

• Melquiades Villaroel was threatened in February after a judge sentenced five police officers to 25 years' imprisonment for the killing of her son Rafael Moreno Villaroel and two others, including a child, in El Tigre, Anzoátegui state, in March 2001.

• There were concerns for the safety of the Mendoza family in Araure, Portuguesa state, following a shooting at their house in March. The Mendoza family had taken part in the trial of 11 police officers accused of the killing of seven people, including three members of their family.

Human rights defenders

Human rights defenders continued to be threatened and intimidated. In May the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reiterated its concern at threats and other open hostility towards human rights defenders by government officials who publicly referred to human rights defenders as "coup plotters" and agents of instability.

• In April, María del Rosario Guerrero and her husband, Adolfo Martínez Barrios, were victims of an attempted assassination in Guárico state. They had been the subject of a campaign of defamation and intimidation since 2001, apparently linked to María del Rosario Guerrero's allegations of human rights violations by the police in Guárico state. By the end of the year, María del Rosario Guerrero was receiving protection, following a ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

• In September, the Public Ministry recommended the dismissal of the case and closure of the investigation into the threats and acts of intimidation against members of the human rights organization COFAVIC (Comité de Familiares de Víctimas de los sucesos de Febrero-Marzo de 1989). A court ruling on the recommendation was pending at the end of the year. Staff from COFAVIC feared for their safety as the dismissal of this case might mean the withdrawal of police protection.

There were concerns that a draft law on international co-operation which would allow government officials to decide which non-governmental organizations could access international funds, could be used to restrict the work of human rights defenders.

Violence against women

Violence against women remained a concern. In November the National Assembly passed the Organic law on the right of women to a life free of violence. The law criminalized physical, sexual and psychological violence in the home, the community and at work, as well as forced sterilization, trafficking, forced prostitution, and sexual harassment and slavery. The law established tribunals specializing in cases of gender-based violence.

Attacks against journalists

Threats and attacks against journalists continued.

• The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Organization of American States expressed concern about the killing in April of Jorge Aguirre, a photographer for the newspaper El Mundo. He was reportedly shot dead at a demonstration in Caracas protesting against high levels of crime and insecurity, following the kidnapping and killing of three students. A former police officer was charged with the shooting. At the end of the year he was awaiting trial.

• In August, Jesús Flores Rojas, Co-ordinator of the newspaper Región in El Tigre, Anzoátegui state, who had exposed corruption by local civil servants, was shot eight times in the head while he was parking his car in front of his house. The men allegedly responsible for the shooting were reportedly shot and killed by police. Three police officers were reportedly detained, accused of involvement in the killing of Jesús Flores Rojas. At the end of the year it was not known whether the Public Ministry had pressed charges.

AI country reports/visits

Statement

• Venezuela: Open letter to candidates in the December 2006 presidential elections (AI Index: AMR 53/008/2006)

Visit

AI delegates visited Venezuela in July.

Paraguay

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:58:25 +0100

Journalists were reportedly subjected to threats and attacks during the first half of the year. There were reports of armed civilian patrols operating in the north of the country. One community leader was killed. Prison conditions were poor.

Economic, social and cultural rights

Peasants continued to be evicted from their land which was then given to landowners for the monoculture of soya bean crops. Indigenous people, women, children and the elderly suffered ill-health, malnutrition and hunger.

In August, former President Alfredo Stroessner died in exile in Brazil. Requests for his extradition were unsuccessful and he was never brought to trial for the many human rights violations committed during his rule, including in the context of Operation Condor, a joint plan by Southern Cone military governments in the 1970s and 1980s to eliminate opponents.

Threats and attacks against journalists

Journalists were subjected to threats and attacks because of their investigative work on politics, drugs and the environment.

In February, Enrique Ramón Galeano, a radio journalist, disappeared after being seen in a police station in Azotey in the city of Horqueta. After receiving death threats, he was placed under police protection in 2005. The prosecutor who had been investigating Enrique Ramón Galeano's whereabouts expressed concern for her own safety.

Prison conditions

Prisons were reportedly overcrowded and conditions harsh, sometimes amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In Tacumbú prison in the capital, Asunción, 40 inmates with mental illness reportedly had no access to medicines or medical care, no mattress or bedding and lived in unsanitary conditions. A prosecutor filed a legal petition for medical assistance on their behalf.

Armed civilian patrols

In July, two community leaders were attacked by members of the Neighbourhood Security Commission (Comisión Vecinal de Seguridad), a government-sponsored armed civilian patrol group, in the city of San José del Norte, San Pedro department. Luis Martínez, who was shot more than 30 times, was killed and Zacarías Vega was wounded. The attack appeared to be linked to the men's work raising awareness of peasants' rights, their campaigning against the excessive use of agricultural pesticides, and their opposition to the use of firearms by civilian patrols in the area. Luis Martínez's family and Daniel Romero, another community leader, and his family received death threats after they pressed for an investigation into the shooting. An official investigation was launched into the shooting, but there was no news of any progress at the end of the year.

UN Special Rapporteur on torture

In November, following a visit to Paraguay, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture criticized severe prison overcrowding and the lack of basic human rights for prisoners, including health care and the provision of clothing, food and mattresses. He also stated that detainees in police stations were widely subjected to torture during the first few days in custody. He expressed concern that torture was not criminalized in the military criminal code and at allegations of beatings and degrading treatment of conscripts. He stressed the need to investigate effectively all suspected cases of torture and bring perpetrators to justice, eradicate corruption, and increase the use of non-custodial measures.

AI country reports/visits

Statements

Paraguay: Fear for safety/death threats (AI Index: AMR 45/001/2006)

Paraguay: The search for truth and justice continues (AI Index: AMR 45/002/2006)

Ecuador

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:58:26 +0100

Social unrest continued. There were reports that the security forces used excessive force against demonstrators. Infant and maternal mortality rates remained high and domestic violence continued to be a concern. There were reports of torture and ill-treatment and prison conditions remained harsh. Nearly 100 killings were reported on the Colombian border.

Background

Rafael Correa was elected President in November on a platform of constitutional, economic and social reform. He was due to take office in January 2007.

Former President Lucio Gutiérrez was acquitted of charges including corruption and undermining the security of the state and released.

Three magistrates of the new Supreme Court, appointed during the interim government of Alfredo Palacio, were dismissed in November following allegations of corruption.

Protests

Social unrest and protests against economic policies and the impact of extractive companies on the livelihood of communities continued throughout the year. Scores of demonstrators were reportedly injured and there were allegations of excessive use of force by the police and military.

During 2006 several provinces were placed under a state of emergency for periods of at least 60 days in response to the unrest. Under emergency legislation, freedoms of expression, movement and association were suspended and the security forces were empowered to search homes without judicial warrants.

Human rights defenders

Human rights defenders, community leaders and environmentalists who criticized government policies and the impact of extractive companies continued to be threatened and intimidated. Some faced unsubstantiated charges against them.

The legal team representing Indigenous communities suing a multinational oil company for failing to clean up the pollution caused by drilling in Sucumbíos province from 1964 to 1992, was repeatedly threatened. No investigation was opened and no victim received protection, despite precautionary measures ordered by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Right to health

Infant and maternal mortality remained high. Poor women and children continued to be denied access to maternity and infant health services free of charge, as guaranteed under 1994 legislation. The government reportedly failed to ensure that clear and accessible information reached poor women.

Women's human rights

Domestic violence remained a concern. The number of complaints filed in the 30 women and family police stations reportedly increased in 2006. According to the Women's Defence Office, this was partly due to the promotion of the 1995 Law Against Violence Against Women And The Family, and improved training for law enforcement officials in responding to violence against women.

Torture and ill-treatment

In February the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention expressed concern that ill-treatment and torture to extract confessions or punish suspects were common in police stations.

Police and military officers charged with human rights violations continued to be tried by police or military courts which were neither independent nor impartial. In the vast majority of cases, those responsible for violations were not held to account.

At the end of the year, 20 police officers sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to 16 years for the enforced disappearance of Elías López Pita in 2000 remained at liberty.

Prison conditions

From April to June emergency legislation was imposed in the overcrowded prison system following security problems inside prisons and a strike by prison personnel demanding improved funding. The government announced an investment of US$8million in infrastructure to improve prison conditions.

In September the Constitutional Court confirmed its 2003 ruling that an article of the Code of Penal Procedure which denied suspects detained while awaiting sentencing the right to be conditionally released was unconstitutional. Reportedly between 5,000 and 7,000 inmates out of a total prison population of 14,000 were waiting to be sentenced.

Rights of ethnic minorities

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of Indigenous people expressed concern at the limited access of Indigenous peoples to health and education, and the negative impact of extractive activities on their environment and living conditions. The Special Rapporteur raised concerns at the failure to fulfil constitutional guarantees to Indigenous peoples to be consulted on extractive projects in their territories. There were allegations of human rights violations involving armed forces personnel employed to guarantee the security of extractive companies.

Killings on the Colombia border

Reports of incursions by Colombian military and armed groups in Ecuadorian territory continued. Since the implementation in 2000 of the US-backed military aid package known as Plan Colombia, human rights organizations have documented over 700 killings, nearly 100 of them in 2006, in Sucumbíos province. In many cases the victims including civilian men, women and children were alleged to be criminal suspects; some showed signs of torture. According to witnesses, police and military officers were implicated in some of the killings. The vast majority of cases were not reported by the relatives of the victims or investigated by the authorities for fear of reprisals. There were reports of threats against witnesses, prosecutors, police officers, governors and other local officials.

AI country reports/visits

Visit

An AI delegation visited Ecuador in October.

Bolivia

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:58:27 +0100

Peasants were killed during a joint security force operation to eradicate coca crops. There were demonstrations calling for the right to land. Deaths were reported during violent clashes between miners. Prison conditions were poor.

Background

President-elect Evo Morales Ayma, the leader of the Movement to Socialism party (Movimiento al Socialismo, MAS), took office in January. A National Development Plan to improve access to fundamental rights such as health, education and justice and to end discrimination was announced. However, no information was forthcoming on its implementation.

A programme of reforms was initiated, including the formation of the Constituent Assembly which was inaugurated in August to rewrite the Constitution. A decree was passed in May to nationalize oil and gas and renegotiate contracts with foreign investors and companies, to raise taxes and to set terms for the acquisition of shares by the State. A programme of land reform was launched in June which included the distribution of state-owned land to peasants and Indigenous people.

In November, following demonstrations by Indigenous groups calling for further reforms, a law for agrarian reform was passed by Congress and signed by the President. Under the new law, unproductive private land could be expropriated by the government for redistribution to peasants. This reform was opposed by landowners in the Departments of Santa Cruz, Beni and Pando which, along with the Department of Tarija, sought autonomy during the year.

In December, civilian groups, members of Indigenous non-governmental organizations, political groups, journalists and community leaders, clashed in Santa Cruz Department in the context of the local consultation for regional autonomy. Premises of the MAS and offices of Indigenous community centres were set on fire, and members of Indigenous groups had their houses ransacked. Investigative journalists were attacked in the streets of Santa Cruz city and radio stations were forced to stop transmission due to harassment.

Bolivia ratified the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture in May, the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, known as the "Protocol of San Salvador" in July, and the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture in November.

Children

In July a study by the UN Development Programme and UNICEF reported that more than 39 babies in Bolivia died per day through lack of proper care, six out of 10 children and minors lacked basic needs and five out of 10 lived below the poverty line. The report called on Bolivia to recognize the role played by children in the country's development and to implement health, education and other programmes to tackle the lack of protection for children and to defend their rights.

Eradication of coca leaf crops

In September two peasants were killed and one wounded during the eradication of coca leaf crops around the Carrasco National Park in the region of Yungas de Vandiola, Department of Cochabamba, by a patrol of the Joint Task Forces made up of members of the police and army.

Miners conflict

In October, at least nine miners were killed and dozens injured in clashes between state-employed miners and members of an independent co-operative in the mining town of Huanuni, La Paz Department. The confrontation, in which dynamite and firearms were allegedly used, was sparked by a dispute over the access rights to working areas in the tin mine. An investigation was launched.

Prison conditions

There were reports of poor prison conditions. In Palmasola prison in the city of Santa Cruz, five inmates were killed in April, allegedly as a result of a fight between rival gangs of prisoners who were attempting to impose their rule inside the prison.

In November, inmates in 19 prisons around the country started a hunger strike demanding prompt trials and better prison conditions.

Impunity

In December, the Attorney General's Office charged former President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and two former ministers with the killing of at least 60 people during demonstrations in October 2003. The authorities were seeking Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada's extradition from the USA to try him for the killings.

Intergovernmental organizations

In November, after a visit to Bolivia, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights highlighted the lack of access to justice, particularly in rural areas, and the lack of co-operation by the security and armed forces in providing relevant information to the judicial authorities. It expressed concern about poor conditions and the high level of overcrowding in prisons and the fact that over 70 per cent of prisoners had not been sentenced. It also noted that minors were held with adult prisoners.

AI country reports/visits

Statement

• Bolivia: Open letter to the President of the Republic of Bolivia, Evo Morales Ayma (AI Index: AMR 18/001/2006)

Uruguay

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:58:24 +0100

Progress was recorded in cases of past human rights violations. Prisons were reportedly overcrowded and conditions were inadequate. Sugar cane workers demonstrated against poverty.

Background

Social exclusion continued during the year. For example, in January sugar cane workers and members of social welfare organizations demonstrated in the capital, Montevideo, in favour of land rights and against poverty. This followed the occupation of disused land at Colonia España, Bella Unión area, Artigas Department, by more than 50 people urging the authorities to provide land and housing to six working families.

In November Uruguay ratified the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court. The Agreement provided the framework for the Court to function effectively.

Uruguay has not submitted its periodic report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights since 1996.

Justice for past human rights violations

Although the Expiry Law of 1986 preventing legal proceedings against members of the security forces from the military period (1973-1985) remained in force, some judicial decisions revealed progress in the fight for justice for victims of past human rights violations.

In September, a Penal Judge in Montevideo found six military officers and two former policemen guilty of organized crime and of kidnapping Uruguayan members of the opposition group Party for People's Victory (Partido por la Victoria del Pueblo) in Argentina in 1976 as part of Operation Condor. They had not been sentenced by the end of the year.

In November, the 11th Penal Judge ordered the detention and trial of former President Juan María Bordaberry (1971-1976) and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs Juan Carlos Blanco. They were charged with the murders of legislators Zelmar Michelini and Hector Gutierrez Ruiz, along with two members of the Tupamaro guerrilla group Movement of National Liberation (Movimiento de Liberación Nacional), Rosario Barredo and William Whitelaw, in Argentina in 1976. The decision was under appeal at the end of the year.

Prisons

There were reports of overcrowding, lack of medical attention, inadequate food and ill-treatment by prison guards.

In February, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Prisons reported the results of a visit to Libertad prison, San José Department. He found that detainees were subjected to degrading treatment while being searched by guards, and that the use of rubber bullets was excessive.

Following a visit in March, the Parliamentary Commissioner confirmed complaints of overcrowding in Las Rosas prison, Maldonado Department, which had led to a number of prisoners sleeping on the floor.

Intergovernmental organizations

In November, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights expressed concern at the persistent and systematic violation of women's human rights in Uruguayan prisons. It criticized discrimination against women prisoners, inadequate health care and obstacles encountered by female detainees in complaining about abuses by prison guards and inmates.

Guyana

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:58:25 +0100

There were attacks on freedom of expression. Marginalized communities had difficulty in accessing treatment for HIV/AIDS. Twenty-three people were on death row. Death sentences continued to be passed. No executions were reported.

Background

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) was returned to office for a fourth consecutive term following peaceful general elections in August. The murder in April of Satyadeow Sawh, the PPP Agriculture Minister, had created fears of a recurrence of political violence between supporters of the mainly Indo-Guyanese PPP and the opposition People’s National Congress (PNC), which is principally Afro-Guyanese.

Freedom of expression

Five newspaper employees and an opposition journalist were killed.

Five employees of the newspaper Kaieteur News were shot execution-style on 8 August at the newspaper’s printing plant. The motive for the killings was unclear, although the owner of the newspaper had allegedly received threats over the coverage of a series of rapes in the capital, Georgetown. Three men were charged with the killings.

Ronald Waddell, a journalist, radio talk show host and former candidate for the PNC, was shot outside his home in a Georgetown suburb on 30 January. According to eyewitness reports, two men shot him repeatedly as he was getting into his car. He died later in hospital. No one had been charged with the murder by the end of 2006.

People living with HIV/AIDS

Despite positive steps to ensure the right to health, stigma and discrimination towards HIV/AIDS remained a barrier to the successful implementation of treatment. The Indigenous Amerindian population had particularly limited access to HIV/AIDS-related health care and information. Men who have sexual relations with other men were criminalized and discriminated against, which restricted their access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care. There were reports of people being dismissed from their jobs on the basis of their HIV status. Violations of the rights to privacy and confidentiality contributed to the spread of the disease by discouraging people from seeking an HIV test or treatment.

AI country reports/visits

Report

• “I am not ashamed!”: HIV/AIDS and human rights in the Dominican Republic and Guyana(AI Index: AMR 01/002/2006)

Visit

AI delegates visited Guyana in January.

Colombia

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:58:27 +0100

Serious human rights abuses remained at high levels, especially in rural areas, despite continued reductions in certain types of violence associated with Colombia's long-running internal armed conflict, in particular kidnappings and killings. All parties to the conflict - the security forces and army-backed paramilitaries as well as guerrilla groups, mainly the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC) and the smaller National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN) - continued to abuse human rights and breach international humanitarian law. They were responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. There was a fall in the number of people newly displaced by the conflict, but the large number of displaced people remained a concern. There were further attacks on trade unionists and human rights defenders, mainly by paramilitary groups. Extrajudicial executions by members of the security forces, and selective killings of civilians and kidnappings by guerrilla forces continued to be reported.

Background

President Álvaro Uribe Vélez won a second term of office in elections held in May. Congressional elections were held in March, with President Uribe's allies winning a majority of seats in both houses.

Speculation that the government and the FARC were about to agree an exchange of FARC prisoners for hostages held by the guerrilla group were dashed after President Uribe blamed the FARC for detonating an explosive device on 19 October inside the Nueva Granada Military University in Bogotá; at least 20 people were injured in the blast. The ELN and government representatives held a fourth round of preliminary peace talks in October in Cuba.

By the end of the year, the government reported that more than 30,000 paramilitaries had laid down their arms in a controversial government-sponsored demobilization process. In July, the Constitutional Court ruled that key parts of the Justice and Peace Law - designed to regulate the demobilization process and criticized by human rights organizations - were unconstitutional. In September, the government issued a decree to implement the Justice and Peace Law. Although it had been amended in the light of some of the criticisms levelled by the Court, concerns remained that the Law would exacerbate impunity and deny victims their right to truth, justice and reparation. Despite the supposed demobilization, there was strong evidence that paramilitary groups continued to operate and to commit human rights violations with the acquiescence of or in collusion with the security forces. In November, three legislators were arrested for their alleged links to paramilitaries. Several other legislators and political figures were also reportedly under investigation by the Supreme Court of Justice at the end of the year.

Abuses by paramilitary groups continue despite supposed demobilization

The Organization of American States Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia published a report in August. This stated that some demobilized paramilitaries had regrouped as criminal gangs, that others had failed to demobilize, and that new paramilitary groups had emerged. Paramilitaries continued to commit human rights violations in areas where they had supposedly demobilized. More than 3,000 killings and enforced disappearances of civilians were attributed to paramilitary groups since they declared a "ceasefire" in 2002.

• On 11 February, demobilized paramilitaries belonging to the Bloque Noroccidente allegedly killed six peasant farmers in Sabanalarga Municipality, Antioquia Department.

Application of the Justice and Peace Law

In September the government promulgated Decree 3391 which revived some of the more controversial elements of the Justice and Peace Law.

Of particular concern was the inclusion of "rural reinsertion" programmes by which the government will finance agro-industrial projects which bring together peasant farmers, displaced people and demobilized paramilitaries. This could result in peasant and displaced communities working alongside those who forced them off their lands and committed human rights violations against them and lead to the legalization of ownership of lands taken by paramilitaries by force. Decree 3391 also failed to adopt measures that would identify and bring to justice third parties, including members of the security forces and politicians, who have supported paramilitary groups, both logistically and financially.

The Justice and Peace Law, which still failed to meet international standards on truth, justice and reparation, was to be applied only to around 2,600 of the more than 30,000 paramilitaries who had reportedly demobilized. The vast majority of paramilitaries had benefited from de facto amnesties under Decree 128 of 2003. On 6 December, the paramilitaries announced they were withdrawing from the "peace process". This followed the government's decision, taken on 1 December, to transfer 59 supposedly demobilized paramilitary leaders from low-security accommodation in a former holiday camp in La Ceja, Antioquia Department, to the high-security prison of Itagüí in the same Department. The government claimed that the paramilitaries had ordered several killings from La Ceja. On 19 December, Salvatore Mancuso became the first high-ranking leader of the paramilitaries to testify before the Office of the Attorney General's Justice and Peace Unit. The Unit was set up under the Justice and Peace Law to investigate human rights abuses committed by those wishing to qualify for the procedural benefits granted by the Law.

Collusion between paramilitaries and state officials

Scandals involving links between paramilitaries and high-ranking members of state institutions threatened to further undermine confidence in the rule of law.

• In November, the Office of the Procurator General accused the former director of the Civilian Intelligence Department (Departamento de Administración de Seguridad, DAS) of having links with paramilitary groups. The allegations stemmed from claims, published in the media in April by another DAS official, that the DAS had provided a list of 24 trade union leaders to the paramilitary group Bloque Norte. Several individuals named on the list were killed, others were threatened, while some were reportedly the subject of arbitrary judicial proceedings.

• On 9 November, the Supreme Court of Justice ordered the arrest of three congressmen from Sucre Department, Álvaro García Romero, Jairo Merlano and Erik Morris Taboada, for their alleged links to paramilitary groups and, in the case of Álvaro García Romero, for allegedly ordering the massacre by paramilitaries of some 15 peasant farmers in Macayepo, Bolívar Department in 2000. Later in the month the Supreme Court ordered that a further six congressmen answer charges over their alleged links to paramilitary groups.

Press reports in November suggested that the Office of the Attorney General was reviewing more than 100 cases of alleged collusion between paramilitaries and state officials, including political figures, members of the public and judicial administration, and the security forces. In November, the Office of the Procurator General also announced the creation of a special unit to investigate alleged links between public employees and paramilitaries.

Paramilitary groups continued to commit human rights violations in collusion with, or with the acquiescence of, members of the security forces.

• On 4 February, community leader Alirio Sepúlveda Jaimes was killed close to a police station in Saravena Municipality, Arauca Department. The gunman, thought to be a paramilitary, was reportedly linked to the local army battalion. Alirio Sepúlveda was one of around 40 social and human rights activists detained by the authorities in Saravena in 2002.

Exhumations of mass graves

More than 80 mass graves were found containing the remains of some 200 people killed by paramilitary groups over the course of the conflict. The Justice and Peace Unit claimed the remains of some 3,000 victims of enforced disappearance were still to be located, although this was thought to be a substantial underestimate. Concerns were raised that some of the exhumations may have been undertaken in a manner which jeopardized forensic evidence and that remains in official custody were being stored in precarious conditions. There were also concerns regarding the lack of positive identification of remains and appropriate forensic analysis of the evidence. Paramilitaries had reportedly removed remains from some mass graves.

Impunity

Impunity remained a serious problem, and the military justice system continued to deal with human rights cases involving military personnel despite the 1997 ruling of the Constitutional Court that such cases must be investigated by the civilian justice system. However, some cases were transferred to the civilian justice system. Among them was the killing by soldiers of 10 members of the judicial police (the DIJIN), together with a police informer and a civilian, in Jamundí, Valle del Cauca Department, on 22 May. The Office of the Attorney General charged 15 members of the army for their alleged role in the killings, which were reported to have been carried out at the behest of drug traffickers with links to paramilitary groups. Judicial investigators involved in the case were reportedly threatened.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued rulings on emblematic cases of impunity involving massacres carried out by paramilitary groups allegedly with the collusion or acquiescence of the security forces. These included the Pueblo Bello massacre of 1990 in which 43 civilians were killed or forcibly disappeared, and the La Granja and El Aro massacres of 1996 and 1997, in which 19 people were killed. In both cases, the Court held the Colombian state partly responsible and ordered it to make reparations to the victims and their families.

The security forces

There were continued allegations of extrajudicial executions carried out by the security forces.

• On 19 September, army soldiers reportedly killed community and labour activist Alejandro Uribe Chacón in Morales Municipality, Bolívar Department.

• On 14 April, peasant farmer Adrián Cárdenas Marín was reportedly detained by army troops in Argelia Municipality, Antioquia Department. On 15 April, the army reported that Adrián Cárdenas had been killed in combat a short distance from the town of Argelia.

A number of human rights cases involving the army received national media coverage.

• On 25 January, 21 soldiers were reportedly tortured, including sexually, by their superiors in an initiation ceremony at a military training facility in Piedras, Tolima Department. The case was being investigated by the civilian justice system at the end of the year.

• The Office of the Procurator General began an investigation into the alleged role of army personnel in a number of bomb plots in Bogotá in July and August, including a car bomb which killed one civilian and injured 19 soldiers on 31 July and which the authorities had attributed to the FARC.

The security forces, including the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (Escuadrón Móvil Anti-Disturbios, ESMAD), were alleged to have used excessive force during mass demonstrations by peasant farmers and Afro-descendant and Indigenous protesters on 15 and 16 May in Cauca and Nariño Departments. At least one demonstrator died and 50 were injured, including several members of the security forces and a 12-year-old child.

• On 8 March, ESMAD agents reportedly injured several students at the National University in Bogotá when they dispersed a student demonstration. During the demonstration students threw stones at police.

One student, Oscar Leonardo Salas, reportedly died on 9 March after sustaining head injuries from a projectile allegedly fired by the ESMAD.

Guerrilla groups

The FARC and ELN continued to commit serious and repeated breaches of international humanitarian law, including hostage-taking and the killing of civilians.

• On 9 October, the bodies were found of four peasant farmers who had been kidnapped by the ELN in Fortul Municipality, Arauca Department. Between March and August, the FARC and ELN allegedly killed more than 20 civilians in Arauca Department.

• On 27 February, FARC guerrillas allegedly killed eight municipal councillors in Rivera Municipality, Huila Department, while they were attending a council meeting.

• On 25 February, the FARC allegedly attacked a bus in Caquetá Department in which at least nine civilians were killed, including two children.

The FARC also allegedly carried out disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks which resulted in the deaths of numerous civilians.

• On 6 March, an attack using explosive devices killed three civilians, including a 76-year-old woman and an eight-year-old boy in San Vicente del Caguán Municipality, Caquetá Department. The government attributed the attack to the FARC.

The FARC and ELN continued to forcibly recruit minors and landmines placed by guerrilla groups continued to kill and maim civilians.

• On 2 August, landmines, allegedly placed by the FARC, killed six civilians working on a government coca eradication programme and five police officers, in La Macarena Municipality, Meta Department.

Trade unionists, human rights defenders and other activists

Human rights, social and community activists continued to be targeted, mainly by paramilitary groups and the security forces, but also by guerrilla groups. More than 70 trade union members were killed in 2006.

• In September, the FARC allegedly tortured and killed Fabián Trellez Moreno, a community leader and legal representative of the Boca de Bebará Local Community Council in Medio Atrato Municipality, Chocó Department.

• In May, in the run-up to the presidential elections, trade unionists, left-wing party activists, human rights and peace non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and university students and staff received e-mail death threats, reportedly from groups claiming to be new paramilitary structures.

• On 2 January, the body of trade unionist Carlos Arciniegas Niño was discovered in Puerto Wilches Municipality, Santander Department. He had been missing since 30 December 2005. His body reportedly showed signs of torture. The killing was attributed to the paramilitary Bloque Central Bolívar (BCB). On

31 August, the BCB allegedly sent a written death threat to the CUT trade union confederation (Central Unitaria de Trabajadores) in Bucaramanga, Santander Department, despite the fact that the BCB had supposedly demobilized by 1 March.

Civilian communities at risk

Afro-descendant, Indigenous and peasant farmer communities, as well as civilians living in areas of intense military conflict, continued to be at particular risk of attack by all parties to the conflict. More than 770 civilians were killed or forcibly disappeared during the first half of the year. More than 219,000 people were forcibly displaced in 2006, compared with 310,000 in 2005. More than 45 members of Indigenous communities were killed in the first half of 2006.

• On 9 August, unknown gunmen killed five members of the A'wa Indigenous community in Barbacoas Municipality, Nariño Department.

• On 5 and 6 March, the FARC allegedly killed Juan Ramírez Villamizar, the former Indigenous governor of the resguardo (reservation) of Makaguán de Caño Claro, Arauca Department, and his wife Luz Miriam Farías, a schoolteacher in the resguardo's school.

Members of "peace communities" and "humanitarian zones", and of other communities which continued to publicly assert their right not to be drawn into the conflict, were threatened and killed.

• On 16 August, paramilitaries reportedly approached inhabitants of the Curvaradó River Basin area of Chocó Department, and informed them that paramilitaries were planning to kill Enrique Petro, a member of the Afro-descendant Curvaradó Humanitarian Zone. In March, members of the armed forces had reportedly accused Enrique Petro of being linked with guerrillas. The paramilitaries also stated that they were preparing to kill other members of the Curvaradó Humanitarian Zone.

• The body of Nelly Johana Durango, a member of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, Antioquia Department, was identified on 15 March by a family member in Tierra Alta, Córdoba Department. Witnesses claimed that she had been taken from her home by the army on 4 March. The army claimed she was a guerrilla killed in combat. More than 160 peace community members have been killed since 1997, mostly by paramilitary groups and the security forces, but also by guerrilla groups.

Kidnappings

Kidnappings continued to fall, from 800 in 2005 to 687 in 2006. Guerrilla groups, mainly the FARC, were responsible for most conflict-related kidnappings, accounting for some 200 kidnappings. Ten were attributed to paramilitary groups and 267 to common criminals. About 200 kidnappings could not be attributed.

• On 26 June in Antioquia Department, the FARC allegedly kidnapped Camilo Mejía Restrepo, his wife Rosario Restrepo, their son and a nephew. In their efforts to flee from the authorities, the kidnappers were alleged to have killed Camilo Mejía and injured the nephew.

• On 7 June, the ELN allegedly kidnapped Javier Francisco Castro in Yondó Municipality, Antioquia Department. The ELN reportedly accused him of having links with the security forces. No information was received by the end of the year as to whether he had been released.

• On 27 April, armed men killed Liliana Gaviria Trujillo, sister of former President César Gaviria Trujillo, and her bodyguard, Fernando Vélez Rengifo, in Dosquebradas, Risaralda Department, in what appeared to be a botched kidnap attempt. The authorities claimed the kidnapping was ordered by the FARC.

Violence against women

Combatants continued to kill, sexually abuse, kidnap and threaten women and girls.

• On 22 October, 10 army soldiers allegedly entered the home of a woman in Puerto Lleras Municipality, Meta Department. Subsequently, four of the soldiers reportedly raped her in front of her three-year-old son. The woman was reportedly threatened after she reported the rape to the authorities.

• On 9 April, a guerrilla member allegedly raped a woman in Fortul Municipality, Arauca Department.

• On 21 March, paramilitaries reportedly raped and killed Yamile Agudelo Peñaloza of the Popular Women's Organization (Organización Femenina Popular), in Barrancabermeja, Santander Department. Her body was found the next day.

US military aid

In 2006, US assistance to Colombia amounted to an estimated US$728 million, approximately 80 per cent of which was military and police assistance. In June, the US Congress put a hold on US$29 million because of concerns with the US administration's failure to consult adequately with Congress regarding the certification process. Under the certification process, 25 per cent of aid is dependent on progress by the Colombian government and state authorities on certain human rights indicators. Despite Congress' decision, the funds were released by the State Department. However, the State Department subsequently agreed to meet with the Congress and representatives of the US human rights community to discuss concerns about the certification consultation process and recommendations for improving it. Some US$17 million went to support the demobilization process with some US$5 million going to the Justice and Peace Unit. Human rights conditions for the release of such funding were maintained.

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Despite reported efforts by the Colombian government to weaken the mandate of the Office in Colombia of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), especially in relation to its monitoring role, the government and the UNHCHR announced in September that the full mandate would be extended for a further 12 months. The latest report on Colombia of the UNHCHR, published in January, urged the government to implement UN human rights recommendations and to adopt the long-promised national human rights action plan and increase protection for human rights defenders. It called on the parties to the conflict to respect the right to life and to refrain from indiscriminate attacks, kidnappings, recruitment of child soldiers, and sexual violence. The report also recommended that legislation on the demobilization of members of illegal armed groups be made consistent with human rights principles including the right of victims to truth, justice and reparation. The High Commissioner presented the report to the second regular session of the UN Human Rights Council on 28 September.

AI country visits/reports

Reports

• Colombia: Reporting, campaigning and serving without fear - The rights of journalists, election candidates and elected officials (AI Index: AMR 23/001/2006)

• Colombia: Open letter to the presidential candidates (AI Index: AMR 23/013/2006)

• Colombia: Fear and intimidation - The dangers of human rights work (AI Index: AMR 23/033/2006)

Visits

AI delegates visited the country in February, March and October.

Argentina

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There were reports of attacks and threats to individuals involved in trials of former members of the security forces. Some trials for human rights violations were concluded. Prison conditions did not improve. Indigenous communities' economic social and cultural rights continued to be violated.

Justice

Several former members of the security forces accused of committing human rights abuses during the military governments (1976-83) went on trial. Judges, prosecution witnesses, non-governmental organizations and relatives of former victims involved in the trials were attacked and threatened in the last four months of the year. The trials followed a ruling by the Supreme Court in 2005 that the Laws of Final Stop and Due Obedience were unconstitutional.

In September the Senate passed a bill implementing the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The bill was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in December.

Miguel Etchecolatz, former Director of Investigations of the Buenos Aires Province Police, was convicted of murder, torture and kidnappings during the military government and sentenced to life imprisonment in September. The three judges in the case ruled that he was responsible for crimes against humanity committed within the framework of genocide. Jorge Julio López, a main witness and complainant in the trial, went missing in September. There were fears that he may have been a victim of enforced disappearance.

Land issues and Indigenous people

Indigenous communities in Chaco and Salta Provinces, including the Toba, Wichi and Mocovi groups, staged hunger strikes, established roadside camps and submitted petitions to the authorities. Their petitions included requests for a reasonable budget for the Indigenous Institute of Chaco, provisions for housing and health and a halt to the irregular sale and distribution of state-owned land to lumber companies and soybean producers.

• In August members of the Wichi community in the General Mosconi area, Salta Province, established a roadside camp beside National highway No. 34 to call for the return of communal land. The land had been exploited by private companies and the local water company had cut off the water supply to the communities.

Prison conditions

Conditions of detention continued to be harsh in most prisons and detention centres and detainees were ill-treated. Detainees were reportedly seriously injured in fires in prisons and police stations, allegedly because of lack of help.

• In March, Walter Daniel Lescano died as a result of burns acquired during a fire in the punishment cell where he was held in the men's prison in Santiago del Estero, Santiago del Estero Province. He had complained of ill-treatment by prison guards. An investigation was reportedly initiated into the circumstances surrounding the fire.

• In January, three detainees - Sergio Daniel Romero, 16-year-old Matías Martínez and 17-year-old Ricardo Edgar Pared - died and one, Hugo Ariel Escobar, suffered serious burns in a fire at the 7th Police Station in Corrientes, Corrientes Province. The four detainees had been handcuffed to the cell bars after being beaten by members of the police. An investigation was reportedly initiated.

AI country reports/visits

Statements

• Argentina: Possible "disappearance"/Fear for safety - Jorge Julio López (AI Index: AMR 13/004/2006)

• Argentina: Human rights cases endangered by new wave of threats (AI Index: AMR 13/005/2006)

Suriname

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French Guiana

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