Human Rights in the Americas. Review of 2019

Inequality, corruption, violence, environmental degradation, impunity and the weakening of institutions continued to be a common reality across the Americas, resulting in daily human rights violations for millions of people. Several countries in the region were shaken by massive demonstrations during 2019 as people took to the streets to demand accountability and respect for their human rights. The response of most governments to these protests, with a few exceptions, was repression and excessive use of force in an attempt to silence demands for greater social justice. Instead of establishing mechanisms to promote dialogue and address people´s concerns, the authorities resorted to violence in the policing of demonstrations and, in some instances, increased militarization of public order operations.