VI Americas Summit: Leaders urged to prioritize the most vulnerable

Authorities across the Americas must take urgent action to protect the rights of the most vulnerable people in the region, said Amnesty International in a new paper released ahead of the VI Summit of the Americas.

The paper Connecting the Americas: Prosperity with Respect for Human Rights explores some of the main human rights challenges in the region, including the abuses against Indigenous Peoples, widespread violence against women and girls, attacks against human rights defenders and the criticism by several governments of the Inter-American human rights system.

“The Summit is an important opportunity for regional leaders to commit to taking concrete steps to improve human rights across the Americas,” said Susan Lee, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

“The global prosperity that regional leaders are aiming for can only be achieved if the human rights of all in the Americas are respected and protected.”

The VI Americas Summit will take place between 14 and 15 April 2012 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

NOTE TO EDITORS For a copy of Connecting the Americas: Prosperity with respect for Human Rights, please see: https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR01/001/2012/en

Amnesty International representatives will be available for interviews from the Summit.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: Josefina Salomon, +44 7778 472 116, [email protected]