AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT RISK
In many countries in the Americas region,
defending human rights remained extremely
dangerous. Journalists, lawyers, judges,
political opponents and witnesses were
particularly targeted with threats, attacks,
torture and enforced disappearances; some
were even killed by state and non-state actors
as a way to silence them. Human rights
activists also faced smear campaigns and
vilification. Yet there was little progress in
investigating these attacks or bringing
perpetrators to justice.
Human rights defenders and social
movements opposing large-scale
development projects and transnational
corporations were at particular risk of
reprisals. Women human rights defenders as
well as those from communities historically
excluded were also targeted with violence.
Human rights defenders faced increased
attacks, threats and killings in Brazil. In
Nicaragua, the government turned a blind
eye to human rights violations and
persecuted activists. The plight of prisoners
of conscience in Venezuela – and the
government’s willingness to suppress dissent
– was highlighted when severely ill opposition
leader Rosmit Mantilla was denied surgery
and placed in a punishment cell instead;
after intense national and international
pressure, he received the urgent medical
care he needed, and was later released in
November.
Honduras and Guatemala were the most
dangerous countries in the world for those
defending land, territory and the
environment, with a wave of threats,
trumped-up charges, smear campaigns,
attacks and killings targeting environmental
and land activists. In March, the murder of
prominent Honduran Indigenous leader Berta
Cáceres – who was shot in her home by
armed men – highlighted the generalization
of violence against those working to protect
land, territory and the environment in the
country.
In Guatemala the criminalization – through
baseless criminal procedures and the misuse
of the criminal justice system – of human
rights defenders opposing projects to exploit
natural resources and their identification as
“the enemy within” was common. In
Colombia, human rights defenders, especially
community leaders and environmental
activists, continued to be threatened and
killed in alarming numbers.
In Argentina, social leader Milagro Sala
was arrested and charged with protesting
peacefully in Jujuy. Despite her release being
ordered, further criminal proceedings were
initiated against her to keep her in detention.
In October, the UN Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention concluded that her
detention was arbitrary and recommended
her immediate release.
In northern Peru, Máxima Acuña – a
peasant farmer caught in a legal battle with
Yanacocha, one of the biggest gold and
copper mines in the region, over ownership
of the land where she lived – won the 2016
Goldman Prize, a highly respected
environmental award. Despite a campaign of
harassment and intimidation in which
security personnel were alleged to have
physically attacked her and her family, she
stood firm and refused to end her struggle to
protect local lakes and remain on her land.
In Ecuador, the rights to freedom of
expression and association were severely
curtailed by restrictive legislation and
silencing tactics. The criminalization of
dissent continued, particularly against those
who opposed extractive projects on
Indigenous Peoples’ land.
Despite claims of political openness in
Cuba and the re-establishment of relations
with the USA the previous year, civil society
and opposition groups reported increased
harassment of government critics. Human
rights defenders and political activists were
publicly described as “subversive” and “anti-
Cuban mercenaries”. Some were subjected
to short-term arbitrary detention before being
released without charge, often several times a
month.
26 Amnesty International Report 2016/17