This post is a summary of two articles published at Amnesty.org , The first on May 24,2012 with the title above. The second published on December 7th,2012 with the title: " Americas: human rights defenders increasingly targeted and attacked."
The courage shown by protesters in the past 12 months has been matched by a failure of leadership that makes the UN Security Council seem tired, out of step and increasingly unfit for purpose. Amnesty International said as it launched its 50th global human rights report.
"Politicians responded to protests with brutality or indifference. Governments must shown legitimate leadership and reject injustice by protecting the powerless and restraining the powerful", said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International Secretary General. The vocal and enthusiastic support for the protest movements shown by many global and regional powers in the early months of 2011, had not translated into action. A failure to intervene in Sri Lanka and inaction over crimes against humanity in Syria, left the UN Security Council looking redundant as a guardian of global peace. The emerging powerhouse of India and Brazil have too often been complicit through their silence, "Protesters have shown that change is possible, they have thrown down a gauntlet demanding that government stand up for justice, equality and dignity. They have shown that leaders who do not meet these expectations will not longer be accepted. After an inauspicious start 2012 must become the year of action," said Salil Shetty.
Other highlighted in report 2012 are:
_ Social protest gathered strenght in the Americas, frequently bringing people into confrontation with poweful interests. Activists were threatened and killed in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
_ Trends included abuses against indigenous communities in the Americas as drive to exploit resources intensified.
_ In Russia, civic activism grew, but opposition voice were abused and systematically undermined.
The report Transforming Pain Into Hope: Human Rights Defenders in the Americas, is based on around 300 cases of intimidation, harrasment, attacks and killings of human rights defenders on more than a dozen countries between January 2010 and September 2012.
"Human rights defenders are systematically harrased, attacked and subjected to unfounded criminal charges in almost every country in the Americas to prevent them from speaking out for the rights of the marginalized", said Nancy Tapias Torrado, Americas Researcher of Human Rights at Amnesty. Throughout Americas, human rights defenders have been publicy condemned as "illegal", "illegitimate", "immoral". They have been accused of being criminal, corrupt, liars, troublemakers, of defending criminals.
Those particularly targeted include people working on issue related to land and natural resources; the rights of women, the rights of GLBT; abuses against migrants; as well as those working to ensure justice for abuses; and journalists and bloggers.
"Governments must guarantee that human rights defenders enjoy comprehensive protection, which includes a recognizing the legitimacy of their work, investigation of abuses they face and the effective protection measures," said Tapias Torrado.
