All Content: indigenous

WOLA: Promoting Human Rights, Democracy, and Social Justice

22 Dec 2011
Video
As the year winds to a close, we hope you will enjoy this video about how WOLA works with partners in the region to advance human rights in Latin America. If you have not done so, we hope you will consider making a donation to WOLA to support our continued efforts. Your support makes a difference.

Dangerous Precedent Set by Consultation Process for Colombia’s Victims’ Law

Afro-Colombian Rights Undermined
8 Dec 2011
News
The law did not respect Afro-Colombian peoples’ right to previous consultation, and the Santos administration is missing the opportunity to correct this error

Afro-Colombian Victims Ignored in Development of Victims’ Law

Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network (ACSN) Statement*
22 Nov 2011
Publication
Colombia has so much to gain from a law for victims of the internal armed conflict that respects the constitutional rights of the victims–the government only needs the political will to do so.

Colombia Human Rights Bulletin

October 2011
31 Oct 2011
Publication
WOLA would like to share with you the following links to documents written by WOLA and organizations we partner with in Colombia on human rights, labor rights, and Afro-Colombian and indigenous issues.

Remembering Sister Yolanda Cerón

13 Oct 2011
Video
A film by the Diocese of Tumaco in memory of Sister Yolanda Cerón

WOLA Reaction to Colombia-U.S. FTA Debate

A Statement by Executive Director Joy Olson
12 Oct 2011
News
WOLA opposed this agreement because the experience with similar agreements has taught us who the losers will be, those least able to bear the cost

Human Rights During the Juan Manuel Santos Administration’s First Year in Office

Background Report by USOC and WOLA
29 Sep 2011
Publication
The report offers analysis on the topics of extrajudicial executions, human rights defenders, Afro-Colombians, indigenous peoples, internal displacement, the Victims Law and sexual violence against women.

Turning Point in Bolivia

An update from Kathryn Ledebur of the Andean Information Network
27 Sep 2011
Publication
On September 25 the government of Bolivia's first indigenous president, Evo Morales, cracked down on indigenous protestors opposed to a highway project. Adam talks to Kathryn Ledebur of the Andean Information Network about the incident and its political fallout.

Take Action to Protect Human Rights Defenders in Colombia

Human rights abuses continue to undermine social justice efforts under the Santos administration
13 Sep 2011
Publication
We urge you to please contact the US and Colombian authorities in order to protect human rights defenders, free those unjustly detained, and seek investigations that lead to justice for those murdered and recipients of death threats

Buenaventura, Colombia: Where Free Trade Meets Mass Graves

An article in NACLA by WOLA Senior Associate Gimena Sanchez and Kelly Nicholls of USOC
7 Sep 2011
Publication
Conditions in Buenaventura exemplify the inherent contradictions of pursuing an FTA with a country where an internal armed conflict continues to rage, where many people are mired in poverty, where workers are subject to abuses, and labor unions are quite literally under attack.

Against All Odds: Experiences of IDP Self-Protection Measures in Colombia

Paper prepared for the Brookings Institution’s "Exploring Civilian Protection" Seminar Series
16 Aug 2011
Publication
This paper by Ms. Gimena Sanchez, Senior Associate for the Andes, examines the experiences of internally displaced peoples' (IDPs) self-protection measures and civilian-led efforts to prevent displacement in Colombia.

Colombia Human Rights Bulletin

August 2011
12 Aug 2011
Analysis & Commentary
The Colombia Human Rights Bulletin provides links to documents written by WOLA and organizations we partner with in Colombia on human rights, labor rights, and Afro-Colombian and indigenous issues.

Take Action to Protect Afro-Colombian activists, religious leaders and trade unionists

ACSN Statement
10 Aug 2011
Publication
The Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network (ACSN) strongly denounces the following security incidents that have taken place in Afro-Colombian communities since July

Guatemalan Soldiers Sentenced to 6,060 Years for 1982 Massacre

A Step toward Justice
4 Aug 2011
Analysis & Commentary
On August 2, a Guatemalan court sentenced four former members of the Guatemalan Special Forces known as the Kaibiles to over 6,000 years in prison for the December 1982 massacre of 200 people in the village of Dos Erres.

Cauca’s Nasa Indigenous People Caught in the Crossfire

FARC Abuses Civilian Population’s Rights
15 Jul 2011
Analysis & Commentary
A bus filled with explosives was detonated on the morning of July 9 at 10:30 a.m. in front of a police station in Toribío, Cauca. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia’s oldest and largest guerrilla group, were responsible for the attack.

Mexico’s Supreme Court Decides to End Military Jurisdiction for Soldiers Who Commit Human Rights Violations

13 Jul 2011
Analysis & Commentary
Yesterday, Mexico’s Supreme Court issued a historic ruling establishing that members of the military accused of human rights violations should be tried in civilian courts.

A U.S.-Colombia trade pact would not address, and might even reward, paramilitary violence

An Article by Senior Associate Gimena Sanchez in "Sojourners"
7 Jul 2011
Analysis & Commentary
Far from guaranteeing fair and safe conditions for Colombian workers, the Labor Action Plan limits their ability to exercise their rights and ignores serious concerns about security, human rights, and Afro-Colombian and indigenous land rights

Members of Congress Urge President Obama to Protect Afro-Colombians before Moving Ahead with Colombia Free Trade Agreement

Rep. Hank Johnson’s (D-GA) initiative to strengthen Afro-Colombians’ territorial rights and prevent further displacement of Afro-Colombians before moving forward with the pending Colombia FTA
7 Jul 2011
News

Bolivia Withdraws from the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs

TNI and WOLA express their full understanding and support for the decision taken by the Morales administration, with the approval of the Bolivian legislature
30 Jun 2011
News
“The restrictions placed by the Single Convention on the coca leaf and its traditional uses – in the absence of any evidence of its harmfulness, were an historical error and a violation of indigenous rights”

Revelation of Assassination Plot against Curvaradó Leaders

ACSN Statement
24 Jun 2011
Publication
Recent Threats against Land Rights and IDP Activists Raises Concerns over IDP Land Returns