AMERICAS AT A CROSSROADS IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19
Blog post
Faced with an unprecedented pandemic, governments across the Americas have begun to respond to COVID-19 in a variety of ways, ranging from calling for states of emergencies, to imposing travel bans, to implementing quarantines. Stakes are high and the way governments respond to this pandemic could determine the future of millions of people.
Governments are ultimately responsible for protecting people and their human rights but have often failed to do so in the Americas. Deep inequality, structural discrimination, a tendency to revert to repressive policing, censorship, underfunded public health systems, and inadequate social security and labour protections long predate the outbreak of COVID-19 in the region.
Americas Argentina Chile Colombia Global Guatemala México Peru United States
Transitional Justice Handbook for Latin America,
This book’s goal is to dialogue with the large and growing community of professionals, government officials, activists, and academics who are engaged in our region to promote the work of confronting the authoritarian or violent past of our countries. Latin America has become, in fact, one of the most dynamic areas in the search for routes to transitional justice in recent decades.
https://www.ictj.org/publication/transitional-justice-handbook-latin-america
Dealing With the Past: Survivors Perspectives on Economic Reparations in Argentina
The experiences of persons affected by gross human rights violations during the dictatorship in Argentina, with regard to economic reparations for their suffering and losses, were explored. Thirty-seven participants were interviewed, 35 of whom were survivors and/or family members of persons seriously affected by the violence during the period from 1976 to 1983. Economic reparations form part of the Argentine states efforts to deal with the atrocities of the past, with such reparations constituting one of the transitional justice mechanisms implemented.
Attacking the Root Causes of Torture Poverty, Inequality and Violence
OMCT established a full programme to focus on the socio-economic dimensions of torture, arbitrary detentions, summary executions, enforced disappearances and other forms of illtreatment. OMCT has also established specific programmes addressing violence against women, violence against children and violence against human rights defenders.
http://www.omct.org/files/interdisciplinary-study/attacking_the_root_causes_of_torture.pdf
Torture in children
Torture in children happens during peace times and during political violence and war conflicts. The majority of torture victims happen during peace times. The high-risk groups are impoverished children living in the street, children deprived of parental care, children in conflict with the law, and children in detention. During political violence and war the high risk children are the children detained during political violence, child soldiers, children internally displaced in refugee camps, detained children during the war against terrorism and children tortured by peacekeeping forces.
Accountability in Argentina; 20 Years Later, Transitional Justice Maintains Momentum
Argentina is undergoing significant changes regarding the investigation and prosecution of human rights violations that occurred from 1976 to 1983, when the country was ruled by a military dictatorship and an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 people disappeared.2 This paper outlines transitional justice developments in Argentina and explores the history behind these advances.
https://www.ictj.org/sites/default/files/ICTJ-Argentina-Accountability-Case-2005-English.pdf
Centro de Estudio Legales y Sociales (CELS)
CELS works to uncover human rights violations that take place within the democratic context. Themes such as discrimination, institutional violence, access to justice, prison conditions, access to information, the freedom of expression, rights of immigrants and refugees, as well as economic, social, and cultural rights compose the ambit of CELS` action.
Argentine Team for Psychosocial Assistance and Research (EATIP)
Assistance is offered to physically and psychologically tortured persons and persons who have been imprisoned for a long time and relatives of torture victims and missing persons (in Spanish).