EFE: The Mexican Attorney General’s Office publicly apologized to an Ecuadorian couple for the March 2014 death of their 12-year-old daughter at a children’s shelter in the northern state of Chihuahua.
The deputy attorney general for human rights, crime prevention and community services, Eber Omar Betanzos Torres, “addressed some words to the parents,” who live in the United States, at the Consulate General of Ecuador in New York, the AG’s office said in a statement Tuesday.
The MexicoBlog of the CIP Americas Program monitors and analyzes international press on Mexico with a focus on the US-backed War on Drugs in Mexico and the struggle in Mexico to strengthen the rule of law, justice and protection of human rights. Relevant political developments in both countries are also covered.
Showing posts with label Ecuador. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ecuador. Show all posts
Oct 22, 2015
Mar 22, 2013
Nobel Laureates to OAS leaders: "Vitally important to strengthen" the Inter-American Human Rights System
Ed: The OAS is meeting today to decide on measures to reform the Inter-American Human Rights System. The Nobel Women's Initiative, JASS, Movimiento Autónomo de Mujeres in Nicaragua and other Americas Program partners have been active to preserve the vital functions of the Inter-American Commission and Court on Human Rights that have been important in exposing violations and protecting human rights defenders. The Permanent Council was stuck on language about non-governmental funding to the System after a long series of meetings this week and last, but a meeting of nations that have signed the American Convention on Human Rights (San José Pact) agreed to remove proposals that would have seriously weakened the System.
A group of center-left governments led by Ecuador objected to aspects of the precautionary measures and sentences against their governments. They have accused the U.S. of exercising excessive control over the operations of the system and argued that States that have not signed the Pact should not have representation on the Commission. The U.S. and Canada, among others, have not signed the regional human rights commission and that lack of basic commitment to the System undermines regional efforts to guarantee human rights. Civil society organization and especially women's organizations that we work with have responded saying that the flaws should be addressed by strengthening, not weakening, the system. The draft resolutions call on all nations to sign the Pact and governments to fund all Rapporteurs adequately and equally.
Here is the press release and letter issued yesterday from Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Jody Williams and Rigoberta Menchu, from the Nobel Women's Initiative.
Nobel Women's Initiative: On the eve of a deadline for defining the future of the Inter-American human rights system, six Nobel Peace Laureates have sent an open letter to leaders in this hemisphere calling on them to strengthen both the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Tomorrow members of the Organization of American States (OAS) will be presenting proposals for reforming the regional justice system created in 1948, and which primarily oversees compliance with the American Convention on Human Rights adopted in 1969.
In their open letter to OAS leaders, the six Nobel Laureates—Jody Williams, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Shirin Ebadi, Leymah Gbowee, Mairead Maguire and Tawakkol Karman—note that the Inter-American Human Rights System has "proven to be an effective tool" for defending the basic rights of women and others threatened by rising levels of violence in some places in the region. They say the OAS mechanisms have been important in giving "voice and protection" to women and others at-risk.
The Nobel Laureates sent the letter in response to concerns from human rights groups in the region that some countries within the OAS are trying to weaken the power and effectiveness of the Inter-American Human Rights System. In 2011, Nobel Laureates Rigoberta Menchú Tum and Jody Williams led a delegation to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala to investigate rising violence against women human rights defenders. The delegation heard testimony from women and organizations that had turned to the Inter-American Human Rights System after hitting walls in their own countries.
"It was really important that the Inter-American Court took [our] case," said Imelda Marrufo, whose organization denounced rising femicides in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. "Authorities [in Mexico] were calling the femicides a 'myth'. The case led to the formal recognition that the killings existed."
Last week the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights heard the case of 11 women from Atenco, Mexico who were sexually assaulted by police in 2006 when Mexico's current President—Enrique Peña Nieto—was Governor of the state where the assaults occurred. A day after the Inter-American hearing got started in Washington, the Mexican government finally offered the women of Atenco a "friendly solution" to the case. The "solution" includes a public apology and reparations for the psychological and other damage caused by the sexual assaults.
The women of Atenco have since rejected the Mexican government's offer, instead opting to move forward with their case. "We are never going to be victims," said one of the Atenco women. "We are survivors full of hope."
Read the full text of the open letter below.
For more information, please contact:
Rachel Vincent, Media Manager
Nobel Women's Initiative
rvincent@
Mobile +1 613 276 9030
STRENGTHEN INTER-AMERICAN HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM
An Open Letter from Nobel Peace Laureates to All Member States of the Organization of American States
On the eve of the Extraordinary General Assembly on March 22, 2013, we are writing to call on all member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) to join together to strengthen the Inter-American Human Rights System.
The Inter-American Human Rights System—made up of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court on Human Rights—has proven to be an effective tool for the defense of basic rights, especially for groups that face discrimination in the justice system: women, indigenous peoples, Afro-Americans, migrants and displaced persons, members of the LGBT community, leaders of political opposition and the poor. The System also plays a critical role in cases where state actors are in complicity or directly involved in committing human rights violations.
The Inter-American Human Rights System has protected women human rights defenders and survivors of violence by making the work of such defenders visible, investigating complaints and contributing to prevention. This is vital work in a region where threats against some women and their communities are a daily fact of life.
At this juncture in history—when human rights are all too often taking a back seat to corporate and other interests—the goal should be to broaden and strengthen the System and ensure full funding for its important functions. This support should extend to all eight of the thematic Rapporteurs and the country Rapporteurs.
We urge the member states that have not ratified the Convention to do so as soon as possible to send a strong signal that human rights are a priority. We also strongly encourage the member nations to strengthen the system by fully and promptly complying with the recommendations and decisions of the Commission and the Court, and contributing to funding their operations at an adequate level.
The Inter-American Human Rights System has given voice to and protection to human rights defenders throughout the region, as well as at-risk populations. At this critical moment in it development, we call on all OAS countries to reaffirm their commitment and support for the important work of the Inter-American Rights System.
Respectfully,
Jody Williams
Chair, Nobel Women's Initiative
Nobel Peace Laureate, 1997
Rigoberta Menchu Tum
Nobel Women's Initiative
Nobel Peace Laureate, 1992
A group of center-left governments led by Ecuador objected to aspects of the precautionary measures and sentences against their governments. They have accused the U.S. of exercising excessive control over the operations of the system and argued that States that have not signed the Pact should not have representation on the Commission. The U.S. and Canada, among others, have not signed the regional human rights commission and that lack of basic commitment to the System undermines regional efforts to guarantee human rights. Civil society organization and especially women's organizations that we work with have responded saying that the flaws should be addressed by strengthening, not weakening, the system. The draft resolutions call on all nations to sign the Pact and governments to fund all Rapporteurs adequately and equally.
Here is the press release and letter issued yesterday from Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Jody Williams and Rigoberta Menchu, from the Nobel Women's Initiative.
Nobel Women's Initiative: On the eve of a deadline for defining the future of the Inter-American human rights system, six Nobel Peace Laureates have sent an open letter to leaders in this hemisphere calling on them to strengthen both the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Tomorrow members of the Organization of American States (OAS) will be presenting proposals for reforming the regional justice system created in 1948, and which primarily oversees compliance with the American Convention on Human Rights adopted in 1969.
In their open letter to OAS leaders, the six Nobel Laureates—Jody Williams, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Shirin Ebadi, Leymah Gbowee, Mairead Maguire and Tawakkol Karman—note that the Inter-American Human Rights System has "proven to be an effective tool" for defending the basic rights of women and others threatened by rising levels of violence in some places in the region. They say the OAS mechanisms have been important in giving "voice and protection" to women and others at-risk.
The Nobel Laureates sent the letter in response to concerns from human rights groups in the region that some countries within the OAS are trying to weaken the power and effectiveness of the Inter-American Human Rights System. In 2011, Nobel Laureates Rigoberta Menchú Tum and Jody Williams led a delegation to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala to investigate rising violence against women human rights defenders. The delegation heard testimony from women and organizations that had turned to the Inter-American Human Rights System after hitting walls in their own countries.
"It was really important that the Inter-American Court took [our] case," said Imelda Marrufo, whose organization denounced rising femicides in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. "Authorities [in Mexico] were calling the femicides a 'myth'. The case led to the formal recognition that the killings existed."
Last week the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights heard the case of 11 women from Atenco, Mexico who were sexually assaulted by police in 2006 when Mexico's current President—Enrique Peña Nieto—was Governor of the state where the assaults occurred. A day after the Inter-American hearing got started in Washington, the Mexican government finally offered the women of Atenco a "friendly solution" to the case. The "solution" includes a public apology and reparations for the psychological and other damage caused by the sexual assaults.
The women of Atenco have since rejected the Mexican government's offer, instead opting to move forward with their case. "We are never going to be victims," said one of the Atenco women. "We are survivors full of hope."
Read the full text of the open letter below.
For more information, please contact:
Rachel Vincent, Media Manager
Nobel Women's Initiative
rvincent@
Mobile +1 613 276 9030
STRENGTHEN INTER-AMERICAN HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM
An Open Letter from Nobel Peace Laureates to All Member States of the Organization of American States
On the eve of the Extraordinary General Assembly on March 22, 2013, we are writing to call on all member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) to join together to strengthen the Inter-American Human Rights System.
The Inter-American Human Rights System—made up of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court on Human Rights—has proven to be an effective tool for the defense of basic rights, especially for groups that face discrimination in the justice system: women, indigenous peoples, Afro-Americans, migrants and displaced persons, members of the LGBT community, leaders of political opposition and the poor. The System also plays a critical role in cases where state actors are in complicity or directly involved in committing human rights violations.
The Inter-American Human Rights System has protected women human rights defenders and survivors of violence by making the work of such defenders visible, investigating complaints and contributing to prevention. This is vital work in a region where threats against some women and their communities are a daily fact of life.
At this juncture in history—when human rights are all too often taking a back seat to corporate and other interests—the goal should be to broaden and strengthen the System and ensure full funding for its important functions. This support should extend to all eight of the thematic Rapporteurs and the country Rapporteurs.
We urge the member states that have not ratified the Convention to do so as soon as possible to send a strong signal that human rights are a priority. We also strongly encourage the member nations to strengthen the system by fully and promptly complying with the recommendations and decisions of the Commission and the Court, and contributing to funding their operations at an adequate level.
The Inter-American Human Rights System has given voice to and protection to human rights defenders throughout the region, as well as at-risk populations. At this critical moment in it development, we call on all OAS countries to reaffirm their commitment and support for the important work of the Inter-American Rights System.
Respectfully,
Jody Williams
Chair, Nobel Women's Initiative
Nobel Peace Laureate, 1997
Rigoberta Menchu Tum
Nobel Women's Initiative
Nobel Peace Laureate, 1992
Sep 30, 2012
Ecuador: Battleground Between Mexican and Colombian Cartels?
InSight Crime: Mexican and Colombian groups may soon start battling it out for control of drug trafficking routes in Ecuador, something that could further threaten the country’s already precarious security situation.
The drug trade through Ecuador has historically been controlled by Colombia’s criminal groups who, until recently, essentially held a monopoly over corridors moving through and out of the country. This is gradually changing however, with Mexican transnational criminal groups interested in moving further down the drug chain to cut out Colombian middlemen. As one anti-narcotics agent told El Comercio, “Colombian cartels no longer have the same power.”
Mexican gangs linked to Ecuador’s drug trade had traditionally played the role of buyers from Colombian cartels, due to the fact that they didn't have the operational capacity to move their own product from Ecuador northwards, another anti-narcotics official told the newspaper. Read more.
The drug trade through Ecuador has historically been controlled by Colombia’s criminal groups who, until recently, essentially held a monopoly over corridors moving through and out of the country. This is gradually changing however, with Mexican transnational criminal groups interested in moving further down the drug chain to cut out Colombian middlemen. As one anti-narcotics agent told El Comercio, “Colombian cartels no longer have the same power.”
Mexican gangs linked to Ecuador’s drug trade had traditionally played the role of buyers from Colombian cartels, due to the fact that they didn't have the operational capacity to move their own product from Ecuador northwards, another anti-narcotics official told the newspaper. Read more.
Feb 13, 2012
Drug War: Ecuador Captures Alleged Link Between 'Loco' Barrera, Sinaloa Cartel
InSight Crime: "Police in Ecuador have captured a man who allegedly serves as the link between powerful drug cartels in Colombia and Mexico, in a sign that the authorities could be moving closer to capturing Colombian kingpin Daniel "El Loco" Barrera." read more
Dec 15, 2008
Coping with Crisis, Latin America Seeks New Paths
As the U.S. economy tumbles into greater depths of disaster and ignominy—dragging the rest of the world with it—countries in Latin America have decided it’s time to strike out on their own.
At a Nov. 26 meeting in Caracas, barely mentioned in the U.S. press, the nations that make up Alba (the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas) agreed to form a regional monetary zone. The idea is to immediately create a new accounting unit to be called the “sucre” (standing for Unitary System of Regional Compensation and also the name of a historical figure) and move toward adopting it as the legal tender. The financial ministers of the six Alba countries (Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba, with Ecuador) subsequently met to begin the technical studies required to carry out the measure.
Venezuela’s finance minister, Ali Rodríguez, stated to the press, “When there’s a crisis that has among its factors the weakness of the dollar—profoundly affected by extremely high levels of speculation—that means that other regions must seek their own solutions, and that’s what is happening.”
While proposals from Venezuela to reduce U.S. influence in the region are nothing new, the other countries at the meeting showed equal enthusiasm for paths that would enable them to escape the shadow of the now not-so-mighty dollar.
Honduran economic minister Pedro Paez affirmed “At a time when the international financial crisis creates a horizon of compression of traditional markets, we are creating new markets to guarantee the adequate flow of resources and defend employment in our countries.”
Rafael Correa, president of Ecuador which is an “observer” to Alba, excoriated the dollar system. “Imperialism of the XXI century is no longer boots, no longer planes, no longer aircraft carriers, ships, or cannons. It’s called ‘dollars’, that’s how they seek to dominate us, and we’ve had enough of these pressures.” Ecuador switched to the dollar in 2000 (last time I was there you bought your sancochos with Sacajawea dollars, which solves the mystery of whatever happened to the second failed attempt to circulate a woman’s image on U.S. currency).
Other proposals to come out of the meeting include decreasing reliance on the International Monetary Fund and other U.S.-dominated international finance institutions (IFIs). The Group of 20 wealthy nations and President Bush have urged using these to bail out developing economies hard-hit by the same policies they promote.
“We’re not going to wait here with our arms crossed for the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund to come and solve the problems that this great threat unleashed on the world,” Chavez said at the Alba summit in Caracas. Although Chavez stopped short of calling for withdrawal from the IMF, both the IMF and the Inter-American Development Bank came under fire for placing political conditions on loans that limit countries’ political options in dealing with the impact of the crisis.
Chavez also criticized the Andean Development Corporation, a regional bank made up of governments and private banks, for operating along the same lines. Chavez proposed strengthening the role of the Bank of the South, and pledged $500 million of Venezuelan funds to establish a regional “common monetary fund” for the region and asked other countries to commit portions of their reserves to back up economies in crisis.
Correa slammed “certain international bureaucracies” in reference to the IFIs and their legal apparatus. He was quoted in the Ecuadorean newspaper El Telegrafo saying, “As usual, they are accomplices to the lenders and exploiters of our country, but they will find a new Latin America, one full of dignity, that will know how to respond in case they try to blackmail us.” Ecuador recently completed an audit of its foreign debt that shows that a large part of the debt was contracted illegally and under unfair terms. At the Alba meeting he got the support of the other six nations to face down the global financial system regarding payment of the illegitimate debt.
It’s true that experience shows that real results in building Latin American regional integration fall far short of the pronouncements. But the recent flurry of diplomatic activity—to be followed up by more meetings and a summit on Dec. 17 in Brazil—has an unprecedented urgency now: the result of not acting could be chaos.
The World Bank’s “optimistic” estimate is for about 2% average growth in the region, while other estimates predict a slight contraction. This compares to an average 5% growth a year over the past five years. In countries where so many people live on the edge, a few points uptick in inflation or a couple of percentage points drop in GDP affects survival. This isn’t a game of statistics.
The macroeconomic statistics, gloomy as they are, don’t even show the worst of it. In the most unequal region of the world, some will suffer more than others—and some will make money off disaster hand-over-fist. Although a few major companies are taking mega-losses, it’s the poor who feel the pain. In Mexico, the average real wage fell again, as inflation ate up the tiny nominal rise. Currency devaluation has pummeled consumers reliant on U.S. imports, and over a quarter of a million jobs were lost in the third quarter. Central American countries are suffering a drop in remittances from family members working in the United States, strangling the many small businesses and family economies that depend on that money. Inter-American Development Bank analyst Santiago Levy says employment will come to a standstill in the region in 2009, announcing plans to divert $6 billion of Bank funds to address the crisis.
The international financial institutions are salivating at the prospect of lending massive amounts of money to rescue Latin American countries and restore indebtedness in the region. Many countries, sick of the neoliberal conditions placed on loans, have turned their backs on the IFIs in recent years and their portfolios were seriously dwindling. Crisis means new clients—unless the Alba plan and others like it take off.
No-one knows how far this declaration of independence from U.S. financial hegemony will ultimately reach. Or even what “independence” looks like, beyond cutting ties to the dollar system. The Alba group promotes a trade model called the Trade Agreement of the Peoples as an alternative to U.S. Free Trade Agreements. While the Central American members have the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States, the other members have refused to sign FTAs.
The prospect of a unified Latin America that could finally stand up, not only to the U.S., but to the global financial system is not on the near horizon.
Once again, though, a refreshing wind from the south has blown the dust off the conventional “wisdom” of the system. For people in the United States who want to see the crisis open up real avenues for change, building alliances to help our southern neighbors build alternatives makes a lot of sense.
Related Americas Program Articles:
At a Nov. 26 meeting in Caracas, barely mentioned in the U.S. press, the nations that make up Alba (the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas) agreed to form a regional monetary zone. The idea is to immediately create a new accounting unit to be called the “sucre” (standing for Unitary System of Regional Compensation and also the name of a historical figure) and move toward adopting it as the legal tender. The financial ministers of the six Alba countries (Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba, with Ecuador) subsequently met to begin the technical studies required to carry out the measure.
Venezuela’s finance minister, Ali Rodríguez, stated to the press, “When there’s a crisis that has among its factors the weakness of the dollar—profoundly affected by extremely high levels of speculation—that means that other regions must seek their own solutions, and that’s what is happening.”
While proposals from Venezuela to reduce U.S. influence in the region are nothing new, the other countries at the meeting showed equal enthusiasm for paths that would enable them to escape the shadow of the now not-so-mighty dollar.
Honduran economic minister Pedro Paez affirmed “At a time when the international financial crisis creates a horizon of compression of traditional markets, we are creating new markets to guarantee the adequate flow of resources and defend employment in our countries.”
Rafael Correa, president of Ecuador which is an “observer” to Alba, excoriated the dollar system. “Imperialism of the XXI century is no longer boots, no longer planes, no longer aircraft carriers, ships, or cannons. It’s called ‘dollars’, that’s how they seek to dominate us, and we’ve had enough of these pressures.” Ecuador switched to the dollar in 2000 (last time I was there you bought your sancochos with Sacajawea dollars, which solves the mystery of whatever happened to the second failed attempt to circulate a woman’s image on U.S. currency).
Other proposals to come out of the meeting include decreasing reliance on the International Monetary Fund and other U.S.-dominated international finance institutions (IFIs). The Group of 20 wealthy nations and President Bush have urged using these to bail out developing economies hard-hit by the same policies they promote.
“We’re not going to wait here with our arms crossed for the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund to come and solve the problems that this great threat unleashed on the world,” Chavez said at the Alba summit in Caracas. Although Chavez stopped short of calling for withdrawal from the IMF, both the IMF and the Inter-American Development Bank came under fire for placing political conditions on loans that limit countries’ political options in dealing with the impact of the crisis.
Chavez also criticized the Andean Development Corporation, a regional bank made up of governments and private banks, for operating along the same lines. Chavez proposed strengthening the role of the Bank of the South, and pledged $500 million of Venezuelan funds to establish a regional “common monetary fund” for the region and asked other countries to commit portions of their reserves to back up economies in crisis.
Correa slammed “certain international bureaucracies” in reference to the IFIs and their legal apparatus. He was quoted in the Ecuadorean newspaper El Telegrafo saying, “As usual, they are accomplices to the lenders and exploiters of our country, but they will find a new Latin America, one full of dignity, that will know how to respond in case they try to blackmail us.” Ecuador recently completed an audit of its foreign debt that shows that a large part of the debt was contracted illegally and under unfair terms. At the Alba meeting he got the support of the other six nations to face down the global financial system regarding payment of the illegitimate debt.
It’s true that experience shows that real results in building Latin American regional integration fall far short of the pronouncements. But the recent flurry of diplomatic activity—to be followed up by more meetings and a summit on Dec. 17 in Brazil—has an unprecedented urgency now: the result of not acting could be chaos.
The World Bank’s “optimistic” estimate is for about 2% average growth in the region, while other estimates predict a slight contraction. This compares to an average 5% growth a year over the past five years. In countries where so many people live on the edge, a few points uptick in inflation or a couple of percentage points drop in GDP affects survival. This isn’t a game of statistics.
The macroeconomic statistics, gloomy as they are, don’t even show the worst of it. In the most unequal region of the world, some will suffer more than others—and some will make money off disaster hand-over-fist. Although a few major companies are taking mega-losses, it’s the poor who feel the pain. In Mexico, the average real wage fell again, as inflation ate up the tiny nominal rise. Currency devaluation has pummeled consumers reliant on U.S. imports, and over a quarter of a million jobs were lost in the third quarter. Central American countries are suffering a drop in remittances from family members working in the United States, strangling the many small businesses and family economies that depend on that money. Inter-American Development Bank analyst Santiago Levy says employment will come to a standstill in the region in 2009, announcing plans to divert $6 billion of Bank funds to address the crisis.
The international financial institutions are salivating at the prospect of lending massive amounts of money to rescue Latin American countries and restore indebtedness in the region. Many countries, sick of the neoliberal conditions placed on loans, have turned their backs on the IFIs in recent years and their portfolios were seriously dwindling. Crisis means new clients—unless the Alba plan and others like it take off.
No-one knows how far this declaration of independence from U.S. financial hegemony will ultimately reach. Or even what “independence” looks like, beyond cutting ties to the dollar system. The Alba group promotes a trade model called the Trade Agreement of the Peoples as an alternative to U.S. Free Trade Agreements. While the Central American members have the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States, the other members have refused to sign FTAs.
The prospect of a unified Latin America that could finally stand up, not only to the U.S., but to the global financial system is not on the near horizon.
Once again, though, a refreshing wind from the south has blown the dust off the conventional “wisdom” of the system. For people in the United States who want to see the crisis open up real avenues for change, building alliances to help our southern neighbors build alternatives makes a lot of sense.
Related Americas Program Articles:
G7 Plus G20 Equals the Rocky Road to Recovery?
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5732The WTO and Other Trade Tales
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5714
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