'From the time we grow up, our grandparents teach us to love nature and the environment, to respect rivers, lakes and mountains, because, as children, they explain to us that all of it is sacred.'
In a series of groundbreaking rulings in early 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court of Colombia set new precedents that significantly enhance protections for human rights defenders across Latin America.
In the face of multiple human rights crisis in the region, as well as significant political changes, defenders spoke at the Human Rights Council’s 55th session about the realities they have faced, calling for greater action and new mechanisms, and noting that political expediency shouldn't trump the objective assessment of the need for Council action on country situations.
At the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner for Human Rights held an interactive dialogue on the situation of Haiti with the participation of the Designated Expert, William O’Neil.
At a Human Rights Council general debate on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, Racismo MX and ISHR delivered a joint statement on systemic racism and the invisibility of Afro-descendants and Indigenous peoples in Mexico.
ISHR and Articulación Latinoaméricana por el Decenio Afrodescendientes (ALDA) joined global anti-racism movements to demand recognition, justice and development for people of African descent.
During an interactive dialogue with States at the Human Rights Council, the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN) once again expressed its frustration at the lack of cooperation from the Nicaraguan authorities.
In the context of increased repression in Venezuela, UN officials, experts and States call for the respect for human rights defenders, the release of those arbitrarily detained, fair elections and the unconditional return of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
'They can take our homes, our titles or our surnames, but the hope and joy that sustain us, and with which we continue to work, still remain.'
Before the Human Rights Council, Guatemalan Indigenous defenders spoke of the 'historic opportunity' that Guatemala is experiencing but also of the deep systemic problems that must be urgently addressed.
