NORTH & SOUTH AMERICA
Photo courtesy of Haydee Marin, Coordinator of the ISHR Latin American Committee
The Latin American Committee of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) includes sections in Colombia, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, with additional sections based in Cuba and in the United States. Our volunteer human rights defenders on the ground monitor and report on current human rights violations occurring in their countries and also carry out a wide range of projects. These include support for indigenous education and peace building in prisons, among others.
To learn more about specific issue areas and our work in the Americas, see the updates below.
UPDATES
Nicaragua: Ortega Cracks Down on the Catholic Church
When Daniel Ortega came back to power in 2007, he promised not to make again the same mistakes he had made in his previous tenure (1979–1990).
Nicaragua: Human Rights Situation is Deteriorating
NORTH & SOUTH AMERICA Nicaragua: Human Rights Situation is Deteriorating The situation in Nicaragua – a country where sanctions against its governments down poured over the couple of dictators running the country – remains unchanged. The number of political prisoners now stands at 190 – among those seven presidential candidates who were a visible threat to Ortega’s ambition to perpetuate himself in power. The only two opposition newspapers are gone: “El Nuevo Diario” went broke as it could not stand the governmental manipulation and the daily newspaper “La Prensa” forced all its top journalists to go into exile while its building and premises were virtually taken and turned into a government culture center despite some constitutional provisions which prohibit confiscation. To make things even worse, Ortega is putting forward his most ambitious political plan: to get rid of all opposition political parties in order to create a one-party regime. Indeed, this alone will leave Nicaraguans at the mercy of the Sandinista dictatorship. Should this trend continue like this, the Nicaraguan people’s hopes to build a democratic nation are gone for a while. Ortega looks more defiant. And his peers in Cuba, Venezuela, and Bolivia [...]
Guatemala: Child Abuse Prevention Seminars
From 24 to 26 August, ISHR Guatemala held child abuse prevention seminars titled “Mi Refugio” in cooperation with the organization “Prison Fellowship Guatemala”
Cuba: Cubans in catastrophic situation
For years, the bureaucracy-ridden Castro regime has amply demonstrated its absolute inefficiency: Suffice it to say that Cuba can barely meet its domestic needs
Nicaragua, nothing has changed
Four years ago the spark of a spontaneous political rebellion began to spread. Ortega imposed ruthless repression and dismantling all democratic institutions. Nicaragua faces another period of opression under the regime of Daniel Ortega. The Latin American Committee of ISHR comments about it.
Have we forgotten Venezuela?
Venezuela is a unique case in history. A country with two governments. The Latin American Committee of ISHR analyzes the situation.