The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has released a new report on citizen security and human rights in Latin America – part of an attempt in, the commission’s words, “to change the focus of attention from repression to prevention of crime and violence.” Latin America, as a region, continues to struggle with some of the highest rates of crime and violence in the world, making citizen security – defined as a condition in which individuals live free from the violence practiced by State and non-state actors -- “one of society's foremost demands toward State authorities.”
But policies implemented by various governments to address the matter have, “in general terms, diverged from international human rights standards.” Authorities, the commission says, often resorting “to the illegal and arbitrary use of force in the name of crime prevention and control.” Among the IACHR’s recommendations to correct this problem: a renewed commitment to constructing public policies that focus on “prevention, deterrence and, when necessary, legitimate suppression of violent and criminal conduct, based on the guidelines and within the limits established by human rights standards and principles.”
Those present for the report’s release in Argentina included Paulo Pinheiro, member of the IACHR and the individual responsible for the report’s publication; Santiago Cantón, IACHR executive secretary; Amerigo Incalcaterra of the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR); Gastón Chillier, executive director of the Argentina-based Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS); and Argentine national deputy, Griselda Baldata.
The report’s publication was supported financially by UNICEF, OHCHR, the Italian government, and the Open Society Institute.
To other stories:
· In other inter-American news, OAS Sec. General, José Miguel Insulza spoke at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC on Tuesday. EFE highlights Insulza’s call for new mechanisms that might prevent a future crisis like the one which broke out in Honduras last June. Multilateralism “has its limits,” said Insulza, adding that one of his desires is that the OAS be allowed to visit any country in the region without being granted an invitation before-hand. Striking a balance between democracy and non-intervention, he continued, remains a principal challenge before the inter-American body. Bloggings by Boz also has a good set of notes from the Insulza event that are worth a look. He says Insulza highlighted three areas around which he hopes the OAS will focus its work in coming years, so as to avoid overreach. Those include: 1) Protection of democracy 2) Fighting poverty/inequality 3) Promoting citizen security. Also some interesting words from Insulza about his belief that ensuring fair and clean elections continue is the OAS’s foremost concern when talking about democracy protection in the region.
· Nicaragua is another country which was brought up during Insulza’s discussion of democratic backsliding in the region. According to ACAN-EFE, the Carter Center arrived in Managua this week to meet with both members of the governing FLSN and the opposition on that issue. The mission’s goal: explore the facets of the current institutional face-off between the two groups in hopes of beginning some sort of dialogue. Also this morning the AP reports on new tensions at the non-state level in the country, as different student groups confronted one another with homemade mortars, sticks, and stones at the National University. The conflict at the university comes out of a disagreement over the election of a new university administration.
· Staying at the level of international politics, US Sec. of State Hillary Clinton also spoke on Latin America yesterday, addressing the Council of Americas’ 40th annual meeting in Washington DC. Her words were particularly directed at the region’s economic performance, and the issue of trade and business, more specifically. “This hemisphere, particularly Latin America, is doing better than average if you look at the world as a whole,” she remarked. Ms. Clinton also emphasized the Obama administration’s support for free trade deals with Colombia and Panama; its commitment to “energy security” and the development of new green energy sources in the hemisphere; the United States’ on-going support for inter-regional cooperation on security issues; and immigration. Here’s what could be considered Ms. Clinton’s take-away closing remark:
“We are really trying to work with governments and the private sector to increase economic opportunity. But this must be at the core of everything we do. We cannot be successful and produce the kind of sustainable growth and progress without economic opportunity being more broadly spread.”
· Three more articles today look at Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s upcoming trip to Iran – and the prospect of Lula serving as a new mediator on the nuclear issue there. Key conclusions here from each piece. In World Politics Review, Sean Goforth highlights the positive:
“Brazilian mediation is unlikely to prove decisive -- or satisfactory -- to the United States, Britain, or France. However, in the long run, Brazil's willingness to play such a prominent role in world affairs may bode well for Western governments. As the world transitions into an ‘Asian century’ or the ‘BRIC era,’ there should be some consolation in knowing that a democratic Brazil is willing to make its presence felt, not only in the global economy, but also in global politics.”
In Foreign Policy, Paulo Sotero, has the critique with a quote from former Brazilian Foreign Minister and Lula critic Luis Felipe Lampeira:
“It is like the person who crosses the street on purpose to step on a banana peel on the opposite sidewalk.”
And the New America Foundation’s global strategist Steve Clemons at the Washington Note has a piece I recommend reading in-full, examining the Iran issue in the context of Lula’s attempt to make Brazil an “indispensable nation:”
“This summitry represents a big gamble by Brazil's impressive President -- and one hopes that he understands that his nation's rightful place as a key pillar of emerging international stakeholders depends on getting nations like Iran to move beyond their past, to get beyond paranoia, and to constructively negotiate about strategic factors that divide Iran from the rest of the world.”
· The Wall Street Journal has a feature piece on the Brazilian Amazon … and the invasion of new shopping malls there-in.
· In Chile, the government of Sebastian Pinera faced its first round of student protests yesterday as some 4000 young people turned out to demonstrate against funding inadequacies in the Chilean education system.
· The Pakistani man arrested at the US embassy in Santiago is still being held by authorities there, although there appears to be no direct link to the Times Square incident from last week.
· The Center for Democracy in the Americas announces that renowned Cuban musician Silvio Rodriguez has been granted a visa by the US government to perform in the US. Rodriguez had been considered a persona non-grata for years.
· AFP says a pact has been signed between the Bolivian government and striking agricultural workers in Caranavi.
· A new Just the Facts podcast has Adam Isacson talking with WOLA’s John Walsh about the new US drug strategy released earlier in the week.
· Also from Just the Facts, a an open letter from four DC-based organizations who work on human rights issues in Colombia, asking Colombia’s presidential candidates to clarify their positions on issues of rights and security.
· Andres Oppenheimer in the Miami Herald says Cubans are being granted too much power within the Venezuelan military and government. “Venezuela's growing alliance with Cuba,” he argues, (‘Venecuba,’ or ‘Cubazuela,’ depending on which country you believe has the upper hand) is a marriage of convenience that may backfire for Chávez.”
· And finally an interesting note about the popularity of South America’s leaders. According to a piece in Argentina’s La Nación, the president’s in the region have the highest levels of domestic approval anywhere in the world. Lula tops the rankings. And the piece’s author, Rosendo Fraga, hypothesizes that their popularity comes from the fact that so many of the region’s leaders are not professional politicians. A trade unionist in Brazil, an indigenous leader in Bolivia, a doctor then businessman in Chile – all have made “South America the region in the world with the fewest professional politicians as president.”
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