Segundo Alberto Pizango Chota, president of an Indigenous People's organization in Peru, is reported to be returning to the country on 26 May after several months in exile in Nicaragua. He is facing charges in Peru which seem to be unsubstantiated, and he may not be given a fair trial.
Alberto Pizango was charged with "rebellion, sedition and conspiracy against the state and the constitutional order", as well as with "apology of crimes against public order". However, at the time of the violence, Alberto Pizango was in Lima, hundreds of kilometers away. The evidence for the charges appears to rest solely on a press conference given by Alberto Pizango on 15 May 2009 where he called for an "Indigenous insurgence" against the government. At the press conference he apparently clarified that the call for insurgency was a call to the government to annul a series of laws which were being passed without the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous people, as a first step to initiating a dialogue as equals. He publicly retracted this call the following day in the presence of the Human Rights Ombudsperson and this retraction was posted on AIDESEP’s website as well as being reported in the press.
As millions took to the streets to protest rampant violence, inequality, corruption and impunity, or were forced to flee their countries in search of safety, states across the Americas clamped …
In response to the decision of the Preparatory Trial Court of the Supreme Court of Justice to overturn the pardon granted to former President Alberto Fujimori on December 24, 2017, …
Regional leaders must prioritize the protection of human rights in their final declaration at the VIII Summit of the Americas and take immediate action to fulfil that commitment in their …
The Peruvian government is neglecting the health of hundreds of Indigenous people whose only sources of water are contaminated by toxic metals and who lack access to adequate health care, Amnesty International said in a new investigation published today.
On the launch of its 2015 State of the World report, Amnesty International USA urged President Obama to use his last year in office to bring U.S. laws and policies in line with international human rights standards.
International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. “Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. “Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
Planned protests against a copper mining project in southern Peru must be allowed to go ahead peacefully and without police repression, said Amnesty International, amid fears of a recurrence of the fatal violence that marred protests in recent weeks
The Peruvian authorities must promptly ensure thorough, independent and impartial investigations into the deaths of two men in the past two weeks amid the policing of anti-mining protests in the south of the country.
This has been a devastating year for those seeking to stand up for human rights and for those caught up in the suffering of war zones. Governments pay lip service to the importance of protecting civilians. And yet the world's politicians have miserably failed to protect those in greatest need. Amnesty International believes that this can and must finally change.