Human Rights

The arrest in London of General Pinochet, with a view to his extradition to Spain on charges of crimes against humanity had an extraordinary impact in Chile, among the Chilean diaspora and around the world. Beatrice Twentyman looks at this impact.

The discovery of a pile of shoes and a ditch containing human remains at a farm in Jalisco state suggests that this was an extermination camp operated by the drug cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación. The government of Claudi Sheinbaum is trying to evade responsibility, blaming the authorities in Jalisco and trumpeting its progress in reducing the murder rate. Meanwhile, disappearances have escalated.

A new-born baby discovered abandoned in a plastic bag sparked a public furore, pitting the church and pro-life defenders against advocates of women's right to choose and better sex education and support for young people.

The CAMeNA archive in Mexico City contains fascinating testimony from members of the region's armed forces who remained loyal to constitutions and democracies and stood up (often at the cost of their rank, their liberty and sometimes their lives) against golpistas, the oligarchies and US-inspired National Security doctrines.

A graphic novel by Adam Policzer describes his experience as a Jewish child in wartime Hungary and, decades later, his arrest in Pinochet's Chile. In each case he was saved by the courage and humanity of individuals who dared to resist: a quality the book celebrates.

This list, put together for LAB by Camila Vergara Ruiz on the 10 year anniversary of the Ayotzinapa case, gathers informative resources to help us understand the forced disappearance of 43 students in Iguala in 2014. The list includes books, a podcast, a web platform and a documentary film.

A book of poetry by Argentine political prisoners from 1975-81, the period of the 'Dirty War'.

In August last year, with the 50th anniversary of the coup d’état in Chile fast approaching, Tom Gatehouse interviewed his father Mike Gatehouse about his experiences of being arrested by the military and taken to the National Stadium, and continuing to campaign for human rights.

Interviewed by Mongabay, Yuly Velásquez, a local fisher and president of an environmental organization, has spent years documenting water contamination and corruption linked to the Ecopetrol refinery in Colombia and she faces consistent threats and attacks.

A new report from the Institute for Policy Studies, Washington, warns that governemnt attacks on water defenders and others likely herald a return to metal mining, banned in the country since 2017. The IPS report also examines the increasing authoritarianism of the Bukele government and the new cllimate of fear it is inducing.