News of rights

Russia taking 'sharp' dictatorial turn in closing Memorial, says rights group

17-11-2021 12:57 Russia moving to shut down the country's top human rights group Memorial shows that the Kremlin has taken a "sharp" dictatorial turn, says one of the leading organisation's founding members.

Year before Qatar World Cup, Amnesty urges end to labour abuses

16-11-2021 10:12 A year before the World Cup in Qatar, Amnesty International Tuesday urged Qatar to end abuses against migrant workers, many of whom built the tournament's infrastructure.

Nicaragua's Ortega wins new term in 'sham' election after opponents jailed

08-11-2021 10:05 Daniel Ortega won a fourth consecutive presidential term in Nicaragua Monday in a vote denounced by the United States as a "pantomime election." Authorities had banned country's main opposition alliance from contesting seats.

Ortega and Murillo: Nicaragua's power couple

08-11-2021 09:57 Nicaragua's first couple, President Daniel Ortega and his wife Vice-President Rosario Murillo, are both in their 70s but have shown no desire to relinquish their vice-like grip on power.

Keeping up with the Jones Hualas

22-10-2021 22:09 Jones Huala is the wrong poster boy for the indigenous cause but that should not disqualify this extremely fundamental and sensitive issue.

by Michael Soltys

Argentina abstains from OAS vote criticising Nicaraguan government

21-10-2021 16:10 Alberto Fernández administration refuses to back Organisation of American States resolution calling for the release of political prisoners in Nicaragua.

Government seeks to speed up trials into crimes against humanity

12-10-2021 16:28 Human Rights Secretariat to launch strategic plan to accelerate crimes against humanity, aiming for four of five hearings a week. Cases involving elderly victims to be prioritised.

Mix of hope, scepticism among Mapuche as Chile rewrites constitution

12-10-2021 14:57 Chile's Constitutional Convention had already begun to draft a new constitution, but Mapuche leaders doubt that it will resolve the community's historic demands for land and self-determination.

Human Rights Watch: Brazil's Bolsonaro 'threatening' democracy

15-09-2021 14:13 President Jair Bolsonaro is "threatening democratic rule" with his attacks on Brazil's Supreme Court and electoral system, Human Rights Watch warns.

Another deadly year for Latin America's environment defenders

13-09-2021 14:01 A record 227 people were killed worldwide in 2020 for their defence of nature – more than four a week on average, and almost three-quarters of them in Latin America, said environmental rights organisation Global Witness.

Director Santiago Mitre recreates Trial of the Juntas in new Amazon film

04-09-2021 10:32 Renowned actors Ricardo Darín and Peter Lanzani to play prosecutors Julio Strassera and Luis Moreno Ocampo in Santiago Mitre’s ‘Argentina, 1985,’ the first Amazon Original film produced in the country.

Distrust remains as some women return to work under Taliban

01-09-2021 13:43 Some women, particularly those in the health and education sectors, say they have continued to go to work in the weeks since the Islamist militants took over Kabul on August 15.

IMF urges US$650-billion SDR injection be directed to Covid’s hardest hit

23-08-2021 15:42 IMF's record US$650-billion resource injection comes into effect; Kristalina Georgieva urging wealthy states to direct some of allocation to countries lacking means to cope with Covid crisis.

Nicaragua cancels work permits of six foreign NGOs, including Oxfam

17-08-2021 13:50 Nicaragua on Monday cancelled operating permits for six NGOs from the United States and Europe, just days after President Daniel Ortega's government was sanctioned for arresting prominent political opponents.

Nicaragua President Ortega to stand for re-election

02-08-2021 22:51 As expected, Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega will stand for a fourth consecutive term in November's general election, his Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) party confirms.

IMF officially approves increased lending capacity

02-08-2021 21:32 IMF approves increasing the institution's lending capacity by US$650 billion, last step in approving an initiative to boost aid to the most vulnerable countries.

Argentina issues first non-binary national identification documents

21-07-2021 20:41 Argentina became the first country in Latin America to recognise non-binary gender identities in its national identification cards and passports on Wednesday.

Chile senators approve gay marriage bill; one step left

21-07-2021 15:21 Senators in Chile passed a long-awaited bill Wednesday authorising same-sex marriage in what gay campaigners hope will be the penultimate step to its final approval.

Guaidó responds to Alberto Fernández: 'Human beings are disappearing in Venezuela'

11-07-2021 17:27 Venezuelan opposition leader challenges previous statements by the Argentina's president, but suggests Fernández administration "can be a bridge" in efforts to resolve the crisis.

Supreme Court confirms 25-year prison term for BA Province minister's torturer

06-07-2021 16:47 Supreme Court confirms 25-year prison sentence against former Santa Fe provincial policeman Mario Alfredo 'Cura' Marcote, one of the torturers of current Buenos Aires Province Health Minister Daniel Gollán during the military dictatorship.