Amnesty International launched its “BRAVE” campaign to stop the wave of attacks against human rights defenders and journalists, highlighting that in 2016 they faced “unprecedented levels of persecution, intimidation and violence.” It emphasized that this trend is worldwide because in 2016 “the murders of activists rose by 80%, from 156 in 2015 to 281 a year later in 22 countries. (…) in 63 nations smear campaigns were unleashed against activists; in 68 more the defenders were detained for their work, and in 94 they were threatened.”

They stated that “of the 281 cases registered by Amnesty in 2016, 49 per cent of the victims were working on land, territory and environment issues, including many belonging to indigenous groups”, referring to the murder of Berta Caceres, in Honduras as an emblematic case in Latin America.

For Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International, “what we are witnessing today is an unbridled aggression by governments, armed groups, companies and other powerful players against the very right to defend human rights.”

For more information in Spanish:

En un año, suben 80% los asesinatos de defensores de derechos humanos: Amnistía Internacional, Proceso, 17 de mayo de 2017

Amnistía Internacional denuncia la muerte de 281 defensores de derechos humanos en 2016, El País, 16 de mayo de 2017

Agresiones por parte de gobiernos, grupos armados y empresas contra el derecho de defender los derechos humanos denuncia AI, Sididh, 18 de mayo de 2017

Valiente: campaña internacional de Amnistía Internacional VIDEO

Valiente, Amnistía Internacional

For more information from SIPAZ:

Nacional/Internacional: México segundo país más violento del mundo (IISS); afirmación que refutan Gobernación y Relaciones Exteriores, (13/05/2017)

Nacional: Amnistía Internacional presenta su informe anual sobre la situación de derechos humanos en el mundo. México, “en una de las peores crisis de derechos humanos y justicia”(3 de marzo de 2017)