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Article

27 Mar 2018

Author:
Peru Support Group

Latin America: NGO report highlights risks human rights defenders face defending territories from private companies

“IACHR holds hearings on HRD protection in the Andes” - 24 March 2018

On 26 February, as part of the 167th hearings of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), representatives from human rights organisations from across the Andean region presented a new report entitled ‘Defending the Territory is our Right’. These documents a series of cases and highlights the way that human rights defenders (HRDs) working on land rights and the environment are at risk…The hearing, held in Bogotá, was requested by organisations from Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia, as well as by the Belgium-based organisation Broederlijk Delen. From the Peruvian side, there were representatives from Aprodeh (Eduardo Cáceres) and Grufides (Mirtha Vázquez). There were no state representatives present, only commissioners from the Inter-American system. Who raised a series of questions and comments towards the end of the proceedings…The presence and use of security forces to protect economic interests, creating an environment in which HRDs are harassed, threatened, or even killed. Vázquez referred to the use of the police in providing private security to companies in Peru, citing 118 contracts between the police and private companies…