By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – With the unprecedented resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the quick inauguration of Argentinian bishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio South America rejoices and celebrates the first non-European pope in 700 years. However the ascension of Pope Francis has not been the boon that many activists hoped it would be, with the new pope’s past casting a shadow on the future of the Vatican’s stance on LGBT unions and adoption rights.

Fresh on many people’s minds will be how Pope Francis handles the clergy’s sexual abuse scandals that plagued Pope Benedict and the Vatican administration. With the resignation and litigation of many top cardinals, notably Britain’s Keith O’Brien and Los Angeles’s Roger Mahoy, many speculate whether the new pope will take a harsher stance. The question will become whether Pope Francis will continue to shield many complicit with the child abuse cover-ups or remove them from positions of power.

While Argentinians are naturally ecstatic about the selection, many voicing their opinions in support; many gay and lesbian South Americans are naturally skeptical. While many media outlets have noted statements made during 2010 coming out in favor of same-sex civil unions, this may have been us as a political smokescreen for private statements that may represent his, and the churches true views. During Argentina’s 2010 decision to legalize gay marriage with the Marriage Equality Bill he took a hard stance against it, declaring that all children have the fundamental right to be raised by a father and a mother, and not any “sinful” combination of the two.  However realizing that fighting gay marriage may have been a losing battle he insisting on supporting civil unions, as a way to undercut and prevent the passage of the bill.

Despite his attempt to derail the bill, it passed and allowed gays to adopt children without the three-year waiting period. His response? “Gay parenting is a rejection of God’s law engraved in our hearts.”

While not quite as adversarial as Cardinal Peter Turkson who supported homophobic legislation in Ghana that could make homosexuality punishable by death, Pope Francis does not represent a much more liberal and progressive stance on the issue. Only time will tell if his support of same sex civil unions was legitimate and whether he will shape the Vatican’s opinions of LGBT rights and marriage in a positive way, or whether it will be more and the same from the Golden City.

For more information, please see:

Mommyish – The New Pope Believes He Is The Authority On How Children Should Be Raised And Educated – 15 March 2013

Al Jazeera – Gay Argentine React To Pope Francis – 14 March 2013

News Vatican – Biography: Who Is Jorge Mario Bergoglio – 13 March 2013

NPR – As Pope Resigns, Clergy Abuse Survivors Remember 2008 Meeting – 27 February 2013

Mommyish – The Hypothetical New Pope Might Actually Be More Gay-Hatey Than The Old Pope – 17 February 2013

 

By Pearl Rimon
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The former government officials responsible for tens of thousands of disappearances of dissidents in the southern region of South America during the 1970s and 1980s are standing trial for the first time. Twenty-five defendants, all former military officers, are accused of human rights abuses during Operation Condor, which was a decade-long campaign led by six allied military officials who conspired to find activists living in exile in neighboring countries.

Operation Condor coordinated the military dictatorships in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Opponents of the regimes were tracked down and often tortured or killed, these included guerrilla fighters, activists, students, priest and journalist.

The defendants include Jorge Videla and Reynaldo Bignone, who were former de factor presidents during the country’s 1976-83 military rule. Both are already serving life sentences for their role in the country’s Dirty War. The sole non-Argentine defendant is Uruguayan Manuel Cordero, a former colon charged with human rights violations from a Buenos Aires torture center. Videla and Bignone were accused of “illicit association” and “deprivation of personal liberty”.

“We’re delighted that after years of struggle this has finally come to trial,” says Alcira Ríos, the lawyer of a Paraguayan victim.

In 1980, a left-wing militant named Horacio Campligia was abducted in Rio de Janeiro and taken to a military base in Buenos Aires, which was his last known whereabouts. “The trial is historic as it’s the first to deal with the repression coordinated between Latin American dictatorships,” says Carolina Varsky, the lawyer representing Campiglia.

“This is a huge step to achieve the truth internationally…” said Atilio Borón, an Argentine political scientist.

The trial is expected to last two years and call 500 witnesses to testify. Judges are expected to rule on 106 victims’ cases directly from Operation Condor and on 56 cases stemming from a related operation. Most of these victims are Uruguayans who disappeared in Argentina, but citizens from neighboring countries were also affected.

“This is the first time in Latin America that a trial is being held over Operation Condor, to prosecute those responsible, above and beyond trials held in some countries for specific cases,” lawyer Luz Palmas of the Fundación Liga Argentina por los Derechos Humanos (FUNLADDHH), a human rights organization.

Operation Condor was backed by the United States. The investigation into the operation began in the late 1990s when impunity laws were still in place. Human rights have been a focal point in Argentina since Néstor Kirchner overturned impunity laws.

 

For more information, please see:

Christian Science Monitor — Argentina begins prosecution of military-era human rights abuses – 05 March 2013

Global Post — Argentine rights trial spotlights military abuses – 05 March 2013

Inter Press Service — Operation Condor on trial in Argentina – 05 March 2013

Yahoo! News — Argentina begins prosecution of military-era human rights abuses – 05 March 2013

In what is being called a victory by Ecuadorian gay and lesbian rights activists, local preacher and former Presidential candidate Nelson Zavala was sentenced this week for making homophobic comments during his presidential campaign. An electoral court cited him for remarks after he insisted that gays were “immoral” and implied that he could “cure” gay people of this immorality.

This is just the latest in a series of ill events for the former presidential candidate, he lost his bid for election last month against Rafael Correa. He placing eighth and last with just 1.23% of the vote, much lower than his projected 700,000 votes he expected to receive from evangelicals from the church. Zavala did not take the news lightly, and condemned the female judge who issued the verdict  “Those who judge me will be judged,” then insisted that “God will judge us all in the end,” before implying that the tribunal will be used against them when they stand at heavens gates.

 

The honorable judge Patricia Baca Mancheno found that Mr Zavala violated the electoral ethics, which “forbids candidates of publicly expressing any thoughts that discriminate or affect other people’s dignity or utilise symbols, expressions or allusions of a religious nature.”  Mr. Zavala had been cited and condemned for using hate speech before and according to the electoral law, the ” disregard of orders and judgments” of the electoral board “could lead to the suspension of political rights of the offender, as a candidate.” His statements concerning the homosexual lifestyle as sinners were found to degrade the LGBT’s rights to dignity.

 

Beyond the moral condemnation and ill response from local citizens, Ecuadorian Judge Baca deemed that Zavala would be banned from any political affiliation or government movement for a year, effectively ending any hope of spreading his homophobic message on any grand electoral scale. He had resigned from the Roldosista Ecuadorian Party (PRE) after the lack of turnout in his favor, stating that he will continue to denounce acts of corruption from within his church. The sentence includes a $3,000 fine and opening up liability against Zavala to be charged for a hate crime.

For further information, please see:

Huffington Post – Ecuadorian Ex Presidential Candidate And Preacher, Nelson Zavala, Penalized For Homophobic Comments – 12 March 2013

BBC – Ecuador Preacher Sentenced For Homophobic Comments – 11 March 2013

El Comercio – Zavala Announced His Resignation From The PRE – 22 February 2013

El Comercio – Begin In Ecuador Presidential Candidate Process Such Homophobic – 10 February 2013

By Brendan Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – With the death of Hugo Chavez the people of Venezuela have begun their morning period. But with the Venezuelan base restructuring itself to protect the transition of power come rumors and accusations of a western based assassination.

Since his death on March 5, accusations have come from the upper echelons of the Chavez administration have been implying that the United States and Israel conspired to assassinate Hugo Chavez and destabilize Venezuela. In 2011, Chavez upon discovering he had cancer implied that he had been injected by foreign imperialistic forces.

However at this stage, giving other people cancer via injection seems highly suspect. While Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez has implied similarities to Palestinian Leaders Yasser Arafat death, even polonium poisoning does not give you cancer, and merely mimics end stages of cancer.

The assassination of a foreign leader has been denounced by the Geneva Convention, which in Article 37 of Protocol I states “It is prohibited to kill, injure or capture an adversary by resort to perfidy. Acts inviting the confidence of an adversary to lead him to believe that he is entitled to, or is obliged to accord, protection under the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, with intent to betray that confidence, shall constitute perfidy.” Beyond the rules of International Conflict, President Reagan signed Executive Order 12 333, which prohibits US Intelligence agencies from assassinating foreign leader targets.

Venezuela has since expelled two U.S. military attaches, and the U.S. has in turn expelled two Venezuelan diplomats. It seems that until the Venezuelan administration finishes their probe into Hugo Chavez’s death, tensions will rise between the two nations. Yet the possibility of an unbiased report seems unlikely, as in 2006 Chavez told reporters, “If they kill me, the name of the person responsible is George Bush,” unwilling to acknowledge the numerous Venezuelans who were economically displaced when the President altered the economic and social structure of the country.

When Hugo Chavez took power after his failed coup d’état in 2002, he seized power away from the court systems, and undercut the ability of journalists, and human rights defenders to exercise their ability to report on violations within the country. Chavez was able to use the government’s free reign to intimidate, censor and prosecute those within the country who challenged his political agenda. In September 2012, Venezuela announced its withdrawal from the American Convention on Human Rights, indicating a radical decision in the face of international scrutiny.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Venezuela To Investigate Chavez Murder Allegations – 12 March 2013

Tehran Times – Assassination Of Hugo Chavez – 8 March 2013

Gawker – Could The U.S. Have Assassinated Hugo Chavez Using Cancer? – 8 March 2013

Miami News Times – Did Assassins Give Hugo Chavez Cancer? Conspiracies Fly As Groups Request CIA Docs – 7 March 2013

Human Rights Watch – Venezuela: Chavez’s Authoritarian Legacy – 5 March 2013

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILA, Brazil – Ronald McDonald’s has another fire to put out, and this one is not related to its flame broiled burgers. In Brazil new information is being released that would implicate labor violations imposed against young workers in order to keep the costs of running a fast food franchise down.

Brazil has the second most McDonalds of any country in the Western hemisphere after the United States, and with that comes its share of scandals. While not rocked by the horse meat scandal that has hit the United States, here McDonald’s young workers are coming forth complaining about slave-like working conditions that are being imposed upon them. Conditions such as sexual harassment, lack of minimum worker comfort, and work hours above the weekly maximum – which according to article 7 of the Federal Constitution on employee rights should not exceed 44 hours a week – are unfortunately far reaching. Beyond hourly violations furnishing workers with inadequate food are just some of the conditions many workers are forced to deal with in Brazil.

Last year, the Brazilian corporate office of McDonalds at Sao Paulo was facing 1790 cases for labor violations from claims concerning overtime violations, and minimum wage violations, and until recently has seemingly been able to get away them. The hiring of young workers for fast-food is everyday practice for many corporations, but in Sao Paulo the act has taken a slightly more predatory nature. McDonald’s in Brazil has taken to a habit of hiring teenagers with little to no job experience and no notice of their rights.

These recent labor violations have resurfaced thanks to a suit by a seventeen year old girl. She had been working at a Sao-Paulo McDonalds for 8 months without pay and has agreed to testify against her former employers.

Antonio Carlos Lacerda, a lawyer representing the young girl working for the Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union, believes this is one of many other similar situations. He believes “that when the investigation is concluded, they will prove that there is a systematic pattern of this kind of behavior through the entire McDonald’s system.”

These labor law violations are just some of the issues being discussed by the Inter-American Commission 0n Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights this month in Brazil. These issues crucial to Brazil – like slave labor and gender-based violence – are to be addressed to alter Brazil’s sometimes deplorable human rights violations.

For more information, please see:

Vice – McDonalds Is Violating Labor Laws In Brazil – 4 March 2013

Independent European Daily Express – Inter-American Human Rights System Reform Faces Deadline – 1 March 2013

The Drum – Horse Meat Scandal – McDonald’s Is Loving It – 7 February 2013

The Brazil Business – Brazilian Employment Law In A Nutshell – 15 May 2012

Lo De Alla – McDonald’s In Brazil: A Campaign To Cover Up Exploitation – 20 March 2011

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