From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Date: 28 Dec 92 11:45 PST
Subject: LATIN AMERICA: BLOOD STAINS BLOT 19
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700913:000:6023
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Dec 28 11:45:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: LATIN AMERICA: BLOOD STAINS BLOT 19

/* Written 12:09 am  Dec 26, 1992 by newsdesk@igc.apc.org in
igc:ips.englibrary */ Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all
rights reserved.  Permission to re- print within 7 days of
original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: LATIN AMERICA: BLOOD STAINS BLOT 1992 HUMAN RIGHTS
SITUATION

//yearender//

an inter press service feature

by ivannia mora

san jose, dec 23 (ips) -- despite the disappearance of
dictatorships throughout the region, blood stains continue to blot
the human rights situation in latin america.

the figures are glaring: 2,840 dead this year in peru's civil war,
50 jounalists assassinated in mexico, whole indigenous communities
razed by the guatemalan military, and nearly 200 million people
living in poverty.

the litany of latin american human rights violations appears
endless.

in 1992, brazil, colombia, guatemala, haiti and peru earned the
dubious distinction of being some of the more dangerous places on
the continent.

as 1992 comes to a close, the spectre of military coups hangs
heavy in the hemisphere, with two failed attempts in venezuela,
alberto fujimori's ''presidential'' coup in peru, and the
continued tyranny of the military forces that ousted haitian
president jean bertrand aristide in sep. 1991.

in all of these countries, human rights took a beating as
governments eliminated important constitutional guarantees and
took repressive action against opponents.

still, for the first time, the concept of human rights has
expanded beyond the purely political-military realm, and now
includes concerns related to the environment, economy and cultural
rights.

while the grossest and most obvious human rights violations
continue to appear within the context of armed conflicts and the
fight against drug trafficking and guerrilla groups, the violence
and repression touches all aspects of society.

human rights activists currently argue that economic repression is
the principal and most serious threat to latin american people
this decade.

''due to debt payments and structural adjustments, latin america
is even poorer, and poverty is one of the worst violations of
human rights,'' said sonia picado, executive director of the
interamerican institute for human rights (iihr).  (more/ips)
----

latin america: blood (2)

according to observers, the unjust economic structures and
distribution of wealth drives poor people to protest and fight for
improved conditions, actions that cause governments and the ruling
class to respond in turn with repression, prison and persecution.

the annual report from the human rights organisation ''americas
watch'' shows that throughout latin america, the presence of
democratically elected governments has not automatically led to an
improvement in the day to day human rights situation.

despite the move away from dictatorships, the majority of latin
americans have not benefited from the shift to representative
governments and neo-liberal economic policies.

according to roberto cuellar, adjunct director of iihr, the people
need and want alternative development models, which have not been
supported by governments and businesses in the region.

with a reduction in regional armed conflicts, the poor, the
homeless, street children, political prisoners, and battered and
abused women are the new focus of human rights efforts.

predictions for 1993 run the gamut from cautious optimism to
terminal pessimism.

''i'm optimistic,'' sonia picado confessed.  ''latin america has
huge development potential and it is important to take advantage
of the changes within the world context to integrate the great
marginalised majority.''

however, for silvia porras, coordinator of the central american
commission in defense of human rights, the outlook is much
darker.

''nothing will change unless the development model changes.  for
this reason, i have little expectation that things will improve in
the short term,'' she said.

meanwhile, the election of bill clinton as president of the united
states has many latin americans looking northward for the fruits
of his promised economic revival.

''if the organisms that control latin america's economic policy do
not understand and address the region's misery, there will be no
barriers, electric fences, or rio grande able to contain the latin
americans that will flock to the united states seeking clinton's
pot of gold,'' cuellar added. (more/ips)
----

latin america: blood (3)

experts predict that in 1993, there will be outbreaks of and
continued violence in brazil, nicaragua, and venezuela.

''countries that have ended armed conflicts, like nicaragua and el
salvador, will see new fighting, not for ideological reasons, but
for economic ones,'' roberto cuellar said.

nevertheless, the theme of human rights should maintain a high
profile in 1993.

in january, san jose, costa rica will be the sight of the
continent's largest meeting on the issue, when regional delegates
hold a preparatory conference for the united nations world
conference on human rights, scheduled to be held in june in
vienna, austria.

just prior to the regional preparatory conference, latin american
non-governmental organisations (ngos) related to the issue will
meet to define their positions and make their presence felt.

iidh estimates there are some 290 ngos working on human rights
issues in latin america.

as in the june 1992 earth summit in rio de janeiro, the united
nations human rights conference could precipitate another
north-south ideological conflict.

''the northern countries have separated economic development from
human development,'' sonia picado explained.

according to picado, ''if you ignore the economic, cultural and
social, it is very difficult to attend to the civil and
political.''

poverty, insecurity and uncertainty still blot the latin american
landscape, and unfortunately, these are stains not easily washed
clean.  (end/ips/trd/so/hr/im/mso/eli/92)
----