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Indigenous and Latina Women & Children's Human
Rights News from the Americas |
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Latin American Women and Children at Risk |
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Within Latin America - Colombia
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Last Updated July 07, 2011 |
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| Latin American
women and children of all races survive in a hostile social climate of
severe sexual harassment and sexual violence. These conditions expose
women and especially girl children to danger in the home, in their
communities, in their schools and in their workplaces.
The below articles & reports define the
scope of this ongoing crisis. |
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Latin America - The
Crisis in Colombia
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See Also:
The Indigenous Crisis in Colombia |
Ultimas
Noticias
Latest News
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Colombia
"At least 50 Afro-Colombian human rights defenders have been assassinated in the last fifteen years, and hundreds of black people slaughtered by multiple actors in order to gain control over their lands, natural resources, and to silence their voices of resistance."
Proceso de Comunidades Negras en Colombia (PCN)
Black Communities' Process in Colombia
June 27, 2011
One byproduct of this largely hidden campaign of
ethnic cleansing in Colombia, that targets indigenous as well-as Afro-Colombian
victims, has been the mass exploitation of internal refugees in human
slavery, including the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC).
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Hero: Ana Fabricia
Cordoba |
ACSN Outraged by Murder of Afro-Colombian Displaced Leader
Urges Colombian Authorities to Guarantee Security for IDPs and Implement Constitutional Court Order 005 on Afro-Colombians
On June 7, 2011, Afro-Colombian leader Ana Fabricia Cordoba from the Santa Cruz neighborhood in Medellin was shot dead. Ms. Cordoba was a leader of communities displaced to Medellin. She arrived in this city in 2001 when she was forced to flee after paramilitary groups killed her son in Urabá. A second son was killed at the hands of
[right wing] paramilitaries in 2010. Ms. Cordoba was targeted because she reported death threats that she received to the police, national government and other entities of the State. She also was an activist with the Ruta de Pacifica de Mujeres, a women’s organization that promotes victims’ and land rights.
The Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network (ACSN) is deeply saddened by this murder and sends its profound condolences to Ms. Cordoba’s family and the displaced communities in Medellin. While we appreciate that the Colombian government has publicly denounced this crime, we believe that such an action is insufficient. Ms. Cordoba had sought out the protection of the State after receiving multiple threats and she publicly had proclaimed “they are going to kill me and they (referring to authorities) have done nothing.”
As ACSN has recommended for the past three years, the Colombian State must take bold and effective steps to protect the leaders of the displaced from harm and to fully implement the recommendations made to it by Colombia’s Constitutional Court (Order 005 on Afro-Colombian displacement). Given the recent passage of the land and victims law in the Colombian legislature, which does not address the collective land rights of Afro-Colombians and indigenous peoples, ACSN believes that the Colombian authorities must act quickly to guarantee protection for displaced leaders and land rights activists.
Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities continue to be hard hit by new displacements. Starting on May 28, the Santa Ana community of the Community Council of the Black Communities in the Mangroves has slowly become displaced. The construction of a temporary military operations site close to the communities’ homes has placed civilians at high risk of attack. In February, this site was attacked by a canoe filled with explosives detonated by the
[left wing] FARC.
The United Nations Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that in Chocó, over 18,000 persons (16,000 afrodescendants and 2,000 indigenous) are suffering from an armed strike imposed in the area by the FARC guerillas. The armed strike confines the movement of these people and restricts them to a very dangerous region. This comes after the May 22 attack by the 34th Front of the FARC which killed several civilians and generated displacement of others. Also this month, ninety-two members of the Embera indigenous group fled Turbo after one of their leaders was murdered.
ACSN demands that the rights of Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities be respected. The Colombian government must fully implement Constitutional Court Orders 004, 005 and 009 and protect the lives of the leaders of movements in defense of displaced people, Afro-Colombians, and indigenous peoples. When leaders are threatened and killed, movements can be silenced. In Colombia, if these movements cannot exercise their constitutional rights more displacement and violence is inevitable and these communities could vanish.
For further information please contact Gimena Sanchez-Garzoli of
the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) at
gsanchez@wola.org or 202-797-2171.
Note: The Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network (ACSN) includes the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), TransAfrica Forum (TAF), Global Rights, Chicago Religious Leadership Network (CRLN), U.S. Office on Colombia (USOC), International Working Group of PCN, and activists and scholars Joseph Jordan, Roland Roebuck, Eunice Escobar and Arturo Escobar. Peace Brigades International Colombia Project serves as international observer to ACSN.
Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network
June 8, 2011
See also:
Colombia
Ana Fabricia Córdoba: a death foretold
A Colombian activist predicted her own murder – respect her memory by launching an inquiry into abuse by security services
"They're going to kill me and no one's done anything." When Colombian activist Ana Fabricia Córdoba spoke those words last April during one of the last public meetings she attended, a sense of defiant outrage was evident in her
demeanor – an unsurprising reaction for a woman who experienced first-hand years of armed conflict, and yet remained an outspoken advocate for the human rights of internally displaced people in the country.
She was shot dead on a bus by a lone gunman last week.
Córdoba moved to Medellín, Colombia's second city, after her husband and oldest son were killed by paramilitary groups. Once in Medellín, she became an outspoken opposition voice, losing yet another son last year. She always maintained that her son was killed by the police, an accusation made publicly on national television. Foolhardy? Perhaps, but symptomatic of her belief in using her voice in
favor of those victims of the conflict who, unlike her, don't have a public platform to speak from.
She must have welcomed the decision by President Juan Manuel Santos to recognize the existence of an "armed conflict" and the development of a "victim's law". Both steps have been rightly lauded as an important first stage towards a better rehabilitation of Colombian society. But it's also important that the years of abuse to which millions of Colombians have been subject are not swept under the carpet.
Accusations against left-leaning guerrillas and rightwing paramilitary groups have been part of the national discourse for decades. However, a third actor in the conflict has recently come to the forefront. Mention of the role that the security forces have played in the systematic abuse of the population has always been viewed as taboo in a society that has lived in fear for so long.
Rumors of sexual abuse and unlawful killings by Colombian security forces have always been present during the conflict. But it's not until now that the state has shown a willingness to put the country's "protectors" under closer scrutiny, perhaps the most welcome development in President Santos's victim's law. A case involving officers who have been suspended and tried for the rape and murder of young girls in Arauca serves to substantiate the state's position that it is genuine in its claim to take a stand and clean out the house from within. However, cases such as this one are few and far between, and it's important for Colombian society to continue to apply pressure on the government.
Last week, during a debate in the Colombian Congress, Angela María Robledo and Iván Cepeda denounced the large-scale abuse perpetuated by the security forces in Colombia, in particular towards women. They claimed that every hour six Colombian women are physically abused as part of the conflict – an alarming statistic in itself, which is compounded by the further claim that among those reported, the security forces are responsible for a staggering 83% of the crimes. ..
Euclides Montes
The Guardian
June 13, 2011
Colombia
No con Nuestro Consentimiento! PCN y Diferentes Sectores de la Sociedad Civil en Estados Unidos y Colombia Rechazan el TLC
En un esfuerzo por sacar adelante el Tratado de Libre Comercio con Colombia, la administración de Obama y lideres del Congreso de Estados Unidos han venido diciendo que la violencia en Colombia no es tan grave como los reportes claman y que la administración de Juan Manuel Santos esta mostrando grandes avances en materia de derechos humanos!
Debería el gobierno de los Estados Unidos y su gente establecer aun mas cercanas relaciones con el gobierno de Colombia a través de un Tratado de Libre Comercio, cuando el gobierno solo se ha comprometido con cambios cosméticos en materia de derechos humanos y libertades fundamentales? El Proceso de Comunidades Negras (PCN) responde NO! El gobierno Colombiano no ha establecido medidas efectivas que aseguren que el TLC no incrementará la frecuencia e intensidad de los abusos de derechos humanos cometidos contra las Comunidades Afrocolombianas, quienes ocupan tierras que potencialmente alcanzaran mayor valor como resultado del TLC. “El PCN se opondrá al TLC con Estados Unidos hasta que el gobierno de Colombia demuestre verdadero compromiso para atender los pasados y presentes crímenes contra las comunidades Afrocolombianas y defensores de derechos humanos” declaró Charo Mina- Rojas, Coordinadora Nacional de Cabildeo y Relaciones Internacionales del PCN, con base en Washington, DC...
Los Representantes Hank Jonson (Georgia), George Millar (California y Linda Sánchez (California), igualmente hicieron eco de la preocupación de la sociedad civil sobre el TLC. En una rueda de prensa la semana pasada, después de la visita de sindicalistas Afro-Colombianos al Congreso de los Estados Unidos, los Representantes enfatizaron que el Tratado de Libre Comercio con Colombia no debe ser ratificado mientras violencia, intimidación, asesinatos, amenazas de muerte y masacres continúen ocurriendo en Colombia.
“Es escandaloso que Colombia es el país mas peligroso para sindicalistas y uno de los mas peligrosos para defensores de derechos humanos y sin embargo el TLC continua teniendo un fuerte lobby, bajo la excusa de que hay “progreso significativo” en materia de derechos humanos. Al menos 50 lideres Afrodescendientes han sido asesinados en los últimos quince años. Cientos de personas Negras han sido brutalmente asesinadas para ganar control sobre sus territorios y recursos naturales y para acallar sus voces de resistencia. Docenas de organizaciones Afro-Colombianas y Consejos Comunitarios, incluido el PCN, son objetivo militar de paramilitares y guerrillas. Este año, grupos armados asesinaron brutalmente a tres lideresas Afrodescendientes que no recibieron protección del gobierno a pesar de estar amenazadas de muerte”, de acuerdo con Mina-Rojas...
Not With Our Consent! PCN and Different Sectors of Civil Society Reject U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
In order to advance the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, the Obama Administration and congressional leaders are saying that the violence in Colombia is not as bad as recent reports claim and that the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos is making great progress on labor and human rights issues!
Should the United States Government and its people establish even closer links with the Government of Colombia through a Free Trade Agreement, when that government has only committed itself to cosmetic changes toward the protection of fundamental freedoms and human rights? The Black Communities’ Process in Colombia (El Proceso de Comunidades Negras en Colombia) –PCN response is NO! The Colombia government has not established effective measures to ensure that the FTA would not increase the frequency and intensity of human rights abuses directed at the Afro-Colombian Communities who are occupying lands that potentially will become even more valuable as a result of the FTA. "The PCN will oppose the FTA with the US until the Colombian Government demonstrates a real commitment to addressing past and current crimes against Afro-Colombian communities and human rights defenders" states Charo Mina-Rojas, PCN's National Coordinator of Advocacy and Outreach, based in Washington DC...
U.S. Representatives Hank Johnson (Georgia), George Millers (California) and Linda Sanchez (California) also echoed civil society’s concerns about the FTA. At a press conference last week, after a visit paid by Afro-Colombian Trade Unionists to the Capitol Hill, they underscored that the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement should not be approved by the House of Representatives, while violence, intimidation assassinations, death threats and massacres continue happening in Colombia.
"It is scandalous that Colombia is the most dangerous place in the world for trade unionists and one of the top most dangerous countries for human rights defenders an yet, the FTA continued to be heavily lobbied under the guise of ‘significant progress’ on human rights in Colombia.
At least 50 Afro-Colombian human rights defenders have been assassinated in the last fifteen years, and hundreds of black people slaughtered by multiple actors in order to gain control over their lands, natural resources, and to silence their voices of resistance. Dozens of Afro-Colombian grassroots organizations and Community Councils, including PCN, have been declared ‘military’ targets by the paramilitaries and guerrillas. In 2011 alone illegal armed groups brutally assassinated three Afro-descendant women leaders who had been refused protection by the government despite their having received death threats," according to Mina-Rojas...
Proceso de Comunidades Negras en Colombia (PCN)
Black Communities' Process in Colombia (PCN)
June 27, 2011
Note: The forced displacement of African descendant and
indigenous peoples in Colombia constitutes the largest internal refugee crisis
in the world today.
Displaced women and children are routinely subjected to sexual
violence and are at-risk of becoming victims of sex trafficking, especially in
major tourist beach resorts such as the city of Cartagena de Indias. -LL
See also:
Colombia
Recent Violations of Afro-Colombian Human Rights
A dossier from the Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network (ACSN)
The Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network (ACSN) wishes to call attention to the recent setbacks regarding Afro-Colombian human rights:
...Disappearance of Afro-Colombian Leader
On March 2, 2011, Ana Julia Renteria, President of the Community Council of the Cajambre River, and her husband, Miguel Santos Renteria, were forced to attend a meeting away from their home by unknown men. There is no information on Ana Julia and Miguel’s whereabouts since their disappearance. Ms. Renteria is a prominent Afro-Colombian community leader and the mother of nine children.
Colombian Soldiers Burn 119 Afro-Colombian Families’ Homes
On February 28, 2011, the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace (Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz) reported that soldiers from the 80th Battalion burned and destroyed the homes of 119 Afro-Colombians in the Lower Calima river area. The justification given by the military for burning down these homes, that have belonged to these communities for the past 70 years, is that they are now the property of the economic development project- Industrial Port of Fresh Water S.A. (Puerto Industrial Agua Dulce S.A.). This community has suffered four similar incidents since 2005 leading to the destruction of 47 homes and subsequent displacement of residents.
Murders of Buenaventura’s Afro-Colombian Women
According to the Foundation for Women’s Development of Buenaventura (Fundación para el Desarrollo de la Mujer de Buenaventura,
FUNDEMUJER), 65 women were assassinated in the Port of Buenaventura in the past three years. Fifteen of these women were killed in the past fifteen months. These attacks include the rape and murder of 15 year old Matia Mulumba whose hand was cut off prior to her death and Monica Lissete Duque aged 17 who was also raped and her throat cut. Most of the women killed were between the ages of 18-20. However, such cases also involve girls as young as 10-12 years old. The total number of cases is not known since persons are afraid to report them for fear of reprisals. While the motives behind these killings are not clear, it seems that the overall violent climate in Buenaventura, due to the internal armed conflict and drug trade, is a factor that leads to the mutilation, rape and violence of women. Impunity is the norm for almost all of these cases, leaving the possibility for perpetrators to act against new victims...
The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
March 16, 2011
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Colombia
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Youth from the
city of Cartegena's impoverished
Boquilla neighborhood
participate in performing
Colombian folkloric music in as
part of cultural activities
organized by the
Renacer
(Rebirth) Foundation
to guide local children and
youth away from the tourist
resort's child sex traffickers. |
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A
Renacer
(Rebirth) Foundation
information table promotes the
"We are the Wall" campaign,
working to bring the hotel
industry and other tourist
businesses into a campaign to
stop child sex tourism in the
beach resort city of Cartagena |
Prostitutas protegen a niños de redes de proxenetas
Trabajadoras sexuales de Cartagena le declararon la guerra a la prostitución infantil en este turístico balneario del Caribe colombiano y junto a la policía y ONGs buscan estrategias para evitar que los menores caigan en las redes de proxenetas.
Las prostitutas lideran un proyecto para que taxistas, vendedores ambulantes y meseros cooperen frente a mafias que ofrecen a unos 2.000 niños de los barrios marginales.
“Fui prostituta antes que mujer. Comencé a los 10 años y sufrí experiencias que no creerían. Sé que no puedo borrar el pasado, pero sí puedo evitar que otros niños pasen por lo que yo viví y por eso los invito a ayudar”, dijo Damaris a un grupo de taxistas reunidos en un salón público de La Boquilla, un deprimido sector de la ciudad.
La mujer, que aún ejerce en un prostíbulo del centro de la ciudad, forma parte de la campaña ‘La muralla soy yo’ que busca involucrar a quienes viven del turismo en la lucha contra la explotación de niños y adolescentes.
“Desafortunadamente aquí al turista que llega con plata se le permite casi todo. Mi invitación es a ponerle límite. Que cuando pregunten por niños para (tener) sexo, no les pasen información. Piensen que son niños y que ellos, como sus hijos, valen más que cualquier propina”, pidió.
Pero el negocio de la prostitución ha cambiado y con las nuevas tecnologías “ahora es menos frecuente ver el corrillo (grupo) de muchachitos esperando en una esquina la llegada del cliente”, señaló Luis Céspedes, uno de los taxistas que participó en el taller.
“Antes los turistas preguntaban por niñas, pero ahora los contactos se hacen por internet. El turista dice ‘Lléveme a tal hotel’ ahí tiene su cuento con el muchachito o la pelada (niña) le paga y ya. No entiendo cómo vamos a poder ayudar”, cuestionó.
El comandante de Policía local, general Ricardo Restrepo, admitió que este negocio ilegal “se ha sofisticado” y que detrás del abuso sexual a menores en Cartagena se mueven poderosas mafias...
Adults in prostitution unite to protect children from sex traffickers
Sex workers in the coastal tourist resort city of
Cartagena have declared war on child prostitution. Working in collaboration with
police and non governmental organizations, they are developing strategies to
prevent children from falling into the hands of prostitution networks.
Adult sex workers are leading a project to convince taxi drivers, street vendors and
waiters not to cooperate with the sexual exploitation networks that today sell some
2,000 children from the city's slums in prostitution.
A woman named Damaris, speaking to a gathering of local taxi drivers in a poor
section of Cartagena called La Boquilla said, "I was a prostitute before I became a woman. I started at the age of 10,
and I went through experiences that you would not believe. I know that I can't
erase the past, but I can prevent other children go through what I lived
through, and I invite you to help."
The woman, who still works in a brothel in the city center, is part of the
campaign "I am the wall,' that seeks to involve those who work in the tourism
industry in the fight against the exploitation of children and adolescents.
Damaris,
"Unfortunately the tourist who comes here with money is allowed to do
almost anything they want. I invite you to help us place limits on them. When these
tourists ask for children to have sex [a question asked of taxi drivers across
Latin America], don't give them information. Remember
that they are children and that they, like your children, are worth more than
any tip."
The business of prostitution has changed with the emergence of new technologies
[the Internet]. "It is now less common to see a circle of boys on a corner
waiting for the arrival of a customer," said Luis Cespedes, one of the drivers
who participated in the workshop.
"Before the tourists asked for girls, but now the contacts are carried out online.
These days, the
tourist says, 'Take me to this hotel.' They engage with a boy or girl, pay them,
and that's it. I do not understand how we can help," exclaimed
Cespedes.
The local police commander, General Ricardo Restrepo admitted that this illegal
business "is sophisticated." He acknowledged that powerful mafias control child
prostitution in Cartagena.
"Last year we conducted operations with U.S. authorities with very good results.
Now we're doing the same with an organization in Spain. These countries know
that they have citizens who come to Cartagena to engage in these types of
crimes. These nations have therefore taken on their responsibilities [to react]," said
the official said.
Mayerlin Vergara, of the non governmental organization Renacer, noted that "ten
years ago, we found the child victims of sexual exploitation in the clubs or on
the streets. They now engage in prostitution in communities and in educational
institutions. They no longer have a reason to come to the city center."
Attorney Freddys del Toro, of the Swiss NGO
Tierra de Hombres, which advocates for victims of child sexual
exploitation, noted that child sex tourism is promoted "through so-called travel agencies that
operate online and that don't have local offices, making it difficult to combat
their activities."
The Cartagena prosecutor's office has registered 400 complaints of child sexual
abuse. Prosecutions of child sexual exploiters have resulted in 19 convictions
to-date.
"We just had a historic decision in Colombia. For the first time, a foreigner
was convicted. Italian Paolo Pravisani, age 72, was [sentenced] in the death of
a young boy, Yesid Torres, whom
Pravisani
was sexually abusing," said
del Toro.
In 2010 Colombian authorities arrested Briton Anthony Paul Brailsford, who has
lived in Cartagena since 2001. Police found photos of naked girls in his
possession. Meanwhile, in March, the Spanish
film
producer Pablo Lapiedra was arrested on accusations that he was filming
pornographic movies with children.
Colombian law provides for penalties of up to eight years in prison for those
who lead, organize or promote tourist activities that include the sexual use of
children and provides that property used for that purpose may be confiscated.
Figures from the government's Colombian Family Welfare Institute estimates that
about 35,000 children are forced into prostitution in the country. Some 2,000 of
those children live in Cartagena.
El Nuevo Heraldo
June 17, 2011
Added Nov. 1, 2005
Colombia
Afro
Colombian
peace
activist
Orlando
Valencia
was
found
murdered
on
November
1st,
2005,
after
being
kidnapped
on
October
15th
by
right-wing
paramilitary
guerrillas.
Valencia
had
been
denied
a
U.S.
visa
to
attend
a
'Partnering
for
Peace'
conference
in
Chicago,
Illinois
immediately
before
his
kidnapping.
Lutheran
World
Relief
president
Kathryn
Wolford:
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“Unfortunately, what happened
to Orlando happens to many others in Colombia, and all too
often these tragedies go unnoticed.”
“Orlando was an outstanding
young leader, bringing hope to his community, working for
the dignity and protection..." |
-
Lutheran
World
Relief
Reuters
Nov.
1,
2005
See
also:
Luthern
World
Relief's
Action
Alert
on
the
murder
of
Orlando
Valencia.
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Colombia threatens to attack paramilitaries if
they don't disarm by the end of 2005.
Reuters
Nov.
1,
2005
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July 18 2005
La Organización Renacer Urgió Hoy a las
Autoridades Colombianas a Combatir el Auge del Turismo Sexual en el
Balneario de Cartagena, Donde se Ofrecen Niñas de Entre Ocho y 17
Años en la Prostitución.
The Children's Rights Advocacy Organization Renacer (Rebirth) Urges
Colombian Authorities to Change the Laws and Fight Child
Prostitution in the Spa Resort City of Cartagena, where an
Increasing Number of Girls Between 8 and 17 are Prostituted to Sex
Tourists. |
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June 22, 2005
Human
Rights Watch: Women Who Have an Abortion Can Be Jailed for 4 Years
Even When Life is Endangered, and in Cases Of Rape.
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United Nations
News
(Added May 24,
2005)
Fear
of clashes drives more than 1,000 Colombians from their homes in
northwest – United Nations
20 May –
Some 1,100 people have fled their homes along the
Buey River in north-west Colombia, citing fears of heightened
clashes in the area, according to the UN refugee agency, which has
joined with local authorities on a mission to verify reports of
further displacement in the area.FULL STORY>>
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Added May 22,
2005
The
international Organization for Migration Warns that Child
Prostitution has Risen 100% During the Past Year in the Colombian
Coastal City of Santa Marta. |
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Added May 22,
2005
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United Nations
News
(Added May 24,
2005) ACNUR
otorgará documentos de identidad a desplazados colombianos
20 de mayo, 2005
- La Oficina del Alto Comisionado para los Refugiados en Colombia
suministrará documentos de identificación a 1.100 desplazados, lo
que les permitirá recibir asistencia humanitaria.  |
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United Nations
News
(Added May 24,
2005) Oficina de
Derechos Humanos preocupada por amenazas de muerte a ciudadanos
colombianos
18 de mayo, 2005
- La Oficina en Colombia del Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas
para los Derechos Humanos expresó hoy preocupación por las amenazas
de muerte recibidas por cuatro profesionales colombianos en los
últimos días. |
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United Nations
News
(Added May 24,
2005) ACNUR
preocupado por violencia e intimidación contra jóvenes desplazados
en Colombia
17 de mayo, 2005
- La Oficina del Alto Comisionado de la ONU para los Refugiados
(ACNUR) expresó preocupación por la violencia e intimidación a que
están expuestos los jóvenes desplazados en Colombia. En ese país hay
más de 2 millones de personas desplazadas, de las cuales unas
400.000 son menores de 29 años. |
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United Nations
News
(Added May 24,
2005)
Comisionada de la ONU
pide que se garanticen en Colombia los derechos a la verdad y a la
justicia
16 de mayo, 2005
- La Alta Comisionada de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos
Humanos, Louise Arbour, urgió al Gobierno y al Congreso de Colombia
que establezcan un marco legal que reconozca y garantice plenamente
los derechos a la verdad, la justicia y la indemnización a las
víctimas del conflicto armado. |
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United Nations
News
(Added May 24,
2005)
Arbour se entrevista
con presidente colombiano
13 de mayo, 2005
- La Alta Comisionada de la ONU para los Derechos Humanos expresó
hoy al presidente colombiano, Álvaro Uribe, su preocupación por la
crítica situación de esos derechos en Colombia. |
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United Nations
News
(Added May 24,
2005)
Alta Comisionada para
los Derechos Humanos visita Colombia
11 de mayo, 2005
- La Alta Comisionada para los Derechos Humanos, Louise Arbour,
comienza hoy una visita de cuatro días a Colombia.
Arbour se reunirá con miembros del gobierno de Colombia, el Tribunal
Constitucional y con representantes de organizaciones no
gubernamentales.
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United Nations
News
(Added May 24,
2005)
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United Nations
News
(Added May 24,
2005)
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Added May 8, 2005
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April 30, 2005
Most Victims
Are From Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru
and Mexico.
4,000
Colombian Women Sex Slaves Exist in
Japan Today.
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Added 04/01/2005
United Nations refugee
Agency UNHCR:
Scores
of Afro-Colombians Continue to Flee War Zone Homes
in Chocó Province
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Added 04/01/2005
United Nations refugee
Agency UNHCR:
On
International Women's Day 2005: Colombia's Displaced Women Tell of
Their Suffering-UNHCR. |
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11-23-2004
T53
United States Congress Members Sign Letter Protesting Violence
Against Women in Colombia.
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04-22-2005
Fighting
Threatens Existence of Colombia’s Indigenous Peoples, UN Warns. |
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Added April 18, 2005
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11-07-2004
Colombia - Catagena 1,500
Children Exploited in Sex Tourism Haven
10-13-2004
Colombia: Cuerpos Marcados,
Crímenes Silenciados. Violencia Sexual Contra las Mujeres en
el Marco del Conflicto Armado.
Amnesty International Releases Report on Widespread Rape and
Sexual Enslavement with Impunity Carried Out by Left and
Right Wing Military Groups in Colombia:
In English:
"Scarred Bodies, Hidden Crimes":
Sexual Violence Against Women in the Armed Conflict
10-13-2004
Women and girls are being
increasingly caught up in Colombia's armed conflict, as
rival groups rape, mutilate and kill them, Amnesty
International says. - BBC
09-30-2004
Colombia - 60 Thousand Protest
for Indigenous Rights and End to Violence.
03-22-2004
Colombia Indigenous Face
Extiction.
02-28-2004.
Colombia Woman Charged Ran Child
Porn Website.
11-29-2003
Colombia Japan Pressured to End
Trafficking.
11-14-2003
Colombia - Holland Combats Sexual
Slavery.
August 5, 2003
Counter-Trafficking Campaign
Launched - Under the slogan "WE ALL HAVE
VALUE, WHAT WE DO NOT HAVE IS A PRICE", the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) office in Colombia launched
a counter-trafficking campaign aimed at providing
information to potential victims of trafficking.
Colombia has the third highest number of victims of
trafficking in Latin America, following the Dominican
Republic and Brazil. In Colombia between 2 and 10
people are trafficked every day for prostitution and
slavery...
June 12, 2003
IOM Warns
that Child Prostitution has Risen 100% in the Past Year
in the Spa Resort City of Santa Marta
(In
Spanish).
Colombia Japan Trafficker
Arrested 03-2003
Koichi
Hagiwara is being tried on charges of forcing two Colombian
women to engage in prostitution, a ground-breaking case in
Japan's battle against human trafficking.
Colombia
-- "Japan,
the Mecca for Trafficking in Colombian Women" -
by Fanny Polonia Molina (PDF File) - Global Alliance Against
Traffic in Women, The International Human Rights Law Group
and The Foundation Against Trafficking in Women (1999).
Colombia
-- 1999 -- "Child prostitution rings working in sex shops
throughout Colombia were raided in September 1998, freeing
370 minors aged 12-16. Twenty-nine adults were arrested. The
children where being held in slavery-like conditions, were
abused and forced into prostitution. At least 145 of the
children where found in [the major city of] Cartegena, a
busy sex-tourist destination."
From: "Colombia launches crackdown on child
prostitution," Reuters, September 26, 1998
Colombia
-- 1999 -- Like a nightmarish fairy tale in which young
girls are spirited away by monsters, five were abducted from
this three-block stretch of 125th Street in Bogota's
Miguelito neighborhood from November 1995 to July 1997. Not
one has been found.
What does she think happened to her daughter [kidnapped at
age 11], who would have turned 15 this week? "Oh God," she
sobbed. "They tell me she's been sold as a prostitute. No,
no, no. My baby."
From a
1999 Washington Post story
on the open kidnapping of young girls in Colombia by sex
traffickers.
Colombia
-- 2001 -- "Viviana is a victim of sex slavery, a
multibillion- dollar racket where women are sold as
prostitutes to mafia-style networks that stretch from Spain
and Germany to Japan and the United States." "...Viviana was
one of what the Interpol estimates are 35,000 women
trafficked out of Colombia every year, with estimated
profits of $500 million, making it second only to the
Dominican Republic in the West."
The Christian Science Monitor - "Sex
slavery racket a growing concern in Latin America" -
January 11, 2001
Colombia
-- 2000 -- "An estimated 25,000 boys and girls under age
18 work in the sex trade."
U.S. State Dept. Human Rights Report
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LibertadLatina
News /
Noticias
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Updated: Nov. 15, 2011
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Added: Nov. 15, 2011
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Greater Washington, DC USA
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Gangs
Enter New Territory With Sex
Trafficking
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Though most are known to deal with
drugs and weapons, a new FBI threat
assessment says street gangs have
been moving into some different
territory lately: human trafficking.
The FBI says gang members
increasingly are pushing women and
children into prostitution.
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The MS-13 gang got its start among
immigrants from El Salvador in the
1980s. Since then, the gang has
built operations in 42 states,
mostly out West and in the
Northeastern United States, where
members typically deal in drugs and
weapons.
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But in Fairfax County, Virginia, one
of the wealthiest places in the
country, authorities have brought
five cases in the past year that
focus on gang members who have
pushed women, sometimes very young
women, into prostitution.
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"We all know that human trafficking
is an issue around the world," says
Neil MacBride, the top federal
prosecutor in the area. "We hear
about child brothels in Thailand and
brick kilns in India, but it's
something that's in our own
backyard, and in the last year we've
seen street gangs starting to move
into sex trafficking."
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In Virginia, at least, the
consequences can be severe. Over the
past few weeks, one member of MS-13
nicknamed "Sniper" got sent to
prison for the rest of his life.
Another will spend 24 years behind
bars for compelling two teenage
girls to sell themselves for money.
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Usually, investigators say, gang
members charge between $30 and $50 a
visit, and the girls are forced into
prostitution 10 to 15 times a day.
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It's easy money for MS-13 —
thousands of dollars in a weekend,
with virtually no costs. Except for
alcohol and drugs to try to keep the
girls off-kilter.
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Often, the activity takes place at
construction sites, in the parking
lots of convenience stores and gas
stations.
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"Yeah, this last case we worked, the
victim was 12 years old," says John
Torres, who leads the Homeland
Security Investigations unit at the
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
office in Washington.
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He says the girl, a runaway,
approached MS-13 gang members at a
Halloween party. She was looking for
a place to stay. Within hours, she
was forced to work as a prostitute.
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"You have a gang that's taking
advantage of people that are in a
desperate situation, usually
runaways or someone that's looking
for help from the gang," Torres
says.
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Joshua Skule, who oversees the
violent crime branch of the criminal
division at the FBI's field office
in Washington, lists some reasons
for street gangs' move into sex
trafficking.
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"It is not like moving, or as risky
as moving narcotics. It is not as
risky as extorting business owners,"
he says. "And these victims really
have no way out."
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Skule says they're like modern
indentured servants. The 12-year-old
girl involved in one of the recent
sex trafficking cases is safe now,
authorities say. But she'll be
dealing with the physical and
emotional scars for many years.
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"When someone leaves, there's a lot
of shame and guilt associated with
the time they were there," says
Victoria Hougham, a social worker
who helps victims and survivors of
sex trafficking.
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"They may have physical injuries
which can impact, especially for
young women, their sexual and
reproductive health."
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Hougham works with
Polaris
Project,
a nonprofit that runs a 24-hour hot
line that helps connect victims of
human trafficking with police or
social services. She says survivors
of that kind of abuse do best when
they reconnect with their families
and get support from law
enforcement.
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Prosecutors in Virginia say they
expect to bring more sex trafficking
cases against gang members over the
next several months.
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Carrie Johnson
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All Things Considered
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National Public Radio
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Nov. 14, 2011
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Added: Nov. 14, 2011
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Congressional anti trafficking leader Rosi
Orozco eulogizes Interior Department leaders in the war against modern
slavery
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Mexico
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Mexico’s Secretary of the Interior José
Francisco Blake Mora and other officials recently died in a
tragic helicopter accident.
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Congressional deputy Rosi Orozco, president of
the Special Commission to Combat Human Trafficking in the
Chamber of Deputies
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Comunicado
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Con profunda tristeza me uno al dolor que
embarga a las familias de cada uno de los pasajeros que viajaban junto
con el Srio. de Gobernación
José Francisco Blake Mora,
en el trágico
accidente sucedido el día de ayer; Felipe de Jesús Zamora Castro,
subsecretario de Asuntos Jurídicos y Derechos Humanos [y otros]…,
quienes sirviendo a su Nación, perdieron su vida.
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Siempre estaremos agredecidos por el
apoyo del Srio. José Francisco Blake quien en funciones subió el tema
del delito de Trata de Personas al Consejo de Seguridad Nacional
equiparando así este delito con el de secuestro. En todo momento fue un
hombre dispuesto y determinado a luchar por tener un mejor país, una
mejor Nación, un mejor México para nacionales y extranjeros.
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Felipe de Jesús Zamora,
gran aliado en la
lucha contra la Trata de Personas, comprometido con la campaña de la ONU
en contra de este crimen, portando todos los días en la solapa de su
traje el símbolo del Corazón Azul, su pérdida para mí es irreparable.
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Press Release
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It is with deep sadness that I join with the
pain felt by the families of each of the passengers who were traveling
with Mexico’s Secretary of the Interior
José Francisco Blake Mora
during the tragic [helicopter] accident that happened yesterday...,
including Felipe de Jesús Zamora Castro, Secretary of Legal Affairs and
Human Rights at the Interior Department.
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We will always be thankful for the
support of Secretary Blake Mora, who raised the issue of human
trafficking before the National Security Council, where he equated
trafficking with crime of kidnapping [which is penalized much more
severely under Mexican law]. The Secretary was at all times a man
willing and determined to fight for a better country, a better nation, a
better Mexico for nationals and foreigners.
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[Another victim of the crash,
Undersecretary of the Interior for Judicial
Affairs and Human Rights] Felipe de Jesus Zamora was a great ally in the
fight against trafficking in persons. He was committed to [Mexico’s
collaboration with] the United Nations Blue Heart campaign against
trafficking, wearing therir blue heart pin on his lapel each and every
day. His loss is irreparable.
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I join the pain of all Mexicans, who
have lost brave servants of our nation. They defended the values which
make Mexico great through their day-to-day hard work and determination.
I sympathize with their beloved families, peers and colleagues.
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Attentively
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Atentamente
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Diputada Federal Rosi Orozco
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Nov. 11, 2011
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Added: Nov. 14, 2011
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Mexico
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Protest sign says "We need authorities
who will indeed protect us - not rapists."
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La CIDH admite el caso de 11 mujeres mexicanas
que acusan tortura sexual
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La Comisión Interamericana investigará una denuncia de violación de un
grupo mujeres en un operativo policial en San Salvador Atenco en 2006
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Según la documentación de organizaciones civiles, al menos 26 mujeres
fueron violadas, de las cuales, 11 acudieron ante la CIDH (Cuartoscuro
Archivo).
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La Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH) admitió investigar
el caso de 11 mujeres mexicanas que aseguran que fueron víctimas de
tortura sexual durante una represión policial en 2006 en San Salvador
Atenco, en el Estado de México.
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Durante el 143° periodo ordinario de sesiones, la CIDH emitió un informe
para comenzar a investigar la petición 512-08 Mariana Selvas Gómez y
otros vs. México, interpuesta en abril de 2008 bajo el cargo de dilación
de justicia por la nula investigación en el caso.
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“Ni la Fiscalía Especial de Delitos Violentos Contra las Mujeres y Trata
de Personas (Fevimtra) ni la Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado
de México (PGJEM) han realizado una adecuada investigación y ningún
policía, de los más de 2,500 agentes que intervinieron, ha sido
sancionado”, acusa el Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustín Pro
Juárez (Centro Prodh), que lleva el caso legal de las denunciantes.
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La Comisión investigará ahora si el Estado mexicano cometió violaciones
de derechos humanos y dará a conocer sus conclusiones en cuanto la parte
acusadora y el gobierno mexicano sean notificados sobre las mismas.
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La población de San Salvador de Atenco se movilizó en febrero y mayo de
2006 contra la expropiación de tierras en San Salvador Atenco para la
construcción de un nuevo aeropuerto internacional en el centro del país.
La protesta derivó en un enfrentamiento en el que participaron 2,500
policías de los tres órdenes de gobierno. Dos personas murieron y 207
fueron detenidas.
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Organizaciones civiles como el Centro Prodh denuncian que durante el
operativo del 3 y 4 de mayo de 2006, al menos 26 mujeres fueron víctimas
de tortura sexual; de las cuáles, 11 presentaron una querella ante la
CIDH.
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Estas mujeres denunciaron que los agentes las detuvieron por participar
en los disturbios y que en los vehículos donde eran trasladadas a un
penal sufrieron violencia sexual, física y verbal.
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Una de las denunciantes, Italia Méndez, escribió una carta en el quinto
aniversario del operativo en Atenco: "La tortura sexual ejercida contra
nosotras las mujeres en los operativos fue un hecho difícil de afrontar
y denunciar, dimensionar tal violencia contra nuestros cuerpos nos
resultaba desbordante, sin embargo, el mantenernos juntas y enfrentar al
Estado de forma colectiva nos permitió afrontar y desmontar el discurso
del poder en el cual nosotras debíamos sentir vergüenza y no podíamos
hacer nada con lo ocurrido”.
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En julio de 2010, la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN)
ordenó la liberación de 12 integrantes del Frente de Pueblos en Defensa
de la Tierra (FPDT), que estaban sentenciados a penas de entre 31 y 112
años de cárcel por el delito de secuestro equiparado tras haber
participado en la protesta.
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Un año antes, la Corte dictaminó que los policías que fueron parte del
operativo cometieron graves violaciones a las garantías individuales.
Hasta ahora, sólo uno ha sido consignado por actos libidinosos, pero no
fue encarcelado.
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La SCJN también deslindó responsabilidad al expresidente Vicente Fox y
al exgobernador del Estado de México, Enrique Peña Nieto.
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El exmandatario estatal dijo en 2008 que volvería a ordenar un operativo
similar en caso de que fuera necesario restablecer el orden y la paz
social. Sin embargo, un año después, reconoció que en el caso existe un
“alto grado de impunidad” en cuanto a violaciones y abusos cometidos por
los 2,500 policías que participaron, pero dijo que era “prácticamente
imposible saber quién las cometió”.
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Cinco años después de haber avalado el operativo, Enrique Peña Nieto es
el político mexicano mejor posicionado en las encuestas para los
comicios presidenciales de 2012.
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International Commission will investigate the case of 11 Mexican women
who charge sexual torture [at the hands of police]
|
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The Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR) has decided
to investigate
rape complaints filed by a group of women in regard to a police
operation that occurred in the city of San Salvador de Atenco in 2006.
|
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According to documentation assembled by nongovernmental organizations,
at least 26 women were raped at the time of the incident. Eleven of those victims have
pursued the case that will be considered by the IACHR.
|
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During its 143rd regular session, the Commission issued a report to
begin investigating
petition 512-08 - Mariana Selvas Gómez et al.,
Mexico, filed in April 2008 on allegations that justice was not served
because officials failed to investigate the case.
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"Neither the [federal] Special Prosecutor for Violent Crimes Against
Women and Trafficking in Persons (FEVIMTRA) nor the Attorney General of
the State of Mexico (PGJEM) conducted an adequate investigation, and
none of the more than 2,500 police officers involved [in the operation]
has been penalized,” declared a spokesperson for the Miguel Agustín Pro
Juárez Human Rights Center (PRODH Center), which provides legal
representation for the complainants.
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The Commission will now investigate whether the Mexican government
committed human rights violations and will publish its conclusions after
the complainants and the Mexican government are notified about them.
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The population of San Salvador Atenco had mobilized in February, and
then in May of 2006
in protest against the expropriation of land within the city that was to
be used for the construction of a new international airport. The protest
led to a confrontation and a response by more than 2,500 federal, state
and local police officers. Two people died and 207 were arrested.
|
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Civil society organizations such as the PRODH Center reported that during the
operation, which took place between May 3rd and 4th
of
2006, at least 26 women were subjected to sexual torture. Eleven of those
victims joined to bring the IACHR complaint.
|
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The women reported that officers had arrested them for participating in
the disturbances, and that they were sexually, physically and verbally
assaulted on the buses that transported them to jail.
|
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One of the complainants, Italia Méndez, wrote a letter on the fifth
anniversary of the operation in Atenco and stated: "The sexual torture
that was perpetrated against us as women was hard to face and denounce -
such violence [against] our bodies was overwhelming. Nonetheless, by
staying together and by confronting the state collectively, we were able
to dismantle the discourse that was [publicized] by those in power, a
discourse that said that we should feel ashamed and that we could not do
anything about what had happened."
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In July 2010, the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) ordered the release of
12 members of the Peoples' Front in Defense of the Land (FPDT), who had
been sentenced to between 31 and 112 years in prison for the crime of
kidnapping after participating in the protest.
|
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A year earlier, the Court ruled that the police officers who were part
of the operation committed serious violations of individual rights. So
far, only one officer has been prosecuted for lewd acts. He was not
jailed.
|
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The supreme court also exonerated [former] president Vicente Fox and the
former governor of Mexico state, Enrique Peña Nieto in regard to the
case.
|
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Peña Nieto said in 2008 that he would have ordered a similar operation
again in the event that it become necessary to restore order and social
peace. A year later, Peña Nieto acknowledged that there was a "high
degree of impunity" in regard to the violations and abuses committed by the
2,500 police officers involved, but said it was "practically impossible
to know who committed those acts".
|
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Five years after having [ordered and] supported the operation, Enrique
Peña Nieto holds the top position in polls leading up to the 2012
presidential race.
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Tania L. Montalvo
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CNNMéxico
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Nov. 09, 2011
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See also:
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Added: Nov. 14, 2011
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Mexico
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Raped, Beaten, Never Forgotten
|
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When the women left their homes that May morning in 2006, they never
imagined the horrific experience that lay ahead of them.
|
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During a police operation in response to protests by a local peasant
organization in San Salvador Atenco, more than 45 women were arrested
without explanation. Dozens of them were subjected to physical,
psychological and sexual violence by the police officers who arrested
them.
|
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In the case of one of the women, police officers pulled her hair, beat
her, and forced her into a state police vehicle with her shirt pulled
over her head. She was made to lie on top of other detainees, and during
the journey to the prison, police officers sexually assaulted her
repeatedly.
|
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Once at the "Santiaguito" prison near Toluca in Mexico State, the prison
doctors who examined many of the women failed to document all their
physical injuries or to gather evidence of the sexual abuse they had
suffered.
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More than four years later, these brave survivors are still waiting for
justice.
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None of the officials responsible for their abuse have been held
accountable. Federal authorities had conducted an investigation that
resulted in a list of 34 names of police officers who were suspected of
being responsible for the abuses, but the federal authorities concluded
that these individuals should be prosecuted at the state level.
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Almost no progress has been made in over a year. Now is the time to push
for real justice and remind the federal government of Mexico that it has
the ultimate responsibility to protect the human rights of its citizens,
and not to let this impunity continue...
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Amnesty International
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2011
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See Also:
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LibertadLatina
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Special Section
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Atenco
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Mexican Police
Rape and Assault
47
Women at
Street Protest
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Added: Nov. 14, 2011
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Mexico
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Lydia Cacho
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Detectan 17 casos de trata en la Riviera Maya
|
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Ante los hechos de explotación sexual se realizará una marcha pacífica
el próximo 12 de noviembre en la zona turística de Cancún
|
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El Centro Integral de Atención a la Mujer Maltratada (CIAM-Cancún)
documenta los casos de al menos 17 menores de edad, víctimas de una red
de tratantes de personas en la Riviera Maya, quienes vivían
originalmente en situación de calle y fueron captadas por tratantes que
las "engancharon" en el turismo sexual, comerciándolas sexualmente para
el consumo de turistas canadienses, italianos y norteamericanos,
principalmente.
|
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La organización, que brinda asesoría psicológica, emocional, jurídica y
alberga a mujeres víctimas de violencia, conocieron de los casos como
parte de la campaña "Yo no estoy en venta" que iniciaron en mayo pasado
para prevenir y combatir el delito de la Trata de Personas en sus
diversas modalidades, enfocada a adolescentes y jóvenes a quienes se
dota de herramientas para detectar el fenómeno, reconocer los signos de
alerta y, en su caso, denunciarlos a personas de su confianza.
|
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Como parte de dicha campaña se realizará una marcha pacífica el próximo
12 de noviembre en la zona turística de Cancún para lanzar como mensaje
al turismo y a la industria de que Cancún es paraíso, pero no para el
turismo sexual y que la niñez en Quintana Roo, no está en venta, anunció
este martes la presidenta del CIAM-Cancún, Lydia Cacho Ribeiro.
|
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La activista reveló datos
preliminares sobre los casos detectados y el estudio que han conformado
para dibujar el perfil de los tratantes de personas que operan en Cancún
y en Playa del Carmen -municipios de Benito Juárez y Solidaridad- en
donde estas mafias que explotan comercialmente a menores de edad son
protegidas por cárteles de la droga, específicamente por Los Zetas y los
"Pelones".
|
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Del grupo de 17 víctimas halladas por CIAM, Cacho Ribeiro dijo que sus
edades oscilan entre los 13 y 16 años, que provienen de diferentes
entidades de la República Mexicana y que su común denominador estriba en
que la violencia doméstica que sufrieron en el hogar las hizo huir y
encontrar refugio en las calles…
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"Esta modalidad de víctimas de Trata, que se encuentran en situación de
calle está cobrando importancia en Cancún y Riviera Maya. Hemos sabido
por testimonios de las propias víctimas que mantienen relaciones
sexuales con policías, comerciantes, taxistas y chavos de calle a cambio
de comida, protección, favores o drogas y no exclusivamente por dinero.
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"Luego son captadas por sujetos a los que ubican como ‘valedores' que
primero las protegen, con quienes entablan un vínculo emocional muy
fuerte, y quienes terminan explotándolas sexualmente o entregándolas a
tratantes profesionales", expresó.
|
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Estos ‘valedores' operan particularmente en la famosa Quintana Avenida,
localizada en Playa del Carmen y en playas aledañas a la zona. Y en
Cancún, en el Parque de las Palapas y en la zona de bares de la avenida
López Portillo.
|
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La agrupación ha dividido en
tres al tipo de víctimas de Trata, detectados en Quintana Roo, durante
la campaña "Yo no estoy en Venta":
|
|
Infantes y adolescentes que viven con sus familias y son explotadas en
niveles socieconómicos altos, por amigos de la escuela y propietarios de
bares; quienes se reportan como desaparecidos o que huyeron de sus casas
y terminan dentro de una red local o internacional de Trata; y quienes
son traídas al estado por tratantes que manejan las rutas de tráfico de
migrantes indocumentados, principalmente de países como Guatemala, El
Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica y Paraguay.
|
|
Activists detect 17 cases of minor sex trafficking at Mexico’s Riviera
Maya resort
|
|
Given the facts of sexual exploitation, a peaceful march is planned for
November 12th in the resort city of Cancun
|
|
The Comprehensive Care Centre for Abused Women (CIAM-Cancún) has
announced that it has documented the cases of at least 17 underage
victims of sex trafficking networks in the Riviera Maya resort area. The
victims were homeless children who had been entrapped by a network of
traffickers who prostituted them for the consumption of sex tourists who
are principally from Canada, Italy and the United States.
|
|
CIAM, which provides emotional, psychological, legal and housing
assistance for women victims of violence, raised awareness of the 17
victims as part of its "I am not for sale" campaign. The effort began
last May to prevent and combat the crime of human trafficking in its
diverse forms. The campaign is aimed at teenagers and young adults who
will be educated to detect the phenomenon, to recognize the warning
signs and, where appropriate, report them to people they trust.
|
|
CIAM is organizing a peaceful march for November 12th in the resort city
of Cancun to launch its message to the tourism industry that Cancun is
a paradise, but not for sex tourism, and to declare that the children of
the state of Quintana Roo are not for sale, announced CIAM-Cancún’s
president, [journalist and activist] Lydia Cacho Ribeiro.
|
|
Cacho Ribeiro discussed preliminary data in regard to the cases detected
as well as deails about a study that CIAM has developed to determine
the profile of the human traffickers that are operating in Cancun and
Playa del Carmen - where the gangs who engage in the commercial sexual
exploitation of children (CSEC) are protected by the drug cartels, and
specifically Los Zetas and the "Pelones."
|
|
According to Cacho Ribeiro, the ages of the 17 victims found by CIAM are
between 13 and 16. They come from across Mexico. Their common
denominator is that they all suffered domestic violence at home that
drove them onto the streets.
|
|
"This type of victims of trafficking, who may be found to be living on
the streets, is becoming increasingly important in Cancun and Riviera
Maya. We have testimony from the victims who have declared that the have
sex with policemen, shopkeepers, taxi drivers and street kids in
exchange for food, protection, favors or drugs. It is not always an
exchange of money that is involved.
|
|
"Later, they are captured by subjects who pose as benefactors, who
protect them, and with whom they have a strong emotional bond, These
subjects end up exploiting the victim sexually, or they hand
the girl
over to professional traffickers,” said Cacho Ribeiro.
|
|
These 'protectors' are especially active in the famous Avenida Quintana
in Playa del Carmen, and along the beaches surrounding the area. In
Cancun, they operate in the Parque de las Palapas and in the bars along
the Avenida Lopez Portillo.
|
|
CIAM has categorized three types of victims of who have been detected in
Quintana Roo state during the I am not for Sale campaign: 1) children and
adolescents who are living with their families, who are exploited by
school friends and bar owners; 2) youth who are reported as missing or
who fled their homes and end up in a local or international [sex] trafficking
network; and 3) victims who are brought into the state by traffickers
who operate human smuggling routes that transport undocumented migrants
who are principally from the nations of Guatemala, El Salvador,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Paraguay.
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|
Adriana Varillas
|
|
El Universal
|
|
Nov. 08, 2011
|
|
|
Added: Nov. 06, 2011
|
|
Latin America
|
|
The Rise
of Femicide and Women in Drug
Trafficking
|
|
While men have predominantly run drug
trafficking organizations (DTOs),
women have participated in them since
the 1920s. Their role may have
appeared miniscule compared to that
of their male counterparts, but they
have played key roles such as drug
mules and bosses…
|
|
Indirect
Effects of Drug Trafficking
|
|
Government
crackdowns on drug cartels not only
affect women directly, impacting
those who may be working as bosses
or mules, but also indirectly
through a resulting increase [in]
prostitution and sex trafficking.
These industries present an
alternative when governments place
heightened scrutiny on DTOs.
According to the International
Organization for Migration, sex
trafficking alone can produce USD 16
billion a year in revenue in Latin
America. With such high profits,
they are obvious choices to mobilize
in the midst of increased government
control…
|
|
Femicide
Emerges
|
|
The rise [in] the number of women in
prisons and the surge in their crime
rates are symptoms of a prominent
issue in Latin America, known as
femicide. Femicide refers to the
mass killings of women, and reflects
the excessive masculinity that is
associated with the drug industry…
[Drug crime is just one of many
causes of femicide in the region.]
Drug trafficking seems to heighten
the attitude that women are…
disposable... Although femicide
remains an issue for all of Latin
America, it has a greater presence
in parts of Central America. For
example, the [number] of murdered
women has tripled in four years,
from 2005-2009, in many Mexican
states from 3.7 to 11.1 per 100,000…
María
Virginia Díaz Méndez, of the Center
of Women’s Studies in Honduras,
states that, “Honduras comes in
second to Guatemala for the highest
femicide rate”. Despite growing
[rates of] femicide throughout the
region, it appears as though there
are little to no consequences for
committing such crimes…
|
|
Andrea Mares
|
|
Council on Hemispheric Affairs
|
|
October 28, 2011
|
|
See also:
|
|
Added: Nov. 06, 2011
|
|
Latin America
|
|
Sex
Trafficking Now A $16 Billion
Business In Latin America
|
|
The trafficking of women and girls
for purposes of sexual exploitation
has become a $16-billion-a-year
business in Latin America, according
to figures from the International
Organization for Migration.
|
|
That amount "is almost half of what
is calculated is generated
worldwide" by sex trafficking, said
IOM's director for the Southern
Cone, Eugenio Ambrosi, in an
interview published Wednesday in the
Buenos Aires daily Pagina/12.
|
|
Prostitution, he said, "is vying for
second place with weapons
trafficking as the illegal business
that moves the most money after drug
trafficking."
|
|
Ambrosi lamented the fact that
trafficking in women has "the
advantage ... (that) the logistical
and investment (costs) are much
lower" than in other illicit
businesses, and he added that
"there's a connection" between drug
trafficking and people trafficking.
|
|
"Sometimes the victims ... are
recruited to traffic drugs," he
said.
|
|
"There's a very well organized
network, with the capacity to
recruit and use women everywhere to
satisfy the requirements of the
market," said Ambrosi, adding that
"something has to be done to go
after the customers…"
|
|
WUNRN
|
|
Dec. 02, 2008
|
|
|
Added: Nov. 06, 2011
|
|
Remarks by Mexican anti-trafficking
leader Teresa Ulloa during her
acceptance of the 2011 Gleitsman
International Activist Award at the
Center for Public Leadership at
the Harvard Kennedy School
|
|
Mexico / Massachusetts, USA
|
|
|
|
Programme from
the 2011 Gleitsman
International Activist Award
ceremony
|
|
|
Palabras
De Teresa Ulloa al aceptar El Premio
Gleitsman 2011 al Activismo Social
Internacional
|
|
Buenas noches, quiero agradecer a
los miembros del Jurado y al Centro
para el Liderazgo Público de la
Escuela Kennedy de la Universidad de
Harvard por otorgarme el Premio
Gleitsman 2011 al Activismo Social
Internacional. También quiero
agradecer a cada una de las que me
nominaron, Corey, Norma, Dorchen y
Jan, todas ellas compañeras en
nuestra lucha y en la
CATW-Internacional, por confiar en
mí y por todo el trabajo que esta
nominación les representó.
|
|
Soy madre de una joven de 21 años,
que ha sido mi motivación y mayor
impulse para que haya dedicado mi
trabajo a contribuir a poner fin a
todas las formas de violencia contra
las mujeres, incluyendo la
sobre-sexualización y la explotación
sexual comercial de mujeres y niñas.
Yo sueño con que mi trabajo
contribuya para desarraigar la
normalización y la aceptación
cultural de la violencia contra las
mujeres para crear un mejor mundo
para todas ellas en todo el mundo.
|
|
He dedicado mi vida a luchar por los
derechos humanos, especialmente a
luchar contra la violencia hacia las
mujeres y las niñas, y, desde hace
veinte años, a combatir la trata de
mujeres, niñas y niños para la
explotación sexual. Durante 40 años,
he trabajado para empoderar y
defender a las mujeres para que
logren el acceso a sus derechos y he
representado a innumerables víctimas
de violencia sexual.
|
|
A menudo, he trabajado con un alto
riesgo personal y el de mi familia,
para erradicar la trata a lo largo
de América Latina y el Caribe,
especialmente en México, donde los
cárteles de las drogas ahora son los
actores principales de este delito.
|
|
En mi trabajo, he incluído un
enfoque holístico para crear las
condiciones legales, políticas y
sociales que permitan erradicar la
trata de personas. Uso mi
conocimiento y experiencia para
diseñar y poner en práctica campañas
y modelos de capacitación
innovadores para la prevención, la
protección y asistencia de las
víctimas, y para la persecución de
los tratantes y explotadores, para
capacitar a los agentes
institucionales encargados de hacer
respetar las leyes y para educar a
los jóvenes, entre otros.
|
|
Inspirada por nuestras Compañeras de
CATW-AP, diseñé un modelo dirigido a
hombres jóvenes para reducir la
demanda de sexo de paga. Este modelo
es el primero en su tipo para educar
a hombres jóvenes y niños sobre la
construcción de la masculinidad
tradicional y las consecuencias de
la demanda en el sexo de paga, que
además promueve una concepción
alternativa de la sexualidad
masculina basada en la igualdad de
derechos humanos. Este modelo se ha
aplicado en México, Argentina,
Ecuador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Perú,
Panamá, Chile, Colombia y la
República Dominicana.
|
|
Hoy, contamos con una red de cerca
de 400 organizaciones en 25 países
en la Región de Latinoamérica y el
Caribe, donde el avance del crimen
organizado y la trata de personas es
alarmante y la corrupción de las
instituciones gubernamentales y los
responsables de hacer respetar la
Ley es una constante. Cientos de
mujeres, niñas y niños se reportan
como desaparecidos y vivimos
continuamente con miedo. A través de
nuestro trabajo hemos rescatado más
de 899 mujeres, niñas y niños de la
trata interna e internacional con
propósitos de explotación sexual, a
través del Sistema Alerta Roja que
fundamos y operamos hace cinco años.
|
|
Sin embargo, todavia enfrentamos
muchos retos inmensos, que pueden
resumirse en:
|
|
La guerra y toda la violencia que
ella involucra contra las mujeres y
las niñas, en las actividades
militares y paramilitares:
violación, violencia sexual,
desplazamiento, muerte, hambre, el
abuso de poder al humillar a las
madres, esposas, hijas y hermanas de
los derrotados, los abusos sexuales
y la prostitución que promueven e
imponen los grupos armados, tanto
los regulares como los irregulares.
Queremos la paz sobre los intereses
económicos y políticos. Queremos el
imperio de la ley y de los derechos
humanos.
|
|
La discriminación de género, esa
discriminación que mata a miles de
niñas aún antes de que hayan nacido,
o aún cuando ya nacieron son
condenadas a la falta de
oportunidades, a la violencia de
género, a la explotación, a la mala
nutrición, a la marginación, a la
desigualdad, y a prácticas
tradicionales perjudiciales para sus
cuerpos y a su dignidad humana, como
el pago de las novias.
|
|
La pobreza y la extrema pobreza. La
feminización de la pobreza se ha
convertido en testigo de la
injusticia para un poco más de la
mitad de la población mundial.
Urgimos su abolición.
|
|
La violencia de género, esa
violencia que se ejerce contra las
mujeres y las niñas en los ámbitos
públicos y privados, en todas
partes. Las muejres y las niñas son
violadas cada día en sus hogares,
donde deberían tener garantizados
sus derechos a la vida, la su
integridad personal y a su
seguridad. Las mujeres y las niñas
son asesinadas cada día en medio de
la más absoluta impunidad. La
seguridad colectiva nunca será
posible si no se puede garantizar la
seguridad y la integridad de las
mujeres y las niñas.
|
|
Tenemos el derecho de ser una
prioridad en la agenda internacional
de cooperación, en los esfuerzos
para el desarrollo, y en la lucha
contra la pobreza, en los desastres
naturals, en la educación, en la
salud, en la protección de nuestros
derechos humanos, pero también en
los temas de seguridad nacional, en
la guerra y en la paz, en los
esfuerzos contra el terrorismo, y en
la lucha contra el crimen
organizado...
|
|
El Transcrito Completo
|
|
See also: English translation
|
|
Teresa
Ulloa speaks at the 2011 Gleitsman
Award for International Social
Activism
|
|
Good evening. I want to thank the
members of the jury and the Center
for Public Leadership at the Kennedy
School at Harvard University for
having awarded me the 2011 Gleitsman
Award for International Social
Activism. I also want to thank those
who nominated me, [Coalition Against
Trafficking (CATW) in Women
Executive Director] Norma [Ramos],
Corey, Dorchen and Jan, as well as
all of the sisters who are all
partners in our struggle at the
International CATW, for trusting me
and for all the work that this
nomination represents for them.
|
|
I am the mother of a 21-year-old
young woman, who has been the
greatest motivation causing me to
dedicate my work to helping to put
an end to all forms of violence
against women, including the
over-sexualization and commercial
sexual exploitation of women and
girls. I dream that my work
contributes to uprooting the
standardization and cultural
acceptance of violence against
women, resulting in a better world
for all women across the world.
|
|
I have dedicated my life to fighting
for human rights, especially to
combat violence against women and
girls, and, for twenty y ears, to
combating the trafficking of women
and children for sexual
exploitation. For 40 years I have
worked to empower and advocate for
women to allow them access to their
rights. I have represented
innumerable victims of sexual
violence.
|
|
Often, I have worked at high
personal risk to myself and my
family to eradicate trafficking
throughout Latin America and the
Caribbean, and especially in Mexico,
where drug cartels are now the main
actors in this crime.
|
|
I have included a holistic approach
in my work to create the legal,
political and social conditions that
will allow for the eradication of
human trafficking. Use my knowledge
and experience to design and
implement campaigns and innovative
training models for prevention,
protection and assistance for
victims, for the prosecution of
traffickers and exploiters, to train
the institutional actors responsible
for enforcing the laws and to
educate young people, among other
[activities].
|
|
Inspired by our sisters at the CATW,
I designed a model aimed at young
men to reduce the demand for paid
sex. This model is the first of its
kind to educate young men and boys
[that addresses] the construction of
traditional masculinity and the
impact of demand on paid sex. [The
approach] promotes an alternative
conception of male sexuality based
on and equality of [gender related]
human rights. This model has been
applied in Mexico, Argentina,
Ecuador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Peru,
Panama, Chile, Colombia and the
Dominican Republic.
|
|
Today, we have a network of nearly
400 organizations working in 25
countries in the Latin America and
the Caribbean, where the growth of
organized crime and human
trafficking is alarming and where
the corruption of government
institutions and those responsible
for enforcing Law is a constant
factor. Hundreds of women and
children are reported as missing and
we live in state of continuously
fear. Through the Red Alert system
that started
five
years ago, we have rescued more than
899 women and children victims of
domestic and international
trafficking for purposes of sexual
exploitation.
|
|
Nonetheless, we still face many
enormous challenges, when can be
summariezed as follows:
|
|
* Wars and all of the violence that
they create against women and girls,
in activities of military and
paramilitary groups: rape, sexual
violence, displacement, death,
hunger, abuse of power used to
humiliate the mothers, wives,
daughters and sisters of the
defeated, and the sexual abuse and
prostitution that is imposed by both
regular and irregular armed groups.
We want peace to prevail over
economic and political interests. We
want the rule of law and human
rights.
|
|
* Gender discrimination, which kills
thousands of girls even before they
are born, or that which, after they
are born condemns them to a lack of
opportunities, gender violence,
exploitation, poor nutrition,
marginalization, inequality, and
traditional practices that are
harmful to their bodies and to their
human dignity, such as payments for
brides.
|
|
* Poverty and extreme poverty. The
feminization of poverty has borne
witness to the injustices faced by a
little over half the world’s
population. We urge its abolition.
|
|
* Gender-based violence - violence
perpetrated against women and girls
in public and private spaces,
everywhere. Women and girls are
raped ev ery day in their own homes,
where they should be guaranteed
their rights to life, personal
integrity and security. Women and
girls are murdered every day in an
environment of the most absolute
impunity. Collective security will
never be possible if we can not
guarantee the security and integrity
of women and girls.
|
|
We have the right to be a priority
on the international agenda for
cooperation, in development efforts,
and in the fight against poverty, in
[relief efforts in regard to]
natural disasters, in education, in
healthcare, in the protection of our
human rights, as well as in regard
to national security issues, in war
and peace, in the efforts against
terrorism and in combating organized
crime...
|
|
Full
Transcript
|
|
Teresa Ulloa at Harvard University
|
|
Posted by Fundacion CEDAI-Centro de
Asistencia Integral
|
|
Nov. 01, 2011
|
|
|
Added: Nov. 06, 2011
|
|
Pop star Ricky Martin calls for the
end of child trafficking
|
|
El Mundo / The World
|
|
|
|
Ricky Martin |
|
|
Opinión:
Detengan el flagelo de la trata
infantil, pide Ricky Martin
|
|
Mi compromiso con la causa de
detener la explotación infantil
nació por una experiencia que me
hizo poner los pies en la tierra. En
2002, fui testigo de los horrores de
la trata de personas cuando
rescatamos a tres niñas temblorosas
que vivían en las calles pobres de
India. Prevenir que estas niñas
fueran víctimas de este horrendo
crimen fue un despertar personal.
|
|
Agradezco a la iniciativa Héroes de
CNN por permitir que Ricky Martin
Foundation comparta con otras
personas y las involucre en nuestro
compromiso por terminar con la
explotación de los niños por medio
de la trata de personas y la
esclavitud en el mundo moderno.
|
|
Eso fue hace más de una década.
Desde entonces, supe que mi
fundación debería arrojar una luz
sobre este tema tabú. La educación
ha sido nuestro pilar desde el
principio. En 2003, lanzamos People
for Children, nuestro proyecto
principal, para proporcionar
educación y soluciones a los
esfuerzos internacionales para
eliminar la trata infantil.
|
|
Este mercado sin escrúpulos —que
consiste en 27 millones de víctimas
en todo el mundo, de acuerdo con el
Informe de la Trata de Personas de
2011— genera hasta 32,000 millones
de dólares al año, una cantidad que
rivaliza con el tráfico de armas y
el narcotráfico. De estos 27
millones, la Unicef estima que cada
año 1.2 millones son niños que son
víctimas de la trata de personas
para trabajar como de mano de obra
forzada, en la industria del
comercio sexual, en la prostitución
y en otras formas de esclavitud.
|
|
Las estadísticas son impactantes.
Muchos las cuestionan porque los
crímenes se ocultan. Pero las cifras
no importan: prevenir la trata de
uno o de 200 niños le da validez a
nuestra misión.
|
|
Nadie debe ser explotado o privado
de su libertad...
|
|
Stop
the scourge of child trafficking
|
|
My commitment to the cause of
stopping the exploitation of
children was born from a humbling
experience. In 2002, I witnessed the
horrors of human trafficking as we
rescued three trembling girls living
on the impoverished streets of
India. Preventing these girls from
falling prey to this horrendous
crime was a personal awakening.
|
|
I thank CNN's Heroes initiative for
allowing the Ricky Martin Foundation
to share and engage others in our
commitment to end the exploitation
of children by human trafficking and
modern-day slavery.
|
|
That was more than a decade ago.
Since then, I knew my foundation
must shed a light on this taboo
subject. Education has been our
pillar from the outset. In 2004, we
launched People for Children, our
principal project, to provide
education and solutions for
international efforts to eliminate
child trafficking.
|
|
This unscrupulous market -- which
consists of 27 million victims
worldwide, according to the 2011
Trafficking in Persons Report --
generates up to $32 billion
annually, an amount rivaling that of
the trafficking of arms and drugs.
Of the 27 million, UNICEF estimates
that 1.2 million are children who
are trafficked every year to work as
forced labor, in the commercial sex
industry, in prostitution and in
other forms of slavery.
|
|
The statistics are staggering. Many
contest them because the crimes are
hidden. But numbers don't matter:
Preventing one or 200 children from
traffickers validates our mission.
|
|
No one should be exploited and
deprived of his or her freedom...
|
|
Ricky Martin
|
|
Special to CNN
|
|
Nov. 03, 2011
|
|
|
Added: Nov. 06, 2011
|
|
Bolivia
|
|
|
|
Bolivian Legislative
Deputy
Marianela Paco
|
|
|
Proponen penas duras por trata de
niños
|
|
El proyecto de Ley contra la Trata y
Tráfico de Personas planteará la
pena máxima (30 años de prisión)
para castigar la trata de niños,
niñas y adolescentes, informó la
diputada Marianela Paco (MAS).
|
|
“Hay
que establecer sanciones más duras
contra el delito de la trata de
niños, niñas y adolescentes con la
pena máxima, es decir, 30 años de
prisión”, afirmó.
|
|
El
proyecto integral, que es analizado
en la Comisión de Derechos Humanos
de la Asamblea Legislativa, señala
que el delito de trata “será
sancionado con 15 a 20 años de
prisión para el o la persona que por
cualquier medio (engaño, coacción,
amenaza o uso de la fuerza)
favorezca la trata de personas
dentro o fuera del país”.
|
|
El
documento define el delito de trata
de personas como la “captación,
transporte, traslado, acogida o
rapto de una persona con fines de
explotación laboral, sexual o la
extracción de órganos”. En tanto, el
tráfico de personas será penado con
una privación de libertad de cuatro
a ocho años.
|
|
Paco dijo que se espera que el
proyecto de ley sea tratado por la
Asamblea Legislativa hasta la
conclusión del periodo de sesiones
de esta gestión, para que el 2012 se
cuente con un instrumento legal que
establezca sanciones y penalidades
de privación de libertad para
quienes incurran en este tipo de
delitos.
|
|
Legislators propose harsh penalties
for child trafficking
|
|
According to Deputy Marianela Paco,
a legislator of the MAS party in
Bloivia’s Legislative Assembly, a
measure currently under
consideration - the Law against
Trafficking in Persons - will raise
the maximum penalty for trafficking
in children and adolescents to 30
years in prison.
|
|
Deputy Paco, "We need to establish
stronger sanctions against the crime
of trafficking in children and
adolescents with the maximum
penalty, that is, 30 years in
prison."
|
|
The bill, which is being discussed
by the Human Rights Commission of
the Legislative Assembly, calls for
the crime of trafficking "be
sentenced by from 15 to 20 years in
prison for a person who by any means
(deception, coercion, threat or use
of force) traffics in people either
inside or outside of Bolivia."
|
|
The proposed law also defines the
crime of human trafficking as the
"recruitment, transportation,
transfer, harboring or kidnapping of
a person for labor or sexual
exploitation, of for the removal of
organs…"
|
|
Deputy Paco said that she hopes the
bill will be addressed by the
Legislature during the current
session, so , that in 2012 we will
have an instrument that establishes
legal sanctions and penalties of
imprisonment for those who engage in
this type of crime.
|
|
Rolando Flores - La Paz
|
|
FMBolivia
|
|
Nov. 05, 2011
|
|
|
Added: Nov. 06, 2011
|
|
Mexico
|
|
|
|
Mexican Attorney General
Marisela Morales Ibáñez
|
|
|
PGR
designa nuevo responsable de la
SIEDO
|
|
Mexico, D.F.- La titular de la
Procuraduría General de la República
(PGR), Marisela Morales Ibáñez,
designó a José Cuitláhuac Martínez
como subprocurador de Investigación
Especializada en Delincuencia
Organizada (SIEDO).
|
|
Apenas en mayo pasado se había
designado a Patricia Bugarin como
titular de la SIEDO.
|
|
…Angélica Herrera Rivero en la
Fiscalía Especial para los Delitos
de Violencia Contra las Mujeres y
Trata de Personas (Fevimtra).
|
|
Los servidores públicos tienen la
encomienda de respaldar el trabajo
del gobierno de la República para
garantizar a la sociedad una
procuración de justicia sólida y
procedimientos penales efectivos y
expeditos…
|
|
La nueva titular de Fevimtra,
Angélica Herrera, ocupaba la
titularidad de la Unidad
Especializada en Investigación de
Tráfico de Menores, Indocumentados y
Órganos.
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En su trayectoria profesional se ha
desempeñado en la Fiscalía
Especializada para la Atención de
Delitos Electorales y en la SIEDO.
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Attorney General names new
leadership to organized crime and
gender violence / human trafficking
units
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Mexico City - Mexican Attorney
General Marisela Morales Ibáñez has
named José Cuitláhuac Martinez
Assistant Attorney General for
Specialized Investigations into
Organized Crime (SIEDO). Cuitláhuac
Martinez replaces Patricia Bugarin,
who had been been appointed to the
post in May of 2011.
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…Angelica Herrera Rivero was named
to take over the office of the
Special Prosecutor for Crimes of
Violence Against Women and
Trafficking in Persons (FEVIMTRA).
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Public servants have the task of
supporting the work of the
government of the Republic to ensure
that society is provided with strong
law enforcement and effective and
expeditious criminal procedures …
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The new head of FEVIMTRA, Angelica
Herrera, previously served as the
head of the Special Unit for
Investigations into Child
Trafficking, [crimes against the]
Undocumented and Organ trafficking.
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Herrera had also worked in the past
ain the office of the Special
Prosecutor for Electoral Crimes, and
within SIEDO.
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Miguel Cabildo
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Proceso
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Mexico
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Nov. 01, 2011
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Added: Nov. 06, 2011
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Mexico, The United States
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U.S. Ambassador to Mexico
Anthony Wayne (right) hosts
anti trafficking NGO
roundtable in Mexico City
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EU
otorga a México 1.5 mdd para
combatir trata
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U.S. Government provides $1.5
million for Mexican anti-trafficking
NGOs
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La embajada de Estados Unidos en
México anunció que este mes serán
entregados 1.5 millones de dólares
en fondos, para apoyar a las
organizaciones mexicanas de la
sociedad civil que trabajan contra
la trata de personas.
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La representación diplomática
informó que estos recursos
económicos se sumarán a los cinco
millones de dólares que su gobierno
ha otorgado desde 2009 para ese
mismo propósito.
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En un encuentro con organizaciones
no gubernamentales, el embajador
Anthony Wayne señaló que si bien los
gobiernos de ambos lados de la
frontera están comprometidos con el
combate a la trata de personas,
estos no pueden terminar con el
problema sin la ayuda de la
sociedad.
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Al participar en una mesa redonda
sobre el tema, el diplomático
estadounidense afirmó que la trata
de personas es un problema global,
que afecta a la gente en ambos lados
de la frontera entre México y
Estados Unidos.
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"Los gobiernos de ambos países están
comprometidos a cooperar
estrechamente para reducir este
comercio criminal; sin embargo, los
gobiernos no pueden terminarlo
solos. Ese es el motivo por el cual
reuniones como ésta son vitales",
declaró según un comunicado de la
representación diplomática.
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Destacó que para ser eficaces en ese
propósito se debe aprovechar la
experiencia y capacidades de actores
apasionados, como son las
organizaciones de la sociedad civil,
al tiempo que reiteró el compromiso
del gobierno para cooperar en el
combate a este problema.
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"Mi embajada espera continuar
nuestra cooperación efectiva con
estos grupos, al igual que con el
gobierno de México, hasta que
podamos declarar que hemos ganado
esta pelea", recalcó.
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La embajada de Estados Unidos en
México recordó que en el combate a
la trata de personas, "emplean una
estrategia integral de todo el
gobierno, con énfasis en prevención
y en atrapar y proceder legalmente
contra los criminales, y más
importante, en protección a las
víctimas de este crimen".
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Indicó que para mantener esta
estrategia, el embajador Wayne ha
ordenado a todas las agencias y
oficinas de la representación
diplomática a cooperar con la meta
de terminar con la trata de
personas.
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Además del apoyo a los grupos de la
sociedad civil, la embajada ofrece
capacitación para actores
gubernamentales y no
gubernamentales, trae expertos de
Estados Unidos, al tiempo que
coopera estrechamente en esfuerzos
de justicia para combatir y prevenir
la trata, concluyó.
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El Universal
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Mexico
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Nov. 03, 2011
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See also:
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Added: Nov. 06, 2011
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Mexico, The United States
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U.S. Ambassador to Mexico
Anthony Wayne (center left)
meets with anti trafficking
NGO leaders
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U.S.
Embassy Hosts Roundtable on
Prevention of Human Trafficking with
Mexican NGOs
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Mexico City, November 3, 2011—The
U.S. Embassy in Mexico today held a
roundtable discussion with Mexican
non-governmental organizations who
are leading the fight against human
trafficking, including: Casa
Alianza, Fundacion Infantía,
Colectivo Nacional en Contra de la
Trata, Red Nacional de Refugios, and
Centro de Estudios e Investigación
en Desarollo y Asistencia Social
(CEIDAS).
Ambassador Anthony Wayne
chaired the discussion, which
covered public awareness, victim
protection, care for child victims
of trafficking, combating sexual
tourism, preventative education
programs and training, and other
topics.
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“Human trafficking is a global
problem, one that affects people on
both sides of the U.S.-Mexico
border. The governments of both
countries are committed to
cooperating closely to curb this
criminal trade, however, governments
alone cannot wipe it out.
That is why meetings like
this one are so vital.” said
Ambassador Wayne. “In order to be
effective, this campaign must
leverage the expertise and
capabilities of passionate and
committed actors from civil society,
such as these organizations gathered
here today.
I was very interested to hear
the perspectives of these key NGOs
on both the problem and the actions
being taken to combat it. My embassy
looks forward to continuing our
effective cooperation with these
groups, as well as with the Mexican
government, until we can declare
this fight won.”
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In addition to the $5 million
dollars in support the U.S. has
provided since 2009 to Mexican civil
society organizations working
against human trafficking, another
$1.2 million in U.S. funds to combat
trafficking in persons in Mexico is
being delivered this month.
In combating human
trafficking, the United States
employs a whole-of-government
approach, with an emphasis on
prevention, finding and prosecuting
perpetrators, and most importantly,
protecting the victims of this
crime. In keeping with this
approach, Ambassador Wayne has
directed all agencies and offices at
the embassy to cooperate, with the
goal of ending human trafficking in
mind. In addition to supporting
civil society groups, the embassy
provides training for both
governmental and non-governmental
actors, brings experts from the
United States to engage with their
Mexican counterparts, and engages in
close law enforcement cooperation to
combat and prevent this traffic.
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U.S. Embassy in Mexico
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Nov. 03, 2011
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Added: Nov. 06, 2011
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Texas, USA / Mexico
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Hostage
house 'full of garbage'
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Austin - The possibility of more
suspects -- some even posing as
victims -- is fueling a human
trafficking investigation for Austin
police. Earlier this week they
busted a ring at an east Austin home
on Johnny Morris Road, where at
least eight confirmed victims from
Mexico and Latin America were
imprisoned.
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So far, police have arrested one
man, Fernando Salazar, for
aggravated assault with a deadly
weapon. However, they say more
charges, including kidnapping and
human trafficking could be ahead.
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"Just sad that people could be
treated this way,” said Melanie
Wassell, as she entered the home's
kitchen and was hit with the stench
of soured food. "Well the house,
it's full of garbage. Food just
everywhere."
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Wassell works for the man who owns
the house and a string of other
rental properties. Now she and her
crew are must make sure what
smugglers left behind gets cleaned
up.
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Police said the captives were here
for days, some of them maybe even
weeks, including a 15-year-old. When
he was unable to pay, they
threatened to keep him at the house
to cook and clean for them.
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"Dirty clothes,” Wassell pointed
out, walking into one of the tiny
bedrooms. “The hygiene, it's just,
it's awful what you see in here,
that anybody was made to live in
these kind of conditions."
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Held at gun-point, the other
immigrants faced returning to the
Mexican border, where their captors
would kill them if there families
could not come up with the money.
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One man left what appears to be a
loved one's number on the wall,
while cell phones remained scattered
around the darkened rooms where they
slept on only mattresses.
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Wassell said she hates to think what
would have happened if one of those
family members hadn't tipped off
police.
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"It's a horrible thing that people
could do that to other people,” she
said.
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The owner of the home said the man
police arrested is not the person
who rented the home two months ago.
The renter passed a criminal
background check, and now the owner
is trying to figure out how this
happened.
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KXAN
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Oct. 20, 2011
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Added: Nov. 03, 2011
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Historic caravan of mothers of missing migrants crosses Mexico
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Mexico / Central America
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Members of the Mesoamerican Mothers
Movement show pictures of their disappeared loved ones during
the installation of an alter at the site of the 2010 Tamaulipas
massacre of 72 migrants. The event occured during the group's
Fall 2011 awareness raising caravan across Mexico.
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From:
Caravana de madres de inmigrantes
centroamericanos desaparecidos llega a México
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TeleSur
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Nov. 03, 2011
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During an earlier march through
southern Mexico, Salvadoran mothers gather to pray and leave
offerings and crosses for their family members who were abused,
kidnapped and murdered in the 'mugging and rape gauntlet' at
Mexico's southern border region known as 'La Arrocera' - the
Rice Cooker.
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Madres de inmigrantes desaparecidos en
México crean equipo de “investigadoras”
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Madres de inmigrantes desaparecidos en tránsito por nuestro país crearon
un equipo especial dedicado a labores ministeriales, encaminado a
obtener información sobre el paradero de las víctimas.
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La idea es desarrollar labores que hasta ahora han sido olvidadas en la
Procuraduría General de la República o en las Procuradurías estatales.
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Las “investigadoras” forman parte de las mamás que integran el
Movimiento Migrante Mesoamericano (MMM), el cual realiza desde el 30 de
octubre y hasta el 13 de noviembre una caravana de búsqueda de los hijos
por la ruta del Golfo de México, con paso por los estados de Tabasco,
Tamaulipas, Coahuila, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Ciudad de México,
Veracruz, Oaxaca y Chiapas.
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La mayoría de ellas provienen de países como Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua, El Salvador y Estados Unidos.
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De acuerdo con el plan de trabajo divulgado por el Movimiento, las
actividades de investigación consistirán, además del intercambio de
información con los migrantes que se encuentran en ruta, “en pesquisas y
seguimiento de pistas para encontrar a los familiares…,
saber si viven o murieron o están privados de su libertad o en
situación de trata de personas”.
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Y en “visitas a hospitales, prostíbulos, reclusorios, albergues de
indigentes y/o minusválidos y a cualquier lugar público en donde pudiera
hallarse algún dato”.
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Esta labor es respaldada por organizaciones como Hermanos en el Camino,
Casa Belem del Migrante, Instituto Tamaulipeco para los Migrantes,
Pastoral Social Caritas, Casa de los Amigos, Cencos y Red Migrante, y
por instituciones como la CNDH y Amnistía Internacional.
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Además de las indagatorias alternas, las madres tienen programados
plantones y exposiciones en las plazas públicas de lugares emblemáticos
del flujo migratorio, la implementación de un correo comunitario para
informar a otras familias sobre sus migrantes, así como ceremonias en
las vías del tren y en tumbas sin nombre en cementerios.
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Uno de los eventos más importantes será el de hoy en San Fernando,
Tamaulipas, lugar de la masacre de 73 indocumentados el 23 de agosto de
2010.
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“La idea es hacer un ritual en memoria de los asesinados, para
evidenciar el trato ilegal, inhumano y criminal que México dispensa a
los migrantes en tránsito, y denunciar y exigir cambios al gobierno
mexicano, que se ha conducido con complicidad, impunidad y se ha negado
a la reparación del daño de los afectados”, señala el MMM.
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Caravan of mothers of migrants missing in
Mexico creates team of investigators
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A group of mothers of Central American migrants
who have disappeared in Mexico have created a specialized team that is
dedicated to investigating the fates of their victimized loved ones.
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The group’s goal is to take on the
responsibility of investigating cases that the office of the Attorney
General of the Republic has simply forgotten about.
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The "investigators" are mothers from the
Mesoamerican Migrants Movement (MMM), which started a caravan across
Mexico on October 30th that will continue through November 13th of 2011.
The caravan is following the Gulf coast migration route in search of
their children. The caravan will cross the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca,
Veracruz, Tabasco, Coahuila, San Luis Potosi, Queretaro and Tamaulipas,
and will also enter Mexico City.
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The majority of the marchers are from
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and the United States.
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According to a work plan released by the group,
research activities will include exchanges of information with migrants
who are in transit, as well as the development and pursuit of leads with
the aim of recovering family members who may be either dead, or alive
and enslaved in a human trafficking situation.
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The group added that they will be carrying out
search activities in hospitals, brothels, jails and prisons, migrant
shelters and at any other public environment where they can discover the
facts.
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This work is supported by organizations such as
the Brothers on the Road migrant shelter, the Bethlehem Migrant House
shelter, the Tamaulipas Institute for Migrants, Pastoral Social
Charities, Casa de los Amigos, the Migrant Census and Network,
Friendship House, and by institutions like Mexico’s [national] Human
Rights Commission and Amnesty International.
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In addition to their investigative work, the
mothers are planning to present workshops and information expositions in
public squares and at prominent landmarks along common migration routes.
The caravan will also institute a community mail system to allow
migrants to keep family members informed about their wellbeing, and will
hold ceremonies along rail lines [where migrants are often victimized]
and at unnamed graves located in cemeteries along the route.
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One of the caravan’s most important events will
take place today in the city of San Fernando, in Tamaulipas state, where
the massacre of 73 undocumented migrants took place on August 23, 2010.
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The Mesoamerican Migrant Movement declared
that, "The idea is to perform a ritual in memory of those who were
murdered, and to bear witness to the inhuman and criminal treatment that
Mexico dispenses to migrants who transit through its territory. We will
also denounce and demands changes from the Mexican Government, which has
to date has behaved with impunity as an accomplice [to this crisis], and
that denies reparations to those who were victimized as well.
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Daniel Blancas Madrigal
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La Crónica de Hoy
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Nov. 02, 2011
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Added: Nov. 03, 2011
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Mexico /
California, USA
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An underage girl stands waiting for the next john in the
Coahuila red light district of the city of Tijuana, in Baja
California state.
From a
YouTube video.
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Riverside Girl Trapped
in Tijuana Child Sex Trade
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The sex trade in Tijuana is closely linked to the region’s violent drug
cartels – sex trafficking of children is thought to be the third-highest
revenue generator for the cartels after the drug trade and gun smuggling
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The illegal sex trade is a growing export from the U.S. to Mexico,
according to the State Human Rights Commission of Baja, California. The
commercial sexual exploitation of children rakes in an estimated $32
million a year, much of that from Americans seeking illegal sex across
the border, according to the commission.
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Child prostitution in Tijuana is not a new problem. What may be less
known is that among the boys and girls being sexually exploited across
the border are youngsters from the United States.
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I met one of these children – a teenage girl from Riverside-- on an
undercover reporting trip to “La Zona Norte” in the red light district
along Tijuana’s Coahuila Street, known as a hub of sex tourism.
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Under the neon lights along Coahuila Street I quickly discovered
Americans among both the exploited and the exploiters.
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One man I met, who described himself as a pimp, told me he grew up in
Merced [California].
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He wasn’t shy and was quick to tell me that “everything is available
here,” even children.
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The price for sex with a young girl -- $40.
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“It’s cheap bud,” he said. “Sex is really cheap here.”
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The illegal sex trade is a growing export from the U.S. to Mexico,
according to the State Human Rights Commission of Baja, California. The
commercial sexual exploitation of children rakes in an estimated $32
million a year, much of that from Americans seeking illegal sex across
the border, according to the commission.
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“We know that this problem is not a local one,” said Francisco Cota, a
spokesman with the commission. “It’s a regional problem. It’s a
bi-national problem. If there is a demand here in Mexico. There’s going
to be demand in LA.”
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I paid the fee and the pimp introduced me to a girl who went by the name
Najeri. She told me she was 16 and from Riverside.
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I explained to her that I was a reporter working on a story about the
child sex trade, and she immediately told me, “It wasn’t something I
decided to do.”
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She showed me the room where she’s forced to have sex, a tiny stall
barely big enough for a shoddy bed.
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“It can be very…very scary,” she said. “A lot of the times those guys
are Americans.”
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Najeri told me that as a child left largely on her own she started
“hanging out with the wrong crowd” and was flattered the attention and
companionship of men in the group. By the time she learned their true
intentions it was too late.
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The sex trade in Tijuana is closely linked to the region’s violent drug
cartels – sex trafficking of children is thought to be the third-highest
revenue generator for the cartels after the drug trade and gun
smuggling, according to the commission.
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Both boys and girls are among the children being sexually exploited,
according to the commission, an assertion Najeri said is true. The main
client base for the boys is American, she told me.
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They are “coming here and paying with the American dollars, so it’s just
like gold to them,” she said. “There are a lot of guys coming from the
states that live in Vegas, live in Hollywood, live in Los Angeles,” she
said.
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Najeri is afraid to run away. Her pimp, she said, has told her what
happens to the bodies of runaways.
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“The morgue comes by the hospital and incinerates it before anybody can
be alerted that an American died,” she said. “That struck fear in my
heart.”
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She continued: “I don’t have the power or the ability to do that,” she
said.
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Then she told me: “There’s been times when I have been wishing that
somebody like you or some people come down, inquiring about it
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At that moment I had the impulse to walk out and take Najeri with me.
But I knew from talking with human rights advocates and with Najeri
herself that doing so would put her life—and possibly mine-- at risk.
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Going to the police could make matters worse, as many police offers are
in cahoots with the drug cartels, Cota said.
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“Corruption is a huge problem in Mexico,” Cota said. “It's one of the
main reasons why this problem is growing."
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/ Welcome
