Tag: Americas

“I am the daughter of a housewife and a car painter” is how Nicaraguan activist Ms. Mesén describes herself, while sitting behind her office desk in San José, the capital city of Costa Rica, where she is now living.

Born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition that causes bones to break easily and damages hearing, muscles, teeth and the spine, she uses a wheelchair.

“Being born with a disability is complex, not because of the disability itself, but because of all the barriers that society generates,” she said. “Historically and culturally, we have generated a model of people. If someone breaks that model, we tend to segregate them and erect endless barriers because we build society with that model.”

She said discrimination and a dearth of knowledge about the rights of persons with disabilities prevented her from going to nursery school. By primary school, she said her mother was ready. A law on equal opportunities was already in force, so when her mother approached the Education Ministry, she made sure her seven-year-old daughter could go to school.

A young Ms. Mesén found staff and students there ready to create an inclusive environment. Her father had crafted a crib with wheels to accommodate her, as she could not sit upright due to her medical condition and the school supported other accessibility efforts.

“It seemed to have created a pattern at the school because levels of inclusion had never been established before,” she said.

She did not attend secondary school due to health reasons, but she never stopped learning, taking up painting and studying English; she also learned how to make crafts and jewelry.

Disability in Costa Rica

More than 670,000 people, or 18 per cent of the country’s population, lives with a disability – 39 per cent men and 61 per cent women. Although the vast majority of persons with disabilities have access to social security, Costa Rica still faces significant challenges to ensure full rights to education and employment.

Currently, 56 per cent of adults with disabilities are unemployed.

At age 18, Ms. Mesén became an activist to promote the rights of persons with disabilities, focusing her efforts on social media rather than campaigning in person.

“My mother gave me all the tools for me to assert my rights; no one was going to do it for me,” she said.

By the time she was 22, she became the first person with a disability to be elected as councillor of Goicoechea a locaility in San José, a position she still holds.

“I saw politics as a platform to make mt activism more visible because I’ve always believed that activism and politics go hand in hand,” she said.

But, Ms. Mesén never settles. She wants to become an activist lawyer to defend human rights.

Ms. Mesén’s story is an example of struggle and achievement, part of a collection of 20 stories in the book I am a person with a disability in Costa Rica and this is my story, now available online in Spanish.

Part of a series of stories compiled in Costa Rica to raise awareness about the situations of specific people and groups and share their aspirations, struggles, experiences, and valuable life lessons, earlier editions have amplified the voices of people of African descent and of indigenous peoples. The next book in the series will contain stories of migrants.

Promoting inclusion

Allegra Baiocchi, UN Resident Coordinator in Costa Rica, said persons with disabilities, families, communities, institutions, and organizations are currently leading a transformation, by taking a people-centred approach to development.

“It’s a great challenge for the UN, countries, and societies to support groups that have experienced exclusion and have faced extremely complex struggles,” she said. “It’s about listening to them, supporting them, and reaffirming their aspirations for equality and social justice. Every day, we are learning how to ensure true inclusion and accessibility for all people.”

That includes ensuring that more persons with disabilities have access to employment and leadership positions, she said. The newest This is my story book recognizes the persons with disabilities “who inspire us and encourage us to fight for equality, rights, and well-being for all people”, she said.

“They teach us that we will not be able to achieve sustainable development if we do not close the gaps that are affecting them much more deeply than the rest of the people in Costa Rica,” she said.

When the book was launched, Costa Rica’s Vice President, Mary Munive, said the Government is committed to move towards becoming a more inclusive country with more opportunities for all.

“We must guarantee that our population with disabilities has access to quality education and jobs,” she said.

Ongoing efforts in Costa Rica include implementing the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy, promoting advocacy and generating evidence and information for decision making.

In an appeal for “genuine dialogue” to resolve the crisis, the experts expressed deep concern about the reported repression, arbitrary killings, arrests, detention and enforced disappearances of demonstrators in Peru.

The situation stems from Congress’s removal of then president, Pedro Castillo on 7 December, after he was accused of trying to dissolve it.

Mr. Castillo remains in pre-trial detention on charges of rebellion and conspiracy. He was replaced by Mrs. Dina Boluarte, who was sworn in as the next president.

Democratic ‘credibility crisis’

“People have the right to protest and raise their concerns about political changes that affect their lives and livelihoods,” the experts said, before warning that Peru’s democracy was “facing a credibility crisis”.

Since the protests began last December, Peru’s Ombudsman has reported that 48 protestors and one law enforcement agent have been killed, while 1,301 people have been injured and hundreds have been arrested.

In reaction to demonstrations, the new Government declared a state of emergency for a month that has now been renewed twice. New general elections have not been scheduled and demands for constitutional reform have not been addressed, the experts noted.

What begins as a lawful detention initially, can lead to a case of “enforced disappearance” if the authorities fail to acknowledge that a person is indeed imprisoned, or they fail to give information about the detainee’s whereabouts.

Notify families

“It is important to provide information to the victims and their families about advances in the investigations”, the independent rights experts said.

They also expressed concerns about reports of violence against journalists and media workers covering the protests, including deliberate targeting by police forces, and urged the Government to take all measures necessary to ensure that media workers covering the events can operate safely.

Accountability guarantee

The experts reiterated the obligation of the State to conduct thorough, prompt, effective, impartial and independent investigations into alleged human rights violations.  They reminded that accountability for rights violations committed during the protests, must be guaranteed.

“While the State must ensure accountability for reported acts of violence committed by some protestors, a distinction must be made between those who exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and those who commit acts of violence in the context of demonstrations,” the experts said.

The experts noted that the repression by State authorities had disproportionally affected human rights defenders, indigenous peoples, and peasant communities across Peru.

The experts are calling on the Peruvian Government for a swift political solution, taking into account the need for accountability, and an end to violence and repression in the context of the protests.

Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work. 

“Following my meeting with President [Nicolás] Maduro, he publicly expressed his readiness to work towards improving the justice system. This is a key area for reform, and I offer the support and expertise of my Office to pursue this,” Volker Türk told reporters in Caracas at the end of his three-day visit. 

In addition to Mr. Maduro, the UN human rights chief also met with Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez, senior government officials, judicial leaders, opposition figures, civil society actors, indigenous peoples and victims of human rights violations. He came away from these discussions with a sense that all parties recognized the need for reforms. 

The High Commissioner said he had also perceived the need for national and international actors and the UN to help Venezuela to overcome its crises. “And also, importantly, the chance to begin to overcome the deep divisions and rebuild the social contract among Venezuelans,” he added.  

‘Frank conversations’ on reforms and building trust 

“During frank conversations with the authorities, I raised issues relating to civic space, conditions of detention and judicial delays, among others, encouraging them to take meaningful steps towards reforming the justice and security sectors,” said Mr. Türk in a press release issued by the UN human rights office, or OHCHR, which he heads up. 

He also encouraged the authorities to take the lead in building trust with victims and civil society organizations, to listen to them, to include them meaningfully in dialogue and respond to the plight of the victims. 

To this end, the High Commissioner said that during his visit he had heard accounts of people being arbitrarily detained and tortured, and of family members being killed in security operations and demonstrations. One woman, he said, was overcome with emotion, he explained, as she recounted how two years ago her sister had been detained, raped, and tortured.  

‘End torture once and for all’ 

“In my meetings with the President and ministers, I called for all people who have been arbitrarily detained to be released. This also forms part of my global call to governments to amnesty, pardon or simply release all those arbitrarily detained for exercising their fundamental human rights,” stressed Mr. Türk. 

He said he was given commitments that torture complaints would be addressed “decisively, fully investigated and those responsible brought to justice,” he said, encouraging the authorities to also take decisive steps to end torture once and for all, and to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, which seeks both to prevent torture and improve conditions in detention. 

Socio-economic woes exacerbated by sanctions  

“The economic and social challenges Venezuela faces, including with respect to the minimum wage and pensions, and the impact this has on people’s daily lives by curtailing their rights to food, water, healthcare, education, and other economic and social rights, were powerfully conveyed to me in my meetings with civil society, trade unionists and pensioners, among others,” the UN human rights chief continued.   

He said he also heard from across the spectrum of people he spoke with, including humanitarian actors and UN agencies, about the impact of sectorial sanctions on the most vulnerable segments of the population and the hurdles sanctions create for the country’s recovery and development, not least in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“While the roots of Venezuela’s economic crisis predate the imposition of economic sanctions… it is clear that the sectorial sanctions imposed since August 2017 have exacerbated the economic crisis and hindered human rights,” said Mr. Türk, reiterating his recommendation that Member States suspend or lift measures that undermine human rights and that aggravate the humanitarian situation. 

Mexico Dialogue 

Noting that he had been able to hear from both the Government and the Unitary Platform delegations to the Mexico Dialogue political process, the High Commissioner said that he had reiterated support for the ongoing discussions and stressed the need to listen to victims in the political process.  

“While I in no way underestimate the challenges ahead, I urged them to listen to one another and embark on meaningful dialogue to find a common vision for the future … All sides need to think about the future they want for Venezuela and my Office is ready to be a bridge-builder between the State institutions and the people,” he stressed.   

As for Venezuelans outside the country, Mr. Türk said that he had encouraged the Venezuelan authorities to continue and strengthen their cooperation with UN agencies to ensure a voluntary, safe and dignified return for all those who seek it. 

UDHR75 

The High Commissioner also shared some of his overall impressions, including the fragmented, divided state of Venezuelan society; the overriding need and eagerness, expressed by many, to build bridges to try to heal these divides; and the human rights challenges that the country faces in the civil, political, economic, and social spheres. 

In all his interactions, Mr. Türk said that he highlighted the importance of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this year. “This is not a mere date in the diary or a miraculous text, but a real chance to tackle and advance on many long-standing issues, promote dialogue, and foster healing after decades of rupture,” he stated.