"Americas: Violence on the rise against those defending human rights", 9 Dec 2014

Campaigners, lawyers, journalists, community leaders and trade unionists, all human rights defenders who put their lives and liberty at risk in the fight for human rights, continue to suffer intimidation, harassment and violence across Latin America and the Caribbean according to a new Amnesty International report published today...Defending Human Rights in the Americas: Necessary, Legitimate and Dangerous gives an overview on the situation of human rights defenders in the Americas region. The report focuses primarily on over 200 cases of attacks and abuses on which Amnesty International took action during the last two years...The report is based on cases from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.The research found a particularly high level of violence and repression suffered by those working on rights related to lands, territory and natural resources, those working on women and girls’ rights, the rights of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex (LGBTI) and migrant rights; as well as against journalists and trade unionists who defend human rights...