2010

Rights Groups to President Obama: End Violence Against Migrants on Both Sides of the Border

Migrants in our region are experiencing a human rights crisis, particularly those who journey northward through Mexico en route to the United States.  Just this past August, 72 migrants from Central and South America were found massacred in northern Mexico. Far from an isolated occurrence, this incident is a terrifying example of the experiences that countless migrants suffer on a daily basis. 

Click here to read the letter that LAWG and concerned faith, labor and human rights groups sent to President Obama urging him to demonstrate leadership at home to promote and protect the migrants’ human and civil rights, as well as work with counterparts in Mexico to ensure that migrants receive the basic rights inherently afforded to all humanity. 
Read more »  
 
 

Bleak Outlook on Haiti: “Still Trapped in the Emergency Phase”

On October 6, nearly 10 months after the devastating earthquake tore through Haiti, Refugees International (RI) released the report “Haiti: Still Trapped in the Emergency Phase” detailing the continuing crisis. “Action is urgently needed to protect the basic human rights of people displaced by the earthquake,” RI reported. “Living in squalid, overcrowded and spontaneous camps for a prolonged period has led to aggravated levels of violence and appalling standards of living.”

Read more »  
 

Whoever said “less is more” was just, well, wrong . . . in this case.

Cultural exchanges have always been an important element of expanding one’s knowledge about countries throughout the world. While certain countries may possess different political ideologies, religious beliefs, or speak different languages from the United States, “intercambios” allow citizens to become familiar with everyday people from cultures that are different from ours. And knowing the people encourages understanding and peaceful co-existence. For countries that are polar opposites on the political and/or social spectrum—like Cuba and the United States, for  example—exchanges  between students, artists, faith groups, farmers, sports teams (fill in your own community here) help humanize the “other.” And in more cases than not, these exchanges assist all parties to find common ground and shared experiences, despite outward differences.

Read more »  
 

Reform in Mexico Fails to Deliver for Victims of Military Abuses


Mounting pressure from rights groups in Mexico and the Obama Administration, and a ticking clock on an order by the Inter-American Court, spurred President Calderón to unveil his long-anticipated proposal to reform Mexico’s military justice code. But while reform is desperately needed to end the historic impunity for members of the Mexican military that have committed human rights abuses, Mexican and international human rights groups agree that President Calderón’s proposal doesn’t do nearly enough.
Read more »  
 

UN Vote on Cuba, the 19th

For the 19th consecutive year the United Nations General Assembly has voted against the United States’ policy toward Cuba.  This year the vote, occurring October 26, a day or two sooner than expected, was 187 (supporting Cuba’s non-binding resolution condemning the embargo) to 2 (voting against the resolution:  the United States and Israel), with 3 abstaining (Palau, the Marshall Island, Micronesia). See an article on the vote here.

Read more »  
 

The Facebook Page You Have to See

We’ve got just one simple, but crucial action for you to take today:

Join our new Facebook campaign “Stand for Land Rights in Colombia” and help us grow the movement for change in U.S.-Colombia policy.

Read more »  
 
Page 3 of 19

Latin America Working Group
424 C Street NE
Washington DC 20002
Phone: (202) 546-7010
Email: lawg@lawg.org

© 2009 Latin America Working Group