Ecuador to host Indigenous summit seeking enforcement of court's human rights rulings
Indigenous leaders from across Latin America will meet this week for talks on how to enforce legal rulings designed to enforce their rights to justice and territorial protection.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, a regional tribunal that holds governments accountable for upholding human rights, has made decisions backing Indigenous peoples' rights — including to their ancestral lands, which they consider essential to preserve their culture and way of life — which are not being implemented by Latin America governments.
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Fox News
2 days ago
- Fox News
Venezuelan opposition member details harrowing 400-day captivity at UN
Pedro Urruchurtu spoke to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday about what he had endured at the hands of Nicolás Maduro's regime while being forced to shelter in place for over 400 days. Urruchurtu and four other members of Venezuela's political opposition were freed in May in a successful U.S. rescue mission. He and his colleagues were effectively trapped inside the Argentine Embassy in Caracas — where the opposition members fled to, and were sheltered due to the diplomatic status of the embassy. The opposition figures were under siege by regime forces who made their lives extremely difficult due to their control of the utilities. Urruchurtu told the council he had endured "five months without electricity, three minutes of water every ten days, rifles pointed at the windows, and dogs trained to bite; only because those in power considered it a crime to direct the campaigns of Maria Corina Machado in the opposition primaries and Edmundo González in the presidential elections. Both won." "Today I am here despite the state, and not thanks to it, because if it were up to it, I would be missing or dead," Urruchurtu said. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told the council that since May 1, 2024, the human rights situation in Venezuela has only gotten worse. The people have experienced "arbitrary detentions, violations of due process and enforced disappearances, amid continued allegations of torture and ill-treatment." Türk revealed that his office had documented 32 people — 15 of them adolescents — who reported being tortured and ill-treated in detention. He also noted that 28 people had been subjected to enforced disappearance after the country's parliamentary elections, which took place in May 2025. He said their whereabouts remain unknown and that at least 12 of them were foreign nationals who "do not have access to consular assistance." "The world must no longer look away from the brutal reality of what the once-beautiful Venezuela has become. Nicolás Maduro and his enforcers are running a criminal narco-terrorist dictatorship that jails political opponents, tortures dissidents, and crushes any hope of free expression. Pedro's voice today represents the cries of thousands of Venezuelans who remain imprisoned, persecuted or forced into exile, as slaves to the regime," UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer told Fox News Digital. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a post on X on May 6 that the opposition members, including Urruchurtu, had been rescued in "a precise operation" and brought to the U.S. A few weeks later, Rubio met with the released opposition members. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that Rubio had commended the Venezuelan opposition members for their "bravery in the face of Maduro's relentless repression and tyranny." Neuer also expressed gratitude for the Trump administration and Rubio's actions, which led to Urruchurtu's release. "Thank you to the Trump administration and the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, for their critical role in securing Pedro's release and the release of his comrades. Once again, proving that strong, principled diplomacy saves lives and advances the cause of freedom for the world," Neuer told Fox News Digital.
News24
2 days ago
- News24
Spain PM Sanchez accuses Israel of ‘genocide' in Gaza, demands EU suspend cooperation
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday became the most prominent European leader to describe the situation in Gaza as a 'genocide', as rescuers in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory said Israeli forces killed 65 people. After more than 20 months of devastating conflict, rights groups say Gaza's population of more than two million face famine-like conditions. Israel began allowing supplies to trickle in at the end of May following a blockade of more than two months but distribution has been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect rations. Israel meanwhile is pressing its bombardment of the territory, in a military offensive it says is aimed at defeating militant group Hamas, whose October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war. Sanchez said Gaza was in a 'catastrophic situation of genocide' and urged the European Union to immediately suspend its cooperation deal with Israel. The comments represent the strongest condemnation to date by the Spanish premier, an outspoken critic of Israel's offensive who is one of the first European leaders, and the most senior, to use the term 'genocide' to describe the situation in Gaza. Saeed MMT Jaras/Anadolu via Getty Images Speaking ahead of an EU summit in Brussels, Sanchez mentioned an EU report which found 'indications' Israel was breaching its human rights obligations under the cooperation deal, which forms the basis for trade ties. Israel reacted furiously to Sanchez's comments. Its embassy in Madrid accused him of 'demonising' Israel, saying Spain was 'on the wrong side of history'. The Spanish government called the statement 'unacceptable' and summoned the embassy's charge d'affaires. The director of medical supplies in Gaza's civil defence agency, Mohammad Al-Mughair, told AFP 65 people had been killed by Israeli forces in the territory on Thursday. The Israeli military said its troops 'fired warning shots' in order to prevent 'suspects from approaching them' near the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, where Palestinians gather each night for rations. Israel says its Gaza offensive is aimed at destroying Hamas and rescuing hostages seized during the October 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1 219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's military campaign has killed at least 56 259 people, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The United Nations considers its figures reliable. 'My children have nothing to eat. I haven't had any flour for nearly two months,' said Imad al-Attar, a Gaza resident who obtained a bag of flour in the southern city of Khan Yunis. 'We just want to eat,' said another man, Khaled Rashwan. We are dying, and no one is paying attention to us. Who can we turn to? Imad al-Attar Gaza's health ministry says nearly 550 people have been killed near aid centres while seeking scarce supplies since late May. The UN has condemned the 'weaponisation of food' in Gaza, and slammed a US- and Israeli-backed foundation that has largely replaced established humanitarian organisations in the territory. The privately run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was brought into the territory in late May, but its operations have been marred by chaotic scenes, deaths and neutrality concerns. The GHF denies deadly incidents have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points. The US State Department said on Thursday it had approved its first direct funding - $30 million - for the GHF and urged other countries to follow suit. Israeli restrictions on media in Gaza and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities in the territory. Abdalhkem Abu Riash/Anadolu via Getty Images The World Health Organisation said it had delivered its first medical shipment into Gaza since 2 March, adding that the nine truckloads were 'a drop in the ocean'. After claiming victory in a 12-day war against Iran that ended with a ceasefire on 24 June, Israel said it would refocus on its offensive in Gaza, where Palestinian militants still hold Israeli hostages. US President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday: 'I think great progress is being made on Gaza' to end the war, and forecast 'very good news'. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing calls from opposition politicians, relatives of hostages held in Gaza and even members of his ruling coalition to end the fighting. Key mediator Qatar said this week it would launch a new push for a ceasefire. Israel said efforts to return Israeli hostages in Gaza were ongoing 'on the battlefield and via negotiations'.
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Washington Post
Argentina to put Iranians and Lebanese on trial in absentia over 1994 Jewish center bombing
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — An Argentine judge on Thursday ordered that the seven Iranians and three Lebanese citizens accused of involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires face trial in absentia for the first time in the long-running case plagued by setbacks and controversy.
