Latin America
Gender-based violence in Colombia, from the utopia of norms to reality #CSW65
April 20, 2021
Among the many conclusions at the UN Commission on the Status of Women as well as figures and statistics—concrete data and real cases—on the global increase of gender-based violence experienced in the last year due to the pandemic, the specific case of Colombia continues to astonish. In Colombia femicides have increased by 175% compared to last year, with a total of 630 femicides during 2020. Despite this reality, there is…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
First climate change lawsuit in Ecuador
April 19, 2021
La versión en español de este blog sigue a continuación. The following is a summary and update from Ivonne Yánez of Acción Ecológica (Ecuador) on the status of the first climate change lawsuit to be heard in Ecuador. Acción Ecológica is a KAIROS global partner. Acción Ecológica, together with the Union of People Affected by Texaco (UDAPT),…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Indigenous Rights, Latin America
Canadian organizations ask government to publicly condemn violence against Indigenous land defenders in Guatemala
April 9, 2021
Mining Watch Canada On March 30th, 2021, MiningWatch Canada, along with 26 other Canadian organizations, sent a letter to Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, asking them to…
Post filed in: Latin America
Ecumenical Forum for Peace pens open letter to Colombian President
February 16, 2021
“The escalation of the armed conflict and the expansion of violence in addition to the health crisis are putting some human groups and communities at serious risk of extinction—t heir survival is in peril. All this is aggravated by the systematic murder of ethnic…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
Acción Ecológica files climate change lawsuit in Ecuador
December 14, 2020
On International Human Rights Day, Acción Ecológica, KAIROS partner organization in Ecuador, and a consortium of organizations and groups filed a lawsuit before the Ecuadorian state. The lawsuit claims that the oil refinement process contributes to climate change, which has local and global consequences. In particular, the lawsuit denounces Chinese transnational oil…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Latin America
KAIROS condemns violence against Indigenous communities in Chiapas, Mexico
December 2, 2020
KAIROS is gravely concerned about the escalation of violence against Indigenous communities in the municipalities of Aldama, Chenalhó, and Chalchihuitán in Chiapas, Mexico. Members of the human rights program of the Diocese of San Cristobal de las Casas, a KAIROS…
Post filed in: Latin America
The OFP Calls for a National State of Emergency
November 25, 2020
This fall marks both the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council’s Resolution 1325 and the fourth anniversary of the ratification of the Peace Accords in Colombia between the government and the former guerrilla group, the FARC. Integrating some of UNSCR 1325’s recommendations, Colombia’s Peace Accords have been heralded for their attention to the gendered…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
Demand that the Government of Canada Support Peace in Colombia
October 29, 2020
Violence in Colombia continues undaunted, and in some ways aggravated, by the COVID-19 pandemic. Just days after public health directives were put in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus in March, Carlota Isabel Salinas Pérez, a member of the Organización Femenina Popular (OFP) was killed. Carlota is…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
Where is the support for the women defending land and water, Canada?
August 25, 2020
This op-ed by Gabriela Jiménez, KAIROS’ Latin American Partnerships Coordinator was published in Canada’s National Observer on August 23, 2020. Canadians care about the environment. Multiple polls found that the climate crisis was one of the top issues of the…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
“Territorial Feminisms and Diverse Ecologies”: A series of virtual gatherings on women and land defense
August 6, 2020
The Latin American Network of Women Defenders of Social and Environmental Rights, a KAIROS partner, will be hosting a series of virtual gatherings collectively called “Territorial Feminisms and Diverse Ecologies” from August to December 2020. The ten gatherings are organized around themes related to…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
KAIROS denounces the feminicide of María Angélica Polanco Medina of Barrancabermeja, Colombia
July 24, 2020
“It is with pain that we once again witness barbarism, dehumanization, and cruelty on the bodies of women.” Organización Femenina Popular On July 22, the Organización Femenina Popular (OFP), a KAIROS partner, released a statement mourning the death and denouncing the feminicide of María Angélica Polanco Medina, an educator…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
Berta Cáceres’ legacy among women land and water defenders in Latin America
June 30, 2020
By Ivonne Ramos KAIROS closes Indigenous Women’s Month with a reflection by Ivonne Ramos of Acción Ecológica (Ecuador). Ivonne was one of three panelists for KAIROS’ virtual book launch of Who Killed Berta Cáceres? Dams, Death Squads, and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet. Vidalina Morales, president of ADES and a friend of Berta, and Nina…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
The Art of Sofía Acosta Varea (La Suerte)
June 20, 2020
Yesterday, KAIROS brought you an interview with Sofía Acosta Varea. Today, we bring you a sample of her work. . . CACAÑAN (A Crappy Road) Sometimes it’s good to see so much crap running around town. Take water from the Machángara River. Mix this water with…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
KAIROS Interviews La Suerte (Sofía Acosta)
June 19, 2020
(sigue el texto en español) Sofía Acosta Varea aka La Suerte is an Ecuadorian visual artist who designed Mother Earth and Resource Extraction: Women Defending Land and Water’s (MERE Hub) logo and has created all of the illustrations for KAIROS’ digital hub on the gendered impacts of resource extraction. This…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
June 16: virtual book launch for “Who Killed Berta Cáceres? Dams, Death Squads, and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet”
June 10, 2020
[español sigue] Join KAIROS’ MERE Hub on June 16th at 6:00pm EDT for Who Killed Berta Cáceres? Dams, Death Squads, and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet—book launch. This virtual book launch will feature author and journalist Nina Lakhani as well as members of the Latin American Network of Women…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Indigenous Rights, Latin America
June 18: Stories of Courage: Women Defending Land and Water in Canada and Brazil
June 1, 2020
Watch our webinar recordings online. Join KAIROS’ MERE Hub on June 18h at 11:00am PDT / 2:00pm EDT/ 3:00pm ADT for Stories of Courage: Women Defending Land and Water in Canada and Brazil. This online teach-in is the last in a series of virtual events in…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
KAIROS Signs on to open letter in support of the Shuar Arutam People in Ecuador
May 14, 2020
Over 100 organizations from across the globe have signed an open letter—co-written by KAIROS partner Acción Ecológica, MiningWatch Canada, and others—in solidarity with the Shuar Arutam People (PSHA) in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Letter signatories join the PSHA in condemning the Government of Ecuador for sanctioning the…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
May 14: CNCA Webinar with KAIROS partners and federal MPs
May 10, 2020
On Thursday, May 14th, join KAIROS, KAIROS partners from the Philippines, and other members of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA), including Development and Peace and the United Church of Canada, for a webinar during the Month of Action for Mining Justice. …
Post filed in: Asia-Pacific, Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
Women peacebuilders respond to COVID-19
May 6, 2020
Advising remote communities on how to protect themselves from COVID-19 and assisting women who are experiencing an increase in gender-based and domestic violence are a few of the ways that KAIROS’ Women of Courage: Women, Peace and Security partners are responding to the…
Post filed in: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America, Middle East
Online Teach-in on Community Self-determination in the Face of Resource Extraction in Guatemala and Canada
April 14, 2020
On Wednesday, April 22, join MiningWatch Canada for “Finding Common Ground: Community self-determination in the face of resource extraction in Guatemala and Canada.” This KAIROS-endorsed online teach-in will focus on the peaceful resistance to the Escobal silver mine in southeastern Guatemala owned by Pan American Silver (formerly…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
KAIROS Canadá condena la violencia que ha sido exacerbada por COVID-19 en Colombia
March 27, 2020
KAIROS: Iniciativas ecuménicas canadienses por la justicia, que aglutina a diez iglesias y organizaciones religiosas, condena los asesinatos de líderes y lideresas sociales a lo igual que el aumento de la violencia basada en género que han acompañado la propagación de COVID-19 en Colombia. El 25 de marzo, KAIROS se enteró del feminicidio de una…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
KAIROS condemns the violence that has been exacerbated by COVID-19 in Colombia
March 27, 2020
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, which unites ten churches and religious organizations, condemns the assassinations of social leaders and the rise in gender-based violence that have accompanied the spread of COVID-19 in Colombia. On March 25, KAIROS learned about the feminicide of a long-time member of the Organización…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
A peace process undermined: Land defense and the non-repetition of violence in Colombia
March 13, 2020
The non-repetition of violence is a cornerstone of Colombia’s Peace Agreement between the government and the FARC—the former guerilla group (now political party). Recently published reports by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders in Colombia…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
Gloria Chicaiza, Presente!
January 8, 2020
By Rachel Warden, Partnerships Manager We have lost a courageous and compassionate defender of life, nature and dignity and a dear friend. When I learned from our partner Acción Ecológica in Ecuador that Gloria Chicaiza had started her journey to…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
Court ruling of women defenders of nature and peoples against mining
December 18, 2019
Towards the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based violence, Natalia Atz Sunuc wrote about her experience at the X Assembly of the Latin American Network of Women Defenders of Social and Environmental Rights, which took place in…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
Acerca de la X asamblea de la red latinoamericana de mujeres defensoras de derechos sociales y ambientales
November 29, 2019
(translation in English below) Guatemala fue sede de la X Asamblea de la Red Latinoamericana de Mujeres Defensoras de Derechos Sociales y Ambientales (13 al 17 de noviembre de 2019) de en la que participaron mujeres y organizaciones de mujeres…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
Women land and water defenders are the real peacebuilders
November 28, 2019
Large-scale resource extraction often perpetuates violence, even in countries with peace accords. Those who mobilize to protect the land and water to build peace are often women. Such is the case in Guatemala and Colombia, where extractive mega-projects with Canadian…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America, Op Eds & Rabble
On defending the Indigenous women land defenders
November 26, 2019
A conversation with Dr. Sherry Pictou KAIROS has launched an online hub to connect and help further empower women land and water defenders in Canada and worldwide. Called Mother Earth and Resource Extraction– or MERE Hub, the resource was developed…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
