WOLA Newsletter

#LiberarlasEsJusticia

In June, WOLA and our partner on the ground, Equis Justicia para las Mujeres, launched #LiberarlasEsJusticia (“#FreeingThemIsJustice”), a campaign which uses social media, press, and advocacy strategies to call for the release of the more than 3,000 women who are in prison in Mexico for drug offenses. The majority of them are mothers, indigenous, farmers, and primary caregivers, who are often victims of human rights violations. Their incarceration has no impact on citizen security, yet it has a disproportionate impact on these women, their families, and communities.

This innovative campaign seeks to change their reality by engaging public figures, Members of Congress, and government officials to promote an amnesty or pardon for these women. We will continue pushing for drug law reforms to stop filling up Mexican prisons with those accused of low-level drug offenses, as well as re-entry programs to allow these women to live lives with dignity. Check-out WOLA’s social media accounts and the project’s microsite to see the campaign in action.

A New, Groundbreaking Report from WOLA’s Central America Monitor

On June 27, WOLA released the first in a series of reports for the Central America Monitor. The report, Guatemala’s Justice System: Evaluating Capacity Building and Judicial Independence, is part of a first-of-its-kind project spearheaded by WOLA which seeks to track U.S. assistance to Central America and measures progress on more than 100 key indicators related to rule of law, corruption, and human rights in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

The indicators examine concrete questions relating to the presence of prosecutors in municipalities across the region, the gender representation and caseload of prosecutors in each country, and more. This is essential data. It provides much-needed information that better equips advocates working to craft improved public policy outcomes in the region. What’s more, its timely release coincides with the ongoing process of selecting new Supreme Court and Appellate magistrates in Guatemala at a time when political tensions in the country are rising due to a presidential run-off.

Fighting for Human Rights at the U.S.-Mexico Border

The humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border continues to escalate, and recent actions by the Trump administration are worsening the situation. This administration’s cruel policies—detaining people in overcrowded cells on the U.S. side of the border; pushing asylum applicants back into Mexico through practices like “metering,” which limit applicants at the ports of entry; and compelling asylum applicants to wait on the Mexican side of the border for U.S. asylum hearings through the “remain in Mexico” policy—are forcing more migrants into unsafe situations and making it even more difficult for them to exercise their legal right to apply for asylum. WOLA is fighting back, shining a light on what is happening and providing policymakers and advocates with critical resources (here are 4 ways that you can help migrants and asylum seekers). Join us by educating yourself with WOLA’s resources and sharing them widely, as well as calling your representatives, speaking out, and donating to the Beyond the Wall Campaign.

Check out more of WOLA's recent work:

In a New York Times op-ed, WOLA Senior Fellow David Smilde and University of Southern California faculty emeritus Abraham F. Lowenthal lay out conditions and actions that could contribute to negotiations for a peaceful and democratic solution to Venezuela’s current political and humanitarian crisis.
WOLA Podcast: Resisting Repression in Nicaragua, an update from Nicaraguan Social Movement Leader Julio Martínez.
WOLA joined with partner NGOs in a joint statement denouncing the Mexican National Guard’s actions in migration enforcement at U.S.-Mexico Border.
In our latest urgent action, Director for the Andes Gimena Sánchez highlighted the importance of peace implementation in Colombia, as well as protection for indigenous and Afro-Colombian leaders who continue to face extreme threats.
Save the date for WOLA’s annual conference on Colombia’s path toward peace, September 18, 2019.

WOLA accepts no money from the U.S. government. We depend on the generosity of people like you to make our independent, fact-based, and life-saving advocacy possible.

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