Category Archives: Latin America

A new human rights architecture for Chile

I have just returned from an express trip to Chile at the invitation of the Chilean Institute of Human Rights (INDH) and the Human Rights Programme at Diego Portales University (UDP) to join them on 12 May for an international conference on the Strengths and Limitations of Human Rights Institutionalization.  We were joined by José Miguel Vivanco, Director of Human Rights Watch Americas, Amerigo Incalcaterra, regional OHCHR representative for the Americas, and many colleagues, observers and practitioners from the human rights community in Chile. Continue reading A new human rights architecture for Chile

Narcotics, criminal violence and human rights in Mexico

I am just coming to the end of a fascinating and sobering three-week stay at Colegio de Mexico (COLMEX), courtesy of the British Academy’s Newton Mobility Grants scheme, to advance research on transnational narcotics governance in collaboration with my colleague Professor Monica Serrano, one of the leading authorities on drug policy in Latin America. As part of the grant, on 14 January we hosted a workshop on the relationship between the International Drug Control Regime and the International Human Rights Regime and its implications for drug policy in Mexico and the region. Continue reading Narcotics, criminal violence and human rights in Mexico

Research Visit to Los Andes University, Bogota, Colombia

I have just returned from a very enjoyable research exchange at Los Andes University in Bogota Colombia. Thanks to my host Professor Sandra Borda and the Department of Political Science who facilitated my stay. Thanks also to Santander Bank and UCL International Office for the Research Catalyst Award which made my visit possible. The visit was very productive. I explored potential Continue reading Research Visit to Los Andes University, Bogota, Colombia

Transitional Justice In Peru (Rebecca K. Root) – Review

I have published a review of Rebecca K. Root’s compelling book on Transitional Justice in Peru in the Journal of Latin American Studies.  The review can be read here.

The study of transitional justice is now firmly established in a large scholarly and policy literature. However, while much attention has been paid to emblematic country cases, such as Argentina, or the extraordinary development of international criminal tribunals other experiments with transitional justice have received less attention.

Perhaps more than most, Peru merits careful consideration for what it can tell us about both the scholarship and practice of transitional justice. This is the task Rebecca K. Root sets out to achieve in her compelling and richly-detailed account of transitional justice in Peru.

Continue reading Transitional Justice In Peru (Rebecca K. Root) – Review

Operation against the Chilean Institute for Human Rights

An interesting debate has been occurring in the virtual pages of the Chilean broadsheet El Mercurio in recent days.  As I’ve discussed in this blog, the Chilean NHRI or Institute for Human Rights (INDH) since it was created in 2009 has quickly positioned itself as a vocal human rights advocate in the face of social protest and alleged police brutality.   It is also worth recalling how politicised the issue of human rights remains in Chile 25 years after the fall of the Pinochet dictatorship (currently the subject of the feature film ‘No’ starring Gael García Bernal).

Continue reading Operation against the Chilean Institute for Human Rights