Human Rights in Afro-Latin America

Abstract

This chapter discusses the struggle for human rights in Afro-Latin America and moves beyond the traditional International Bill of Human Rights (and other human rights instruments) to underscore that the traditional human rights framework, while useful, is not sufficient. The premise is that a human rights lens – specific to Afro-Diasporic peoples – offers a more nuanced way to analyze the issues and problems faced by Black communities in the Americas. The argument is that after centuries of slavery, and in the neo slavery period, new forms of exploitation arose. In other words, the abolition of slave laws and slavery did not eliminate nor address the new forms of exploitation in the post-slavery period. Consequently, Afro-Communities in the post-slavery period were subjected to new forms of marginalization, while at the same time, they were granted limited, partial, or contingent citizenship. The struggle for racial, gender, and economic equality, full democratic participation, social inclusion, land rights, identity recognition, and citizenship is therefore framed as a struggle for human rights that has unfolded over centuries. Moreover, these rights are interdependent, wholistic, and mutually dependent. In order to discuss human rights specific to Afro-Latin peoples a racialization and gender framework is used to inform this understanding. Some questions to be explored are: How is racial and gender inequality linked to human rights violations? Is the liberal or soft human rights rhetoric of states and some civil society groups sufficient to address the severity of human rights violations committed against Afro-Latin populations? Does the nature of the neo-liberal state by definition contradict and call into question its ability to enforce and protect the human rights of Afro peoples in the Americas? The chapter does not aim to list or recount the genocidal practices, atrocities, and massive violations that have unfolded over the centuries. The idea is to discuss, and as far as possible, develop a lens to understand how particular forms of inequality lead to human rights violations.