International Institute On Race Equality And Human Rights

Programs: The international institute on race, equality and human rights is an international, human rights capacity-building organization that works side by side with activists in latin america to enhance their ability to promote and protect the human rights of marginalized and vulnerable people who suffer from discrimination based on their national or ethnic origin, their sexual orientation or gender identity. We strengthen grassroots organizations, helping them to become change actors able to promote structural changes in the countries where we work. Our methodology consists of providing technical assistance in order to help our partners monitor and document human rights abuses and increase their advocacy capacity at the national, regional and international levels.

in brazil, the institute also works to strengthen the articulacin de las mujeres negras de brasil [coordinating body of black women of brazil], a network of 27 organizations whose objective is to heighten the visibility of racial discrimination against black women in the labor and health fields. Lastly, the institute works to heighten the visibility of the afro-brazilian lgbti population: we work with the red negra lgbt [lgbt black network] to heighten the visibility of the situation of afro-brazilians who face discrimination due to their sexual orientation, gender identity and ethnicity. In colombia the institute provides technical assistance to our counterparts in order to improve their capacity to advocate before the colombian government and organization of american states (oas) to achieve recognition of the ethnic dimension of the internal armed conflict and, consequently, the adoption of a differential focus for satisfying the needs of displaced afro-colombians. The institute also works to increase the capacity of afro-colombian lawyers to access and influence regional and international human rights bodies. We also work in colombia to heighten the visibility of the afro-descendant lgbti population and provide training to increase the advocacy capacity of organizations working with the afro-descendant and indigenous lgbti populations at the national and international levels. The institute works in cuba to strengthen the capacity of our counterparts to monitor and document human rights violations committed against afro-descendants and members of the lgbti community, while simultaneously increasing access to information on human rights, including information about the inter-american human rights system as well as the universal system. The institute works in the dominican republic to strengthen dominican civil society organizations defending the rights of afro-descendant dominicans and dominicans of haitian descent, such as the jacques vieau network. This network, composed of organizations such as the socio-cultural movement of haitian workers (mosctha), advocating on behalf of the aforementioned communities, focuses its efforts at the national and international level. The member organizations provide essential services and engage in awareness-raising activities aimed at dismantling the racism experienced by these communities. Peru was reviewed by the committee that monitors the united nations international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (cerd) and a few members of the committee expressed concern over the lack of official data on the current number of afro-peruvians. Afro-peruvians have not been counted since the 1940 national census; as such, no official figures exist. This lack of information is what inspires the institute on race equality, and human rights to work with afro-peruvian organizations with an eye to heightening the visibility of racial and ethnic discrimination and ensuring the inclusion of afro-peruvians in the 2017 census.