Members of the indigenous guard of the native community of Puerto Nuevo, of the Amazonian Kakataibo people, located in the central-eastern jungle of Peru. Credit: Courtesy of Marcelo Odicio
LIMA, Jul 26 2024 (IPS) – The invasion of lands inhabited by Amazon indigenous communities is growing in Peru, due to drug trafficking mafias that are expanding coca crops to produce and export cocaine, while deforestation and insecurity for the native populations and their advocates are increasing
“Drug trafficking is not a myth or something new in this area, and we are the ones who defend our right to live in peace in our land,” said Kakataibo indigenous leader Marcelo Odicio, from the municipality of Aguaytía, capital of the province of Padre Abad, in the Amazonian department of Ucayali.
“We are the ones who pay the consequences, we are visible to criminals, we are branded as informers, but I will continue to defend our rights. Along with the indigenous guard we will ensure that the autonomy of our territory is respected,” Marcelo Odicio.
Of the 33 million inhabitants of the South American country, around 800,000 belong to 51 Amazonian indigenous peoples. Overall, 96.4% of the indigenous population is Quechua and Aymara, six million of whom live in the Andean areas, while the Amazonian jungle peoples account for the remaining 3.6%.
The Peruvian government is constantly criticised for failing to meet the needs and demands of this population, who suffer multiple disadvantages in health, education, income generation and access to opportunities, as well as the growing impact of drug trafficking, illegal logging and mining.
A clear example of this is the situation of the Kakataibo people in two of their native communities, Puerto Nuevo and Sinchi Roca, in the border between the departments of Huánuco and Ucayali, in the central-eastern Peruvian jungle region.
For years they have been reporting and resisting the presence of invaders who cut down the forests for illegal purposes, while the government pays no heed and takes no action.
The most recent threat has led them to deploy their indigenous guard to defend themselves against new groups of outsiders who, through videos, have proclaimed their decision to occupy the territories over which the Kakataibo people have ancestral rights, which are backed by titles granted by the departmental authorities.
Six Kakataibo leaders who defended their lands and way of life were murdered in recent years. The latest was Mariano Isacama, whose body was found by the indigenous guard on Sunday 14 July after being missing for weeks.
In his interview with IPS, Odicio, president of the Native Federation of Kakataibo Communities (Fenacoka), lamented the authorities’ failure to find Isacama. The leader from the native community of Puerto Azul had been threatened by people linked to drug trafficking, suspects the federation.
Marcelo Odicio, president of the Native Federation of Kakataibo Communities, headquartered in the town of Aguaytía, in the department of Ucayal, in the Peruvian Amazon. Credit: Inforegión
During a press conference in Lima on 17 July, the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Jungle (Aidesep), that brings together 109 federations representing 2,439 native communities, deplored the government’s indifference in the situation of the disappeared and murdered leader, which brings to 35 the number of Amazonian indigenous people murdered between 2023 and 2024.
Aidesep declared the territory of the Amazonian indigenous peoples under emergency and called for self-defence and protection mechanisms against what they called “unpunished violence unleashed by drug trafficking, mining and illegal logging under the protection of authorities complicit in neglect, inaction and corruption.”
Lack of vision for the Amazon
The province of Aguaytía, where the municipality of Padre de Abad is located and where the Kakataibo live, among other indigenous peoples, will account for 4.3% of the area under coca leaf cultivation by 2023, around 4,019 hectares, according to the latest report by the government’s National Commission for Development and Life without Drugs (Devida).
It is the sixth largest production area of this crop in the country.
The report highlights that Peru reduced illicit coca crops by just over 2% between 2022 and 2023, from 95,008 to 92,784 hectares, thus halting the trend of permanent expansion over the last seven years.
These figures are called into question by Ricardo Soberón, an expert on drug policy, security and Amazonia.
Ricardo Soberón, a renowned Peruvian expert on drug policy, Amazonia and security. Credit: Walter Hupiú / IPS
“The latest World Drug Report indicates that we have gone from 22 to 23 million cocaine users, and that the golden triangle in Burma, the triple border of Argentina-Paraguay-Brazil and the Amazonian trapezoid are privileged areas for production and export,” Soberón told IPS.
The latter holds “Putumayo and Yaguas, areas that according to Devida have reduced the 2,000 hectares under cultivation. I don’t believe it,” he said.
Soberón added another element that discredits the conclusions of the Devida report: the government’s behaviour.
“There is no air interdiction in the Amazonian trapezoid, the non-lethal interdiction agreement with the United States will be operational in 2025. On the other hand, there are complaints against the anti-drug police in Loreto, the department where Putumayo and Yaguas are located, for their links with Brazilian mafias,” he explained.
He believes there was an attempt to whitewash “a government that is completely isolated”, referring to the administration led since December 2022 by interim president Dina Boluarte, with minimal levels of approval and questioned over a series of democratic setbacks.
Soberón, director of Devida in 2011-2012 and 2021-2022, has constantly warned that the government, at different levels, has not incorporated the indigenous agenda in its policies against illegalities in their ancestral areas.
This, he said, despite the growing pressure on their peoples and lands from “the largest illegal extractive economies in the world: drug trafficking, logging and gold mining,” the main causes of deforestation, loss of biodiversity and territorial dispossession.
Soberón argued that, given the magnitude of cocaine trafficking in the world, major trafficking groups need coca crop reserves, and Peruvian territory is fit for it. He deplored the minimal strategic vision among political, economic, commercial and social players in the Amazon.
Based on previous research, he says that the Cauca-Nariño bridge in southern Colombia, Putumayo in Peru, and parts of Brazil, form the Amazonian trapezoid: a fluid transit area not only for cocaine, but also for arms, supplies and gold.
Hence the great flow of cocaine in the area, for trafficking and distribution to the United States and other markets, which makes the jungle-like indigenous territories of the Peruvian Amazon attractive for coca crops and cocaine laboratories.
Soberón stresses it is possible to reconcile anti-drug policy with the protection of the Amazon, for example by promoting the citizen social pacts that he himself developed as a pilot project during his term in office.
It is a matter, he said, of turning the social players, such as the indigenous peoples, into decision-makers. But this requires a clear political will, which is not seen in the current Devida administration.
Mariano Isacama (left), a Kakataibo indigenous leader who disappeared and was murdered after allegedly receiving threats from people linked to drug traffickers. Next to him, the president of the indigenous organisation Orau, Magno López. Credit: Courtesy of Marcelo Odicio
“We will not stand idly by”
Odicio, the president of Fenacoka, knows that the increased presence of invaders in their territories is aimed at planting pasture and coca leaf, an activity that destroys their forests. They have even installed maceration ponds near the communities.
When invaders arrive, they cut down the trees, burn them, raise cattle, take possession of the land and then demand the right to title, he explained. “After the anti-forestry law, they feel strong and say they have a right to the land, when it is not the case,” he said.
He refers to the reform of the Forestry and Wildlife Act No. 29763, in force since December 2023, which further weakens the security of indigenous peoples over their land rights and opens the door to legal and illegal extractive activities.
The leader, who has a wife and two young children, knows that the role of defender exposes him. “We are the ones who pay the consequences, we are visible to criminals, we are branded as informers, but I will continue to defend our rights. Along with the indigenous guard we will ensure that the autonomy of our territory is respected,” he stressed.
In the native community of Puerto Nuevo there are 200 Kakataibo families, with 500 more in Sinchi Roca. They live from the sustainable use of their forest resources, who are at risk from illegal activities. “We just want to live in peace, but we will defend ourselves because we cannot stand idly by if they do not respect our autonomy”, he said.
The African National Congress (ANC) has acted like “they’re powerful players on the African stage”, but South Africa “really irritates most” other African countries because “they’re always sticking their noses in everywhere”. So says the former Director of African Studies at the U.S. Army War College, retired Colonel Chris Wyatt, who witnessed the intense dislike for Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma after she was “forced on” the African Union as chairperson. “She went up there and her arrogance…and the distaste people had for her was pretty palpable when I was in Addis Ababa. She was less popular than syphilis.” Commenting on this year’s spate of deaths of SANDF soldiers in the DRC, he says: “They’re like lambs sent to the slaughter. They’re being sent there with insufficient resources, improper medevac, no air support, insufficient logistics. It’s something that South Africa should not be involved in, but it’s all part of the egotistical foreign policy of the African National Congress…” He warns that the SA force is going to find itself “increasingly vulnerable to M23 and about a hundred other rebel groups who have all their own agendas and most of its criminal”. Colonel Wyatt also dissects the “war” between the DRC and Rwanda and explains why President Paul Kagame’s welcome mat in the US is “wearing thin”.
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Highlights from the interview
In an interview with Chris Steyn, retired Colonel Chris Wyatt discussed South Africa’s extensive involvement in various African countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, and the DRC. Wyatt questioned the benefits South Africa gains from these engagements, suggesting that the country’s involvement seems to be more about the ANC’s desire to project itself as a significant player on the African stage rather than any tangible gains.
Wyatt highlighted the substantial financial and human costs, mentioning that the South African government has budgeted over 2 billion rand for operations in the DRC, with 900 million rand spent in six months. He argued that this expenditure does not benefit ordinary South Africans, who face numerous domestic challenges, including inadequate educational resources and infrastructure.
Furthermore, Wyatt criticized South Africa’s military presence in the DRC, noting that replacing UN troops with South African forces has left them vulnerable to various rebel groups. He emphasized that the conflict in the DRC is complex and deeply rooted, and South Africa’s involvement is unlikely to bring about significant change.
Wyatt concluded by asserting that South Africa should focus on addressing its internal issues and improving the lives of its citizens rather than engaging in costly and arguably ineffective foreign interventions.
Extended transcript of the interview ___STEADY_PAYWALL___
00:00:11:15 – 00:00:25:17 Chris Steyn: Nearly a dozen South African National Defense Force soldiers have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo this year. We speak to retired Colonel Chris Wyatt, the former director of African studies at the US Army War College. Welcome, Colonel.
00:00:25:22 – 00:00:39:14 Colonel Chris Wyatt: Well, thank you, Chris. It’s a pleasure to be back. And what an interesting topic. Once again, we seem to… I really appreciate the topics you keep asking me to talk about. They’re all fascinating. And this one, talking about the South African Defense Force in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I think it’s a timely topic to discuss.
00:00:39:16 – 00:00:55:15 Chris Steyn: Well, I would like to know, as I’m sure you have a very good idea. What is South Africa really doing there? Why is it in South Africa’s interest to be there and have its soldiers slaughtered without logistical support?
00:00:55:17 – 00:01:12:06 Colonel Chris Wyatt: Well, it’s a fair question. Why is South Africa in the DRC? Now, I’m not going to say this is the case, but I’m going to give an example of why others have been there just to frame this. So we go back to when the government in the 1990s was overthrown, with the movement coming out of the east, they moved across the country.
00:01:12:06 – 00:01:36:22 Colonel Chris Wyatt: Laurent Kabila came across and there was all kinds of devastation. He took over, overthrew the government, and became in charge of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that’s not democratic. It’s not really a republic, but it is the Congo, we’ll give it that. So, he took over. And then the conflict after Rwanda’s genocide spilled over and stayed in the east, in Kivu in particular.
00:01:36:22 – 00:01:58:02 Colonel Chris Wyatt: That part of the eastern part of the country. And that conflict was fueled for a long time. So we wound up getting a bunch of different countries that sent military deployments there, like Namibia. Namibia sent troops to the Congo, Zimbabwe sent troops to the Congo, and others. But those two in particular, the reason they sent troops there wasn’t to stabilize the government, although that was the claim.
00:01:58:04 – 00:02:24:05 Colonel Chris Wyatt: The real reason they were there is that they were profiting from profiteering. The Namibian Defense Forces and Zimbabwe Defense Force were deeply involved in illicit extraction of minerals and diamonds and other things and making a fortune off it. And frankly, in his waning years, the later years of his time, 37 years in power in Zimbabwe, that’s how Mugabe was paying off his generals to keep them content and prevent what eventually became a bloodless coup in 2017 when he was pushed aside.
00:02:24:10 – 00:02:39:17 Colonel Chris Wyatt: But in the years before that, there was no money left because they pilfered the country and they couldn’t even pay soldiers’ salaries. So one way to take care of it was to let them go to the Congo, ostensibly for peacekeeping, but really for pilfering of minerals. And Namibia did the exact same thing. Now, I’m not making any claim that South Africans are doing that.
00:02:39:18 – 00:03:10:07 Colonel Chris Wyatt: I don’t believe that’s what’s going on. There is and there has been throughout the history of South African Defense Force, SANDF troops in the Congo, incidences of criminal activity, soldiers selling their weapons, soldiers running prostitution rings, human slavery, things like that, selling uniforms, selling the rations and things like that meant for troops to local guerrillas and others. That does take place, and unfortunately, that does take place with a lot of militaries on so-called peacekeeping missions, which really are less about peace and more about presence.
00:03:10:09 – 00:03:30:00 Colonel Chris Wyatt: But the South African Defense Force has a long history in the DRC. They’ve been there for two decades. And, the question is why? And then we had two United Nations missions. We had MONUC, MONUSCO, and after two plus decades of United Nations participation in the eastern Congo, there isn’t peace. In fact, it’s just as deadly as it’s been for the past two decades.
00:03:30:02 – 00:03:48:21 Colonel Chris Wyatt: So those forces have been withdrawing this year. Last year in December, the Southern African Development Community said, hey, we’re going to send a mission. Of course, South Africa is a major player in SADC, so they decided to send 5,000 troops from SADC to replace 20,000 troops from the U.N. I’m not good at math, but I think that’s a ratio of 4 to 1 in the wrong direction.
00:03:48:23 – 00:04:10:20 Colonel Chris Wyatt: Maybe you should have sent 80,000 troops from somewhere instead of 5,000, but 5,000 troops… the commitment for South Africa is 2,900. To my knowledge, they haven’t achieved that yet. In no small measure because the SANDF is overcommitted. They have responsibilities all over, from guarding Eskom facilities against sabotage—that’s not a job for the military, but that’s something they’ve been doing—to also being involved in the election, playing a role there.
00:04:10:20 – 00:04:33:11 Colonel Chris Wyatt: And that’s not something the military is supposed to be doing in elections. That’s pretty crazy. And then, of course, a mission that’s often overlooked, and I don’t know the current status of it because of the opaque nature of the Department of Defense in South Africa, they aren’t forthcoming on this publicly the way they used to be. But traditionally, South Africa’s army has had up to seven rifle companies patrolling the border with Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Swaziland.
00:04:33:11 – 00:04:54:18 Colonel Chris Wyatt: Or Eswatini, to deter illegal immigration. But with the vast influx of illegal immigrants, you have to wonder if they are even on the border anymore. And when you have seven companies of infantry on the border, you have to realize in a proper military, that means you have 21 companies engaged, because seven companies are on operations, seven companies are rehearsing, preparing, getting ready and moving to the location.
00:04:54:18 – 00:05:13:17 Colonel Chris Wyatt: And seven are in rest, on holiday, taking a break, that sort of thing. So that’s a huge commitment from the infantry battalions in South Africa, with three companies per battalion. That’s a lot of battalions. I don’t know that they’re doing that at this point. But the point is that the South African Defense Force is overstretched, overburdened, under-resourced, and, well, we’ll get into this in a moment.
00:05:13:17 – 00:05:31:00 Colonel Chris Wyatt: But they don’t even have the resources to do what they’re being asked to do in the Congo. So your comment earlier that if you use the word slaughter, I think you said slaughter. If you did not use the word slaughter, they’re like lambs sent to the slaughter. They’re being sent there with insufficient resources, improper medevac, no air support, insufficient logistics.
00:05:31:00 – 00:05:53:00 Colonel Chris Wyatt: The South African government has to pay contractors to fly Russian aircraft to send resources up there. It’s something that South Africa should not be involved in. But it’s all part of the egotistical foreign policy of the African National Congress, all started by Nelson Mandela, you know, interfering in other African countries’ business. Of course, they have no problem complaining about America or China or someone else interfering in African countries’ business.
00:05:53:04 – 00:06:12:00
Colonel Chris Wyatt: But South Africa has its nose everywhere: Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, DRC, the list goes on and on, including the Central African Republic. So yeah, that’s why they are there. I guess we’ll get to that in a second here. I’ll give you a chance to get back in here. It’s your program. But why are they there?
00:06:12:02 – 00:06:16:21
Colonel Chris Wyatt: What’s the squeeze? What are you getting? What’s the juice you’re getting for the squeeze? And I don’t think South Africa is getting much.
00:06:16:23 – 00:06:24:05
Chris Steyn: I was going to ask you that. What is the cost versus the gain of South Africa’s involvement? They must be getting something.
00:06:24:11 – 00:06:39:17
Colonel Chris Wyatt: Well, the only thing I could possibly see they’re getting—I mean, again, I’m not going to make the accusation of getting anything like minerals because I don’t see any evidence of that, but I have seen it with others in the past—the only thing I possibly see is the ANC puffing their chests up like they’re world actors and powerful players on the African stage.
00:06:39:17 – 00:06:55:06
Colonel Chris Wyatt: But South Africa really irritates most other African countries. Chris, I’ve lived all over the continent. I’ve dealt with Africans in West Africa, North Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, South Africa, living in all these places, including working at the African Union. My last assignment in Africa in uniform was at the African Union, and my experience was that most Africans from other countries were not happy about South Africa.
00:06:55:06 – 00:07:16:20
Colonel Chris Wyatt: Remember, this was the time that the South Africans broke the mold about the Secretary for the African Union. The OAU and the African Union traditionally had always been led by not a regional hegemon: never Nigeria, never Algeria, never Kenya, never South Africa, all the way up until Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was forced on the African Union. Her arrogance and the distaste people had for her were palpable. When I was in Addis Ababa, she was less popular than syphilis. I mean, she was never invited to anything unless they were forced to invite her for official purposes.
00:07:16:22 – 00:07:34:21
Colonel Chris Wyatt: South Africa really irritates a lot of people across the continent. They’re always sticking their nose everywhere. So what are they getting out of this? It’s a good question. They’re not getting minerals. So it has to be the self-fulfilling prophecy of the ANC that they’re important, that they matter. Look, make no mistake, the conflict in the DRC is horrendous.
00:07:34:23 – 00:07:53:05
Colonel Chris Wyatt: But it’s decades old, and you’re replacing 20,000 UN troops with proper equipment, in many cases, with South African troops, Malawian troops who work really hard, by the way. And who’s the other one? There’s a third country that’s sending troops, and they’re sending them there with only 5,000 total. They’re not even at full strength now, and they’re only there on a short-term basis.
00:07:53:07 – 00:08:13:15
Colonel Chris Wyatt: They’re supposed to withdraw by December. Well, the Congo is not going to be the land of milk and honey in December. That’s not going to end the conflict there. So what’s the purpose of it? It’s a stopgap measure because the East African Community has withdrawn their forces. The UN has been asked to leave, and the Security Council said, fine, we’ve had enough for two decades, so it doesn’t make any sense.
00:08:13:17 – 00:08:30:14
Colonel Chris Wyatt: With the withdrawal of the EAC and the handoff to SADC, which has gone very poorly, and on top of that, the United Nations pulling out at the same time, the South African forces are going to find themselves increasingly vulnerable to M23 and about 100 other rebel groups who have all their own agendas. And most of it’s criminal. It’s not a good look.
00:08:30:14 – 00:09:02:13
Colonel Chris Wyatt: It’s not a good thing. Lives are being wasted unnecessarily—not just South African lives, but civilian lives—because the South Africans have been accused of targeting civilians in one of the attacks about 30 km from Goma earlier this year. It’s a real mess, and I don’t see what they get out of it. That’s the human cost.
00:09:02:14 – 00:09:20:20
Colonel Chris Wyatt: I mean, the South African government has budgeted over 2 billion rand for this operation, and they will spend over 900 million rand in the six months ending in December. So I really don’t see what they’re getting out of it. It’s not in the interest of South Africans. How does it further your interest? You’ve got kids in school who don’t have textbooks, who are using pit latrines.
00:09:21:02 – 00:09:40:12
Colonel Chris Wyatt: You’ve got a mess in South Africa. You know, it’s time to focus on South Africa—make South Africa great again, or for once, or first, whatever the case is. But make South Africa great and let the DRC be handled. This is, in my view, Chris, a joke by SADC. SADC has had a number of interventions in the past, and this might be the motivation for why South Africa is doing it.
00:09:40:14 – 00:09:56:09
Colonel Chris Wyatt: They’ve had a number of interventions in the Comoros. They’ve gone there repeatedly. They went into Lesotho back in the 1990s in Operation Boleas. That didn’t go particularly well for the South African forces, but it was new then after they amalgamated all the forces. So, you know, they’ve done a few of these interventions, and some have gone well.
00:09:56:11 – 00:10:13:09
Colonel Chris Wyatt: So maybe SADC thinks it actually has some capability to pull this off. But SADC can never accomplish a mission if either South Africa, Botswana, or Angola are not involved. If you don’t get one of the three players involved, they can’t pull it off. And this time, South Africa is involved. So I don’t really know what the purpose of it was or why they’re there.
Colonel Chris Wyatt: I see no gain for ordinary South Africans. If you live in Alexandra, if you live in Kempton Park, if you live in Clifton, if you live in the Cape Flats, I see nothing for you in this, and I see nothing in this for South African soldiers. I feel for them.
00:10:28:22 – 00:10:44:17
Chris Steyn: Well, meanwhile, the rebels seem to be in a more powerful position than ever before, and there are fears that there is a war brewing between Rwanda and the DRC. I don’t know if you agree with that, Chris, that it’s likely.
00:10:44:18 – 00:11:03:19
Colonel Chris Wyatt: Well, arguably, there’s been a war with Rwanda in the DRC since the 1990s. Kagame has been supporting rebels in eastern Congo for decades and getting away with it. And there were times that the rebels slid back and forth. And of course, the whole reason for me being involved in the DRC ostensibly is because they chased the genocidaires into the DRC in 1994.
00:11:03:19 – 00:11:22:06
Colonel Chris Wyatt: And that’s true. That did happen. However, he’s been sticking his nose in the business here for a long time. Not exactly a democrat or, you know, a magnanimous leader or a benign leader. This is a man who just won reelection with 99.97% of the vote. Wow. I’ll tell you what, I like those odds. Let me run for president of Rwanda.
00:11:22:11 – 00:11:38:14
Colonel Chris Wyatt: That’s pretty good. It’s a country that a lot of people hold up as an example of doing very well because it’s orderly, it’s clean. It’s a place you can do business legitimately without massive corruption. And there aren’t a lot of places like that, unfortunately, across the continent of Africa. So it’s held up as a shining star in many respects.
00:11:38:14 – 00:11:56:20
Colonel Chris Wyatt: But when it comes to democracy, liberty, and freedoms, that’s not Rwanda. And a lot of people recognize that. Kagame’s welcome has been wearing thin for a decade. It’s getting increasingly thin here on this side of the Atlantic as people see him for the authoritarian ruler that he is. But you know what? In Africa and in many places around the world, people are okay with authoritarians.
00:11:56:22 – 00:12:24:02
Colonel Chris Wyatt: As long as the streets are clean, they have water, and they can feed their families, they like authoritarians. And many Rwandans love Paul Kagame. And to be fair to the man, he and his guerrilla movement are the ones that overthrew the genocidaires and ended the horrific situation because the world sat by and watched. I remember that I was on alert orders to go to Rwanda as the genocide was occurring, and we were stopped by the Clinton administration because they were worried that if it was declared a genocide, what would it do for the midterm elections?
00:12:24:02 – 00:12:39:13
Colonel Chris Wyatt: Shameful, people. But, yeah, Kagame is involved. Arguably, they’re in the war. Just because there aren’t Rwandan troops across the border tonight doesn’t mean they’re not part of the war. Just like America’s involved in Ukraine. We’re in the Ukraine war. There may not be American troops, but there’s whatever, $200 billion of American treasuries down there.
00:12:39:15 – 00:13:03:01
Chris Steyn: Judging by Kagame’s landslide victory, he’s even much more popular than his own party. And somehow he has seemed to have been able to get the best of both worlds. He defies the West when it comes to the DRC, but he maintains the support of the West. How does the US view him? You say support is waning a little on that side.
00:13:03:03 – 00:13:24:15
Colonel Chris Wyatt: Well, for a number of years, Kagame was viewed in a very good light in the foreign policy establishment, in the military, national security folks here in the U.S. Not just in the U.S., but also in Western Europe as well, and through many corners of Africa, because they ended the genocide. They had elections, they held their equivalent of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission with their local trials, which for the most part weren’t simply revenge trials.
00:13:24:15 – 00:13:42:11
Colonel Chris Wyatt: They actually tried people on a legitimate basis in these local community trials. So that set an example for the world to look at, and it seemed like they were on the right path. A lot of reasonable policies were put in place that were pro-business reforms. Corrupt officials were actually prosecuted and incarcerated for their actions.
00:13:42:13 – 00:14:01:03
Colonel Chris Wyatt: So everyone was kind of the darling for a while. But we could see, not too long after they took over, just like Uganda, that things were not going to go great. It’s big man politics. And that’s why his welcome mat is wearing thin here in the United States. But the problem is, with so much conflict, so much chaos in that part of Africa, any stability gets rewarded.
00:14:01:03 – 00:14:18:19
Colonel Chris Wyatt: And he got rewarded for what appeared to be a pro-democratic stance and for his pro free market capitalism. By and large, that really went over well for a long time. We saw the same thing with Yoweri Museveni, who came to power in 1986, by the way, with the help of Paul Kagame, who was part of the Ugandan rebels.
00:14:18:19 – 00:14:38:16
Colonel Chris Wyatt: People forget that if you go to their engineer base in the southwest part of the country, which is the home area of Yoweri Museveni, you’ll find a statue. And on that statue, dedicated to the fighters who led an abortive attack in which only three of them had firearms, they attacked an army base as rebels. It was, of course, Yoweri Museveni who led that mission, and Paul Kagame, who was this intelligence guy right there with them.
00:14:38:18 – 00:15:09:15
Colonel Chris Wyatt: So both of them got a free pass. But that all started to wear thin when Obama was president. Ironically, America’s first African-American president, Obama, got into a contest with Yoweri Museveni over homosexuality law, which exploded, and the relationship between the US and Museveni was poisoned and has never recovered with Uganda. Kagame is sitting in a boat now where he’s not because of homosexuality legislation, but because of the continuing conflict and this implausible 99% victory that a lot of people are beginning to question why we’re supporting him at all.
00:15:09:15 – 00:15:20:21
Colonel Chris Wyatt: And so that welcome mat is wearing thin. I don’t know how much longer it will last, but to be honest, you know, when the world’s on fire and one place isn’t, sometimes that’s enough just to get you the support that you need.
00:15:21:00 – 00:15:34:22
Chris Steyn: Thank you. That was retired Colonel Chris Wyatt speaking to BizNews about the SANDF’s involvement in the DRC, where almost a dozen soldiers have died this year. Thank you, Colonel. I’m Chris Steyn.
The Mandaue City government signs the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the city’s Anti-Discrimination Ordinance. This marks a significant milestone for the UNDP-supported Kadangpan Project. Credit: UNDP Philippines
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 26 2024 (IPS) – Around the world countries are taking powerful steps to protect people’s rights, dignity, and health. Dominica and Namibia became the most recent to decriminalize same-sex relations. South Africa made strides towards decriminalizing sex work.
Japan’s Supreme Court ruled that compulsory sterilization for transgender people is unconstitutional, and for the first time the essential role of harm reduction was recognized in a UN resolution on narcotic drugs.
These achievements all contribute to the landmark 10-10-10 HIV targets, adopted by countries in the 2021 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS, to reduce new infections and tackle criminalization, stigma and discrimination and gender inequality, issues especially critical for people living with HIV and key populations, including sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who inject drugs, and the incarcerated.
Yet, for every heartening step toward justice, setbacks and barriers remain. In the last three months alone, Georgia’s parliament moved to curb LGBTIQ+ rights, Iraq criminalized same-sex relationships, countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia have signed into law sweeping restrictions on civil society and the Malawi courts upheld a ban on same-sex conduct.
Every action we take now will make a difference
With just one year left to meet these targets, we are still off track. What’s more, the global pushback on human rights and gender equality, constraints on civil society, and the acute funding gap for HIV prevention and addressing structural and social barriers, threaten continued progress on AIDS.
This is the time to re-double our efforts. Every single action taken now to meet the 10-10-10 targets will improve the lives and wellbeing of those living with HIV and other key populations well into the future. It will protect the health and development gains of the AIDS response.
If we are to realistically end AIDS by 2030, we must, in lockstep with recent scientific advances, urgently accelerate efforts by shaping enabling policy environments.
Together with partners, UNDP will use its platform at the AIDS 2024 conference, along with a new #Triple10Targets campaign, to call for urgent action to accelerate progress in scaling national key population-led strategies, promoting allyship and inclusive institutions and unlocking sustainable financing.
Community leadership
Key populations and their sexual partners remain at the highest risk for HIV, accounting for 55 percent of all new HIV infections in 2022 and 80 percent of new HIV infections outside of sub-Saharan Africa, a trend which persists. The heightened risk they face is, in part a result of stigma, discrimination and criminalization.
The heart of the HIV response was built by community advocates, past and present, on its inextricable links to human rights. People living with HIV and other key populations are still leading the charge, based on their experiences and knowledge of what their communities need to tackle discriminatory laws and HIV-related criminalization, which deny them services and violate their human rights.
But those most affected by and at risk of discrimination, exclusion and violence must not be left to tackle this alone. Their efforts are that much more effective and powerful when met with global solidarity and inclusive institutions, backed by collaboration and investment.
UNDP continues to promote and prioritize the meaningful engagement of people living with HIV and other key populations in decision-making spaces and policy design, through the work done by SCALE, #WeBelong Africa and Being LGBTI in the Caribbean and its HIV and health work more broadly.
The role for allies
Expanding and deepening networks of allies, in particular fostering links between key populations and scientists, health workers, legal professionals, policymakers, faith leaders, media and the private sector, will be vital to building a sustainable HIV response. Finding common ground with broader social movements is a critical element to policy change and reform.
One such UNDP-led initiative brings together members from the judiciary in regional fora in Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean to deepen knowledge and understanding of law, rights and HIV, and the impact of punitive laws and policies.
This work has contributed to informing judicial decisions upholding the rights of marginalized communities in Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Mauritius and Tajikistan and beyond.
Hundreds of parliamentarians worldwide can now support LGBTIQ+ inclusion through the Handbook for Parliamentarians on Advancing the Human Rights and Inclusion of LGBTI People. These demonstrate how allies can use their power and privilege to shape inclusive polices and institutions that support the dignity and human rights of people living with and affected by HIV.
Unlocking innovative financing
Progress will not be possible without addressing the funding gap. Yet investment in HIV is declining, and funding for primary prevention programmes in low- and middle-income countries has dropped, with a sobering 80 percent gap in 2023.
Countries must boost sustainable investments in the HIV response. This includes both for services and for addressing the structural barriers for these services, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Through SCALE, UNDP funds 44 key population-led organizations in 21 countries, boosting capacities to share good practice and remove the structural barriers which impede their access to services and violate their human rights. In the Philippines, Cebu United Rainbow LGBT Sector (CURLS) is working towards comprehensive key population protection ordinances, contributing to the recently-signed Implementing Rules and Regulations of Mandaue City’s LGBTIQ+ Anti-Discrimination Ordinance. These will encourage LGBTIQ+ communities to more proactively engage with services.
Strong national leadership and inclusive institutions are also vital to scaling up funding. Last year UNDP worked with 51 countries to expand innovative financing for HIV and health, utilizing strategies such as investment cases, social contracting, inclusive social protection, health taxes and co-financing.
Achieving health for all
As polycrisis threatens the hard-won gains of the HIV response and the clock winds down on the 10-10-10 targets, we must remain steadfast and focused on the task; scaling national key population-led strategies, promoting allyship and inclusive institutions, and unlocking sustainable funding. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
Achieving the 10-10-10 targets will not only be a victory against this preventable disease, but also against the stigma and discrimination faced by those left furthest behind, ultimately benefiting the health of people everywhere.
There is no path to ending AIDS as a public health threat without the triple ten targets.
Mandeep Dhaliwal is Director of the HIV and Health Group, UNDP; Kevin Osborne is Manager, SCALE Initiative, HIV and Health Group, UNDP.
