communities from their land in the Matala municipality, in order to privatize areas of the Cunene river, blocking the communities’ access to water. The water company, Água Preciosa, began an unlawful process to force the Tyihonguelo community, in Lubango municipality, from its communal land, home to hundreds of families, obstructing the canal that supplied their water. By the end of the year, the government had not acted to protect communities from forced evictions, or to protect their rights to basic necessities. 1. Southern Africa: Governments must move beyond politics in distribution of COVID-19 food aid (Press release, 6 May) 2. Angola: Witnesses describe horrific killings of teenagers by police (Press release, 25 August) 3. Angola: Activists prevented from distributing COVID-19 essentials (AFR 12/2146/2020) 4. Angola: Authorities escalate use of excessive force to crack down on dissent (Press release, 8 December) 5. Statement on the Continued Detention of André Bonzela, Maurício Gimbi and João Mampuela and the Human Rights Situation in Cabinda, Angola (Joint statement with Advancing rights in Southern Africa and Human Rights Watch, 6 October)
ARGENTINA Argentine Republic Head of state and government: Alberto Fernández The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the country’s ongoing economic crisis. Measures to curb the spread of the virus saw an increase in gender-based violence. Indigenous Peoples were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Enforced disappearances and excessive use of force by the police were reported. Abortion was decriminalized and legalized within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.
BACKGROUND Argentina continued to experience a profound economic and social crisis. According to official figures, by June, 40.9% of the population was living in poverty and
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the unemployment rate was 13.1%. Concerns remained over debt repayments and the obligation of states to protect economic and social rights during the pandemic and the recovery period. In March, Decree 297/20 imposed a nationwide lockdown and restricted freedom of movement to curb the spread of COVID-19. Strict controls on movement between provinces left hundreds of people stranded across borders, without access to adequate health care, hygiene and, in some cases, family reunification. In November, the National Supreme Court ordered the province of Formosa to allow 8,300 people return to their homes after eight months of the restrictive measures. Full implementation of the ruling was pending. The Ministry of Security approved a new police protocol that provides for the use of open-source intelligence during the health emergency, raising concerns about potential online mass surveillance. Health and essential workers were central to the COVID-19 response. By 18 December, 64,958 health workers had been infected with the virus.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS The pandemic exacerbated and underscored existing gender inequalities. Data showed that unpaid domestic and care work would represent 16% of GDP if it were paid. Women performed over 75% of domestic and care work in the country.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS During the pandemic there was a rise in violence against women; by November, emergency calls to helplines had increased by an average of more than 18% compared to 2019. According to civil society monitoring groups, there were at least 298 femicides in 2020. As lockdown measures led to a greater engagement online, women experienced violence and abuse on social media,
Amnesty International Report 2020/21
