AMERICAS REGIONAL OVERVIEW Despite public discourse about democracy and economic progress as well as hopes of an end at last to its remaining armed conflict in Colombia, the Americas remained one of the world’s most violent and unequal regions. Across the region, the year was marked by a trend of anti-rights, racial and discriminatory rhetoric in political campaigns and by state officials, which was accepted and normalized by mainstream media. In the USA, Donald Trump was elected President in November – following an election campaign in which he provoked consternation through discriminatory, misogynist and xenophobic rhetoric, and caused serious concerns about future US commitments to human rights domestically and globally. The region’s human rights crisis was accelerated by a trend of increased obstacles and restrictions to justice and fundamental freedoms. Waves of repression became more visible and violent, with states frequently misusing their justice and security apparatus to ruthlessly respond to and crush dissent, and increasing public discontent. Discrimination, insecurity, poverty and environmental damage were rampant throughout the region. Failure to uphold international human rights standards was also laid bare by a wide gulf of inequality – in wealth, social wellbeing and access to justice – which was underpinned by corruption and lack of accountability. Widespread and entrenched obstacles to accessing justice and a weakening rule of law were common to many countries in the region. Impunity for human rights abuses was high, and in some cases a lack of independent and impartial judicial systems further protected political and economic interests. 24 This backdrop enabled the perpetuation of human rights violations. Torture and other illtreatment, in particular, remained prevalent, despite the existence of anti-torture laws in countries including Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela. Failures of justice systems – together with states’ failure to implement public security policies that protect human rights – contributed to high levels of violence. Countries such as Brazil, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and Venezuela had the highest homicide rates on the planet. Endemic violence and insecurity were often linked to, and compounded by, the proliferation of illicit small arms and the growth of organized crime, which in some cases had taken control of whole territories, sometimes with the complicity or acquiescence of the police and military. Central America’s “Northern Triangle” of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras was one of the world’s most violent places, with more people killed there than in most conflict zones globally. El Salvador’s homicide rate of 108 per 100,000 inhabitants was one of the highest in the world. For many, daily life was overshadowed by criminal gangs. Widespread gender-based violence remained one of the most appalling of states’ failures in the Americas. In October, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean revealed that 12 women and girls were murdered every day in the region because of their gender (a crime classified as “feminicide”), with most of those crimes going unpunished. According to the US State Department, one in five women in the USA was sexually assaulted during her college years, although just one in 10 incidents was reported to the authorities. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LBGTI) individuals across the region faced higher rates of violence and discrimination, and more obstacles in getting access to justice. The shooting rampage at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, demonstrated that LBGTI people were the most likely target of hate crimes in the USA. Brazil, meanwhile, Amnesty International Report 2016/17