WASHINGTON, April 5 (UPI) -- Human Rights Watch called on Venezuela Tuesday to halt criminal proceedings against what it said is one of Latin America's prominent human rights lawyers.

MEXICO CITY, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Mexico's Congress is being urged to approve a pending justice reform bill's anti-torture provisions, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.

BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Human rights violations are a problem that affects all of Latin America, according to the Americas division head of Human Rights Watch, a global rights group.

SANTIAGO, Chile, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- The Chilean Supreme Court Thursday denied former President Augusto Pinochet immunity from prosecution for human rights violations.

WASHINGTON, June 28 (UPI) -- Colombia's peace process must include accountability for human rights violators, said U.S. and international observers at a forum Monday in Washington, D.C.

SAO PAULO, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Human rights activists called on Brazil's president Monday to become a "global voice" for defending the downtrodden and abused.

MEDELLIN, Colombia, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Colombian officials call the laying down of arms by 800 right-wing militiamen a first step toward peace, but human rights activists disagree.