This document analyzes the frequent use of digital technologies by the Latinamerican States as a form of intimidation, profiling, and surveillance of human rights defenders. This document was the response to a joint call made by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which are currently working on their report on the situation of human rights defenders in the Americas. [Document in Spanish].

Al Sur requests governments of Latin America and the Caribbean to ensure that digital technologies applied in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic respect Human Rights. [Document in English].

Although the term private security could be very broad, this report focuses on the use of surveillance technologies by private security in the field of "citizen security". In a context of increasing digitization of our societies, this document provides clues to the most urgent and important public policy challenges in the context of protecting our human rights.

This AlSur report updates and expands on the regional mapping of facial recognition and surveillance technologies implemented in Latin America since 2021. It analyzes 83 initiatives in 15 countries, focusing on the use of these technologies in public spaces, borders, and government services. The study identifies sustained growth in their adoption, especially in public security and immigration control, and reveals the difficulty of accessing official information on these projects. Global providers such as IDEMIA, NEC, Dahua, and Hikvision are highlighted, along with local actors.

This report explores how surveillance practices have expanded in Latin America in recent years, marked by advances in digital technologies and a lack of adequate regulations. Through the analysis of cases in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, there is evidence of a growing adoption of video surveillance systems, facial recognition, social media monitoring, and mass data collection by the state, often without transparency or democratic control.