Washington Office on Latin America records, 1962-2020 and undated, bulk 1974-2005

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Summary

Creator:
Washington Office on Latin America
Abstract:
The Washington Office on Latin America is an international human rights advocacy organization headquartered in Washington D.C. The Washington Office on Latin America Records span the dates 1962 to 2008 and consist of research and project files on nearly every country in Latin America, administrative records, clippings, correspondence, and printed material, all relating to the work of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a human rights advocacy organization based in Washington D.C. WOLA partners with local organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean to raise awareness of human rights abuses in the region and to influence the foreign policy agenda of the United States government. Materials in this collection provide a rich resource for the study of politically motivated violence and other human rights abuses throughout Latin America and also document the changing political climate towards the region in Washington D.C. over nearly four decades.
Extent:
290.5 Linear Feet
Language:
Bulk of the material in English and Spanish
Collection ID:
RL.01401

Background

Scope and content:

The Washington Office on Latin America Records span the dates 1962 to 2020 and consist of research and project files on nearly every country in Latin America, administrative files, clippings, correspondence, and printed material, all related to the work of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a human rights advocacy organization based in Washington D.C. WOLA partners with local organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean to raise awareness of human rights abuses in the region and to influence the foreign policy agenda of the United States government. Materials in this collection provide a rich resource for the study of politically motivated violence and other human rights abuses throughout Latin America, and document the changing political attitudes towards the region on the part of the U.S. government over nearly four decades. Numerous files of individual human rights abuse cases, including torture, forced disappearances, and executions can be found in this collection. In addition, WOLA's efforts to lobby for legislative change are chronicled throughout the collection. Material includes some ephemeral or hard-to-find printed material produced by leftist or guerilla groups in Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico, as well as some audiovisual recordings housed within country files.

The collection is arranged in the following series: Administrative Files, Geographic, Initiatives and Activities, Sound Recordings, and Oversize Material.

The Administrative Files Series contains records kept by WOLA directors and staff, many funding-related files, some overviews of WOLA's activities, and other files of an administrative nature such as meeting minutes and planning, and staff retreats.

The largest in the collection, the Geographic Series is divided into subseries for most countries in the region, documenting the major political and human rights issues associated with each country. These files typically include large sub-groupings on the following broad topics: human rights cases specific to that country; economic development; drug policy and related issues, especially in Colombia and Mexico; elections; police and military; U.S. policy; international relations; files related to WOLA visits to or activities in that country; and in some cases, files of printed materials assembled by WOLA staff. The human rights files cover such issues as labor rights, peasants' rights and land reforms, indigenous people's rights, politically motivated abuses, killings, and discrimination, civil rights cases of all kinds, reconciliation and truth commissions, and the activities of human rights organizations in each country and in the U.S.

The Initiatives and Activities Series, divided into topical categories as arranged by WOLA staff, covers the organization's issue-based work in areas such as U.S. drug policy, trade and banking, democratic and peace processes, economic development, issues related to the deployment of military and police forces, and more. A large group of records documents the extensive legislative work performed by WOLA on behalf of human rights issues. There is considerable overlap between this series and the Geographic Series.

The Sound Recordings Series contains recordings of conferences, speeches, and events sponsored by WOLA and other groups. Finally, the six boxes in the Oversize Material section at the end of this collection guide contain large items such as posters and newspapers separated from the main collection and rehoused for preservation purposes. Materials are chiefly in English and Spanish, with a smaller percentage in French and Portuguese. All of the series and each subseries are described in more detail in the description of the collection that follows.

Unprocessed additions to the collection have been added at the end of the finding aid.

Acquired as part of the Duke University's Archive for Human Rights.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1973
Military coup replaces the government in Paraguay
1973
Coup in Chile led by Augusto Pinochet overthrows the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende
1974
Washington Office on Latin America founded
1976
Former Chilean Ambassador Orlando Letelier and his colleague Ronnie Moffitt assassinated in a car bombing in Washington D.C.
1989
Augusto Pinochet voted out of office in first democratic election in Chile since coup
1989
U.S. forces invade Panama
1990
Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega surrenders to authorities
1990
Governing Sandinista party voted out of office in Nicaragua
1990
Jean-Bertrand Aristide elected president of Haiti
1991
Aristide forced out of Haiti
1992
Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori dissolves Congress in "autogolpe"
1992
Peruvian Maoist group Sendero Luminoso leader Abimael Guzman captured
1995
Helms-Burton Act (LIBERTAD) passes both houses of U.S. Congress, further restricting Cuban trade embargo
1996
Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru (MRTA) forces storm the Japanese embassy in Perú and hold hostages
1994-1996
Peace accords between Guatemalan government and Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) signed
1993
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed into law in the United States
1994
Aristide reinstalled as Haitian president due in part to international pressure
1998
Hugo Chavez elected president of Venezuela
1998
Augusto Pinochet arrested in London on charges of human rights violations
2000
Pinochet released from house arrest in the United Kingdom on medical grounds
2001
September 11 attacks in U.S. reorient Latin American policy towards counter terrorism
2002
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton implicates Cuba in "Beyond the Axis of Evil" speech
Acquisition information:
The Washington Office on Latin America Records were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2007-2010.
Processing information:

Processed and described by Christian Ferney, with assistance from Jordan Anderson, Robert Carlson, Jonathan Grilli, Paula Jeannet, Michael Shumate, Dani Shocken, and Aaron Thornburg, April 2009

Accessions 2007-0189, 2008-0050, 2009-0017, and 2010-0069 were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.

Accession 2013-0053 processed in 2013 by Erin Foster and Patrick Stawski.

Web content described by Michelle Runyon, May 2020.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.

Subjects:
Human Rights -- Andes Region
Human Rights -- Argentina
Human Rights -- Central America
Human Rights -- Chile
Human Rights -- Colombia
Human Rights -- El Salvador
Human Rights -- Government policy -- United States
Human Rights -- Guatemala
Human Rights -- Haiti
Human Rights -- Latin America
Human Rights -- Mexico
Human Rights -- Mexico -- Chiapas
Human Rights -- Perú
Human rights advocacy -- United States
Human rights advocacy
Drug control -- United States
Drug control -- Latin America
Economic development -- Latin America
Peace-building -- Guatemala
Peace-building -- Colombia
Human Rights -- Uruguay
Indigenous peoples -- Civil rights
Human Rights -- Venezuela
Hurricane Mitch, 1998
Format:
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Names:
Washington Office on Latin America
Human Rights Archive (Duke University)
Places:
Guatemala -- Economic conditions -- 1985-
Guatemala -- Politics and government -- 1985-
Guatemala -- Politics and government -- 1945-1985
Colombia -- Politics and government -- 1974-
Colombia -- Economic conditions -- 1970-
Chile -- Social conditions -- 1973-
Chile -- Politics and government -- 1973-
Chile -- History -- Coup d'état, 1973
Honduras -- Social conditions
Haiti -- Politics and government -- 1986-
Haiti -- Foreign relations -- United States
Guatemala -- Social conditions
Guatemala -- History -- Civil War, 1960-1996 -- Peace
Guatemala -- Foreign relations -- United States
Costa Rica -- Economic policy
Costa Rica -- Politics and government -- 1986-
Cuba -- Economic conditions -- 1990-
Cuba -- Politics and government -- 1990-
El Salvador -- Social conditions
Bolivia -- Economic conditions -- 1982-
Bolivia -- Politics and government -- 1982-
Brazil -- Politics and government -- 1985-2002
Brazil -- Politics and government -- 2003-2006
Argentina -- Social conditions -- 1983-
Colombia -- Social conditions -- 1970-
Argentina -- Politics and government -- 1983-2002
Mexico -- Politics and government
Nicaragua -- Politics and government -- 1990-
Latin America -- Politics and government -- 1980-
Latin America -- Social conditions
Peru -- Politics and government -- 1980-
Panama -- Foreign relations -- United States
El Salvador -- Economic conditions -- 1945-
El Salvador -- Politics and government -- 1979-1992
El Salvador -- Politics and government -- 1992-
Latin America -- Foreign relations -- United States
United States -- Military policy
United States -- Foreign relations -- Latin America
United States -- Foreign relations -- Guatemala
United States -- Foreign relations -- Cuba
Venezuela -- Politics and government -- 1999-
Uruguay -- Politics and government -- 1985-
Uruguay -- Politics and government -- 1973-1985

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. There may be a 48-hour delay in obtaining these materials.

Original audiovisual materials and some fragile newspapers are closed to patron use. Technical Services staff need to produce use copies before these can be accessed.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Original audiovisual recordings are closed to research. Use copies must be made before contents can be accessed. Please contact the Research Services staff before coming to use these materials.

Accession 2017-0169 is closed until processing. This includes boxes 485-504.

Access note. Some materials in this collection are electronic records that may need to be reformatted. Access copies of electronic records require special equipment. Contact Research Services for access.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Washington Office on Latin America Records, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University