IACHR highlights weak rule of law
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
The report, Democracy and Human Rights in Venezuela, developed and presented Wednesday by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) reveal a marked decline of due process and alerting on a series of rapes that violate the rule of law and therefore , democracy.

*** Cofavic report highlights the cases of extrajudicial killings, torture, forced disappearances, death threats and abuses of power by state agents.

*** The Venezuelan ambassador to the OAS, Roy Chaderton, said the drafting committee's report is part of a web of human rights bureaucrats committed to imperial policies.

*** Readers are referred to in the online edition of Correo del Caroni full report of the IACHR. The print edition of tomorrow includes more detailed analysis of the document.

Paola M. Lessey P.
plessey@correodelcaroni.com
Photo courtesy Latest News / Archive



Cadena Capriles journalists were beaten in August 2009 when they marched peacefully The "Democracy and Human Rights in Venezuela", published today by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), puts into question national government action in With regard to compliance with guarantees enshrined in the Constitution and international treaties.

According to the document, prepared without the IACHR has failed to make a field visit by the refusal of government in Venezuela is identified a number of issues that restrict the full enjoyment of human rights.

The agency concludes that political intolerance, lack of independence of state powers against the executive, restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful protest, the existence of a hostile environment for the free exercise of political participation and dissent for monitoring activity by human rights organizations, civil insecurity, violence affecting persons deprived of their freedom, trade unionists, women and peasants, and especially the impunity in which cases are of human rights violations, promote a weakening of the rule of law and democracy in Venezuela.

Warnings monitoring
The IACHR also warns of the absence of effective separation of authorities, on the interference in the full exercise of their rights regardless of their position on government policies, the use of punitive power of the state to intimidate or punish persons under their political opinion and the lack of conditions for human rights defenders and journalists to work freely.

While recognizing achievements in relation to economic, social and cultural rights, the committee denounced the existence of a pattern of impunity in cases of violence, whose main victims are the media professionals, human rights defenders, trade unionists, people involved in public events, persons deprived of their liberty, peasants, indigenous peoples and women.

In such situations, the IACHR recommends "increasing efforts to combat these challenges and achieve better and more effective protection of the rights guaranteed under the American Convention on Human Rights."

Since its last site visit to Venezuela, between 6 and 10 May 2002, the Interamerican Human Rights Commission has included consecutively to the country in the chapter on "Development of Human Rights" in its annual report.

But although the agency had planned to carry out a series of monitoring visits to date have not been able to do anything due to lack of identification of the relevant dates for the Venezuelan state. Notwithstanding the concerns of the entity have not stopped.

In its latest report, the committee analyzed the evolution of human rights in Venezuela, but from information received through its various mechanisms of protection and information sent by the State of Venezuela in response to questions from the Commission.

Recidivism
Among the report's findings for 2008, published on 25 February 2009, the Commission reiterates its previous years' apprehension about the existence of an environment hostile to political dissent, signaling or harassment of NGOs or human rights defenders , questions related to the transparent functioning of the judiciary, the existence of direct and indirect barriers to freedom of expression, the existence of laws that may affect the enjoyment of rights and the severe conditions under which private individuals are of freedom. He also expressed concern at the increase in rates of insecurity and lack of information and access to official sources.

As noted in its latest document, it appears that the body does not review any progress in any of these matters.

Reactions

Government reactions on the findings of the IACHR on Venezuela was immediate. As AP reported, the Venezuelan representative to the body, Saltrón Germain, dismissed the report and said that investigations were based on reports of NGOs "whose only evidence are highlights from the media, as we all know in Venezuela, most is against President Chavez. "

For its part, Venezuela's ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Roy Chaderton, said the document was based on defamation and commitments to imperial politics. "The IACHR is part of a fabric of human rights bureaucrats committed to imperial policies," said Chaderton told AFP.

The diplomat said the document is "a libel for reaching conclusions on the basis of political interests, from a superficial analysis of complaints and a rapid accumulation of voluminous records and make it virtually impossible for the government to respond."

However, the director of the Committee of Relatives of Victims of 27 and 28 February 1989 (Cofavic), Liliana Ortega, told AP that the document of the IACHR "has the courage to reveal a situation that has become progressively more acute and that the commission makes a fundamental contribution after his visit to Venezuela in 2002 and its 2003 report.