AI INDEX: AMR 53/002/2003 21 January 2003 |
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AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
AI Index: AMR 53/002/2003 (Public)
News Service No: 012
Embargo Date: 21 January 2003 12:00 GMT
Published
As the international community is taking an
increasingly active role in the Venezuelan crisis,
Amnesty International today said that a long-term,
comprehensive human rights vision must be one of
the guiding principles in seeking ways to avoid a
political breakdown and further polarization of
the situation.
"Long-standing disrespect for human rights is one
of the roots of the crisis, so it is only natural
that national and international instruments set up
to protect those rights should provide a framework
to promote its resolution," the organization added.
While much of the debate at the moment is focused
on electoral issues, Amnesty International urged
the international community -- and in particular
the "group of friends" and international and
regional human rights organizations -- to promote
a comprehensive strategy based on the full respect
for human rights as a key to strengthening the
rule of law.
Amnesty International proposed human rights agenda
for the Venezuelan crisis focuses on:
strengthening justice - including by guaranteeing
the independence of the judiciary -- and
eradicating impunity for past and present human
rights violations through impartial and thorough
investigations and prompt trials;
ensuring that the armed forces and security forces
do not play a political role, remain subordinated
to the civilian authorities and that they act
impartially and in full compliance with standards
on the use of force;
guaranteeing freedom of expression and the right
to information;
enabling human rights defenders to carry out their
work without fear;
implementing concrete and effective policies to
combat the extreme poverty and exclusion which has
contributed to the extreme polarization of
Venezuelan society.
It is the responsibility of all political actors
in Venezuela to ensure that these issues are
seriously and effectively addressed. When
exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of
expression, assembly and association, opposition
sectors should take responsibility for choosing
protest methods that do not undermine
constitutional guarantees.
"Far too often all parties involved in the crisis
have made an instrumental use of human rights,
appropriating, manipulating and distorting the
issue to use it as yet another weapon for
polarization and confrontation," Amnesty
International said.
"It is now time to see the full respect of all the
human rights of all Venezuelans as one of the
cornerstones on which to build long-lasting,
viable solutions to the crisis. The international
community has an important role to play in this
respect," the organization added.
Background
César Gaviria, Secretary General of the
Organization of American States, has been
facilitating negotiations between the opposition
and the government in order to achieve a peaceful
resolution to the crisis. So far these
negotiations have not produced concrete results.
The political crisis which has been threatening
political stability in Venezuela for the last year
reached a new stage with the opposition general
strike which began on 2 December and is now in its
eighth week. The extremely tense situation is in
danger of leading to serious human rights
violations.
As a response to the heightened tension and the
apparent unwillingness of the two sides to find a
peaceful negotiated solution to the crisis, a
number of international government have proposed a
group of "amigo de Venezuela" countries to further
encourage a negotiated solution. The countries
which form this group are the USA, Brazil, Spain,
Portugal, Mexico and Chile.
** For further information please see
"Venezuela, a human rights agenda for the current
crisis," available on the web at:
www.web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/recent/amr530012003
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