IACHR
Press Release
IACHR Concerned about Harassment against Human Rights Defenders in Venezuela
February 22, 2019
IACHR Press and Communication Office
Tel: +1 (202) 370-9000
cidh-prensa@oas.org
Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is
concerned about constant harassment against human rights defenders in Venezuela.
The IACHR urges the Venezuelan State to take urgent action to ensure that human
rights defenders can work in the country without being subjected to
intimidation.
In recent years, the Commission has repeatedly asked the Venezuelan State
to take measures to counter stigmatization and harassment campaigns against
human rights defenders in that country. In the context of the ongoing
crisis, the IACHR has been informed of threats against Marco Antonio Ponce,
chairman of the organization Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad
Social (OVCS), who has been a beneficiary of IACHR precautionary measures
since 2015 and was previously subjected to smear campaigns by several
pro-government media. On January 25, the pro-government news website Misión
Verdad allegedly published a story that portrayed protests around the
country in January 2019 as destabilizing events funded by NGOs that promote
and seek “to extend to poorer neighborhoods this rationale of hatred and
confrontation.” Misión Verdad is said to have illustrated that story with a
photo of Ponce. Further, on February 6, the website for the TV program Con
el mazo dando, led by the president of Venezuela’s National Constituent
Assembly, allegedly accused human rights organizations—particularly Provea—of
being funded by “the empire” from Colombia with humanitarian aid as an
excuse.
The Commission was also informed of harassment against the coordinators
of the organization Foro Penal in the states of Nueva Esparta and Zulia, who
are allegedly being followed and watched by the Bolivarian National Guard.
According to those reports, a lawyer who works with Foro Penal to provide
legal advice to people arrested in January in the protest context has
received death threats.
The IACHR has said that repeated comments to stigmatize human rights
defenders may contribute to exacerbating the atmosphere of hostility and
intolerance they face among certain social groups, which could affect the
lives and personal integrity of those defenders and increase their
vulnerability.
“We are concerned about comments branding defenders as ‘enemies of the
State’ or ‘internal enemies,’ because they not only delegitimize those
people’s work but also create a hostile environment for the defense of human
rights,” said Commissioner Francisco José Eguiguren, IACHR Rapporteur on
Human Rights Defenders and Rapporteur for Venezuela. “Besides, such comments
are usually followed by the launch of unwarranted criminal proceedings
against those people,” Eguiguren added.
Along the same lines, the IACHR was informed that Laura Gallo—leader of
the Popular Will party’s Committee for Political Prisoners and mother of
human rights defender Gabriel Gallo, Foro Penal coordinator in the state of
Yaracuy—was arrested and incarcerated on January 23, 2019, in a context of
arbitrary arrests conducted during social protests. On January 31,
following a court hearing, Laura Gallo was granted a conditional release but
charged with criminal association, terrorism and inciting violence.
The Commission stresses that a person should only be deprived of their
liberty for concrete actions that warrant their arrest. The Venezuelan State
must take any measures necessary to prevent investigations from leading to
unfair or baseless trials against people who legitimately demand respect and
protection for human rights in the country.
“We call on the State to stop criminalizing human rights defenders. The
authorities must effectively ensure that people who defend human rights can
do their work,” said the IACHR’s president, Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena
de Troitiño.
The Commission notes that the work of human rights defenders is essential
to build and strengthen a solid, lasting democratic society, and that
defenders play a key role in the process to fully ensure the rule of law and
to strengthen democracy.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
No. 040/19