By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela—Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez recently announced that Venezuela will be withdrawing from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, also known as the IACrtHR. The IACrtHR makes up the human rights protection system of the Organization of American States, which works to uphold and protect basic human rights and freedoms in the Americas.

Chavez also noted that the country will now begin its one-year waiting period. Once the waiting period has passed, Venezuela will no longer be a party of the American Convention on Human Rights. The country is also removing itself from the Costa Rica Inter-American Court of Human Rights as well as the Washington Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Chavez made this decision after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights gave a ruling that he found to be “a travesty of justice.” The Costa Rica-based court held that Venezuela violated the rights of a prisoner, Raul Dias, who was convicted of bombing a diplomatic government office in Venezuela’s capital city of Caracas in 2003. The court found that Diaz was being held in inhumane jail conditions.

“Venezuela is pulling out of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights out of dignity,” said Chavez during a military ceremony in the Venezuelan town of Puerto Cabello. Chavez said that the court was ruling on the side of terrorism by ruling in favor of Diaz.

“We are an independent country,” he said, as Chavez also explained that this decision would allow Venezuela to assert and construct a fuller sense of national liberty and independence.

On the other side, Venezuelan human rights activists are concerned that if the Venezuelan government goes through with this decision and withdraws from the Organization of American States, victims of future human rights abuses will have fewer venues in which to seek protection and raise their cases.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland spoke to reporters last week and said that if Venezuela withdraws from the human rights court the country “would be sending a deeply regrettable message about its commitment to human rights and democracy.”

In early May, 2012, Rupert Colville, the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged Venezuela to cooperate with regional and international human rights mechanisms and organizations and to stay away from any decisions that would weaken individual protections against human rights violations. The country will go through its one-year waiting period before fully pulling out of the Organization of American States.

 

For further information, please see:

ABC News – Venezuela to Pull Out of OAS Human Rights Bodies – 27 July 2012

BBC News – Venezuela to Withdraw From Regional Human Rights Court – 25 July 2012

UN News Centre – UN Concerned Over Venezuela’s Possible Withdrawal From Human Rights Body – 4 May 2012

Venezuela Analysis – Venezuela to Withdraw From OAS’s Human Rights Court – 30 April 2012