Human rights in Venezuela

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Human rights in Venezuela can first be spoken of with the advent of democracy in 1958 (a brief 3-year period of democracy 1945-8 aside). The 1961 Constitution of Venezuela secured a range of human rights, but following the election of Hugo Chavez was replaced by a new constitution in 1999 which sought to secure a wider range of human rights,[unbalanced opinion?] such as Health care as a human right.[1] Of the 350 articles in the 1999 constitution, 116 are dedicated to duties, human rights, and guarantees, including a chapter on the rights of the indigenous peoples.[2]

Legal framework

Human rights in Venezuela can first be spoken of with the advent of democracy in 1958 (a brief 3-year period of democracy 1945-8 aside).[by whom?] The 1961 Constitution of Venezuela secured a range of human rights;[dubious – discuss] Venezuela ratified the American Convention on Human Rights in 1977.[unreliable source?][3] This makes it part of the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Between 1977 and 1998, "a time period marked by many human rights crimes including the murder, disappearance, and torture of leftist political dissidents", the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) brought six cases against Venezuela.[3] Between 1998 and 2009 the IACHR brought around 150 cases.[unreliable source?][3]

Following the election of Hugo Chavez, the 1961 constitution was replaced by a new constitution in 1999 which sought to secure a wider range of human rights, such as Health care as a human right.[unbalanced opinion?][1] Of the 350 articles in the 1999 constitution, 116 are dedicated to duties, human rights, and guarantees, including a chapter on the rights of the indigenous peoples.[2]

History

1958–1989

This was "a time period marked by many human rights crimes including the murder, disappearance, and torture of leftist political dissidents".[unreliable source?][unbalanced opinion?][3] cf Douglas Bravo, Armed Forces of National Liberation (Venezuela), Communist Party of Venezuela.

Caracazo, 1989

Main article: Caracazo

One of the six cases brought against Venezuela by the IACHR between 1977 and 1998 related to the 1989 Caracazo, which successive Venezuelan governments failed to investigate, despite requests from human rights groups such as Amnesty International,[4] and instructions from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.[5] (In July 2009, then-defence minister Italo del Valle Alliegro was charged in relation to the Caracazo.[6])

1990s

With increasing instability of the political system in the face of economic crisis, Venezuela saw two coup attempts in 1992. Both failed, and in the process of resisting the coup attempts, government agents were reported to have killed forty people, both civilians and surrendered rebels, either as extrajudicial executions, or through the use of disproportionate force.[7] Arbitrary detentions numbered in the hundreds, and continued for some time after the events, and involved student leaders and other civic leaders not connected with the coup attempts. In addition, freedom of expression was suspended for two months in the February case, and three weeks in the November case, and involved censorship of the media. A series of demonstrations in March/Aprilcalling for the resignation of President Carlos Andres Perez and the resto<ration of constitutional guarantees were met with state violence including indiscriminate police firing into crowds, with a total of 13 deaths.[7] A number of members of the press covering the protests were severely injured by police.[7] Although participants in the February coup attempt were tried under the regular military justice system, in response to the November coup attempt the government created ad hoc courts based on the 1938 legal code of Eleazar López Contreras, drawn up twenty years before the transition to democracy. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled the courts unconstitutional, but not on the due process grounds for which they were criticised, but on the grounds that the President had neglected to suspend the relevant constitutional rights (right to a defence, right to be tried by one's natural judge).[8]

2000s

2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt.


Civil and political rights

See also Civil and political rights

Press freedom

The freedom of the press is mentioned by two key clauses in the 1999 Constitution of Venezuela. The right to freedom of expression is set out in Article 57 and Article 58 of the Constitution. The right to express opinions freely without censorship (Article 57) and the right to reply (Article 58) are generally in line with international standards. However, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed concern about Article 58 of the Constitution, which provides that "Everyone has the right to timely, truthful, impartial and uncensored information." The Commission took issue with the right to "truthful and timely" information arguing that this is "a kind of prior censorship prohibited in the American Convention on Human Rights."[9]

Concerns about freedom of the press in Venezuela have been raised by Human Rights Watch,[10][11] Amnesty International,[12] the Inter American Press Association,[13] the International Press Institute,[14] the United States Department of State,[15] Reporters without Borders,[16][17] representatives of the Catholic Church, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and others.[18][19][20][21][22]

The issue of press freedom in Venezuela is complicated by the private media's strong opposition[dubious – discuss][unbalanced opinion?] to the Presidency and policies of Hugo Chávez, including strong support for the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt. In May 2007 RCTV's terrestrial broadcast licence was not renewed on the basis of its support for the coup; it continues to broadcast by satellite and cable. After RCTV lost its terrestrial broadcast licence, private television media remained opposed to the Chavez government, but in most cases moderated that opposition by presenting more government spokesmen;[unbalanced opinion?][23] Globovision is now perhaps the most vocally and stridently anti-Chavez television station.[unreliable source?][24]

In March 2009 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights concluded two cases brought against Venezuela by the private Venezuelan TV stations Globovisión and RCTV. It concluded that the Venezuelan government had not violated the right to freedom of expression, equality before the law, or private property, but that the government had failed to do enough to prevent and punish acts of intimidation against journalists by third parties, as required by the American Convention on Human Rights.[unreliable source?][25][26] In May 2009 Venezuela's Supreme Court denied a request for a restraining order brought by a charitable foundation against RCTV and Globovision. The foundation had argued that the TV stations had incited violence and encouraged a coup d'etat against the government, and that this was a violation of Article 58 of the Constitution. The foundation also accused the stations of false reporting over alleged links between FARC and the Chavez government. The Court said a restraining order required an "immediate and executable" threat.[unreliable source?][27]

Administration of justice

Venezuela's justice system has been institutionally weak throughout its democratic period (since 1958).[unbalanced opinion?][28] In addition to weak legislative oversight, the Venezuelan military exercises more authority over the judicial process than in most other countries. Crimes against "the independence and security of the nation, against liberty and against the public order" may be sent to military judges, and the armed forces control most law enforcement relating to border areas, actions by military personnel or by civilians in military-controlled areas, and crimes covered by both military and civilian law.[29] Venezuelan law gives the police more authority than it does in most countries, and they have a central role in initiating and operating judicial proceedings; "the police have gradually assumed many of the functions of both the [Justice Ministry] and investigating judges".[30] "This power has allowed abuses to spread throughout the judicial process," including regular use of false witnesses, invented facts and destroyed evidence, and false charges, as well as defying court orders, protecting accused officials, and harassing political activists.[31] It has also meant that the justice system has long been particularly bad at investigating alleged abuses by state agents.[32]

A 1993 Human Rights Watch report declared that "the administration of justice is in crisis. [Civilian] courts are undermined by politicization, corruption, inefficiency and lack of resources."[33] Part of the problem was identified as the "pivotal role" of the judge in criminal trials in managing investigations, including directing the Judicial Technical Police. Complex cases can overwhelm even conscientious judges, and the system easily provides "plausible cover for judicial inaction".[34] The report noted that "the perception is widespread - among lawyers, judges and fiscales as well as ordinary citizens - that corruption has tainted every level of the judicial system..."[35] Prior to 1991, the appointment of judges (via the Judicial Council) was "frankly partisan"; subsequently, open competition and objective criteria mitigated the influence of politics somewhat.[36]

A major problem is the failure of justice arising from structural delays in the justice system.[unbalanced opinion?] In 1990 the average court received 675 new cases, and reached decisions on 120. In Caracas the average court took 286 days took complete the investigation phase of trials, against the legal maximum of 34; and 794 days to reach the sentencing phase, against the legal maximum of 68. As a result of the judicial backlog, many prisoners eventually convicted will have spent longer in detention at the time of sentencing than the maximum sentence permitted for their crimes. The backlog also contributes significantly to the overcrowding of Venezuela's prisons.[37]

In December 2009 three independent human rights experts of the United Nations' Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called for the immediate release of a judge arrested after ordering the conditional release of Eligio Cedeno. Cedeno had been in pre-trial detention for 34 months, since February 2007; prosecutors had repeatedly failed to turn up for court dates, leading to accusations that the case was being strung out due to a lack of evidence.[38] Partly as a result, the United Nations' Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in September 2009 declared Cedeno's detention arbitrary, and Cedeno was bailed in December 2009.[39] After the arrest of the judge on corruption charges, the UN group accused president Hugo Chavez of Venezuela of creating a climate of fear among his country's legal profession, decrying what they termed "a blow by President Hugo Chávez to the independence of judges and lawyers in the country."[40] [41]

Human trafficking

Main article: Human trafficking in Venezuela

Venezuela is a signatory (December 2000) to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.[2][42]

Agrarian violence

Venezuela’s present-day agriculture is characterized by inefficiency and low investment, with 70 percent of agricultural land owned by 3 percent of agricultural proprietors (one of the highest levels of land concentration in Latin America). According to the Land and Agricultural Reform Law of 2001 (see Mission Zamora), public and private land deemed to be illegally held or unproductive is to be redistributed.[2] From 1999 to 2006, 130 landless workers were assassinated by sicarios paid by opponents to the reform.[43]

Prison system

In 1996 Human Rights Watch concluded that "Venezuelan prisons are catastrophic, one of the worst in the American hemisphere, violating the Venezuelan State international obligations on human rights."[44] Key problems included violence (in 1994 there were nearly 500 deaths, including around 100 in a single riot[45]), corruption, and (as the US State Department 1996 report put it) "overcrowding so severe as to constitute inhuman and degrading treatment".[44]

"Venezuela’s penitentiary system, considered one of the most violent in Latin America, has 29 prisons and 16 penitentiaries holding some 20,000 inmates".[4]

Police violence and extrajudicial killings

Extrajudicial killing - 187 in 1992/3. [5]

In 2008 the Attorney General announced the creation of an investigative team to look into over 6000 reports of extrajudicial killings between 2000 and 2007.[46]

Economic, social and cultural rights

See also Economic, social and cultural rights

Patronage

Partyarchy

Since the transition to and consolidation of democracy in 1958, Venezuela developed, initially with the Punto Fijo Pact, a two-party system led by "two hegemonic and highly centralized and clientelist political parties",[47] Accion Democratica and COPEI, in what was often called "partidocracia" (partyarchy).[48] The two parties "penetrated and came to dominate so many of the other organisations in civil society, including trade unions, that they enjoyed a virtual monopoly over the political process."[49] Party organisation was extensive, with, the Church and business associations aside, practically every civil society organisation run by leaders identifying with one or other of the parties.[50] It was also intensive, with members risking expulsion, and thus exclusion from the party's patronage, for disobeying party decisions. "The Leninist principle of democratic centralism even received explicit endorsement in the AD's party statutes."[51] Elected representatives of the parties strayed from the party line so infrequently that Congressional leaders did not tally votes, relying solely on the relative sizes of the parties.[52] "Labor leaders usually refrained from calling strikes when their party was in power, and the politicized officers of professional associations, student governments, peasant federations, state enterprises, foundations, and most other organizations used their positions to further the interests of their party."[53]

Key to the maintenance of the partyarchy was a system of "concertacion" (consultation), in which the two parties would consult with each other, and with other actors (notably business and the military), seeking consensus on controversial issues. Where consensus failed, the attempts to achieve it at least mollified the opposition.[54] Concertacion also involved complicity with widespread corruption, with the parties acting as if the Punto Fijo Pact had prohibited prosections for corruption. "The courts - like the bureaucracy, the universities, and most other institutions - were thoroughly politicized along party lines and seemed never to find sufficient evidence to justify a trial or a conviction."[55] Threats to the partyarchy - that is, organisations which sought to challenge it or at least remain outside its control - were largely co-opted by a variety of tactics, including, if necessary, "paralelismo" (the creation of a parallel organisation with a similar purpose and far greater political and economic support).[56]

Only with the economic crisis, particularly in the late 80s and early 90s, did the system of partyarchy weaken substantially, as the resources available for patronage declined dramatically. The ability to co-opt new organisations, particular the neighbourhood associations protesting the failure of public services, was weakened.[57] By the 1998 presidential elections the candidates put up by AD and COPEI won less than 6% of the vote combined.[58]

Fifth Republic

Under the previous system of partyarchy, "jobs in the public sector were allocated with calculated discrimination through the political parties, forming an important element in the stream of patronage descending from the top of each party to its bases throughout the nation."[59]

Tascon List

Gender and sexual orientation equality

Venezuela's 1999 constitution is the only one in Latin America that recognizes housework as an economically productive activity (Article 88). This entitles housewives to social security benefits.[unreliable source?][60] The National Institute for Women (INAMUJER) was created in 2000, and amongst other issues campaigns for greater representation of women in elected positions; the reversal of a 1997 law requiring 30% of candidates to be women left the percentage of female deputies in the National Assembly as low as 12% in 2005.[60]

In 2007 Venezuela passed a "Law on the Right of Women to a Life Free of Violence", and instituted a number of other measures against domestic violence. In 2008 Amnesty International called the law "an example for the rest of the region,"[61] but noted that effective implementation would require political will and adequate resources.[unreliable source?][61] In July 2009 a proposed "Organic Law for Gender Equality" included a controversial provision for same-sex civil unions.[62]

Abortion in Venezuela is currently illegal except in cases of a threat to the life of the pregnant woman.

Indigenous rights

The indigenous peoples of Venezuela make up only around 1.5% of the population nationwide, though the proportion is nearly 50% in Amazonas state.[63] Prior to the creation of the 1999 constitution, legal rights for indigenous peoples were increasingly lagging behind other Latin American countries, which were progressively enshrining a common set of indigenous collective rights in their national constitutions.[64] The 1961 constitution had actually been a step backward from the 1947 constitution, and the indigenous rights law foreseen in it languished for a decade, unpassed by 1999.[64]

In 1999, three seats were reserved for indigenous delegates in the 131-member constitutional assembly which drew up the 1999 Constitution,[65] and two additional indigenous delegates won unreserved seats in the assembly elections.[66] Ultimately the constitutional process produced "the region's most progressive indigenous rights regime".[67] Innovations included Article 125's guarantee of political representation at all levels of government, and Article 124's prohibition on "the registration of patents related to indigenous genetic resources or intellectual property associated with indigenous knowledge."[67] The new constitution followed the example of Colombia in reserving parliamentary seats for indigenous delegates (three in Venezuela's National Assembly); and it was the first Latin American constitution to reserve indigenous seats in state assemblies and municipal councils in districts with indigenous population.[68]

Relationships with international actors

Human Rights Watch

In September 2008 the Venezuelan government expelled from the country Human Rights Watch Americas Director Jose Miguel Vivanco, over the publication of a report[69] entitled "A Decade Under Chávez: Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela",[70] which discussed systematic violations to human, civil and political rights. HRW's report was the subject of debate in late 2008 – early 2009 after 118 scholars from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, México, the United States, the U.K., Venezuela, and other countries publicly criticized[unbalanced opinion?][71][unreliable source?][72][73] HRW for a perceived bias against the government of Venezuela.[citation needed] On 17 December 2008 an open letter was sent to the HRW Board of Directors in response to the HRW report. The open letter criticized the report by stating that it "does not meet even the most minimal standards of scholarship, impartiality, accuracy, or credibility." The letter also criticized the lead author of the report, Jose Miguel Vivanco, for his "political agenda" (he had declared that he wanted to show that Venezuela was "no model for anyone"[72]), and called on Mr. Vivanco to discuss or debate his claims in "any public forum of his choosing".[unreliable source?][74]

IACHR

In May 2009 Venezuela rejected the annual report of the IACHR.[3] Amongst other issues raised (including failure to address unsolved murders and extrajudicial executions) the report declared Venezuela "a hostile environment for political dissent."[75] Venezuela's Foreign Ministry responded that "The IACHR has abandoned its role as an international organism for the protection of human rights... and converted itself into a political instrument of the national and international sectors which, for ideological reasons, attack the progressive governments of the region," and noted that the IACHR had recognised the two-day interim government installed during the 2002 coup.[3] IACHR President Luz Patricia Mejía acknowledged the report's heavy reliance on Venezuelan private media sources, and recommended an internal debate at the next OAS summit.[76] Venezuela has said it will not accept an IACHR visit as long as Santiago Cantón remains its Executive Secretary, unless the IACHR apologises for its actions in relation to the 2002 coup.[unbalanced opinion?][unreliable source?][77]

References

  1. ^ a b Feo, Oscar. 2008. Neoliberal Policies and their Impact on Public Health Education: Observations on the Venezuelan Experience. Social Medicine 3 (4):223-231.
  2. ^ a b c d Venezuela country profile. Library of Congress Federal Research Division (March 2005).
  3. ^ a b c d e f Venezuelanalysis, 12 May 2009, Venezuela Rejects Inter-American Human Rights Commission Report
  4. ^ ""Venezuela Inquiry Urged on Abuses in Riots"". The New York Times '. 12 March 1989. Retrieved 15 July 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "Comité de Familiares de las Víctimas". COFAVIC. 28 February 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ BBC, 18 July 2009, Former Venezuela minister charged
  7. ^ a b c Clifford C. Rohde, Jamie Fellner, Cynthia G. Brown (1993), Human rights in Venezuela, Human Rights Watch, pp61-5
  8. ^ Clifford C. Rohde, Jamie Fellner, Cynthia G. Brown (1993), Human rights in Venezuela, Human Rights Watch, pp71-2
  9. ^ Canton, Santiago A. Preliminary Evaluation by the IACHR of the Visit to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Accessed 6 August 2006.
  10. ^ "Venezuela: Events of 2009". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  11. ^ Carroll, Rory (18 September 2008). "Report accuses Chávez of undermining democracy in Venezuela". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  12. ^ "Venezuela: Globovisión attack must be urgently investigated and journalists protected". Amnesty International. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  13. ^ "IAPA condemns harsh blow to Venezuela's democracy" (Press release). Inter American Press Association. 31 July 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  14. ^ "Resolutions Passed by the Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organisations on 18 June 2008" (Press release). International Press Institute. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  15. ^ "2008 Human Rights Report: Venezuela". Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor: 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. U.S. Department of State. 25 February 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  16. ^ "In 'cure worse than cold,' Globovisión waits to be stripped of broadcast frequency". Reporters without Borders. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  17. ^ Brice, Arthur (23 May 2009). "Head of Venezuelan TV station: Raid of home was scare tactic". CNN. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  18. ^ Jones, Rachel (28 May 2009). "In Venezuela, hundreds march for press freedom". The Associated Press. Lexis Nexis. Human Rights Watch and press freedom groups have criticized the investigation, saying it aims to harass Chavez's opponents.
  19. ^ "Venezuela Threatens To Close Opposition TV Station". SHOW: Morning Edition 10:00 AM EST NPR. National Public Radio (NPR); LexisNexis. June 11, 2009 Thursday. In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez's government is moving against this TV station, which has press freedom groups raising questions about the future of democracy in a highly polarized country. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ James, Ian (17 September 2009). "Venezuela a top concern at press freedom forum". The Associated Press. LexisNexis. Press freedom groups condemn Venezuela's recent shutdown of radio stations as part of a broader strategy by President Hugo Chavez to progressively clamp down on the private news media and they want to put a stop to it. ... Newspaper executives who lead the Miami-based Inter American Press Association say Venezuela will be at the top of their list as they gather in Caracas for an emergency forum Friday to discuss freedom of expression in the Americas.
  21. ^ "US calls for free press in Venezuela, Latin America". Agence France Presse -- English. LexisNexis. 12 June 2009. The United States called Friday on the Venezuelan and other Latin American governments to stop intimidating the news media and take action to uphold a free press. ... On Tuesday, the International Press Institute, a media advocacy group, denounced the deterioration of press freedom in Venezuela and in particular the Chavez government's harassment of Globovision.
  22. ^ Sanchez, Fabiola (25 January 2010). "Removal of anti-Chavez TV channel spurs protests". Press freedom organizations and Roman Catholic leaders condemned RCTV's removal from cable, calling it part of a broader effort to mute government critics. ... Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said the government's move is "an allergic reaction to dissident voices within the country's leading broadcast media." ... U.S. State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley echoed earlier comments by the U.S. Embassy that Washington is concerned.
  23. ^ Counterpunch, 21 June 2007, An Analysis of How the Network Has Deliberately Misinformed Its Viewers: Fox News and Venezuela
  24. ^ [unreliable source?]Venezuelanalysis, 22 May 2009, Globovision: The Loose Cannon of Venezuelan Media
  25. ^ [unreliable source?]Venezuelanalysis, 5 March 2009, Inter-American Human Rights Court Says Venezuela Did Not Violate TV Station’s Free Speech
  26. ^ "Inter American Court of Human Rights" (PDF). IACHR. 23 March 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ [unreliable source?]Venezuelanalysis, 8 May 2009, Venezuelan Supreme Court Denies Restraining Order Against RCTV and Globovision
  28. ^ Mark Ungar (2002), Elusive reform: democracy and the rule of law in Latin America
  29. ^ Mark Ungar (2002), Elusive reform: democracy and the rule of law in Latin America, p100
  30. ^ Ungar (2002:105)
  31. ^ Ungar (2002:105)
  32. ^ For example, through the use of nudo hecho proceedings, which involve investigations of state agents (especially police) which allow them to remain on active duty, and often delay criminal proceedings (or make them impossible, if they take so long that statutes of limitation apply) - HRW93, p15
  33. ^ [1] p11. The report notes that "such problems are not limited to the courts; they are said to plague most Venezuelan public institutions..."
  34. ^ HRW93, p12
  35. ^ HRW93, p12
  36. ^ HRW93, p13
  37. ^ HRW93, p13
  38. ^ "Cedeno Trial Postponed for Fourth Time in a Month". Reuters. 19 March 2008.
  39. ^ The Guardian, 17 December 2009, UN human rights panel accuses Chávez of undermining Venezuelan judges
  40. ^ Reuters, 17 December 2009, Venezuelan judge's arrest creates fear- U.N. experts
  41. ^ UN News Service, 16 December 2009, Venezuelan leader violates independence of judiciary – UN rights experts
  42. ^ UNODC, Ratifications
  43. ^ Maurice Lemoine, Venezuela: the promise of land for the people, Le Monde diplomatique, October 2003 Template:En icon/Template:Fr icon/Template:Pt icon/Template:Eo icon
  44. ^ a b Del Olmo, Rosa (1998), "The State of Prisons and Prisoners in Four Countries of the Andean Region", p 132; in Weiss, Robert P. and Nigel South (1998, eds.), Comparing prison systems: Toward a comparative and international penology. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach.
  45. ^ Del Olmo (1998: 134)
  46. ^ Amnesty International, 2009 Annual Report: Venezuela
  47. ^ HRW93 [2], p3
  48. ^ Coppedge, Michael (1994), "Prospects for Democratic Governability in Venezuela". Journal of Latin American Studies and World Affairs. 36:2 (1994). 39-64.
  49. ^ Coppedge, Michael (1992), "Venezuela's Vulnerable Democracy", Journal of Democracy, p35
  50. ^ Coppedge (1994:41-2)
  51. ^ Coppedge (1994:42)
  52. ^ Coppedge (1994:42)
  53. ^ Coppedge (1994:42)
  54. ^ Coppedge (1994:42-3)
  55. ^ Coppedge (1994:47)
  56. ^ Coppedge (1994:48)
  57. ^ Coppedge (1994:48)
  58. ^ McCoy (1999), "Chavez and the End of 'Partyarchy' in Venezuela", Journal of Democracy, 10(3), pp64-77
  59. ^ HRW93, p3
  60. ^ a b [unreliable source?]Venezuelanalysis, 15 January 2005, Women and Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution
  61. ^ a b [unreliable source?]Venezuelanalysis, 18 July 2008, Amnesty International: Venezuela’s Record Mixed on Eliminating Violence Against Women
  62. ^ Venezuelanalysis, 15 July 2009, Debate Intensifies over Venezuela’s Proposed Same Sex Marriage Law
  63. ^ Van Cott (2003:52)
  64. ^ a b Van Cott (2003), "Andean Indigenous Movements and Constitutional Transformation: Venezuela in Comparative Perspective", Latin American Perspectives 30(1), p51
  65. ^ Van Cott (2003:55)
  66. ^ Van Cott (2003:56)
  67. ^ a b Van Cott (2003:63)
  68. ^ Van Cott (2003:65)
  69. ^ "Venezuela: Events of 2009". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  70. ^ "Venezuela: Human Rights Watch Delegation Expelled". Human Rights Watch. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
  71. ^ COHA< 18 December 2008, Taking Human Rights Watch to Task on the Question of Venezuela’s Purported Abuse of Human Rights: Over 100 U.S. and Foreign Scholars Take Issue with the head of HRW’s Latin American Division
  72. ^ a b [unreliable source?]Venezuelanalysis, 23 October 2008, Smoke and Mirrors: An Analysis of Human Rights Watch’s Report on Venezuela
  73. ^ Council on Hemispheric Affairs, 12 January 2009, Scholars Respond to HRW’s Kenneth Roth’s Riposte on Venezuelan Human Rights
  74. ^ [unreliable source?][3]
  75. ^ IACHR, Annual Report 2008, CHAPTER IV - HUMAN RIGHTS DEVELOPMENTS IN THE REGION
  76. ^ "We have openly questioned the use of the media as a principal source from which to formulate a general diagnosis of human rights in Venezuela, the use of media which have participated in an open and direct manner in political junctures that the country has lived and is living, and most of all, those which participated in an open and direct manner in the coup d'etat in 2002," Mejía said. Venezuelanalysis, 12 May 2009, Venezuela Rejects Inter-American Human Rights Commission Report
  77. ^ [unreliable source?]Venezuelanalysis, 20 October 2009, Venezuela's OAS Rep: Opposition Human Rights Claims a Smear Campaign

External links

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