Stop Harassing Human Rights Defenders

Intimidation Undermines IndependentOversight


(PanamaCity, April 7, 2015) – Venezuelais intimidating and harassing human rights defenders, and makingunsubstantiated allegations that they are seeking to undermine Venezuelandemocracy, 28 international and Latin American human rights organizations saidtoday. The authorities’ allegations concern the groups’ legitimate functions ofdocumenting abuses and representing victims before international human rightsbodies.

Venezuelan authorities should cease this tactic immediately, the groupssaid. Governments participating in the Summit of the Americas in Panama onApril 10-11, 2015, should press the administration of Nicolás Maduro to ensurethat human rights defenders can do their job without fear of reprisals, theorganizations said.

The government harassment is clearly intended to discredit and intimidategroups that document human rights violations, the groups said.

On February 12, Diosdado Cabello, president of the National Assembly andmember of the governing party, stated on the website of his weekly TV show, Con el Mazo Dando, aired on the state-runVenezolana de Televisión, that “NGOrepresentatives from the Venezuelan extreme right” would participate inhearings before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in March.Cabello had previously criticized Venezuelan human rightsdefenders who participated in the country’s review by the UN Committee AgainstTorture in Geneva, or traveled abroad to conduct advocacy meetings.

OnMarch 18, during his show, Cabello read a list of names of individuals and organizationswho had traveled to Washington, DC, to participate in the IACHR hearings. Thelist included leading human rights groups such as Provea, Espacio Público(Public Space), Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones (Venezuelan Observatory ofPrisons), Transparencia Venezuela (Transparency Venezuela), Cofavic, Codevida,and Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (Venezuelan Observatory ofSocial Conflicts). Cabello accused them of receiving instructions from the USEmbassy in Caracas before traveling to the hearings.

Cabello contends that the information presented on theshow had been provided by anonymous “patriotic informants” (patriotas cooperantes).

Twelvehuman rights defenders who arrived in Caracas on various flights between March20 and 22 have said that they were followed by unidentified men from when they landeduntil they left the airport, were filmed or photographed, and/or that officialsirregularly searched their bags.

On March 23, María Alejandra Díaz, a lawyer who represented the governmentat the IACHR hearings, said on Venezolanade Televisión that “The issue of human rights is just a façade” and thatnongovernmental groups that participated in the hearings “say they areVenezuelan” but “play the imperialist game” and “lie in front of the IACHR tomake Venezuela look like the devil.”

An article published on April 3 in the official newspaper Correo del Orinoco accused twowell-respected human rights defenders of being part of the US CentralIntelligence Agency’s “Venezuelan delegation” at the Summit of the Americas.Their objective is to “legitimize destabilization actions” in Venezuela, thearticle says.

Under international law, governments must ensure thathuman rights defenders are allowed to pursue their legitimiate activitieswithout reprisals, threats, intimidation, harassment, discrimination, orunnecessary legal obstacles. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights held in2003 that “[r]espect for human rights in a democratic state depends largely onhuman rights defenders enjoying effective and adequate guarantees so as tofreely go about their activities.”

The rights to freedom of expression and association may be subject tolimitations, but the limitations must adhere to strict standards so that theydo not improperly impede the exercise of those rights. Any restrictions shouldbe prescribed by law, be necessary in a democratic society, and proportionateto the aim pursued.

In 2012, the UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peacefulassembly and of association called on countries to ensure that these rights“are enjoyed by everyone and any registered or unregistered entities” and thatno one is subject to “harassment, persecution, intimidation or reprisals” forexercising them.



Signatories

AmnestyInternational
Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos (APRODEH) (Peru)
Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC) (Argentina)