[R-G] Truth suffers in Human Rights Watch report on Venezuela

[Anthony Fenton]

http://links.org.au/node/633

Truth suffers in Human Rights Watch report on Venezuela

By the Venezuela Information Office

On September 18, 2008 Human Rights Watch released a report entitled  
"Venezuela: Rights Suffer Under Chávez." The report contains biases  
and inaccuracies, and wrongly purports that human rights guarantees  
are lacking or not properly enforced in Venezuela. In addition, while  
criticising Venezuela's human rights in the political context, it  
fails to mention the many significant advancements made by the  
government on other essential human rights, such as access to  
education, healthcare, nutritious food, clean water and housing.

MYTH: "Discrimination on political grounds has been a defining feature  
of the Chávez presidency."

FACT: Human Rights Watch deems the 2002 coup against the elected  
government "the most dramatic setback" for human rights in Venezuela  
in the last decade, but criticises President Chavez's own public  
condemnations of the unconstitutional overthrow as examples of  
"political discrimination" against the opposition. On the contrary,  
President Chávez last year pardoned political opponents who backed a  
failed 2002 coup against his democratically elected government. "It's  
a matter of turning the page," Chávez said. "We want there to be a  
strong ideological and political debate -- but in peace."[i] In this  
spirit, the government has often welcomed input from the opposition,  
for example, inviting the leaders of student protests to address the  
National Assembly.

MYTH: The Chávez administration has an "open disregard for the  
principle of separation of powers - specifically an independent  
judiciary."

FACT: Human Rights Watch wrote in an earlier report that "When  
President Chávez became president in 1999, he inherited a judiciary  
that had been plagued for years by influence-peddling, political  
interference, and, above all, corruption...In terms of public  
credibility, the system was bankrupt." Under Chávez though, Human  
Rights Watch admitted that access to justice in Venezuela was improved  
by the expansion of the court system.[ii] Also, the World Bank found  
that "the [judicial] reform effort has made significant progress - the  
STJ [Supreme Court] is more modern and efficient."[iii] Testament to  
the strength of democratic institutions in Venezuela is the ability of  
the National Electoral Council to uphold decisions unfavorable to  
lawmakers, such as the "no" victory in the December 2007 referendum on  
constitutional reforms.

MYTH: "[Chávez] has significantly shifted the balance of the mass  
media in the government's favor... by stacking the deck against  
critical opposition outlets."

FACT: As was true at the time of the 2002 coup against Chávez,  
Venezuela's media is dominated by opposition voices. The "anti- 
government" media mentioned by Human Rights Watch still maintains the  
largest share of the nation's public airwaves, and their frequently  
extreme criticisms of the government have included calling for the  
overthrow of elected leaders (as in 2002). There are no major pro- 
government newspapers in Venezuela. The new government-funded  
television and radio outlets, such as TVes - Venezuela's first public  
broadcaster - and TeleSur - a regional network with support from  
multiple countries - have a much smaller reach than the private  
outlets. Furthermore, the government has never censored or "shut down"  
opposition media. The private channel RCTV faced a non-renewal of its  
broadcast license due to persistent legal violations including  
inciting political violence, but the station easily made the switch to  
cable.

MYTH: The Chávez government "has sought to remake the country's labor  
movement in ways that violate basic principles of freedom of  
association."

FACT: The Chavez government has actively promoted the formation of  
labour unions and bargaining by organised labour, but has not co-opted  
this sector. The National Workers' Union (UNT) was founded in April  
2003 by workers supportive of government policies. In 2008, the  
government responded to an ongoing labour dispute between steelworkers  
and the foreign-owned firm Sidor by intervening to negotiate a  
settlement, and when this was found to be impossible, the government  
reasserted state control over the Sidor plant in response to workers'  
demands. The steelworkers themselves were also allowed to purchase a  
share of the business themselves and thereby assert more control over  
the company.

MYTH: The Chávez government has pursued an "aggressively adversarial  
approach to local rights advocates and civil society organizations."

FACT: The Chávez administration has encouraged local leaders to create  
community councils that let localities identify and address their own  
problems -- from garbage collection to school construction. The  
concept comes from the belief that local groups know what is lacking  
and know what they want for their communities. Community councils  
democratise local government and give people the funding and capacity  
to make decisions for themselves. Also subject to local decision  
making are many of the social missions that are designed to help  
reduce poverty in the most marginalised areas of the country. Health  
clinics, educational centres, subsidised food markets and other  
initiatives rely on local volunteers and are accountable to these  
communities.

CONCLUSION

The Human Rights Watch report "Venezuela: Rights Suffer Under Chávez,"  
provides an incomplete and biased account of Venezuela's human rights  
record during the last decade.

It overstates the issue of political discrimination, accusing the  
Chávez government of targeting opponents, when in fact it has pardoned  
supporters of the coup and promoted open dialogue. The report is also  
wrong on the separation of powers and the media. The branches of  
government provide strong checks and balances, and institutions have  
improved since Chávez was first elected. No censorship of the media  
occurs, and the opposition still dominates the airwaves. In terms of  
civil society, labour organisations and community groups enjoy more  
support from this administration than ever before.

Venezuela has a strong record on human rights. Many of the important  
guarantees set out in the 1999 Constitution have indeed been enforced,  
particularly those relating to the fundamental needs of citizens, such  
as food, shelter, healthcare, access to education, employment, social  
security and the right to participation in cultural life.

Human Rights Watch details none of the impressive progress made in  
these areas. For example, the UN Development Program has found that  
Venezuela has already achieved some of the Millennium Development  
Goals, and is on track to complete the others by 2015. Notably, the  
country has seen a 54% drop in the number of households living in  
extreme poverty since 1998, and its overall poverty has fallen by 34%. 
[iv] Facts such as these provide a much more complete picture of the  
human rights situation in Venezuela.

[i] "Chávez pardons accused coup backers" Ian James, Associated Press,  
December 31, 2007.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2007-12-31-1482318110_x.htm

[ii] Human Rights Watch, "Rigging the Rule of Law: Judicial  
Independence Under Siege in Venezuela," June 2004, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/venezuela0604/

[iii] World Bank, Project Information Document, Report AB510, December  
9, 2003, http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000104615_20040226144554

[iv] Instituto Nacional de Estadística http://www.ine.gob.ve/pobreza/LIgrafico2sem.asp



The full Human Rights Watch report on Venezuela can be found here.



[The Venezuela Information Office is dedicated to informing the  
American public about contemporary Venezuela, and receives its funding  
from the government of Venezuela}