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<h1><b>The Truth Suffers in Human Rights Watch Report on
Venezuela</b></h1><font size=3>
<a href="http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/3812" eudora="autourl">
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/3812<br><br>
</a>September 19th 2008, by Venezuela Information Office <br><br>
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 criticizing 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.
<br><br>
<b>MYTH:</b> "Discrimination on political grounds has been a
defining feature of the Chávez presidency." <br><br>
<b>FACT:</b> 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 criticizes 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."<a name="_ednref1"></a>[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. <br><br>
<b>MYTH:</b> The Chávez administration has an "open disregard for
the principle of separation of powers - specifically an independent
judiciary." <br><br>
<b>FACT:</b> 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.<a name="_ednref2"></a>[ii] Also, the
World Bank found that "the [judicial] reform effort has made
significant progress - the STJ [Supreme Court] is more modern and
efficient."<a name="_ednref3"></a>[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. <br><br>
<b>MYTH:</b> "[Chávez] has significantly shifted the balance of the
mass media in the government's favor... by stacking the deck against
critical opposition outlets." <br><br>
<b>FACT:</b> 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.
<br><br>
<b>MYTH:</b> The Chávez government "has sought to remake the
country's labor movement in ways that violate basic principles of freedom
of association." <br><br>
<b>FACT:</b> The Chavez government has actively promoted the formation of
labor unions and bargaining by organized labor, 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 labor dispute between steel workers 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 worker demands. The steel
workers themselves were also allowed to purchase a share of the business
themselves and thereby assert more control over the company. <br><br>
<b>MYTH:</b> The Chávez government has pursued an "aggressively
adversarial approach to local rights advocates and civil society
organizations." <br><br>
<b>FACT:</b> 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 democratize
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 marginalized areas of the country. Health clinics, educational
centers, subsidized food markets and other initiatives rely on local
volunteers and are accountable to these communities. <br><br>
<b>CONCLUSION</b> <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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, labor organizations and community groups enjoy more
support from this administration than ever before. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
Human Rights Watch details none of the impressive progress made in these
areas. For example, the UN Development Programme 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%.<a name="_ednref4"></a>[iv]
Facts such as these provide a much more complete picture of the human
rights situation in Venezuela.<br>
<hr>
<a name="_edn1"></a>[i] "Chávez pardons accused coup backers"
Ian James, Associated Press, December 31, 2007. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2007-12-31-1482318110_x.htm">
http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2007-12-31-1482318110_x.htm</a>
<br><br>
<a name="_edn2"></a>[ii] Human Rights Watch, "Rigging the Rule of
Law: Judicial Independence Under Siege in Venezuela," June 2004,
<a href="http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/venezuela0604/">
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/venezuela0604/</a> <br><br>
<a name="_edn3"></a>[iii] World Bank, Project Information Document,
Report AB510, December 9, 2003,
<a href="http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000104615_20040226144554">
http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000104615_20040226144554</a>
<br><br>
<a name="_edn4"></a>[iv] Instituto Nacional de Estadística
<a href="http://www.ine.gob.ve/pobreza/LIgrafico2sem.asp">
http://www.ine.gob.ve/pobreza/LIgrafico2sem.asp</a> <br><br>
<br><br>
<i>The <a href="http://www.veninfo.org/">Venezuela Information Office</a>
is dedicated to informing the American public about contemporary
Venezuela, and receives its funding from the government of
Venezuela. Further information is available from the FARA office of
the Department of Justice in Washington, DC. <br><br>
</i><a href="http://hrw.org/reports/2008/venezuela0908/">The full Human
Rights Watch report on Venezuela can befound here. </a><br><br>
<br><br>
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