Venezuela denounces American Convention on Human Rights

Venezuela denounces American Convention on Human Rights

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has given notice of its intention to withdraw in a year’s time from the leading regional human rights treaty in the Americas, with the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS) having confirmed receipt of the notice of denunciation here: http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-307/12. (Rumours back in July had suggested that Venezuela was considering withdrawal.) The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has also issued a press release announcing that Venezuela is withdrawing from the American Convention on Human Rights, with the denunciation to take effect in September 2013. The IACHR press release can be found here: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2012/117.asp

The American Convention on Human Rights (also known as the Pact of San José, Costa Rica) was adopted in 1969 and entered into force in 1978. It is a key regional human rights instrument for the protection of civil and political rights within the Western Hemisphere (with the Convention working alongside the 1948 American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man which is relied upon for OAS states that are not Convention parties). Venezuela has been a party to the Convention since ratification in 1977. Venezuela has also recognized the competence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights since 1981, with Venezuela’s record before the court found here: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/pais.cfm?id_Pais=13.

A broken (but soon to be fixed?) link to the text of Venezuela’s denunciation can be found here:  http://www.oas.org/dil/treaties_B-32_American_Convention_on_Human_Rights_sign.htm#Venezuela. The Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has posted an interview with the Minister here (in Spanish): http://www.mre.gov.ve/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=2&Itemid=325

This is not the first denunciation for the American Convention on Human Rights, with Trinidad and Tobago having denunciated in 1998 due to a stated need to address delays in death penalty cases as a result of the time taken before international human rights bodies. Venezuela is the second state to withdraw from the American Convention on Human Rights, notably at a time when the inter-American human rights system is undertaking consultations with respect to reforms (see earlier post).

Readers will also be aware that Venezuela is not a newcomer to denunciations, having earlier this year denounced the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the ICSID Convention), becoming the third Latin American state to denounce the ICSID Convention (after Bolivia in 2007 and Ecuador in 2009). Under the terms of the ICSID Convention, which provides for a six-month notice period, Venezuela’s denunciation came into effect in July.