On December 22, 2010, the Venezuelan National Assembly passed legislation that restricts civil society organizations that “defend political rights” or “monitor the performance of public bodies” from obtaining international funding. The justification used by the Venezuelan government for this law is to protect the sovereign state from the influence of foreign entities. However, the Law for the Defense of Political Sovereignty and National Self-Determination is in direct violation of Article 13 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which states explicitly that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to solicit, receive and utilize resources for the express purpose of promoting and protecting human rights.” It also violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights.

 

The law also transgresses at least four of the six principles articulated in the World Movement for Democracy’s Defending Civil Society report to protect civil society organizations from governmental intrusion: The Right to Operate Free from Unwarranted State Interference; The Right to Free Expression; The Right to Communication and Cooperation; and The Right to Seek and Secure Resources.

 

The Law for the Defense of Political Sovereignty and National Self-Determination comes on the heels of three other government-led actions that will have the effect of significantly restricting civil society freedoms. The National Assembly recently enabled President Hugo Chavez to rule by decree for the next 18 months through the adoption of the Enabling Act, which essentially makes Parliament irrelevant. In addition, reform of legislation on Social Responsibility on Radio, TV and Electronic Media regulates, limits, and controls means of communication, including access to the Internet, which constitutes a direct violation of the fundamental freedoms of information, press, thought, and expression.

 

Perhaps even more dire, the Venezuelan government recently expelled ranchers and farmers from their properties in the state of Zulia, among the most valuable land for the production of food in Venezuela, despite the owners having deeds to those lands, and the government has already seized 25,000 hectors of the land, thus violating the owners’ right to property, as protected in Article 21 of the American Convention on Human Rights. In response to peaceful protests by the landowners and civil society groups, the government sent the Venezuelan army to control the situation, clearly intending to intimidate the local population.

 

In response to these grave violations of basic rights, the World Movement’s Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy has issued a statement calling on the OAS, its member states, and human rights defender organizations to conduct an immediate investigation into the Enabling Act, the reform of legislation on Social Responsibility on Radio, TV, and Electronic Media, and the mass appropriation of lands in the state of Zulia.

 

To read the Lac Network statement (in Spanish), go to: www.wmd.org/sites/default/files/venezuela.pdf