IACHRAnnualReport2011-ChapterIVVenezuela.doc

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS 2011 CHAPTER IV VENEZUELA I. INTRODUCTION The IACHR decided to include the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (hereinafter “Venezuela” or “the State”) in Chapter IV of its 2011 Annual Report pursuant to Article 59(1)(h) of its Rules of Procedure. The IACHR based its analysis on information compiled during its hearings and information available from other public sources, as well as information compiled through the mechanisms for petitions, cases and precautionary measures. On November 28, 2011, the IACHR forwarded to the State a copy of the preliminary draft of this section of its 2011 Annual Report, in accordance with the aforementioned article, and asked the State to send its observations within one month’s time. The State did not reply. Of the five criteria presented in the 1997 Annual Report of the IACHR that the Commission takes into account to identify the member states whose human rights practices merit special attention, the IACHR considers that the Venezuelan situation fits within criterion five, which refers to […]structural or temporary situations that may appear in member states confronted, for various reasons, with situations that seriously affect the enjoyment of fundamental rights enshrined in the American Convention or the American Declaration.??This criterion includes, for example: grave situations of violence that prevent the proper application of the rule of law; serious institutional crises; processes of institutional change which have negative consequences on human rights; or grave omissions in the adoption of the necessary measures which would provide for the effective exercise of fundamental rights. First, the Commission has identified structural situations, such as changes in the law that create legal and administrative restrictions that affect the exercise and enjoyment of human rights in Venezuela. The Commission reports, for example, laws adopted under the “Law