Tag Archives: United Nations Human Rights Council

Nov
16
2012
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 11/16/12

propiedad comunal In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 11/16/12

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In the news this week, Venezuela won a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council despite international criticism; regulators of the securities industry had tough questions for U.S. broker-dealers regarding practices used to mitigate money laundering and sanctions risks related to their involvement in a Venezuelan government-run exchange system; Venezuela’s crumbling infrastructure remains in the news as the electric energy minister admits the nation’s electrical system has been out of date for twenty years; and government takeovers continue as PDVSA seizes control of the Loma de Niquel mine from the Anglo American mining and natural resource company. Meanwhile, Chávez continues to lay the foundations for a communal state as forty communes await authorization by the Venezuelan government; Capriles looks to the regional December elections to legitimize the opposition coalition not only to a weary electorate but also to its own fractious members; problems persist in Venezuela’s industrial sector as the lack of raw materials reaches 83 percent; and the Venezuelan government continues to violate collective bargaining agreements, causing protests among workers. Lastly, the ADEN Competitiveness Institute ranks Venezuela among countries with the lowest competitiveness index, citing “problems of macroeconomic instability and institutional mishaps.”

Venezuela, the bane of human rights, The Washington Post

ON MONDAY, new members will be selected for the United Nations Human Rights Council, the top-level group for the protection and promotion of human rights. Its members have not always been paragons of respect for human dignity.

U.S. broker-dealers scrutinized for anti-laundering compliance in Venezuelan currency swaps, Reuters

NEW YORK, Nov. 13 (Thomson Reuters Accelus) -Securities industry regulators are beginning to ask U.S. broker-dealers tough questions about how they are mitigating money laundering and sanctions risks associated with their involvement in a 2-year-old currency exchange system run by the Venezuelan government, sources familiar with the issue said.

Some 71% of Venezuela’s electric energy system is outdated, El Universal

Venezuela’s Electric Energy Minister Héctor Navarro stated that 71% of the national electric system has been out of date for 20 years.

Venezuelan gov’t takes over Loma de Níquel mine, El Universal

Last Saturday, at 12 a.m., multinational Anglo American handed over to the Venezuelan State the control of Loma de Níquel mine, upon the expiration of the concession and failure to get a renewed term for the operation.

Communes await authorization by Venezuelan Government, El Universal

The Venezuelan National Assembly (AN) continues laying the foundations for the communal State. On October 20, during a meeting of ministers, President Hugo Chávez urged his cabinet to speed up the establishment of communes.

Capriles, Opposition Seek to Solidify Gains in Venezuela, World Politics Review

CARACAS — With campaigning for Venezuela’s December gubernatorial races now officially under way, the country’s political opposition finds itself in a tough spot. Still licking its wounds from its loss in October’s presidential election, the Democratic Unity Coalition (MUD) must get quickly off the mat to prove its credibility not only to a weary electorate but also to its own fractious members.

Lack of raw materials hits 83% of Venezuelan industries, El Universal

Obstacles are hitting the Venezuelan industrial sector, as lingering barriers continue to undermine their performance, according to data provided by the Venezuelan Confederation of Industries (Conindustria).

Government allegedly trying to uproot collective bargaining agreements, El Universal

In recent years, numerous labor protests by different sectors have sparked in Venezuela. Only in October, some 521 demonstrations were reported, 204 of which were labor-related, said the NGO Venezuelan Observatory of Social Unrest.

Venezuela among the countries with lower competitiveness index, El Universal

Chile is the leader of competitiveness among 18 Latin American countries, based on the Competitiveness Index established in October 2012 by the ADEN Competitiveness Institute. The information was disclosed by the higher studies institution based in Argentina, Efe quoted.

 
Nov
13
2012
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ICYMI: Venezuela, the bane of human rights

The Washington Post
November 11, 2012
By Editorial Board

Hugo Chavez Frias 300x197 ICYMI: Venezuela, the bane of human rights

Courtesy of: Reuters

ON MONDAY, new members will be selected for the United Nations Human Rights Council, the top-level group for the protection and promotion of human rights. Its members have not always been paragons of respect for human dignity. Those leaving the 47-member council at the end of this year include China, Cuba and Russia. But up for a seat this time is a truly unqualified candidate, Venezuela. Its strongman president, Hugo Chávez, has brazenly trampled human rights in his quest for power and political control.

A new member must get at least a majority, or 97 votes, from the General Assembly, and while the assembly could prevent Venezuela from joining, it probably won’t. Since the council was created in 2006, the assembly has never voted down a candidate, according to Freedom. Some candidates, such as Sudan, have dropped their bids in the face of opposition. But the assembly selected Moammar Gaddafi’s Libya.

In choosing members, according to the founding resolution for the council, the General Assembly is supposed to “take into account the contribution of candidates to the promotion and protection of human rights and their voluntary pledges and commitments” to do so. Moreover, the “members elected to the council shall uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights.”

Venezuela under Mr. Chávez has no place at this table. According to Human Rights Watch, the judiciary has largely ceased to function as an independent branch of government. A human rights travesty has been evident in the case of Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni. In 2009, she angered Mr. Chávez with a ruling that gave conditional release to a businessman who was a prominent critic of the president. The businessman had been awaiting trial for almost three years. Soon after her ruling, the judge was arrested, and Mr. Chávez denounced her as a “bandit” on national television. She was held for more than a year in a two-by-four-meter cell in a Caracas prison that included 20 women she had sentenced as a judge. They confronted her with death threats. After she underwent surgery for cancer in 2011, she was released to house arrest but under onerous terms, including that she not be allowed to step outside for exposure to the sun.

Mr. Chávez has an equally poor record on freedom of expression. He has bullied and punished the news media for critical reporting on the government’s handling of such things as water pollution, violent crime, a prison riot and an earthquake.

In its bid to become a member, Venezuela offered pledges to respect human rights, including to take action “to protect freedom of expression and opinion.” But the words are hollow. By deeds, Mr. Chávez has shown what he stands for, and it is not the protection of human rights. In 2009 the Obama administration announced plans to join the Human Rights Council and engage from the inside rather than criticize from without. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton declared last year, “Membership on this council should be earned through respect for human rights.” By that standard, Mr. Chávez should not be allowed in the door.

To read this article on The Washington Post, please click here.