Venezuela
IFEX demands increased freedom of expression for VenezuelaPosted Oct 11 2011
The International Freedom of Expression Exchange’s Latin America and Caribbean network participated in the Universal Periodic Review of Venezuela with the United Nations Human Rights Council on Oct. 7.
Every four years, the Universal Periodic Review evaluates the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States. In this year’s meeting, IFEX encouraged change in Venezuela and introduced seven recommendations to increase their level of freedom of expression.
According to the IFEX website, the recommendations were:
The Venezuelan State should adopt an open and permanent stance in support of the right to freedom of expression and condemn physical attacks against the media and journalists.
The Venezuelan State should work in conjunction with at-risk journalists who have been granted protective measures by international entities to develop a plan for the implementation of these measures.
The Venezuelan State should ensure that cases of attacks against the media and journalists are subject to a thorough and impartial investigation and a conscientious effort to explore all possible avenues of inquiry.
The Venezuelan State should review and amend all laws and decrees that promote prior censorship; criminalize “desacato” (contempt) or insult; and establish imprecise or ambiguous exceptions vis-à-vis the right to freedom of expression and access to information.
The Venezuelan State should extend an official invitation to the special rapporteurs on freedom of expression of international human rights mechanisms, calling on them to visit the country so that they may assess firsthand the state of freedom of expression in Venezuela.
The Venezuelan State should guarantee citizens' access to information by adopting freedom of information legislation.
The Venezuelan State should guarantee plurality and diversity in broadcasting and audiovisual media.
According to IFEX, the objective of the review and IFEX’s involvement was to bring Venezuela up to international standards and to prevent further human rights violations in the country in 2012.
IFEX also pointed out that between 2007 and 2010, IPYS documented 449 cases of attacks and restrictions on the media in Venezuela, half of which were threats or physical attacks against journalists. From 2010 to 2011 alone, law enforcement and the Venezuelan government investigated only eight of the 39 reported attacks against journalists.
Along with these recommendations, IFEX also called upon the Venezuelan government to amend laws that promote censorship.
To view the live twitter feed from the meeting click here