Costa Rica calls on Venezuela to react to IACHR critique

AFP February 13, 2018

The government of Costa Rica has made “a vehement call for the reestablishment of the full constitutional order, respect for every person’s human rights, protection of their liberties and due attention to their basic needs” in Venezuela, according to a news release from the Foreign Ministry

The Ministry called upon the govenrment of Venezuela to heed a critical report released Monday by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), denouncing an “alarming” deterioration of “democratic institutionality” and respect for human rights in that South American country.

The commission, an autonomous entity of the Organization of American States (OAS), stated in its report that all human rights have been affected in Venezuela, and that the situation has been worsened by ongoing economic and social crises and elevated extreme poverty indexes.

Costa Rica expressed its concern “for weakened institutionality in Venezuela, the absence of separation of powers, and the effect on freedom of expression and the economic, social, and cultural rights of its citizens.”