FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Deanna.Congileo@emory.edu
Nosotros, los abajo firmantes, lamentamos la decisión del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia de Venezuela, en la que se declara que la sentencia de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos del 1 de septiembre de 2011, en el caso de Leopoldo López Mendoza vs. Venezuela, es "inejecutable".
La Corte y la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos constituyen un sistema de protección internacional de los derechos humanos que sirve de modelo para el mundo entero. Cimentado en la Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos, dicho sistema es una conquista de los Estados latinoamericanos y del Caribe (ni Canadá ni los Estados Unidos han ratificado la Convención), que debe ser celosamente protegida por todos.
Con preocupación hacemos notar que, hasta donde tenemos conocimiento, con la sola excepción de las decisiones de los tribunales militares del régimen de Fujimori, este es el único país del hemisferio en el que las sentencias de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos han sido expresamente rechazadas por el Tribunal Supremo de Justicia al declararlas no vinculantes e inaplicables.
El incumplimiento de las decisiones de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos por parte de uno de los Estados sujetos a su jurisdicción, apartándose de sus obligaciones internacionales según la propia Convención Americana, atenta no solamente contra la Corte sino contra la protección colectiva de los derechos humanos en el hemisferio.
Firmado,
Diego Abente Brun Former Minister of Justice and Labor of Paraguay |
Mariclaire Acosta Former Undersecretary for Democracy and Human Rights of Mexico |
Nicolás Ardito Barletta Former President of Panama |
Jimmy Carter Former President of the United States of America |
Jorge Castañeda Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico |
Joe Clark Former Prime Minister of Canada |
Humberto de la Calle Former Vice President of Colombia |
César Gaviria Former President of Colombia |
John Graham Chair Emeritus, Canadian Foundation for the Americas |
Osvaldo Hurtado Former President of Ecuador |
Torquato Jardim Former Justice of the Superior Electoral Tribunal of Brazil |
Luis Alberto Lacalle Former President of Uruguay |
John Maisto Former U.S. Ambassador to the OAS |
John Manley Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada |
Barbara McDougall Former Minister of External Affairs of Canada |
Robert Pastor Former Director of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs National Security Council |
Andrés Pastrana Former President of Colombia |
Sergio Ramírez Former Vice-President of Nicaragua |
Ronald M. Sanders Member Eminent Persons Group of the Commonwealth |
Jorge Santistevan de Noriega Former Human Rights Ombudsman of Peru |
Eduardo Stein Former Vice President of Guatemala |
Alejandro Toledo Former President of Peru |
Fernando Tuesta Soldevilla Former Director National Office of Electoral Processes, Peru |
Joaquín Villalobos Founder of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), Signatory of the Peace Agreements of El Salvador in 1992 |
Miembros del grupo de Amigos de la Carta Democrática Interamericana, con secretaría en el Centro Carter, Atlanta Ga.
Declaration of the Friends of the Inter-American Democratic Charter on the Venezuelan Decision Regarding the Ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
We, the undersigned, regret the announcement of the Venezuelan Supreme Court that it will not be feasible to comply with the decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Leopoldo Lopez vs. Venezuela issued on September 1, 2011. The Inter-American Court together with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights constitute a human rights system that serves as a model for the world. Based in the American Convention on Human Rights, the system is an achievement of Latin American and Caribbean states (neither Canada nor the United States have ratified) that should be jealously protected by all.
We note with concern that to our knowledge, with the exception of the military courts rulings during the Fujimori regime, this is the only country in the hemisphere where the merits rulings of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have been rejected by the Supreme Court in expressly declaring them non-binding and unenforceable.
The failure to comply with the findings of the Court by a signatory state under the jurisdiction of the Court, and departing from its international obligations as dictated by the American Convention, threatens not only the Court itself but also the collective defense of human rights in the hemisphere.
Signed,
Diego Abente Brun Former Minister of Justice and Labor of Paraguay |
Mariclaire Acosta Former Undersecretary for Democracy and Human Rights of Mexico |
Nicolás Ardito Barletta Former President of Panama |
Jimmy Carter Former President of the United States of America |
Jorge Castañeda Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico |
Joe Clark Former Prime Minister of Canada |
Humberto de la Calle Former Vice President of Colombia |
César Gaviria Former President of Colombia |
John Graham Chair Emeritus, Canadian Foundation for the Americas |
Osvaldo Hurtado Former President of Ecuador |
Torquato Jardim Former Justice of the Superior Electoral Tribunal of Brazil |
Luis Alberto Lacalle Former President of Uruguay |
John Maisto Former U.S. Ambassador to the OAS |
John Manley Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada |
Barbara McDougall Former Minister of External Affairs of Canada |
Robert Pastor Former Director of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs National Security Council |
Andrés Pastrana Former President of Colombia |
Sergio Ramírez Former Vice-President of Nicaragua |
Ronald M. Sanders Member Eminent Persons Group of the Commonwealth |
Jorge Santistevan de Noriega Former Human Rights Ombudsman of Peru |
Eduardo Stein Former Vice President of Guatemala |
Alejandro Toledo Former President of Peru |
Fernando Tuesta Soldevilla Former Director National Office of Electoral Processes, Peru |
Joaquín Villalobos Founder of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), Signatory of the Peace Agreements of El Salvador in 1992 |
Members of the informal group of Friends of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, with secretariat at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Ga.
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