Stating the official version of the Colombian government regarding the ongoing serious social crisis in Colombia, Iván Duque’s vice president and now foreign affairs minister Marta Lucía Ramírez has declined to accept, for the time being, requests from the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The two multilateral organizations had asked the government of Colombia to allow a commission to enter the country, in order to monitor the countless human rights abuses that have been registered during recent popular protests.
“We have received the requests from IACHR and from Secretary Almagro and we have stated that all visits are welcome,” declared Ramírez. ”But, for the time being, we consider that it is necessary to wait for the judicial authorities—the Prosecutor’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office, the Comptroller’s Office and the Ombudsman’s Office—to complete their own tasks of investigation in each case.”
Consequently, Colombian social media users put themselves to the task of reminding President Duque that, during a special session of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that took place in Barranquilla, Colombia, in 2019, Duque had asked the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged human rights violations in Venezuela.
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Esto decía el presidente @IvanDuque cuando Venezuela se negó a recibir a la CIDH. https://t.co/lPswV9VDhf pic.twitter.com/wOXgybfLQD
— Hollman Morris (@HOLLMANMORRIS) May 24, 2021
El "demócrata" @IvanDuque le niega la llegada de la @CIDH a Colombia, pero sale a pedir su presencia en Venezuela. De ese tamaño es su talante Democrático.
— César H. Castro Cruz (@Guambiano01) May 24, 2021
El doble estándar de Duque en materia de derechos humanos es indignante. Para vigilar la situación de Venezuela incluso Duque fue q tomarse la foto con la @CIDH mientras niega que en Colombia exista una supervisión independiente de las violaciones de DDHH en las protestas. pic.twitter.com/PfHDqvsRkR
— Mauricio Albarracín Caballero (@malbarracin) May 24, 2021
Yo recuerdo que @IvanDuque criticaba a Maduro por lo mismo y apoyaba y alentaba a los jovenes que se pronunciaban contra el Régimen de Venezuela. Pero ahora acá aplica exactamente lo Contrario, ataca a los jovenes y no permite ingreso de @CIDH
— Alberto F (@wafcvr) May 24, 2021
Pedían a #CIDH en Venezuela, pero les niegan la entrada en Colombia #CIDHEnColombiaYa
Lo único que quiere Iván Duque, Álvaro Uribe y todo el gabinete Uribista, es que no vean la barbarie que han causado en Colombia.#CIDHEnColombia #FueraMolano https://t.co/oPfUn5Q2DC— Jorge Rodriguez (@RM_Jorge23) May 24, 2021
Venezuela and the IACHR
The IACHR is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS). It is supposed to be in charge of the promotion and protection of human rights in the American continent. The Court is made up of seven independent members who work in their personal capacity and who are based in Washington, DC. The IACHR is one of the three regional courts on the international level that focus on the protection of human rights, along with the European Court of Human Rights and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The IACHR is an autonomous judicial institution whose objective is to apply and interpret the American Convention on Human Rights.
After the IACHR had issued a rigged report against the Bolivarian government of Venezuela, responding to the interests of the United States and its elites, the Venezuelan government, headed by President Maduro, officially withdrew from the body on September 10, 2013. This was done after Commander Hugo Chávez had already announced in 2012 the intention to do so in defense of national sovereignty and dignity.
However, the IACHR has not given up its attempts to delegitimize the Venezuelan government; it has continued to issue unreliable reports, statements and demands. All this has has been used by the hegemonic media, both inside and outside Venezuela, as an excuse to aggressively attack the authorities of the country. However, little or nothing has been written in the press against Iván Duque, despite his rejection to any sort of monitoring of human rights violations in his country.
Featured Image: Colombia is living through continuous protests and heavy repression by police since April 28. File photo.
(RedRadioVe) by Daniela Jiménez
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/GMS/SC
