FREEDOM HOUSE - CATALYST FOR AN EMERGING HUMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 CARACAS 000520 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2015 TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM VE SUBJECT: FREEDOM HOUSE - CATALYST FOR AN EMERGING HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN VENEZUELA Classified By: ROBERT DOWNES, POLITICAL COUNSELOR, FOR REASON 1.4(b) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The Freedom House USAID project began operations in Venezuela in late 2004, in an environment of reported increases in human rights abuses and judicial impunity. The community of human rights organizations in Venezuela continues to be ill-equipped to deal with the unfolding scenario and is mainly centered in Caracas, under-staffed and under-funded. Through the support provided by Freedom House, Venezuelan 2nd tier human rights organizations (organizations that are newer, as well as the regional organizations) are increasing their technical skill and ability, and have gained new confidence in their ability to defend human rights. This is catalyzing a larger and more diverse human rights movement, making the organizations more difficult to intimidate and able to provide a more robust and informed debate regarding human rights in Venezuela. End Summary -------------- The Weakness of the Status Quo -------------- ¶2. (C) The historical human rights movement in Venezuela primarily consisted of three leading NGOs: COFAVIC, PROVEA and Red de Apoyo. Of the three, COFAVIC was the only organization focusing exclusively on civil and political liberties, while PROVEA and Red de Apoyo focused their human rights defense on the economic, social and cultural rights of Venezuelans. These three organizations are based in Caracas, and have had little to no outreach into the 23 states that make up Venezuela. In addition, inadequate staffing and funding resulted in only a small number of cases of human rights abuses receiving the attention warranted. As a result, victims of human rights abuses in the interior of the country have been less likely to receive NGO support and protection. ¶3. (C) At the same time, PROVEA and Red de Apoyo are increasingly viewed as not being politically neutral. Recently PROVEA expelled their director at the behest of Pro-Chavez elements in the organization. Red de Apoyo tempers their declarations so as to not be critical of the government, making excuses for the executive in their own reports. This posture is causing them to lose credibility in the international human rights community, and leads to confusion at the national level in Venezuela regarding the definition of human rights. ¶4. Finally, there is the deficiency of human rights reporting in Venezuela. The only organization that does regular (systematic) human rights reports for Venezuela is PROVEA. ¶5. (C) The aforementioned issues make the human rights movement in Venezuela very vulnerable: 1) the organizations have been relatively easy to attack (death threats on COFAVIC leadership, former Communication Minister Izarra publicly branding PROVEA "opposition group", and the charging of key human rights defenders such as Carlos Ayala Corao with criminal offenses related to the April 11, 2002 coup),2) the dearth of formal human rights reporting results in incomplete information and makes it easy to manipulate or cloud the data. -------------- The Role of Freedom House in this Milieu CARACAS 00000520 002 OF 004 -------------- ¶6. (C) Over the past year, Freedom House has sponsored and supported over 50 human rights defenders from 29 different NGOs or groups operating in 10 states in capacity building exchanges and events. These events have focused on research, documentation, and reporting of human rights abuses. They have also allowed smaller and regional Venezuelan human rights NGOs to establish relations with human rights defenders from Guatemala, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica, and Washington. They have facilitated the increased exposure to and understanding of the Inter-American system (The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington and the Inter-American Court for Human Rights in Costa Rica), have provided training in a specialized human rights encrypted reporting software, and presented techniques for physical security and protection of human rights defenders and their information. FH has also trained human rights lawyers on effective strategies for carrying out their work in an environment of judicial and police impunity. -------------- Results and Success Stories -------------- ¶7. (C) Through the technical assistance and exchanges, Freedom House has had a crucial role in increasing the competence and the confidence of the human rights defenders in pursuit of human rights defense in Venezuela. ¶8. (C) Fundacion de Derechos Humanos Anzoategui: The regional NGO Fundacion de Derechos Humanos Anzoategui has participated in most FH exchanges. During the exchange to Washington to observe the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights discussion on the human rights situation in Venezuela, this group had the opportunity to interact with key human rights activists in Washington, including Human Rights Watch, Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA),and the Commission itself. Through the meetings and presentations, this NGO was able to present some of their 90 ongoing investigations, and provided a regional view of the human rights situation, which added value and weight to the discussions of the Commission. ¶9. (C) Venezuelan Prison Observatory: Another example is the Venezuelan Prison Observatory. This is a group of lawyers advocating for justice and fair treatment of Venezuelans in prisons around the country. This group has taken a case demanding protective measures from the Inter-American Human Rights Court in Costa Rica for one of the most violent prisons in Venezuela, La Pica. The court granted special protective measures for the entire prison, the 3rd time in the history of the court to grant such measures, and the Ministry of the Interior and Justice must now respond and increase the protection of these prisoners. ¶10. (C) Human Rights Lawyers Defense Network: A third example is the formation of a Venezuelan Human Rights Lawyers' Defense Network. Comprised of 18 members, this group is committed to taking cases of Human Rights abuse pro-bono through the national court system. This group has been established in Bolivar State, with the intention of expanding into several more states in 2006. -------------- Cooperation with Other USG Projects -------------- ¶11. (C) Part of the success of this project has been the coordination between FH and other USAID and USG sponsored groups, which has increased the impact of FH programming in CARACAS 00000520 003 OF 004 country. ¶12. (C) FH and Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI): DAI is the US-based contractor which manages the USAID small grants program in Venezuela. These grants support democratic institutions, foster peaceful debate, and demonstrate US. concern for the fight against poverty in Venezuela. With FH technical assistance and DAI small grants funding, various human rights organizations around Venezuela have received increased support. Examples of these groups are the Central Venezuelan University, which in 2006, with DAI funding, will be setting up a Human Rights Center. Under the leadership of Dr. Hector Faundes, one of the leading human rights professors in Venezuela, this center will provide academic debate, a quarterly human rights journal, an annual report on human rights in Venezuela, and a library for human rights leaders in Venezuela. Another FH partner, IPYS (an NGO focused on freedom of speech and the press),received support from DAI for projects on investigative journalism and the creation of a FOIA law for Venezuela. Finally, a third FH partner, in Anzoategui State, will be carrying out a DAI-supported project to set up a human rights defenders network in the state to combat the increase in extra-judicial killings by police. ¶13. (C) FH and Pan-American Development Foundation (PADF): PADF, through its USAID-supported project, will be providing institutional support to human rights and watchdog organizations in Venezuela. This includes several groups which have received technical assistance from Freedom House. An example of this is the Venezuelan Prison Observatory, which has taken the lead in denouncing the abuse of prisoner's rights and demonstrating the failure of the Ministry of the Interior and Justice in providing security and dignity to Venezuela's prison population. They will be using funding from PADF to develop a tracking database of cases of prisoner abuse and prisoner access to the judicial system. PADF will also support a judicial monitoring organization, in which the NGOs Consorcio Justicia and Foro Penal, two groups which have participated in the FH program, will participate. ¶14. (C) FH and the Public Affairs Section: The Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Caracas, in partnership with USAID, will send 6 human rights lawyers to Washington in April 2006 to participate in a Human Rights Lawyer International Visitor Program. This exchange will deepen the contacts and professionalism of the FH supported Human Rights Lawyers Network and HHRR academic centers supported through the FH project. ¶15. (C) FH and SUMATE: Freedom House is working with USAID to provide an international human rights monitor for the trial against the electoral NGO SUMATE. FH is in negotiations with the vice-president of the Human Rights Coordinator of Peru (a network of over 60 human rights organizations),in order that the Coordinator's Technical Support Unit (a group of Peruvian lawyers doing human rights defense in Peru) observe the trial on behalf of the international human rights community. This group has recently been in the news for taking the cases of human rights abuse in Peru against Peruvian Presidential Candidate Ollanta Humala. The vice-president of the Human Rights Coordinator himself has been present for two of the four SUMATE hearings. -------------- The Critical Role of the Freedom House Project in 2006 -------------- CARACAS 00000520 004 OF 004 ¶16. (C) During the second year of the "Right to Defend Human Rights" project, FH will build upon the base created in year one. They will be working with human rights NGOs to improve research of human rights abuses and the preparation of at least 5 annual reports for 2006. This will be done through exchanges, individual site visits, provision of computers and the installation of the human rights encrypted reporting database. ¶17. (C) Freedom House plans to increase the geographic scope and the professionalism of the Human Rights Lawyers Network, expanding it to two more states while supporting them in their processing of human rights abuse cases. They plan to have at least 2 more Lawyers' Networks established and have all the networks taking important cases pro-bono through the Venezuelan court system. ¶18. (C) They will also be working with 4 human rights media organizations, providing training on the importance of human rights reporting, and how to approach the media and "make a splash". ¶19. (C) With technical assistance from FH through exchanges and internships, 4 of the Venezuelan Universities with Human Rights Centers will be deepening their academic analysis of the human rights situation in Venezuela, led by the Venezuelan Central University. These centers will include information clearinghouses, an academic journal, as well as follow-up of emblematic human rights abuse cases nationwide. -------------- Comments -------------- ¶20. (C) Despite active government discouragement of domestic human rights NGO activities, they are expanding their efforts and growing in sophistication. However, they still remain domestically oriented and lack expertise in researching and documenting human rights abuses, as well as taking their cases internationally. Freedom House's ongoing USAID project is providing technical assistance in these areas, and providing critical support to the Venezuelan human rights movement at a crucial time. BROWNFIELD WHITAKER