PRESS RELEASE

Nº 24/05

IACHR WELCOMES RECOGNITION OF RESPONSIBILITY BY THE Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) welcomes the recognition of responsibility by the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, at a public hearing held on June 29, 2005, by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in the case of Blanco Romero et al.

In the context of the public hearing, the state’s representative, María Auxiliadora Monagas, conveyed the state’s acceptance of all the allegations and claims by the parties.  The Venezuelan state thereby totally acknowledged its international liability for the violation of the right to life, to humane treatment, to a fair trial, and to judicial protection, all of these enshrined in the American Convention on Human Rights, the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons, and the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture.

These violations stemmed from the detention and subsequent forced disappearance of Oscar José Blanco Romero, Roberto Javier Hernández Paz, and José Francisco Rivas Fernández, perpetrated by agents of the state. As acknowledged, the violations caused the victims and their relatives grave pain and suffering and material damage.  The detentions and subsequent forced disappearances occurred in the days following the landslides in Vargas, in December 1999.

The Commission points to the willingness expressed by the state and values the importance of its statement.  This action paves the way for redress and for the efforts that should be undertaken to prevent further violations of this sort.

Washington D.C., June 30, 2005