Provea: International Bulletin on Human Rights

Venezuelan Program of Education and Action on Human Rights, PROVEA | Edition N ° 13 | July-August 2014

The Venezuelan Program of Education and Action on Human Rights, PROVEA presents its thirteenth International Bulletin for the months of July and August 2014.

In this issue we will address as a global topic, the recent actions of the deep process of militarization of Venezuelan state and society, forcing private citizens to register and get ready to defend the nation. As a specific topic, we will address the crisis of the right to health threatening the lives of thousands of people in the country and we will look at the causes of this crisis. Finally, we will discuss the economic measures that have been taken in the form of “economic packages”, similar to those adopted by previous governments, which have been detrimental to the poorest sectors of the population.

Our newsletter is available in Spanish, French and English on our website http:// www.derechos.org.ve. We welcome your suggestions and comments to the e-mail boletin@derechos.org.ve

Want to know the 20 human rights landscape in the past 15 years in Venezuela?

See our special report “15 years on human rights: social inclusion, political exclusion”

> GLOBAL TOPIC

Militarization of Venezuelan state and society

Militia of women / Photo: Entorno inteligente

PROVEA has been insisting that the Venezuelan government has adopted the perspective of the National Security Policy to tackle organized dissent and popular unrest. The arrival of President Maduro, a former trade unionist, replacing Hugo Chavez, a military man, did not represent a turning in the militaristic drift, but on the contrary a strengthening of it.

The official argument to justify the militarization is based on conspiracy theories from within and outside the country that would be part of a war against the process of social transformation advanced by the Government and other public authorities. The notion of

external and internal enemy then justifies measures to control society and their organizations as well as to justify increased militarization of public policy, for example, the government speaks of economic warfare against government policies aimed at guarantee the right to food. With these assumptions, the militarization of society and public policy of the State has deepened contradicting constitutional precepts.

The militarization of society has recently been strengthened by the adoption on June 24, 2014, the “Law of registration and enlistment for the comprehensive defense of the nation” This law

creates a mandatory military record for people between 18 and 60 years, and imposes sanctions on those who do not enroll: may not be employed in public or private bodies or obtain employment solvencies (violating the right to work), they can not get a driver’s license (hampering the right to free movement) or obtain graduate degrees (violating the right to education). The law provides for the possibility of providing conscientious objection to military service.

Under the law who do not perform military service may provide a service of civil nature but under the military command, which contradicts international standards on alternative civilian service.

This law is incompatible with Article 61 of the Constitution, which establishes the right to freedom of conscience that protects people from being involved in military activities, and Article 134 which gives equal status to civilian or military activities for development of the nation. This initiative is in addition to programs such as the announced creation of the “fighters bodies” created within the public institutions of the State.

The same day June 24 in which it was adopted the “Special Brigade against the actions of the generators of violence (BEGV)” (Decree No. 1.014). In past months, the country had experienced a period of intense protests and street demonstrations. Then, on March 5, President Maduro urged the revolutionary organizations to perform public safety duties to confront the “guarimbas” (street closures, some of them violent). This led to the creation of an “Anti-coup popular command”, leading pro-government civilians to participate in arbitrary detention and mistreatment of citizens.

It is not the first time these special brigades were created in Venezuela. During previous governments and with the same philosophy, were created special security forces as “Specific Command José Antonio Paez” responsible for the Slaughter of El Amparo in 1988, or “Cat Group” which was part of the former Judicial Technical Police (PTJ) and starred in numerous human rights violations. The General Prosecutor’s Office announced that “the team of lawyers and prosecutors of the Public Ministry is analyzing the scope of this Brigade to then emit opinion about the pros and cons”. To date, the Prosecutor has not yet given its opinion.

To better illustrate the increasing militarization of Venezuela is important to note that: Venezuela is the second Latin American country that spends more money on weapons, contradicting an official policy of disarmament to combat insecurity; in Venezuela civilians are prosecuted in military courts even though the Constitution prohibits it; Venezuelan Defense Ministry is the fourth institution that receives more money in the country, well above ministries that promote social policies; the current flag of public safety “Homeland Safe Plan” has major military components and orientations, contradicting the article 332 of the Constitution which states that “the public security organs are civilian in nature.”

There are sufficient grounds for concern about the militaristic drift of the Venezuelan state and its effects on human rights. Militarism and impunity go hand in hand, and Venezuela impunity of crimes and impunity for human rights violations are almost generalized, closing a dangerous siege on the human rights of the population.

> SPECIFIC TOPIC

Critical situation of the right to health

Protesting doctors and medical students in Caracas / Photo: Provea

Access to health care in Venezuela is in an extremely critical situation due to the precarious conditions in which the inpatient and outpatient public health centers are. This is due to persistent deterioration that have been subjected in recent years, and also to the high levels of shortage of medicines for people to make their treatments, reagents and supplies for diagnostic tests and lack of basic inputs, spare parts for medical equipment for the

operation of both public and private health system, due to the delay of the state to the payment of debts in foreign currency from international suppliers. (Over 80% of these medical equipment, supplies and inputs are imported). Given this serious situation, the Venezuelan population is currently facing widespread and systematic violations of the right to health, and lack of minimum guarantees to meet their needs with respect to this right which are

leading to wrongful deaths and unacceptable harm to health and physical and psychological integrity of diverse groups of people.

In public health, over 50% of doctors withdrew from hospitals, and public clinics due to spoilage. At least 40% of these centers have severe structural problems that cause overcrowding and pollution. Also, a lot of repair and expansion of public hospitals, with irregular contracts between the years 2007-2010 were paralyzed and have been allegations of corruption; services of electricity and water are frequently interrupted, causing damage to equipment and inadequate environments for medical procedures; and the number of public beds has been declining for lack of budget, personnel and supplies, reaching a deficit of 70% in accordance with international standards, which meant, as Reported by the Health Ministry in 2011, the public health system have stopped attending 1 million people this year.

The deterioration of public health remained less visible for a while, at the expense of social security and social welfare, which since 2001 pay attention to population not performing contributions to public health insurance. In recent years, the decline has been supported by the private sector, which increased its medical consultations as a result of the high demand by public employees who have private health insurance, which is also a form of privatization of the right health care collapsing clinics while the state should pay for an expensive primary care.

However, due to economic inaccessibility of private services and low insurance coverage of the population most people continue to attend public hospitals and clinics

Moreover, although the Ministry of Health, the National Assembly, the Ombudsman and the Prosecutor have been warned several times about the serious flaws of medicines, supplies, reagents and spare parts. shortages deficit reached levels over 70%, resulting in the closure of services, constant surgeries cancellation, high wait times for surgical procedures (patients wait between 7 and 8 months), and the collapse of the few emergency services available to the population. Drugs also have disappeared in pharmacies and health centers, affecting people in specialties such as oncology, hematology, cardiology, hypertension, diabetes and also with HIVassociated opportunistic diseases that are not taking their treatment.

Doctors and relatives reported every day the death of people who can not be operated, as well as injured, burned or infarcted that after multiple transferred, can not be treated.

Given this situation, organizations of affected people, relatives and human rights, doctors, nurses and other health workers, medical societies and academic institutions as well as private providers and distributors, have required national authorities to recognize the critical situation and present solutions, immediately declare a health emergency in the country, having international aid mechanisms to ensure the health and lives of thousands. Public health is the best guarantee of effective health care in Venezuela. The functions of stewardship, monitoring and health comptroller, the training of human resources and the provision of treatment, also depend on their public nature. In this sense, the persistence of this situation, depriving the population of medical services, constitutes a threat to the protection of the right to health in Venezuela and entails violations of the Constitution and international covenants and conventions on economic, social and cultural rights without valid excuses based on insufficient resources or other difficulties.

> ISSUES ON NATIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES

Step by step apply unpopular economic package During the year 2014 President Nicolás Maduro’s Government has been implementing a set of economic measures affecting the poorest population. An economic package that resembles much that applied in 1989 the former President Carlos Andrés Pérez .

Venezuela is in an economic crisis for several years. That crisis was left by former President Chavez and deepened with President Maduro. This crisis is characterized by low domestic production and many state enterprises in critical situations, an inflation of 56.2% in 2013 and with the possibility of exceeding the 80% in 2014. Growing shortage of essential products for consumption, distortions in the foreign exchange market, and stagnant employment.

As a consequence of all these factors in 2013 occurred, according to official figures, a growth of poverty by six percentage points.

In order to remedy this situation the Executive raised prices in utilities such as air transport, sea and air, electricity and telephone; raised prices on staples, eliminated or reduced subsidies in the economic and social sector and devalued the currency. In parallel he announced a possible increase in gasoline prices and new devaluations.

The measures taken by President Maduro, besides producing discontent in important sectors of the population, create new difficulties in the lives of poor families. It is the application of the same recipes implemented in other countries in the Americas and comprising austerity for the majority of the population and cuts in public spending with negative results for the masses.

We have been insisting that in times of economic crisis the State has the obligation to preserve and guarantee the realization of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights of the population. There is no way to justify that human rights are sacrificed to invest public money in areas or issues that have no impact on improving the living conditions of the population. An example is high military spending and the purchase of products intended for the repression of the protest.

Preserving state resources for use in the most appropriate manner, is not compatible with the omission and complicity with

the high levels of corruption in the country. Corruption has led to the diversion of public funds to satisfy particular interests by committing offenses against public property.

The reorientation of public spending to prioritize social programs should be a measure in the context of the crisis, and the willingness to execute and enforce collective agreements to improve working conditions and living standards of workers. Should proceed with the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT), which is a regressive tax, and strengthen progressive taxation to pay more so they have better economic conditions.

Venezuela’s economic crisis has been incurred and paid by the poorest sectors of the population as the government is determined to deal with it by downloading the higher cost in the least able. If the economic package was implemented in the name of democracy in the past, in the present similar measures in the name of socialism are adopted. The victims are the same today as yesterday: the poorest.

It is available the 2013 Annual Report on the situation of Human Rights in Venezuela, may be consulted on the website of PROVEA: www.derechos.org.ve.

Programa Venezolano de Educación – Acción en Derechos Humanos Tienda Honda a Puente Trinidad, Bulevar Panteón, Parroquia Altagracia, Edif. Centro Plaza Las Mercedes, P.B. Local 6, Caracas, Venezuela Apartado Postal 5156, Carmelitas 1010-A Teléfonos: (58) 212-860.66.69 / 862.53.33 / 862.10.11 Sitio web: http://www.derechos.org.ve Twitter:@_provea E-mail: investigación@derechos.org.ve