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BOLIVIA RATIFIES PROTOCOL OF SAN SALVADOR

In depositing the instruments by which the government of Bolivia ratified the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, known as the “Protocol of San Salvador,” the Interim Representative of Bolivia to the Organization of American States (OAS), Patricia Bozo de Duran, stressed her government’s commitment to putting these rights in place.

“A variety of rights come together to form an indivisible whole and mankind can only attain this ideal by being free from fear and misery, if conditions are conducive to every individual being able to enjoy his economic, social and cultural rights, as well as civil and political rights,” said the Bolivian diplomat as she presented the documents of ratification of the international treaty to OAS Secretary General, Jose Miguel Insulza.

Underscoring that “this therefore involves greater overall respect for individual rights, within the frame of a representative democratic system of government, as well as to the rights of its people to development, to self determination and to free access to their nation’s wealth and natural resources.” Bozo added that with this ratification, the Andean nation expresses its “firm believe that fundamental human rights are based on the characteristics of human beings” and that human rights and the rights enshrined in the San Salvador Protocol are closely linked.

Meanwhile, the OAS Secretary General applauded the efforts by the government of President Evo Morales in regard to the defense of human rights and took advantage of the opportunity to renew a call to the member countries that have yet to ratify the Protocol, in doing so.

“We must all make an effort to look into this issue with a view to expanding the Protocol,” Insulza said noting that the OAS Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs is currently reviewing mechanisms to verify compliance with the Convention.

Insulza expressed confidence that the ratification of the additional protocol will “strengthen cooperation with regard to something in our Democratic Charter, something that we mention in our declarations: that economic and social issues can not be separated from political and human rights issues,” stated the Secretary General.

The Additional Protocol was adopted in San Salvador, El Salvador, in November, 1988 and with Bolivia, it has been ratified by fourteen member countries including: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Uruguay.

Reference: E-213/06